Obama Effigy at George Fox University

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The fact that someone would hang an effigy of Obama is shocking to me, not because of the action itself (I'm sure there are plenty of KKK members who would love to take credit for it), but because of the time and the place. Time: 21st century America. Place: small liberal arts college on the west coast.

George Fox University is a small liberal arts college with Quaker roots very close to Portland, Oregon. When I lived in Portland I attended a small Quaker church that was very white in its membership, but also had a very strong emphasis on social justice, peace, acceptance, and open-mindedness.

So for this reason I'm saddened and disappointed to see that there are people who will commit acts of hate even in the least expected places - the places that you would expect to be impervious to racial hatred. I guess this just shows that there is no place that is perfectly safe.

As someone who is white I have grown accustomed to the illusion of safeness that I have been raised with. From a young age I have been taught to think that I am protected, that the law and law enforcement is there to protect me, and that the world is safe. Obviously anyone from a minority background would see things quite differently, and with good reason: the law is often not their to support you, but to make you appear guilty for a crime you didn't commit. The world is not a safe place, but full of people who hate you for no reason but the color of your skin.