Just a quick anecdote about the voting experience of this preppy white boy in one of the most conservative county polling places in Virginia. Please forgive my moment of corniness.
I arrived at the polling place about fifteen minutes early, which is usually plenty of time to be done and on my way to work by 7. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a huge line of about 300 people waiting to get into the school.
Stafford county is a very religious, very conservative section of Virginia. On the border between what has been called 'Real Virginia' and 'Communist Country', it has become increasingly multicultural over the last decade or so. New faces of every race are mixing in with the old guard of white military retirees and DC power commuters.
But the line to vote was anything but traditional. I'd estimate the minority turnout was near 40%, and there was an air of hope and contentment that was uplifting and reassuring. I was in line behind a group of about 5 older black women and once they saw that I was an Obama supporter, we passed the time with soft volume chats about the future. But the dinosaurs were still there, and there was some friction.
A white man, about 60 years old, stood in line behind me with his wife. Throughout the wait, whenever I would talk to the women in front of me, he would snort or shake his head in disapproval. About an hour into the wait, a man came by and announced that he was a lawyer that was there to help anyone that was turned away from voting. He was nice, personable and didn't attempt to rally anyone for Obama, but he did have a button affixed showing his persuasion.
As the volunteer (whom I thanked profusely for donating his time and energy to this excellent pursuit) left our group, the old man behind me said, just loud enough for my group to hear,
'God damn Jews and their bullshit tricks to spread propaganda'
I immediately turned around and stared him down, took a step forward and ripped into him:
'Your days are over, bigot. How can you honestly denigrate a man that is out here helping out to make sure everyone's vote is counted?'
He became flush red and stepped closer to me.
'Not everyone's vote should count!'
His wife turned away, hopefully embarrassed by his idiocy, and just as I moved to shoot him down some more and no doubt get arrested for punching a guy twice my age, I felt a tug on my arm.
I look around to find that the smallest of the women I had been talking to was gently pulling me back to them. She whispered into my ear, with a strong determination:
'Let it go. You're not going to change that man.'
I started to resist and she got even more intense and pointed to the entrance of the school.
'Look up there. That's where you change things.'
I smiled to her and the remaining hour went by quickly. That was the moment of the campaign for me. There I was, an idealistic thirtysomething white man, about to go mental, then I was calmed down and reassured by this sweet woman. Because she knew that the asteroid is on its way, and soon the things that man stands for and believes in will be washed away by progress.
Obama will win this thing in a landslide, and we're going to have our chance to change the world. Let's not disappoint.