The Roswell Beacon Has Barack Obama in the Crosshairs

The Roswell Beacon, a Georgia newspaper, is coming under scrutiny for its cover that shows Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in a gun's crosshairs. The infamous May 15 Roswell Beacon article discussed white supremacist groups in suburban Fulton and Forsyth counties who object to Obama's candidacy and racial background. The Roswell Beacon article also discussed concerns of police and local authorities about possible assassination attempts. While readers were not offended by the Roswell Beacon article itself, it was the provocative cover that drew controversy.

Roswell Beacon has Barack Obama in the Crosshairs: Was it appropriate?

While I can understand the intention behind the Roswell Beacon article (a sobering reminder that we don't live in a color-blind world), I worry that the article may have done more harm than good. In the article, it is implied that people who don't support Barack Obama are "libertarians, gun nuts, conspiracy theorists, leftovers from the militia, and yes, some people who are petrified by Obama and what he represents." ¹

The article is justified in pointing out the reactionary and racially motivated sentiments expressed on white nationalist internet forums. According to the Roswell Beacon article, the Secret Service is apparently taking special responsibility for Obama's safety, believing in the possibility of racially motivated assassination attempts. However, while the cover was trying to be provocative, it was probably not the most tasteful way of conveying the message of the article. Is the Roswell Beacon trying to portray Barack Obama as a possible black martyr (in the vein of Martin Luther King)? Black or white, prominent figures tend to be targets for assassination. Lincoln, JFK, Reagan, and Pope John Paul II were cases in point. It's not entirely correct to blame race for everything.

If anything, the Roswell Beacon cover only serves to exacerbate racial tensions. While the newspaper is entitled to exercise freedom of speech, the Roswell Beacon cover couldn't have come at a worse time, given Mike Huckabee's recent blunders.