canvassing for Obama
I went canvassing in Philly on Saturday. I was surprised at how good I was at it, and how fun it was, especially after Julia's horror stories. My partner and I knocked on over 100 doors, talked to over 50 people, and had long conversations with maybe like 20 of them. Of those 20, 8 were very racist and 3 were sexist, answering that age-old question of whether America is more racist or more sexist, at least for this one tiny Catholic Philly neighborhood. My favorite examples of racism...
(1) [established that the voter agrees with Obama on welfare, healthcare, economic reform, tax reform, etc...]
"I would rather vote for Obama, but I just don't care for the democrats' liberal values. Things got worse with Clinton."
You mean the sex scandals? ("No.") Abortion? ("No.") Violence in videogames, song lyrics? ("No.") Uhhh.. do you have any examples?
"My kid went to the nearby public school, and got jumped three times in the first week."
[spent time talking about crime, education - eventually realized his beef was with INTEGRATION]
(2) "I just don't think America is ready for a black president because someone is going to take a shot at him."
(Yeah, SOMEONE, huh? Hate those... other people... who seem so racist. THREE different people said almost exactly this. It's a little scary. I imagine any actual would-be assassins think in similar ways.)
(3) "I'm planning on voting for Obama, I want to vote for Obama, but if I hear one more person say that other people are racist and that's a problem for Obama, I'm not going to vote for him. I'm just so sick of people playing the race card."
Huh. You know I talked to about eight undecided people so far this morning, and at least three of them didn't want to vote for Obama because of his race.
"Well, you know, there are always a couple."
Well, you know, whatever the other Obama supporters say, Obama himself doesn't talk that way, so don't let it get to you...
(4) "I would vote for Obama, but I just don't like the man."
You disagree with his stances on moral issues?
"No." [slight blush]
You don't think he shows personal integrity?
"It's not that." [a little bit redder]
You don't like his voting record, or his plans for the economy or tax reform?
"No... I just... don't want to see him in the White House." [very, very red in the face]
(5) "Honestly, I'm having a problem with the race thing."
I understand. It can be an issue. Thanks for being so forthright about it.
"The thing is, I don't even consider him black. He's not really black. But other people think he's black, so that's why it's a problem."
[resists boggling] Well, one thing to keep in mind is that we're probably going to have a democratic congress this year. So a democratic president with a democratic congress is likely to really get things done, regardless of any problems with people being racist.
"That's true, I didn't think of that."
So... what other issues are important to you?
(6) "He's just going to take care of his own."
Well, they said the same thing about JFK and Catholics, right?
(This was a Catholic neighborhood. What I WANTED to say, though, was "Good God, imagine what the world would be like if someone in power actually TOOK CARE OF BLACK PEOPLE. It might be like... equality.")
The best (meaning, most hilarious) example of sexism was the woman who worked in a fertility clinic - mentally challenging work that really helps people - and supported her kid and her disabled husband, who said she thought that "a woman's place was in the home." However, she loved Sarah Palin and thought she would be the best vice-president EVER.
(1) [established that the voter agrees with Obama on welfare, healthcare, economic reform, tax reform, etc...]
"I would rather vote for Obama, but I just don't care for the democrats' liberal values. Things got worse with Clinton."
You mean the sex scandals? ("No.") Abortion? ("No.") Violence in videogames, song lyrics? ("No.") Uhhh.. do you have any examples?
"My kid went to the nearby public school, and got jumped three times in the first week."
[spent time talking about crime, education - eventually realized his beef was with INTEGRATION]
(2) "I just don't think America is ready for a black president because someone is going to take a shot at him."
(Yeah, SOMEONE, huh? Hate those... other people... who seem so racist. THREE different people said almost exactly this. It's a little scary. I imagine any actual would-be assassins think in similar ways.)
(3) "I'm planning on voting for Obama, I want to vote for Obama, but if I hear one more person say that other people are racist and that's a problem for Obama, I'm not going to vote for him. I'm just so sick of people playing the race card."
Huh. You know I talked to about eight undecided people so far this morning, and at least three of them didn't want to vote for Obama because of his race.
"Well, you know, there are always a couple."
Well, you know, whatever the other Obama supporters say, Obama himself doesn't talk that way, so don't let it get to you...
(4) "I would vote for Obama, but I just don't like the man."
You disagree with his stances on moral issues?
"No." [slight blush]
You don't think he shows personal integrity?
"It's not that." [a little bit redder]
You don't like his voting record, or his plans for the economy or tax reform?
"No... I just... don't want to see him in the White House." [very, very red in the face]
(5) "Honestly, I'm having a problem with the race thing."
I understand. It can be an issue. Thanks for being so forthright about it.
"The thing is, I don't even consider him black. He's not really black. But other people think he's black, so that's why it's a problem."
[resists boggling] Well, one thing to keep in mind is that we're probably going to have a democratic congress this year. So a democratic president with a democratic congress is likely to really get things done, regardless of any problems with people being racist.
"That's true, I didn't think of that."
So... what other issues are important to you?
(6) "He's just going to take care of his own."
Well, they said the same thing about JFK and Catholics, right?
(This was a Catholic neighborhood. What I WANTED to say, though, was "Good God, imagine what the world would be like if someone in power actually TOOK CARE OF BLACK PEOPLE. It might be like... equality.")
The best (meaning, most hilarious) example of sexism was the woman who worked in a fertility clinic - mentally challenging work that really helps people - and supported her kid and her disabled husband, who said she thought that "a woman's place was in the home." However, she loved Sarah Palin and thought she would be the best vice-president EVER.