Today it was time for something completely different, and I toddled on down to the DNC local Headquarters downtown to do phone bank duty! It was all hustle and bustle, with dozens of people talking at once, phones ringing, people running in constantly with updates....
Well, not exactly. It was very quiet, and I sat at an oval table by myself with a list of names and numbers and a cell phone. There were other people there making phone calls, but one was back in an office, and one was at a desk several feet away. In two hours, I made my way through dozens of names, but at this time of day, many weren't home. These were all numbers of supporters and sometimes volunteers in the past, so I wasn't debating with anyone. It was mainly a way for Organizing for America to get people to contact their members of Congress to urge them to support health care reform legislation, and to get more volunteers. Everyone I spoke to was friendly and most had already contacted their legislators; a few even committed to coming down to do phone calls! (My Mom used to work on a switchboard like the one in the picture, by the way!)
One phone call was exhausting, lasting a good 15 minutes. A woman who was the caregiver to her mother had questions, some of which I could answer, some of which I couldn't. She was almost a nonstop talker, so I mostly said, "Mm-hm. That's right." The most heartbreaking call--one that brought tears to my eyes--was my next-to-last call, which would make it...anyone? Bueller? My penultimate call. That's right, class! Good job! Anyhoo, this guy was all for health care reform. He is the caregiver to his wife, who has Alzheimer's. He said about the only place he's been able to get help was through Hospice (a wonderful organization). He went to one place that told him he'd have to pay for a month upfront, $6500. He said, "We don't have that kind of money!"
It's people like that man and his wife, or like my in-laws who had to declare bankruptcy several years ago due to medical bills, that have made me want to get more involved. You know what else finally did it? I was sitting here last week reading about these protesters that carry signs like "It's MY money, not yours" or "Obama lied, Grandma died," and people like Palin and Bachmann with their lies about non-existent death panels, and I was writing an entry about some of this stuff. OFA called and asked if I could work the phones, and I think I was to the point where I'd just had it, so I said, "Yes. I would love to do that."
I suppose that the message here is that for all those who think that their voices are being heard as they march (all 70,000 of them, not 1.5 million as Glenn Beck reported--oh, and he wasn't even there) on Washington, or those that think that carrying an assault rifle to a town hall meeting somehow makes them more of an American than me, or for anyone who thinks it's funny to carry a sign that says "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy," understand this: your voice is being heard. It's being heard by people like me who believe in affordable health care for all, and who find your lack of compassion appalling and frankly, un-American. Yeah, I said it. It's being heard by those of us who find your scare tactics ridiculous, and by those of us who can't abide the lies you're spreading about this plan. We're hearing you loud and clear, believe me. And those of us who feel differently also have voices.
On a related note, Sherry wrote that she'd be interested to know my thoughts on President Carter's interview with NBC, in which he said that he believes that much of the animosity, from some factions, towards President Obama is because of racism. I'm glad he said it, and I believe he's right.
Let me start off by saying that I do not believe, in any way, shape, or form, that everyone who opposes President Obama's plans does so because of racially-motivated reasons. I have several family members who do not care for him and did not vote for him, and I know without a doubt that they feel that way because of political leanings, not because of race. I know that the statement "Anyone who doesn't like Obama is a racist!" is not true, and it is hyperbole that has no place in civil discussion. If someone makes that statement to me, I will tell them that I believe that it is false.
However, I also feel, like President Carter, that some of the more vociferous and vitriolic anti-Obama sentiment is coming from those who do hate him because of his skin color. South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst at the President's speech to a joint session the other night would not have taken place if it had been a white man standing up there. I firmly believe that. Wilson is a member of the Sons of the Confederacy and was one of only seven members of the South Carolina Senate who voted to continue to fly the Confederate flag over the state house in 2000. I don't believe his disrespect to the President would have happened if he didn't have racially-motivated feelings.
It can be hard to pin this down; most people don't speak right up and say, yeah, I hate the guy because he's black. (Although I'll never forget hearing a guy from Kentucky say on CNN during the election that the best advice he can give Obama was to "Quit bein' so black." Lovely.) Sometimes it's just a feeling, a general impression. Indiana has more than our fair share of racists (just one is one too many, in my opinion), and I've heard it all my life, so I know when I'm getting racist vibes from someone. It's usually sort of conspiratorial, like "Look at that black girl with that baby. I wonder how many more she has at home?" Right. White girls don't get knocked up, do they, Br--nahhh, I won't go there. Other times it can be blatant, like "Stay away from those street monkeys." It's ugly and hateful, and it's still here, in my state and in much of our country.
So when I see people carrying signs that show Obama as an African witch doctor, or when I still--still --hear people wanting to see his birth certificate, I get the definite vibe that it's racially-motivated. I heard a good example last night. Say that Obama was a white guy, with a father who came from Ireland. O'Bama, if you will. Do you really think people would be foaming at the mouth to see his birth certificate and producing bogus birth certificates from County Cork? You know they wouldn't. These are deep-seated feelings coming from certain people who just can't accept the fact that a black man is the President of the United States. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Get over it.
I'm glad that President Carter spoke up about this. He grew up in the South, and I believe he is well-qualified to offer his opinion on this. If it were someone from New Hampshire, for example, people would be saying that he's just some liberal East coast elitist. (Whatever that is.) With him speaking out, I hope others will have the courage to stand up and say, "This is wrong. We’re better than this." Nothing will be solved overnight, but it has to begin with a discussion, and I applaud the former President for bringing it out into the open.
Let me reiterate. I do not believe that every person who opposes Obama is a racist. But without a doubt, there are many who are, and anyone who flatly denies that is naive and disingenuous.
