being exclusively for dark-skinned people. In particular, they see public transit into the suburbs as bringing such dark-skinned people into their little white paradises to steal their home theater systems (right, like someone is going to abscond with a home theater system on a bus or light rail train).
When Portland was building its second light rail line, rumors spread (and were even written up in the Oregonian--Portland's mostl worthless newspaper) that Latino gangs had divied up the stations among themselves for exclusive rights to rob passengers. It was complete nonsense.
When the third line came up for a vote, running from heavily African-American North Portland to the southeastern suburbs, the whispering campaign said that gangbangers from North Portland were going to take the light rail down south to recruit white suburban children to gangs. (Never mind that there were already white gangs in those areas...) The project was voted down, but eventually the third line was built to serve North Portland only.
The fourth line was built as a branch of the first line running to the airport. The fifth runs north-south in a suburban area, and the sixth line is actually the extension of the line from North Portland that was voted down about 15 years ago. It's going to those southern suburbs.
The conservatives have been griping about light rail since 1986, when the first line was opened, but Portland has an elected Metro Council, and whenever the anti-transit types run, they're always voted down at least 2 to 1.
Most recently, however, Tigard, a southwestern suburb plagued by horrible traffic problems (I know--I used to have to drive through it on my way from the town where I lived), has started objecting to the light rail line or any other form of rapid transit, including bus rapid transit, for its overcrowded Highway 99W corridor. The reason? You guessed it. They don't want to bring "crime and drugs" from the city.
Here in the Twin Cities, the line linking downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul opened a month ago, and the conservative types are complaining that it takes longer than driving. The first line, running from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America via the airport, is criticized for--you guessed it--bringing "gangbangers" to the Mall of America. There are some real problems with the routing of the proposed third line, but again, I think the essential objection has to do with its starting point in an African-American neighborhood.
The longer I live, the more I see racism at the root of a lot of American stupidity.
What gives with hatred of buses??? 
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