Nobody in this house got to vote for Barack Obama today. John thought he was a registered Democrat, but apparently he's a fucking Libertarian. Don't ask me why or how the hell that happened. He implied he thinks maybe something fishy might be going on, in this case, I seriously doubt it. It was probably just a mistake on his part. They did, again, say something inappropriate that annoys me. He had a question for the folks working the tables about the regional election section and they said almost the exact same thing to him that someone else said in 2006, "Just pick anybody, they're just local judges." Uh, what? I swear the suggestion was almost verbatim what someone told him in the same precinct a year and a half ago. I would rather you not vote if you don't have any idea who the fuck you're voting for. Just local judges? It all starts and ends with the judges, folks! I can't explain how this frustrates me.
I couldn't really fathom what a struggle it would be to get this far, only to still feel so defeated by this place. Stupidity breads stupidity. There are ignorant people that just won't ever vote for anyone other than a white man. It's hard to accept that they just don't know any better. They really think that if someone other than their own skin tone is in a position of power somehow they're going to get fucked. Well, the rural and urban white folks have also been fucked by the same cream colored assholes just as everyone else has.
Don't forget about the prison population people, that is one of the things we do with the desperate and sometimes homeless in this country (which is a whole other important issue). One in 100 people are in jail or prison in this country! Over 2 MILLION people- take the population of Detroit and Philadelphia and stick them in the system, jail or prison, that's how many body's are gone, and many will be voiceless in the process when they get out. That's not even considering those on parole, probation, or those lucky enough to get out of the system (which takes years to recover from). There are far reaching effects in families and communities, sometimes for generations. Some will be repeat offenders because they can't be helped, usually because they've been in the system longer than they've been out of it. Most can be helped, though, we just don't because the prison industrial complex is big business. You can bet that as the economy continues to slip, mental health care is ignored, more veterans eventually come home battered, angry, and untreated, the crime and suicide rates in poor areas will continue to steadily rise. I bet I could go to any small town in this state and knock on 5 doors, and behind 4 of them would be someone who knows someone in jail. They go to god, they go to work or the military, they go to alcohol or drugs, and/or they go to jail. I know because I'm from one of those towns. The county is a gross display of the really wealthy situated right next to the really poor (we're neither now). It's a mind fuck. Us against them, only we forget "they'll" decide who is us and who is them. You can easily find yourself on the "wrong side" without warning.
I understand why he hasn't, but Obama does need to spend some time in Appalachia. I promise some of us will make the trip in loud, shameless support. They need his hope and vision right now, something tangible to believe in. I know that if we can shout down the scared patriarchs (one of my favorite things in the world to do), there are many who will come out from the shadows. In the south, there is going to be a lot of old pain and ghosts to be dealt with this summer. And if we're all behind the purge of generational ignorance, the entire world will be a better place for it.
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Now playing: Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
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