<For example, a Bush supporter tried to run our car down in a parking lot, I assume because we were flying two beautiful, fluttering Kerry/Edwards flags.>
That reminded me of this, from a group email sent out by a friend of mine who, with her husband, has taken a year off to work for Kerry:
I am not a brave person. I hate confrontation. When I was young and single, I’d change jobs and cities rather than deal with the end of a relationship. So actively campaigning in a swing state at a time when the country is so deeply divided and my own feelings are raw and close to the edge is a real challenge for me.
A couple of days ago at a Home Depot in Denver, a man looked at my Kerry/Edwards button in disgust. He grabbed his wife and children pushing them away from me with hatred on his face swearing he wasn’t going to stay around any #@*%! Liberal... Waiting for an elevator in a motel a well-dressed woman rolled her eyes after staring at my button and then dramatically stepped back when I entered the elevator announcing with contempt in her voice: “I’d prefer to wait for the next one.” A young man accosted me in front of a restaurant screaming about Kerry’s not being a real hero because – as far as I could make out the argument – he hadn’t spilled the required amount of blood. “Let’s see,” I said “Kerry’s walking around with shrapnel in his leg and did two tours of service in Vietnam. And Bush did…?” Tonight Sam and I were having dinner in a crowded bar with a table of Bush supporters next to us. One of them asked how we could support Kerry. I turned to him and asked him to pick an issue, any issue, that concerned him and I’d tell him why the Democrats would be better for him. As I did this, I slightly touched his arm. It’s something I often do when talking to people. “Don’t you touch me,” he snarled. |
