As everyone here at Daily Kos knows, voting by mail or ballot drop box or whatever system your town uses is highly recommended in this era of COVID. And despite the fact that on our state primary day next Tuesday and on Election Day I’ll be serving for the very first time as a poll worker for in-person voters, I have my mail-in ballot ready to drop off in the special Ballot Box outside City Hall. And so it was that I read a social media post by a friend and found tonight’s diary topic :-). Grab a beverage and hop below the fold and after I remind you what we here at Top Comments strive to do and how YOU can help!
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I’ve paraphrased because I didn’t ask permission to post verbatim, but this is the gist:
If I’m healthy and willing to stand in line however long it takes with a mask why not vote in person instead of by mail? Not if you have health issues, are older, etc. but for me... if I’m willing to eat dinner outside w safe distancing and precautions I should be able to vote in person, right?
I waited a couple of hours to see what folks thought, chimed in with my thoughts, waited some more, and noticed a trend even though the replies weren’t all identical. Almost every other person except me focused on my friend’s safety. That it likely wouldn’t be long lines (friend lives in a 92% white town, but you knew that as soon as I mentioned historically short lines) and probably was safer than going to Home Depot or for groceries. That since my friend was healthy, of COURSE he should. And so on. One person mentioned “poor (read ‘black’) voters” who would have to wait in line longer and thus be more at risk, and also that my friend didn’t have anyone else at home to risk infecting if he was exposed.
My friend read all the responses and replied that he knows he’s privileged living where it will be easy to vote in person and would probably do so. “But learning about the issues and struggles around the country is also enlightening.” STILL focused on himself.
I see this mindset playing out in the clusterfuck that is school re-openings, where parents want students to go back saying they ‘understand the risk but...’ while ignoring the risk to teachers and building personnel.
I see it when people dine at restaurants inside and feel safe because they ‘only had their mask off once seated.’ I suspect (but do not know because I haven’t eaten at a restaurant since March) a small minority of those people put their masks ON when the server approaches the table, because they’re concerned about their personal safety and no one else’s.
I see it when people say that they would like hours set aside for shopping in stores unmasked because ‘it’s a choice we all make to do so without masks on’ where all does not include employees, who would be at extremely high exposure risk and did not get a say in that choice.
I see it whenever people insist on a return to the Old Normal either because THEY don’t feel at risk or because they see it as ‘acceptable risk’. Think Sturgis. Think the handwringing over college football. Have we as a culture lost empathy? Concern for others? The ability to think about anyone but ourselves? What do you think?
FWIW, here’s my reply in that thread:
My take on this, is that it isn't in the slightest about YOU. It's about the poll workers who have to deal with hundreds of you, all deciding that since 'they' are safe, it's OK. Your short exposure doesn't affect you. Their 13 hour exposure greatly exposes THEM to risk.
It's the same with the decision to go out to eat because you feel safe. The server who doesn't have the choice who to serve and who has dozens or more customers every day is at significantly higher risk if any of those customers misjudged their viral status.
I say this as someone who volunteered this year to be a Poll Worker. Why? Because I am in general younger and in better health than our current crop of poll workers, and I want to protect THEM. So I'll put myself on the line exposure wise, instead. BUT I'm voting by mail. My town has a special drop box to put them in so I don't have to mail them. Why? To encourage others NOT to put poll workers at risk.
Thanks to BeninSC for always thinking of others, and for his collaboration on formatting the Tops tonight!
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