After looking at Sarah Silverman's Great Schlep, I made the mistake of thinking I could dialog on the subject with my 84-year-old mother.
As those of you who read Lupin's diaries know (I'm Mrs. Lupin!), we brought my mother over to live with us in France last year after the death of her husband. Most of the time it has gone well, but if we make the mistake of talking politics, there are problems.
Mom now lives in her own apartment 2 doors away from us and I go to check on her several times a day. She ALWAYS has her television on, and thanks to satellite, watches English language channels. It seems to me that more often than not, when I go there, she has FAUX rampaging away in the background.
I guess something in me snapped yesterday when I went in for the third time and found Caribou Barbie on the screen ranting away. I decided to try some of Sarah Silverman's talking points. Since then, I've been asking myself what the hell was I thinking?
Democracy means people get to vote for whomever they want, and I respect that. But does it mean you also get to be stupid and believe ugly lies? I guess so, because my mother clearly does.
I confronted her. "What are your reasons?" I naively asked. "I don't trust that Obama" was the response. I tried to get her to explain it. She thinks he hates America and surrounds himself with people who also hate America and hate white people. I wanted to know if she thought Joe Biden hated America and hated white people. "Well, HE'S not necessarily going to get to be president" was the wacko response.
I tried bringing up McCain's ties to Keating Silence and what Lupin and I call the "Golem" look. You all would recognize it: a stubborn, hate-filled squinting of the eyes where you know she's wishing she could drown you in a nearby pond.
"That Obama's not as smart as he thinks he is," was another one. I mentioned his Harvard background. The answer, "I know lots of people who graduated from college and aren't very smart." I tried to counter with McCain crashing 3 planes and graduating second to the bottom of his Naval Academy class. Golem appeared again.
Same thing when I talked about Palin and her Alaska secession ties. Golem.
"Why don't you just admit that you're racist," I said. "I'm not racist. I don't care that he's black, there are black people I would vote for. Colin Powell for instance." I told her Colin Powell supported Obama. Golem.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I changed the subject and left. For the rest of the day I thought my head was going to explode from the anger and tension. I couldn't sleep last night and woke up in a black mood this morning.
Most kids have a point in their lives when they start thinking they are adopted and the thought makes them anxious and terrified. I often find myself WISHING I was adopted and didn't share the genes that make my mother that blind, prejudiced and gullible.