The unwashed masses, again
May 14, 2008
Recently, I was talking with a friend of mine about the WV primaries. My friend happens to support Sen. Obama. After a short quip about how “my girl” carried the state, his response was to say, “well, they’re not the type to get thorough sources of information. They don’t read TIME or NEWSWEEK or U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT.”
I am so sick and tired of all these folks dissing West Virginia. Fer Chrissakes, characterizing them as racist, uneducated morons, and bringing up the worst of the worst jokes about these Americans is not just bad politics, it’s bad humanity. And if the meanness weren’t bad enough, the condescension is just stifling.
In every electoral cycle there is that one candidate characterized as “the thinking man’s candidate.” Oh, they’d vote for him if they only knew what he’s about (David Oatney: Hell No, You Can’t). Such… hubris is just beyond me.
The same applies to characterizing those whose opinions differ from yours as insane (John Cole: Out Of Her Mind). I am equally guilty of this practice, but there’s been a little bit of a change: I stopped doing it. The fact is that after a while, the smoke clears. These people for whom we stump don’t even know what it is we do for them, and the friendships we have fostered online are, quite frankly, not worth losing because of a difference in opinion as to which incompetent fool deserves to be in the White House next year. It’s such bittersweet irony to watch the supporters of a man who wants to run a non-mean campaign descend into meanness beyond measure.
I tire, not so much of the Senator himself, but of his supporters. Soon, I will write why I have absolutely no love for Senator Obama’s candidacy.
I guess you don’t watch The Daily Show, Jay. They had a great piece on a part of West Virginia’s voters that not only said they wouldn’t vote for Obama because he was “of the other race” but also because he was “one of those Muslims.”
You don’t think the demographics of the state had anything to do with the outcome? You don’t think the large black population in Georgia had anything to do with his massive win there either?
Its just too bad all of those “working class” folks in West Virginia that voted for Clinton can’t help her recoup her $21 million dollar campaign debt, heh.
Anthony, I totally saw that episode!
Problem is that ignorant close minded people are EVERYWHERE, not just WV… The constant fighting and attacks in this “rat race” are tiresome.
I try not to expel too much energy getting worked up over it. I voted, when all the voting is over we will have a nominee then we can focus on who we want to be president.
“Thinking man’s candidate” all those blacks that voted for him were highly educated moreso than the people in West Virginia? I think not. I can understand blacks wanting to support a black candidate but one has to look beyond the color of his skin and look at his record which is way far left, too far left for me. Were I to choose, despite the downside, I’d pick Hillary. She’d do less damage than Obama would.