YES DHARB CAN! I Join The Political Process With Wide Eyes, Sore Knees
Oo-wee! Last Friday Barack Obama held a rally at local Cricket Arena, and a group of us scored tickets, waited in line for two hours outside, then stood inside for 2 hours to see him. The short version: Awesome!I have posted an unnecessarily lengthy photo report on my Flickr site with photos I took, along with unnecessarily long explanations of said photos. But for you, Blogger, I will include some more personal information:
1) Very exciting was the large number, maybe upwards of 60%, of the crowd that wasn't just black, but young, black and male. My impression of these sorts of events is that they're usually filled with young Republicans and people looking to intern for campaigns. Basically, current and future lawyers. The idea that Obama has energized a notoriously difficult demographic to get motivated (young, black and male), IN ADDITION TO another notorious group (30's, disaffected, snotty) which includes myself, not only got me excited about the viability of the electoral process, but on what must surely indicate a clear win for Obama.
Inside the arena were males and females of all persuasions, skin tones, and girths, many with their children, which they would hoist up occasionally to see (we were on the floor, about 30 feet from the lectern. What did everyone inside have in common? All were smiling.
2) Also surprisingly exciting, in that it burned through my considerable cynicism regarding elections in general, and politians in particular: the sense of being part of history. Not just for the color of Barack Obama's skin, which no one seems to want to admit is exciting--it sure is for me--but really just the fact that so many people are energized and excited about not just an election, but a PRIMARY election. I early-voted on Tuesday or Wednesday in an afternoon, and it was very quick--but apparently there were enormous lines to vote on Friday and Saturday, with waits of over 2 hours for some people.
!!!
All that's beside the actual voting day, which is this Tuesday.
3) But most exciting of all, and most surprising (if you'd asked me before the rally if I was going to do this, I would have sneered and acted very lofty):
Shaking Barack Obama's hand. What?! That's right, baby. Check out the Flickr set for more, including a ton of pictures.