Democrat bullies
Got ganged up on by a few of them today... they didn't like me cause I told them that I'm planning to vote Green. Not a huge deal... but i did feel somewhat violated afterwards, and I think the incident speaks something about US political culture now.
This happened at the American cinema in Stuttgart, just after a couple friends and I saw the new Woody Allen movie, To Rome With Love... which was great! Loved it... hilarious, brilliant film, laughed my ass off.
There was a booth outside the cinema where a few Americans were registering people to vote through this organization: https://votefromabroad.org/ which I didn't realize was Dem-affiliated at first. There are a few US military bases in Stuttgart that were set up during WWII, so a lot of Americans live here, actually (but I rarely meet them).
So when I saw that they were offering to register Americans to vote, I was interested cause I just started the process of the whole absentee voting thing... just this week I started to get into that. This guy at the booth asked me if I was American and if I was registered... he told me that you have to re-register every two years now, due to the new election rules... which I haven't heard before. I asked if I could take some info and contact them, and he handed me a flyer about the Democratic party... which I politely declined to take, and put it back on the table. Then he said something like, "Oh, but you're not...?" and looked at me funny, and so did his two friends there... and I was like, "Do I look like I would vote for Romney, come on!" and then they asked who I was gonna vote for, and it was this awkward moment... but I said that I'm planning to vote Green. And then one of the women said, "Oh, you're a Nader fan?" and I said yes, and she said playfully, "Oh, I have to kill you now!" and gestured like she was gonna wring my neck. It was a joke, but she was obviously infuriated with people who voted Nader. I knew she was confusing things though, so I said "No, I didn't vote for Nader when he ran against Bush... I voted for him when he ran against Obama." and then she said "oh ok, then I dont have to kill you." then I said "But it's not Nader's fault that Bush won... it's the fault of all the people who voted for Bush." and they rolled their eyes and laughed at me as if i was an idiot, and I was like, "but what's wrong with that logic?" and then some French guy came over and started asking about how elections work in the States just cause he was curious, and then they ignored me... so I walked away back to my friends, and the guy said to me, "Well just vote anyways, even if you do vote Green" in a belittling tone.
So, it makes sense that this is happening... it seems to be a close race now between Obama and Romney, so the Obama fans are getting pretty cutthroat... maybe especially right now, after the last debate where the mass media declared Romney the winner.
This situation seems to be somewhat mirroring the election of 2000 with Bush v. Gore:
In the aftermath of the campaign, many Gore supporters claimed that Nader acted as a spoiler in the election, that Nader votes would have been cast for Gore, and that Nader threw the election outcome to Bush. United States presidential election, 2000
I think it's the same thing this time... since the race seems to be close, the Obama fans are pissed at the Green/Independents cause they think that's taking votes away from Obama, and giving more leverage to Romney.
What a bunch of bullshit, seriously. They really have no clue. People who vote 3rd party do it because that candidate represents their values... I don't think they'd vote for a Dem if other parties weren't there. And it just goes to show how politically ignorant they are... because the people should have a variety of candidates to choose from... that's democracy. Hello!!!?
Anyways, makes sense they'd act like bullies... their president of choice is violent.
I'm pretty tired now... but I'd like to add more to this post another time :)
Oct 9: This vid with Chris Hedges practically sums up why I want to vote 3rd party... US Elections: Pick Your Poison
"We live in what he calls a system of inverted totalitarianism-- it's not classical totalitarianism, it doesn't find its expression through a demagogue or a charismatic leader, but through the anonymity of the corporate state."
This happened at the American cinema in Stuttgart, just after a couple friends and I saw the new Woody Allen movie, To Rome With Love... which was great! Loved it... hilarious, brilliant film, laughed my ass off.
There was a booth outside the cinema where a few Americans were registering people to vote through this organization: https://votefromabroad.org/ which I didn't realize was Dem-affiliated at first. There are a few US military bases in Stuttgart that were set up during WWII, so a lot of Americans live here, actually (but I rarely meet them).
So when I saw that they were offering to register Americans to vote, I was interested cause I just started the process of the whole absentee voting thing... just this week I started to get into that. This guy at the booth asked me if I was American and if I was registered... he told me that you have to re-register every two years now, due to the new election rules... which I haven't heard before. I asked if I could take some info and contact them, and he handed me a flyer about the Democratic party... which I politely declined to take, and put it back on the table. Then he said something like, "Oh, but you're not...?" and looked at me funny, and so did his two friends there... and I was like, "Do I look like I would vote for Romney, come on!" and then they asked who I was gonna vote for, and it was this awkward moment... but I said that I'm planning to vote Green. And then one of the women said, "Oh, you're a Nader fan?" and I said yes, and she said playfully, "Oh, I have to kill you now!" and gestured like she was gonna wring my neck. It was a joke, but she was obviously infuriated with people who voted Nader. I knew she was confusing things though, so I said "No, I didn't vote for Nader when he ran against Bush... I voted for him when he ran against Obama." and then she said "oh ok, then I dont have to kill you." then I said "But it's not Nader's fault that Bush won... it's the fault of all the people who voted for Bush." and they rolled their eyes and laughed at me as if i was an idiot, and I was like, "but what's wrong with that logic?" and then some French guy came over and started asking about how elections work in the States just cause he was curious, and then they ignored me... so I walked away back to my friends, and the guy said to me, "Well just vote anyways, even if you do vote Green" in a belittling tone.
So, it makes sense that this is happening... it seems to be a close race now between Obama and Romney, so the Obama fans are getting pretty cutthroat... maybe especially right now, after the last debate where the mass media declared Romney the winner.
This situation seems to be somewhat mirroring the election of 2000 with Bush v. Gore:
In the aftermath of the campaign, many Gore supporters claimed that Nader acted as a spoiler in the election, that Nader votes would have been cast for Gore, and that Nader threw the election outcome to Bush. United States presidential election, 2000
I think it's the same thing this time... since the race seems to be close, the Obama fans are pissed at the Green/Independents cause they think that's taking votes away from Obama, and giving more leverage to Romney.
What a bunch of bullshit, seriously. They really have no clue. People who vote 3rd party do it because that candidate represents their values... I don't think they'd vote for a Dem if other parties weren't there. And it just goes to show how politically ignorant they are... because the people should have a variety of candidates to choose from... that's democracy. Hello!!!?
Anyways, makes sense they'd act like bullies... their president of choice is violent.
I'm pretty tired now... but I'd like to add more to this post another time :)
Oct 9: This vid with Chris Hedges practically sums up why I want to vote 3rd party... US Elections: Pick Your Poison
"We live in what he calls a system of inverted totalitarianism-- it's not classical totalitarianism, it doesn't find its expression through a demagogue or a charismatic leader, but through the anonymity of the corporate state."