This is a rather direct response to a few comments and diaries I've seen, on how black canvassers tend to receive a different response than white canvassers. In it, I try to develop ways to combat stereotypes, without being confrontational. In doing so, I hope to help people be more effective canvassers.
Rules For Canvassing, after the jump.
- Know the neighborhood. If you're canvassing hippieville or 'urban' areas, dress down. Be cool. Blend in. But the same thing applies if you're in WASPville USA. There you wanna dress up, before heading into those McMansions. Know your territory, know who you'll be dealing with, and know what they'll expect and want from someone there to talk with them.
- Don't dress sloppy. You wear a tie-die shirt, fine. You wear jeans, fine. But don't wear jeans hanging so low we can see your underwear. That's not a good thing. Don't look mussed and wrinkled. This ain't dress to the nines -- no canvassing ever is. You do NOT canvass in heels.
- Be comfortable with the people you meet. If you can do the accents well, try and mimic who you're talking to. If you can't do it with your voice, well, do it with body language. Some cultures (Northern) are far more to the point and ... dynamic. Punctuate your sentences with gestures. It may take a bit of practice, but it may help. Others may be more relaxed, the type who won't mind you leanin up against a porch railing or the doorjam. Respect your conversational partner.
- Play Against Type. If you're in a neighborhood which probably has opinions that Obama supporters are crazy hippies -- Dress UP. Even if that's just dress slacks instead of blue jeans. Tuck in your t-shirt. For best results, wear a collared shirt and carry a clipboard (clipboards are a great trick to look more prepared than you actually are. quite intimidating).
- Listen to people. I once buzzed a door, and the woman came to the door but said she wouldn't open it because her daughter wasn't home with her. I asked if I could come back later... Didn't get a contribution, but I maybe got some goodwill by listening. Likewise someone shooing their kids into the backyard might just want to talk politics away from the kids.
- Finally, don't take things too much to heart. The person whose dog almost bit your leg off, might have had that happen to anyone stupid enough to get close. Life Goes On, and maybe your persistence may be enough, even without words.
For I was a community organizer... if you count being paid less than minimum wage to raise money for the Sierra Club. or being on welfare during americorps. I was not a good community organizer.