I was walking up and down Lewiston’s Main Street Saturday afternoon, having a great time looking at all of the (Hot August Nights) custom cars and wishing one or two of them were mine. Then a bigot opened his mouth, and a nice day was instantly downgraded. While I walking along looking at cars, a man seated along the curb pointed at the T-shirt worn by another man who was looking at cars. The seated man made a comment of approval about the Raiders. That was his team. Then he said, loud enough for everyone in the nearby crowd to hear, “Now that they got rid of that watermelon carrier, they’re going to the Super Bowl.” The guy was referring to former Raiders quarter JaMarcus Russell. Russell was, by all accounts, a total failure at the job. Indeed the Raiders dumped him. Russell is black, which is why the guy said what he said. But Russell isn’t bad because he’s black; he’s bad because he’s bad/Jeanne DePaul, Virtual Deadlines, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

DFO: I had a similar experience Sunday. My wife & I were walking along the north shore, west of City Park, when that guy a U.S. flag and a confederate flag flapping from his beater pickup bed drove past. A half hour later, we saw an African-American female running along Locust Avenue. I hoped that she would never see the jerk in the pickup.

Question: When did you last encounter racism on the street?