Something I’ve found out throughout this election cycle is that as someone who was going to vote Democrat regardless of who it was, I really never processed the fact that we have chosen the first African-American as our nominee. Obviously, it wasn’t something I didn’t notice at all, but it wasn’t something I had never truly processed because in the end, I didn’t need to, he had my vote from the get-go. I dunno, it must be a good sign that something as significant as that was so easily forgotten by me.
So when I got to go vote last Monday, I made sure to really stand there and evaluate the situation. I stood there, filled in my Obama/Biden bubble and then just looked what I had done. This is the next big step for the civil rights movement, and not just the African-American civil rights movement but civil rights movements in general. What a huge step forward that for once, we are poised to elect someone who is not a white heterosexual male. I didn’t stand there for too long reflecting on this but long enough to let it sink in, when Obama wins tomorrow (I’m not even bothering with alternatives, there aren’t any) this will start a completely new chapter for suppressed people in this country.
And as a homosexual, I am one of them. My vote for Obama was a vote for the end of discrimination, to no longer allow the reins of power to constantly be in the hands of those who have always had them. As someone who hopes to run for office some day, seeing a person of color come this far and most likely already have sealed the deal is profound to me. While I certainly don’t think an Obama presidency will suddenly open the flood gates for minorities and women in this country to suddenly be office holders, it is one huge step in the right direction. And that step not only furthers my future prospects, but America’s prospects.
The day when being a white heterosexual is no longer valued over other demographics in terms of success is hopefully coming to an end. Obama’s candidacy is not the final nail in the coffin, it’s only one out of 100’s of nails that are needed but his is certainly the biggest. And I hope some day that I get to have a nail in that coffin, and having Obama lead the way to this ultimate goal, well, he is one hella worthy person to follow.
What did voting for Obama mean to you?
(where i’ll surely be headed if the earth turns flat and mccain is elected today)
i felt like i was voting for hundreds of friends, millions of children, who can’t vote in this election, but who have been praying for obama’s rise more intensely than any group of people (except maybe the blogosphere) since 2004.
I heard Obama’s Convention Speech in 2004 the day I returned from my first trip to Kenya. Hearing that his grandfather studied in a one-room school house with a corrugated tin roof, just like the kids I’d been working with all summer, was incredibly moving. Filled me with hope that not only might those kids one day spawn a leader of such mighty intellect… they might one day be one themselves.
That’s what I reflected on as I waited in line just now (6AM and there were already dozens of people! And they didn’t all have off from work & school and necessarily have a four-year-standing emotional connection to Barack like me… honestly makes me feel like I’m gonna be able to travel in the near future without any shame or caveats when telling someone that I’m American)
Ten years ago I’m sorry to say I would never have voted for a “black guy.” It’s just the way I was. I would have voted race over my own self interest. Being partially raised by grandparents from pre-segregation KY rubbed off on me when I was younger.
But a funny thing happened. I went out into the real world in college and encountered all sorts of people. It didn’t take long to realize none of them were as scary as I’d been led to believe.
Then an even crazier thing happened this election. Not only did I vote for “the black guy”, but my grandmother did as well. People grow, people change. That’s what voting Obama means to me.