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Thoughts before an election
Nov. 3rd, 2008 07:57 pmThis post on Obama-inspired racist ads by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshire23 prompted me to post on my canvassing experience this weekend.
My partner was a big fella, probably well over 300 lbs, 6'4" or so, big booming voice, black with a prize-fighter's face. He was a native of Raytown, where we were covering selected houses in three precincts. The third, we stopped the van and walked a 2 mile circuit to catch about 40 houses with undecided voters. My dogs are still barking... Raytown doesn't believe in sidewalks, so we were dodging traffic most of the time
Some had Obama signs in their yards... those were easy. One mad old fellow had already voted absentee for McCain, and seemed angrier when I asked about his wife, as if insinuating that she might vote differently than he did was a direct slap at him. I got outta there pronto.
Two older women, maybe in their 50s, were still pretty angry about Hillary being overlooked for the nomination and then again for the veep seat. One said right off that she'd vote Obama, but she wasn't happy about it. The other, a leathery gray dyke, warmed up after it was clear who I was walking for, and while she never out-and-out admitted it, I think she would have rather chewed off her own arm than cast a vote for McCain. However, I could definitely see her just sitting out this election because of her bitterness about Hillary, and I did my best to convince her otherwise.
For the most part, the people who we met with said they were voting for Obama. And that was heartening.
The worst moment, though, was early on. The very first door we went to, we did together so Sterling could kind of teach me the ropes (I'd never done this before). It was to a trailer-style house, definitely a working-class neighborhood, a little rough on the edges. The guy came to the door, and said he was undecided when we asked who he planned to vote for. Sterling started to ask him which issues he was concerned about, and he kept kind of deflecting them, looking more and more uncomfortable. Sterling did great, trying to connect with him... he's been living in Raytown all his life, he KNOWS what life is like for this guy. He finally murmured something about taxes, and Sterling did a fine job of outlining Obama's tax plan (which would undoubtedly have benefited this guy). After a few more awkward attempts to draw him out, we left and he scuttled indoors as fast as he could.
Walking back out to the van, Sterling sadly shook his head. "You just know, when they won't talk about any issues, that it's got to be the most obvious thing." Since he's doing this full-time right now, I asked how often he came across racism as the main reason people won't vote for Obama. He said, "More often than you think."
And he added: "And that's why we've GOT to win this election."
Bonus canvasser tip! Don't run from Dobermans, stand up to 'em and growl back at them. German Shepherds will stop chasing you if you get a car between you and them (fastest way to do that is to jump over the car). Pit bull, you're done... run like hell and hope your partner runs slower than you do.
cheshire23 prompted me to post on my canvassing experience this weekend.My partner was a big fella, probably well over 300 lbs, 6'4" or so, big booming voice, black with a prize-fighter's face. He was a native of Raytown, where we were covering selected houses in three precincts. The third, we stopped the van and walked a 2 mile circuit to catch about 40 houses with undecided voters. My dogs are still barking... Raytown doesn't believe in sidewalks, so we were dodging traffic most of the time
Some had Obama signs in their yards... those were easy. One mad old fellow had already voted absentee for McCain, and seemed angrier when I asked about his wife, as if insinuating that she might vote differently than he did was a direct slap at him. I got outta there pronto.
Two older women, maybe in their 50s, were still pretty angry about Hillary being overlooked for the nomination and then again for the veep seat. One said right off that she'd vote Obama, but she wasn't happy about it. The other, a leathery gray dyke, warmed up after it was clear who I was walking for, and while she never out-and-out admitted it, I think she would have rather chewed off her own arm than cast a vote for McCain. However, I could definitely see her just sitting out this election because of her bitterness about Hillary, and I did my best to convince her otherwise.
For the most part, the people who we met with said they were voting for Obama. And that was heartening.
The worst moment, though, was early on. The very first door we went to, we did together so Sterling could kind of teach me the ropes (I'd never done this before). It was to a trailer-style house, definitely a working-class neighborhood, a little rough on the edges. The guy came to the door, and said he was undecided when we asked who he planned to vote for. Sterling started to ask him which issues he was concerned about, and he kept kind of deflecting them, looking more and more uncomfortable. Sterling did great, trying to connect with him... he's been living in Raytown all his life, he KNOWS what life is like for this guy. He finally murmured something about taxes, and Sterling did a fine job of outlining Obama's tax plan (which would undoubtedly have benefited this guy). After a few more awkward attempts to draw him out, we left and he scuttled indoors as fast as he could.
Walking back out to the van, Sterling sadly shook his head. "You just know, when they won't talk about any issues, that it's got to be the most obvious thing." Since he's doing this full-time right now, I asked how often he came across racism as the main reason people won't vote for Obama. He said, "More often than you think."
And he added: "And that's why we've GOT to win this election."
Bonus canvasser tip! Don't run from Dobermans, stand up to 'em and growl back at them. German Shepherds will stop chasing you if you get a car between you and them (fastest way to do that is to jump over the car). Pit bull, you're done... run like hell and hope your partner runs slower than you do.
