On Monday evening I got on Facebook and talked with a lot of people concerning voting. I wanted to know if people voted early, if they were going to vote on the Election Day, and just some general feelings and thoughts about the election. For the most part, I was impressed that majority of the people I spoke with had already voted.
I spoke to people who were big, small, tall, short, purple, pink, white, brown, orange, black, and whatever. I spoke to all shapes, sizes, colors, religions, and genders. I mean, every kind of person would be represented at the polls, so why should I discriminate? I shouldn’t, so I didn’t.
I noticed that most of the college students I talked to voted early because they wanted to get out there as soon as possible and avoid the chaos at the polls. Whatever the reason, I was proud that young people had already let their voice be heard via their vote and those that had not early voted were planning to vote on Election Day, at least the people I spoke with were planning to do so.
On Tuesday evening I talked with more people while the votes were being tallied and the information was being broadcast live. I was excited! I was watching history in the making and I was a part of such! I again got on Facebook and chatted with people. So many people shared my feeling of excitement, but there were those who were anything but excited. Now, I will not knock anybody for not voting for Barack Obama as long as it is based on legitimate claims. Each person is entitled to their own opinion. No big deal.
I was talking to an associate of mine from my former high school and he started to get under my skin. I asked him why he wasn’t excited about this history in the making. He replied, “Not to offend you, or anyone, but for Barack Obama to be President of the United States would be an OBAMAnation.”
I lost it. What did he mean by that? Offend me or anyone? Did he mean black people? All the excitement I had turned to fury just that quickly. I further questioned him, but he stopped responding.
Not voting or voting for someone based on the color of their skin is an illegitimate reason to use. I became furious with that young man because it’s a shame that racism still exist so strongly today. I calmed down though. You know why? Because it was then that I realized that it’s all good. Right before my very eyes I see Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream becoming Barack Obama’s reality. I’m still excited to see what President Obama has in store!