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Political Whatnot
Couple of things to keep in mind in the coming days regarding the election, voting, and the aftermath.
1. Don't get frustrated by long lines when you go to vote. People are voting, which is great. Early voting had fewer locations and fewer machines, as it's an opportunity that's spread out over many days. Election day voting will have more locations and more machines, but also more people. Either time you vote, there's going to be lines. Celebrate the process and that people care. Don't get mad or blame the government for lines (unless the machines all break, then get mad).
2. Remember that people vote for who they vote for for various reasons. For many, there is no hidden agenda or liberalism or conservatism. Pointing fingers and saying "this is why the other side won, and they're horrible for it" is stereotyping and simplistic. People are complex, their reasons for voting are complex. There are plenty of people that vote straight ticket on BOTH sides. Therefore, no pointing fingers. No blame games. No claims of election rigging (without solid proof) or conspiracies. The fact is, people have a right to choose where they vote and for who. And you don't know what choice they made. Don't assume that everyone on your f-list is absolutely on board with your ideals and holds important what you hold important. A person with kids is different from a person who lost their job is different from a person who's a tenured professor.
(And on the personal front from me, there will be NO "red state/blue state" crap tolerated this year. None. Don't give me that idiocy. Yes, I think the electoral college is fucked. Yes, I think the popular vote should win. But until it's changed, it is what it is. And "blaming" and entire region because they aren't exactly like you and worry about the same things is lunacy. Flat out, this year? I will defriend if I see blanket statements. I will. Because there's a lack of value for individuals and their rights. I voted for 6 Democrats and 7 Republicans and 1 Libertarian. It's because I researched those people and found them to be the most qualified for the jobs they were seeking. In most of the cases, political leaning played no part in it. If you can't accept that, that I am a person who truly is unaffiliated and tries to look at the issues that matter to me, then you don't care about me and aren't a friend. And whether I voted for Obama or McCain, I'm not some "exception to the rule". I'm not bucking the trend in my state (which, incidentally, tends to have a fairly equal number of both parties serving for the state, even when Jesse Helms was in office). I am representative of my state. So if you label my state a red state and mock it, you are mocking me, because my state is more complex than a color. I am more complex than a color.)
Couple of things to keep in mind in the coming days regarding the election, voting, and the aftermath.
1. Don't get frustrated by long lines when you go to vote. People are voting, which is great. Early voting had fewer locations and fewer machines, as it's an opportunity that's spread out over many days. Election day voting will have more locations and more machines, but also more people. Either time you vote, there's going to be lines. Celebrate the process and that people care. Don't get mad or blame the government for lines (unless the machines all break, then get mad).
2. Remember that people vote for who they vote for for various reasons. For many, there is no hidden agenda or liberalism or conservatism. Pointing fingers and saying "this is why the other side won, and they're horrible for it" is stereotyping and simplistic. People are complex, their reasons for voting are complex. There are plenty of people that vote straight ticket on BOTH sides. Therefore, no pointing fingers. No blame games. No claims of election rigging (without solid proof) or conspiracies. The fact is, people have a right to choose where they vote and for who. And you don't know what choice they made. Don't assume that everyone on your f-list is absolutely on board with your ideals and holds important what you hold important. A person with kids is different from a person who lost their job is different from a person who's a tenured professor.
(And on the personal front from me, there will be NO "red state/blue state" crap tolerated this year. None. Don't give me that idiocy. Yes, I think the electoral college is fucked. Yes, I think the popular vote should win. But until it's changed, it is what it is. And "blaming" and entire region because they aren't exactly like you and worry about the same things is lunacy. Flat out, this year? I will defriend if I see blanket statements. I will. Because there's a lack of value for individuals and their rights. I voted for 6 Democrats and 7 Republicans and 1 Libertarian. It's because I researched those people and found them to be the most qualified for the jobs they were seeking. In most of the cases, political leaning played no part in it. If you can't accept that, that I am a person who truly is unaffiliated and tries to look at the issues that matter to me, then you don't care about me and aren't a friend. And whether I voted for Obama or McCain, I'm not some "exception to the rule". I'm not bucking the trend in my state (which, incidentally, tends to have a fairly equal number of both parties serving for the state, even when Jesse Helms was in office). I am representative of my state. So if you label my state a red state and mock it, you are mocking me, because my state is more complex than a color. I am more complex than a color.)
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