Election
Stylized posters of Obama were everywhere, some in the style of Che Guevara T-shirts, some depicting Obama sporting a backwards baseball hat, all intermingling with American flags. An immense projection screen dominated the wall.
As we watched the results roll in, inevitably, it was incredible to feel the energy in the room.
I went to the Mezzanine, a club on Jessie Street, for a pro-Obama party. To be surrounded by hundreds of young San Franciscans of approximately my age, who were so engaged, so passionate about the election and the results, to see the tears of joy from Jesse Jackson, to hear the intelligence, the charisma, and the overall tone of Obama's victory speech, well, it all added up to the most intense electoral experience I've had. It truly felt like what a historical moment ostensibly feels like.
The crowd was counting down from ten seconds to 8 p.m. PST, and no sooner did that magic line hit, then California and hence the Presidency was declared for Obama, and people were rising and yelling and screaming and crying and kissing. I think it may have been the first time I heard someone yell "That's my President!" and sound completely sincere.
It feels like a victory of which I can claim a share.
A few asterisks, however:
I thought that John McCain's concession was one of the most gracious, eloquent speeches of its kind. If he could have managed that tone during the campaign, things might have turned out somewhat differently for him. There were a few pockets in the crowd that were flipping off his image or trying to drown his words with chants of "Hey hey hey now, good bye!!" which I thought was a shame, but they were actually hushed down by the rest of the crowd that listened attentively.
It is easy to say "Yes, we can" and morph that to "Yes, we did." The trick is to know what exactly did we do? It is a question that can't be answered in its entirety, at least not for a while.
And for all the rock-concert-electricity surrounding the Presidential election, there is the heartbreaking likelihood that Prop 8, the most heartless initiative that could be placed on the ballot, is going to pass, eroding civil rights and eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. Separate but equal does not work, and I am pissed off at the Mormon church for the large role they played in financing this movement. I know that it would never happen, but I would not be entirely dismayed to see them lose any tax-exempt status they might hold, as it really feels like the church became a political entity.
It is not fair of me to attack them, I suppose, at least not entirely, and as nothing is ever simply black and white; and I know they are not the only group funding this inhumane effort; nevertheless, Prop 8 is wrong.
They can not claim to be simply defending the term marriage while still allowing equal rights under 'civil unions', not when the ads they run inspire fear about what children will be taught, and are nothing but the works of fearmongers, the breeding grounds for another Matthew Shepard attack.
The thing is, the elimination of rights is something you would think the church would be against. The ELIMINATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS ought to be something of concern to the populace as a whole.
And politics pales in comparison to personal tragedies. Last night, one person was shot dead and another left hospitalized, almost literally beneath the window of my girlfriend's apartment while we were watching The Big Bang Theory and studying the ballot and voter information pamphlets. We didn't even hear anything until we heard the sirens, and soon after the banging on the door of an undercover cop looking for witnesses.
As a country and a culture, we have a long way to go. I hope that tonight's election proves to be a step in the right direction.
As we watched the results roll in, inevitably, it was incredible to feel the energy in the room.
I went to the Mezzanine, a club on Jessie Street, for a pro-Obama party. To be surrounded by hundreds of young San Franciscans of approximately my age, who were so engaged, so passionate about the election and the results, to see the tears of joy from Jesse Jackson, to hear the intelligence, the charisma, and the overall tone of Obama's victory speech, well, it all added up to the most intense electoral experience I've had. It truly felt like what a historical moment ostensibly feels like.
The crowd was counting down from ten seconds to 8 p.m. PST, and no sooner did that magic line hit, then California and hence the Presidency was declared for Obama, and people were rising and yelling and screaming and crying and kissing. I think it may have been the first time I heard someone yell "That's my President!" and sound completely sincere.
It feels like a victory of which I can claim a share.
A few asterisks, however:
I thought that John McCain's concession was one of the most gracious, eloquent speeches of its kind. If he could have managed that tone during the campaign, things might have turned out somewhat differently for him. There were a few pockets in the crowd that were flipping off his image or trying to drown his words with chants of "Hey hey hey now, good bye!!" which I thought was a shame, but they were actually hushed down by the rest of the crowd that listened attentively.
It is easy to say "Yes, we can" and morph that to "Yes, we did." The trick is to know what exactly did we do? It is a question that can't be answered in its entirety, at least not for a while.
And for all the rock-concert-electricity surrounding the Presidential election, there is the heartbreaking likelihood that Prop 8, the most heartless initiative that could be placed on the ballot, is going to pass, eroding civil rights and eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. Separate but equal does not work, and I am pissed off at the Mormon church for the large role they played in financing this movement. I know that it would never happen, but I would not be entirely dismayed to see them lose any tax-exempt status they might hold, as it really feels like the church became a political entity.
It is not fair of me to attack them, I suppose, at least not entirely, and as nothing is ever simply black and white; and I know they are not the only group funding this inhumane effort; nevertheless, Prop 8 is wrong.
They can not claim to be simply defending the term marriage while still allowing equal rights under 'civil unions', not when the ads they run inspire fear about what children will be taught, and are nothing but the works of fearmongers, the breeding grounds for another Matthew Shepard attack.
The thing is, the elimination of rights is something you would think the church would be against. The ELIMINATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS ought to be something of concern to the populace as a whole.
And politics pales in comparison to personal tragedies. Last night, one person was shot dead and another left hospitalized, almost literally beneath the window of my girlfriend's apartment while we were watching The Big Bang Theory and studying the ballot and voter information pamphlets. We didn't even hear anything until we heard the sirens, and soon after the banging on the door of an undercover cop looking for witnesses.
As a country and a culture, we have a long way to go. I hope that tonight's election proves to be a step in the right direction.
posted by Devin at 11:18 PM
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