Talking to Mom about Politics

[elfs]

Mom called while Kouryou-chan and I were at Starbucks.

We had taken a bike ride Sunday afternoon, just a quick jaunt up the street to the only intersection in our part of town with anything at all, in this case a Starbucks, a video store, a grocery store (with another Starbucks inside it), and an independent pharmacy. We went to the Starbucks where she got a chocolate oat bar and I got a coffee. It was surprisingly cold outside for the time of year, and it even drizzled a little.

I had called her earlier in the day to wish her a happy Mother's day, and she was calling me back. She seems to have gotten the impression (one apparently shared by a number of friends of ours) that being parents on top of our geekiness and businesses has made us so overwhelmed that we don't have time for socializing. She angsted and anguished about how neither Steve or Sandra (my siblings) had called her.

I mentioned my recent little election cycle job I had done, and Mom asked me who I was going to vote for. Once I'd clarified that she meant the general election, she said, "I don't think I could vote for Obama. It's so weird. He came out of nowhere, didn't he? And he's so convincing, so charismatic. It's like it's a cult. It's a movement, that's what it is, it's a movement." She went on this track for a while.

C'mon, Mom, we both know what it is: he's black. That's all there is to it. She doesn't like McCain much, and she wishes she could vote for Hillary. I spoke to her about Obama's actual record, his history in Chicago, how absolutely everything about him was available on-line at his website or reputable news outlets, and yeah, I'd actually read his foreign policy proposals and found it a lot more admirable than Hillary's or McCain's. I love Mom very much, but there are times when I'm grateful I'm not actually related to her.

Comments

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

Wow. Talk about playing the race card!

Your mother's opinion of his lack of experience mirrors mine... and believe me, I am no racist!

My father figure, the man who raised me and I admire greatly and still call "Pops" is a black man... but because I think that Obama's SHORT political career is no qualification for being the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, are you going to call me a racist, too?

[elfs.livejournal.com]

No, but I know my mother. She is racist. According to her, the crime in her neighborhood is all because the blacks from Miami have been moving northward. My Mom simply isn't that deeply introspective, and she categorizes people simply.

As for his "short" political career, I suppose that's a point against him. But then we've had Presidents with no known political career before they ascended to the Oval Office. He's had more experience in office than Lincoln, or Johnson. He's accomplished more-- and with more principle-- than Clinton did during his tenure as a senator.

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

Well, that additional explanation on the race issue explains things a bit better.

On the experience issue, though, I'm glad to see that you feel that is a weak point... For example, I've been doing Litigation Technology Support since 1994 and know my way around the inner workings of law firms, computer networks, courtrooms, etc... But even if I could generate hundreds of enthusiastic backers among various paralegals and data warehousing vendors, and even with the support of a junior associate attorney or two, would that qualify me to run a major law firm?

Hardly.

Experience does matter. Obama has about 10 years experience TOTAL in the political arena, and only 3 of those years in the Senate... a position he only won because his opponent Jack Ryan's custody hearing documentation was made public at the 11th hour, and he had to drop out of the race. Obama was losing that race by a wide margin until that point.

No, I don't think he has anything close to what it takes to be the President of the United States... the highest political office in the WORLD.

Johnson?

[voidrandom.livejournal.com]

Are you sure you meant Johnson and not Kennedy? Both Presidents Johnson had a great deal of political experience before ascending to the Presidency. President Kennedy on the other hand had very little (still more federal experience than Mr. Obama.) I would claim that Kennedy was a foreign policy disaster for the US and that was at least partly because of his lack of experience and (relative) youth. Which doesn't set a precedent I would be comfortable with.

[omahas.livejournal.com]

So, you just jumped to the conclusion that Elf decided that his mother was a racist because she was afraid to support Obama??

After the many conversations I've had with her, and even knowing her not nearly as long as he, I have no question about it. But then, we actually know her.

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

No, I based it on what he stated in his initial post.

With the additional information he provided in his reply to me, I see that there were other reasons for his view... but those weren't stated in his initial post.

[urox.livejournal.com]

Has Mom heard Obama's speeches? Before I heard any of them, I kept hearing about how eloquent he was and how intelligent he was. And yea, he did come out of nowhere.

Once I actually heard him, it all made sense, but before then, I can see how someone might think of his supporters as cultish. It's because without reference, you can't get an understanding of *why* they are so enthusiastic.

You also probably need to find out where Mom is getting her news from. There's so much bias and spin out there it's ludicrous. It's so sad to only be able to get my tv news from the Daily Show and Colbert Report. I can't believe that some people exist that *still* think he's a Muslim and to be feared based on a false belief in a difference of religion. And "movement" is definitely a charged word associated with civil rights marches.