[lbo-talk] Doug's Vote

[John Thornton]

Dennis Perrin wrote:
>> I also have to say standing in a long line in Clinton Hill really  
>> brought home to me what the possibility of having a black pres means  
>> to black Americans. I know many of them will be disappointed - and I  
>> also suspect many of them know pretty well what's likely to happen.  
>> (And it will freak the hell out of a lot of white racists.) Who am 
>> I,  white boy leftist, to dismiss all that?
>
> I don't dismiss that either, and have recently written as such. And if 
> I was in, say, Indiana or Ohio, I probably would've voted for O as 
> those states are toss ups and tend to determine the election. But here 
> in Michigan, O owns the state, and has since McCain wrote it off. So 
> voting for O here is purely about personal feelings and symbolism. 
> Among African-Americans, that's most understandable, to the degree 
> that a white American can understand such things. Among white lib 
> yuppies here in Ann Arbor (and I know and am around my share of them), 
> it's about "proving" one's anti-racism. Some of these dopes are pretty 
> insufferable on this front. Let's see how they react when O starts 
> doing a little bombing of his own.
>
> Dennis 

The idea of standing in solidarity with other minorities carries quite a 
bit of weight with me.
Even if I lived in a solid blue state I wouldn't snub my nose at the 
majority of the citizens who have historically been so cruelly 
suppressed by not voting for Obama or writing in some nonsensical name.
Too many people have longed for this day for so many years to rain on 
their parade on election day seems unconscionable to me.
I live in a state that is going to be close and I voted Obama but my 
vote was an act of solidarity with other minorities as much as anything.

John Thornton