Did
anyone have any weird experiences at the Polls yesterday?
I
did!!!
So
I walked into our little grade school to do my civic duty. It was
8:00am-ish and not crowded. There were more election volunteers than there
were voters.
I
found it interesting that they didn’t ask for I.D. when I approached the table, which I didn’t have anyway
(I had coffee). I don't remember if they’ve asked for it in the past.
As
always, it takes some time for them to find my name. I spelled it three times
slooooowly until I see it myself and say, "That's it right there!". It’s not a hard name to spell (basic phonetics). The older gentleman asked me to sign but didn’t think my signature matched.
I sign my name the very same every time. Sometimes it’s just a little messier
(A LOT). “Would you like me to do it again using my neat handwriting?”
“Yes. If you’d like to vote.” Excuse me!
Then the whole thing got odd.
As
I moved down the table an old guy in a red jacket started talking, not
under his breath but louder than that. This is what he had to say while handing me my ballot…
“If
you vote the status quo, we are all going to go to hell in a handbasket.”,
which was then followed by an ethnic slur (not racial) that I will not repeat.
“Excuse
me?” I said.
As
I walked away, ballot in hand, I heard him say, “You know those young moms,
they always…..”
First
of all I’m not a young mom; you are an election worker who just attempted to
sway my vote then used an ethnic slur.
I
voted and fumed.
Handing
my ballot to the official “putter of ballots in the machine”, I mentioned what the man in the red jacket said to me.
Her
eyes bugged out of her head and she directed me to the head honcho of
our polling place to whom I repeated my story.
No
sooner did I finish, he stormed over to "red jacket guy". I knew he was going
to get in trouble, which he should, but I wan't going to stick around for the
fireworks. I’m kind of a chickenshit that way.
On
my way out, I ran into a friend heading in and asked her to text me if
she saw an old man in a red jacket working behind the table.
Fifteen
minutes later, I had my answer….
Gone!
Every
single thing about this encounter was WRONG!
It’s
everyone’s right to vote as they wish.
I
did and red jacket man’s comments did not sway or deter me one way or
another. My mind was already made up going in.
Do
I care for whom anyone voted really?
Yes
and No.
But
it’s your right. You own it. You live with it.
Just
as I live with my decisions.
I,
for one, am glad this particular election is over.
It
is time for us to move on. Accept the results. Live our lives.
I’m
still unable to go onto Facebook. Too many people continue to sling mud at each
other, or to no one.
Do you think anyone's reading your Facebook status anyway? I’m not. I probably won’t until
next week.
**********************
One week down with NaBloPoMo linked up over at
