Tick, tock, tick tock

One of the lasting images of "Election day 2012" will of course be the outrageously long lines. I remember 2008, I think I waited in line for an hour and a half or possibly two to vote. It was a proud time, usually I go off to vote by myself but I was able to vote with both of my brothers and my parents. It was a fun time, granted we had waited til election day so of course we were forced to wait in those long lines to make sure our votes counted. This time around we were a little more spread out, so while me and my parents went off to vote together my brothers were still at a job site somewhere.

My father currently signed up to get a knee replacement was allowed to go first since he did have proof of his disability. Me and my mother on the other hand waited in the Vorgon's cue a never ending serpentine of people. We went to pick up my mother slightly after 5 pm, and within 15 minutes got to a polling place, this year we decided to early vote just in case something was incorrect. By the time we finished it was well after 7 pm because they had required us to file through a room in the church building that housed the voted machines so that they could TRY and shut the doors. It was a futile attempt, people had been pulling up in cars ever since we got there and it was a good sized line(longer then we realized) when we got there. For a while me and my mother thought we were getting close when we made it into the hallway, little did we know it was more subway tunnel then it was foyer. we started joking after hour two because there was nothing else to do, we refused to get out of line we had toughed it out that long and if there is one thing I know I came by my stubbornness honestly. I believe when my father was finally able to retrieve us it was somewhere around 8 pm(might have even been 9 pm, I guess I could check my tweets from that night). And I was happy I had done my civic duty, added my voice to the masses and was prepared to wait til election day to see how it had worked out.

Polical thought dump

We just had an election, but unlike most elections where we get the discussion of high minded ideas, lofty goals, and bright futures this one was tarnished by the constant undercurrent of hatred for OTHER. Now while some may have only focused on the other of RACE/SKIN COLOR, there was also the other of GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, and SOCIAL STRATA. I do not claim to be any kind of political wonk, but I do enjoy the political process in my country except for this year. Oh there are plenty of times when I have had political discussions with people where I have had to face, debunk, or shout down ridiculous stereotypes or mental infections that people may have had, I just never had to look at what should be a serious situation and see it reflected at the highest levels.