Now I remember why I don't like discussing politics...
I just came back from the ballet academy downtown. I usually go to the gym to kill time, but today I didn't really feel like doing much so I just ran for about 45 minutes and then went back to sit in the lobby. Oh boy, big mistake!
The lobby was full of parents. Not at all unusual on a Tuesday night, since a lot of kids have rehearsal till about 8:30 for the Unlock the Magic Show at the end of November. Most of people there had huge McCain/Palin signs and a few of them were actually going around talking to people to find out if they had voted and who they had voted for.
There are 20 kids in Sarah's class. Only 3 of them have parents who support Obama. The rest? All for McCain and they have been bringing signs and passing pins around for the last 2 weeks or so. Some of them have even gone as far as teasing Sarah about my choice of candidate. Saying things like "Shame on you for being an Obama girl!"
Honestly? I think that's completely out of line and I'd say something but I really don't care for drama. (And believe me, there would be drama. Some of this ballet people LOVE drama.) Luckily, they're playful enough that it really doesn't bother Sarah. If it did, though, I'd definitely be doing something about it. On the other hand, I love that my kid knows that this behavior is unacceptable. She said she'd never taunt people like that. Good for her!
There's this one lady who's particularly aggressive about the whole thing. She's fanatical about McCain. Last Sunday, I was sitting in the lobby, minding my own business when I overheard her talking (more like harassing!) the security guards at the door, giving them a long list of all the reasons why they should not vote for Obama. My husband started laughing at her. Both guards are African-American, and both have Obama bumper stickers! When she started walking toward me, I pretended I didn't see her and tried to look VERY interested in my book. Frankly, she's very snobby and obnoxious and I probably wouldn't want to talk to her - even if she was voting for Obama! However, my "go away" attitude didn't discourage her from talking to me. =P
Her opening line was: "Excuse me, honey, where do you live... and are you registered to vote?? Are you for McCain?"
When I told her that I was for Obama, she rolled her eyes and said something like "You do know your candidate wants to tax people like us, don't you? And if he does that, we won't have the money to support the arts! This ballet school gets a lot of gifts from donors like my family."
Well, that's just great. Most of those "donors" also have children with board of trustees full scholarships at the ballet school. Guess who decides who the recipients are? It's a great way to hide some money and get a tax break on it.
I totally ignored her and told her that I didn't want to discuss politics. She went away to harass someone else.
I thought that was the end of it. However, today when I walked in the lobby she went right up to me and asked me to tell her why I loved Obama so much! "I want to know why you like Obama and not McCain!"
I tried my best not to tell her to fuck off. Seriously, what nerve.
She went on to say something like "Did you know that Obama is a chain smoker?"
Um. Okayyyyy.
There were other Obama supporters in the lobby,though we were definitely in the minority. It started getting rather tense when the McCain fanatic lady started getting louder and more aggressive. She was ranting about how Sarah Palin is actually a brilliant woman, and how the media was making her look dumb because they were jealous of her looks. Because, you know, she's sooooo pretty and we're all just jealous.
"I am a psychiatrist and my husband is an engineer," she said. "We both have PhD's and therefore we're qualified to decide what's best for our country. If Obama wins, I guess we'll just have to hide our income. He's not going to be taxing us."
So that's her biggest concern - her money?? I pointed out to her that there are lots of loopholes that rich people and their lawyers can find in order to pay less taxes. In fact, she has probably been doing this for years, so what's the big deal? She admitted to it! She said that's exactly what she'd do.
Jesus. What a stupid lady. Dude, she's a psychiatrist? People are actually going to see her for advice on how to fix their problems? That's just scary. I don't care that she attended two Ivy League schools. As far as I'm concerned, she has a PhD in troll logic! ;)
Man, what a surreal experience. I felt like I was in a scary movie! I was surrounded by stupid zombies. Aggggh.
I'm just gonna keep my fingers crossed here. Gods. Please.
The lobby was full of parents. Not at all unusual on a Tuesday night, since a lot of kids have rehearsal till about 8:30 for the Unlock the Magic Show at the end of November. Most of people there had huge McCain/Palin signs and a few of them were actually going around talking to people to find out if they had voted and who they had voted for.
There are 20 kids in Sarah's class. Only 3 of them have parents who support Obama. The rest? All for McCain and they have been bringing signs and passing pins around for the last 2 weeks or so. Some of them have even gone as far as teasing Sarah about my choice of candidate. Saying things like "Shame on you for being an Obama girl!"
Honestly? I think that's completely out of line and I'd say something but I really don't care for drama. (And believe me, there would be drama. Some of this ballet people LOVE drama.) Luckily, they're playful enough that it really doesn't bother Sarah. If it did, though, I'd definitely be doing something about it. On the other hand, I love that my kid knows that this behavior is unacceptable. She said she'd never taunt people like that. Good for her!
There's this one lady who's particularly aggressive about the whole thing. She's fanatical about McCain. Last Sunday, I was sitting in the lobby, minding my own business when I overheard her talking (more like harassing!) the security guards at the door, giving them a long list of all the reasons why they should not vote for Obama. My husband started laughing at her. Both guards are African-American, and both have Obama bumper stickers! When she started walking toward me, I pretended I didn't see her and tried to look VERY interested in my book. Frankly, she's very snobby and obnoxious and I probably wouldn't want to talk to her - even if she was voting for Obama! However, my "go away" attitude didn't discourage her from talking to me. =P
Her opening line was: "Excuse me, honey, where do you live... and are you registered to vote?? Are you for McCain?"
When I told her that I was for Obama, she rolled her eyes and said something like "You do know your candidate wants to tax people like us, don't you? And if he does that, we won't have the money to support the arts! This ballet school gets a lot of gifts from donors like my family."
Well, that's just great. Most of those "donors" also have children with board of trustees full scholarships at the ballet school. Guess who decides who the recipients are? It's a great way to hide some money and get a tax break on it.
I totally ignored her and told her that I didn't want to discuss politics. She went away to harass someone else.
I thought that was the end of it. However, today when I walked in the lobby she went right up to me and asked me to tell her why I loved Obama so much! "I want to know why you like Obama and not McCain!"
I tried my best not to tell her to fuck off. Seriously, what nerve.
She went on to say something like "Did you know that Obama is a chain smoker?"
Um. Okayyyyy.
There were other Obama supporters in the lobby,though we were definitely in the minority. It started getting rather tense when the McCain fanatic lady started getting louder and more aggressive. She was ranting about how Sarah Palin is actually a brilliant woman, and how the media was making her look dumb because they were jealous of her looks. Because, you know, she's sooooo pretty and we're all just jealous.
"I am a psychiatrist and my husband is an engineer," she said. "We both have PhD's and therefore we're qualified to decide what's best for our country. If Obama wins, I guess we'll just have to hide our income. He's not going to be taxing us."
So that's her biggest concern - her money?? I pointed out to her that there are lots of loopholes that rich people and their lawyers can find in order to pay less taxes. In fact, she has probably been doing this for years, so what's the big deal? She admitted to it! She said that's exactly what she'd do.
Jesus. What a stupid lady. Dude, she's a psychiatrist? People are actually going to see her for advice on how to fix their problems? That's just scary. I don't care that she attended two Ivy League schools. As far as I'm concerned, she has a PhD in troll logic! ;)
Man, what a surreal experience. I felt like I was in a scary movie! I was surrounded by stupid zombies. Aggggh.
I'm just gonna keep my fingers crossed here. Gods. Please.