For my campaign, I've met some GOP voters who I did friendly outreach to about common issues, and they were cool, and one (white) guy said it was nice just to have a civil conversation, and me and another one talked about vets and the need for more mental health services in the city.
Others, though, are just wacky.
One (middle aged) (mustachioed) (white) guy, as soon as he found out I was a Democrat, slammed a door in my face, and was like, "I'm a Republican!".
Another (middle-aged) (Italian-American) woman in a big ostentatious house was like, "Oh no, I vote Republican" and got her hackles up, though I was able to talk her down, although she seemed skeptical here and there still.
Another (middle-aged) (white) woman and I were having a normal conversation, then for some reason - and I'm not sure what, we were talking about and agreeing on certain issues! - all of a sudden she snapped and was like, "I hate Democrats," broke off the conversation, and went inside.
For years I've come across Republicans when I've done get-out-the-vote work, and I've simply never seen broad-based anger like that, where people are just demonizing huge sweeping segments of society. In years past people might say something like "Oh no, I vote Republican," and leave it at that, but not now.
It really does come down to Trump, and it's like he's just working people up to create enemies that they can rage at; my mom said it reminds her of my one great uncle, who she once took to a doctor's appointment and just started speaking to random people sitting around, and then drawing them into a conversation where he just set one against the other, then sat back and laughed.
The other week I heard some comment of Obama's, that some portion of Trump followers are just angry and simply don't have any happiness or joy when they talk, and I think that's right.
Fox News doesn't help, either.
I think I saw this starting when I was doing GOTV work for Clinton in a neighboring swing state and one wacky Republican starting filming me canvassing like I was doing something illegal...
That was the beginning of the internal enemies.
The racist cranks are just more and more out in the open, too.
The other week when I was canvassing, some (old) (white) woman said that her husband was dying of cancer and she didn't care about politics, and it was obvious that she was in emotional distress, so I just apologized and left, but when I was down the steps and out the gate and back on the sidewalk she came out on the porch to talk more and it was obvious that she had something to say and she was using me as an opportunity.
So, she started going off on the Chinese, saying that "this used to be a nice neighborhood," but they all moved in and where did they get their money, she remembers when people would walk down and ask her if the woman next door was still alive, and that her alley was blocked and they didn't care when her husband came back from the hospital, and the guy next door smokes cigarettes one after another sucking them down like they all do and he just throws the butts on her lawn, and the woman next door on the other side is always on her cell phone, SHEE-SHAH-SHEE-SHAH-SHAH very loud, but she doesn't care, she'll move to the suburbs, and she'll show them, she'll sell to a black guy.
She actually said all that.
Such anger, like 110% 24/7.
What the fuck is Trump stirring up in this country.
Monday, July 16, 2018
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