We were just discussing a conversation we had at the laundromat this afternoon

[DainBramaged]

Sunday afternoon, neither of us care about football, our guy isn't winning the NASCAR championship, what better time to go wash the clothes.

We heard two women talking about the election and how disappointed they were with the results. Joining in, it turns out they were Independents who had voted for Crass Christie and did not want to see the Republicans get control after what he has done.

A woman a few feet away chimed in with these fateful words:

What election?


We all stopped talking for almost a minute, the woman shrugged her shoulders and then proceeded to ignore us.


I think that she is truly mainstream America. And her ignorance of politics isn't rare.


That will stay with me, because SHE is the reason the Republicans win, people who ignore politics completely in their lives because it really doesn't affect them day to day.

I had to write this it was an amazing moment of clarity I will never forget.

[madmax]

1. And you really nailed it.

Only those of us on both sides who are in this for the long haul and pay attention, maybe even to the point of obsession are the ones who vote regularly. Your new Laundromat friend is one reason and then there are those who don't think midterms are important. It's a bummer.

[DainBramaged]

6. The look she shot us, it was like, yeah you own a Rolls Royce, fuck you

the apathy and callousness wrapped up in that look was priceless.

[Jackpine Radical]

16. Permit me a different scenario:

Woman, perhaps not too bright, has gotten the message all her life that her actions don't determine what happens to her. Forces much greater than she control her life, starting with her parents and following through with the authority figures she confronts as she makes her way through life.

Why should she pay attention to politics? She knows two things: Nobody will punish her for not voting, and it does not matter if she votes, so she tunes the whole thing out, as do most of the people around her, and for exactly the same reasons. Furthermore, those reasons seem sensible to someone entrapped in learned helplessness. "It doesn't matter. They're all the same. Why bother?"

In the laundromat she blurts out her stupid question and realizes it is stupid. She gets a rush of shame. She is thoroughly mortified when everyone goes silent. She feels like she just farted loud in church, only worse.

The helplessness and shame wrapped up in that look was heartbreaking.

[Drale]

2. I believe some of it

is a unwillingness to get involved, and I don't really blame people who are like this. With all the negativity and evil people in politics these days, sometimes I wish I could just ignore everything. But I can't, although if I could it would make life a lot essayer.

[madmax]

5. You may not be as obsessed at you say but,

I'd bet you'd be familar enough with the issues and vote. Yes, ya would :)

[tabbycat31]

3. And this is the reason why I "street canvass" at laundromats

I had to use one while I was on the road (3 months) and I always had campaign literature with me.

Last year when we had the chance to stop Christie Kreme I spent many a Saturday in laundromats doing lit drops and trying to talk to people in there. You have a captive audience who is demographically more likely to vote for the Democrats.

[DainBramaged]

9. Nicely done and I will remember that for 2012

But she didn't want to hear what we had to say when she stunned us with her question, and none of us answered her either, which was my fault for not engaging her in the conversation.

[tabbycat31]

27. Oh I definitely will

and that will be wherever 2012 takes me (obviously I prefer to stay locally). I hope that everyone on DU does this too.

[JustAnotherGen]

31. I may do this

In Somerset County and head out to Hunterdon county as well in 2012. That's a fabulous idea. I have 7 laundry mats within 2 miles of me alone.

[tabbycat31]

33. It works very well in Asbury Park

[Greyhound]

4. Only a quarter to half of eligible voters even register. All the numbers and percentages

we bandy about here at DU completely ignore the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans have walked out of the theater.
:kick: & R

[madmax]

7. K & R

:kick:

[Skittles]

8. yup

say what you will about the idiots who voted in these repuke asshats but the people who didn't bother to vote are far, far worse

[virgogal]

10. She's a graduate of the "Too Stupid to Live University" Scary,isn't it?

[DainBramaged]

12. But, I won't judge her as stupid

her life may be way worse than any of us, and because she was apolitical I give her the benefit of the doubt. SHE is who we have to work harder to reach.

[Hannah Bell]

14. and that attitude writ large is one of the reasons she doesn't vote.

also the reason the "pointy-headed intellectual" meme works.

people know when they're being looked down on.

one of the most irritating things about DU is how many people are so busy engaged in calling people "stupid" they don't stop to realize that those people are potentially on their side.

[virgogal]

17. It's not that she didn't vote,it's that she didn't even know there was

an election.

Election information was all over the place for at least a month. TV,newspapers,radio,internet,yard signs, mailings,telephone calls,and municipal reminder signs.

A heavily advertised election.

[Hannah Bell]

21. so what? once you've decided that world has nothing to do with you & your well-being,

you stop paying attention.

calling people stupid, starting out by assuming you know *why* people do things -- it always turns people off. part of the lower-class turn to the right is resentment towards people who think they know better, are smarter -- & won't listen, can't hear.

[Brickbat]

24. Yeah, you wouldn't want to reach out to people like that at all.

They might start getting ideas, or something.

[OHdem10]

11. Yes, there are 53% of Americans who no longer vote or pay

attention to politics. They are not all ignorant.
It could be the Political Parties have turned them
off, by not really having their interests at heart.

[DainBramaged]

13. I am beat, bedtime friends.

be well.

[Initech]

15. Hey - I said the exact same thing after the results started coming in.

[BadGimp]

18. She's not the Reason Rrepublican' win.

But she is the reason the Democrats loose when they should win in earth shattering landslides.

Dain... I'm not arguing with you, just fine tuning your statement a bit. In many ways I agree with you but to understand how the GOP wins one must fully understand why the Dems loose..IMO.

[DainBramaged]

22. Is it my duty to be responsible for the things we've done wrong?

:shrug:

[EC]

19. It affects them they

just don't know it or feel that nothing will change for THEM anyway...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

20. I saw the same thing in 2008 before the Presidential Election.

I had painted a big Obama Biden sign on a piece of foamcore board about three by four feet. I had it outside at Halloween in the yard with a light shining on it.

The O symbol was probably 24 inches in diameter.

The woman that lives across the street came over and said, "Whut's that Obammy thang?"
Yes, that's how she said it.

Had no idea there was a presidential contest going on.

She came over this year and handed out Halloween candy. I showed her Jupiter in the sky, and she said she had never noticed it. We explained that planets are a lot brighter than stars and don't twinkle. This was complete news to her. This woman is thirty years old.

The complete lack of curiosity here in East Shitholia just stuns me.

:banghead:

[merh]

23. Did you ever think that she knew that people had been on ballots but

she didn't see any difference between the candidates or the parties so she didn't consider the election to be a real election?

Perhaps she was just being sarcastic, perhaps she was thinking "election, what election - same crap just different names will spew from the halls of congress".

:shrug:

[DainBramaged]

28. I thought nothing but what I posted

None of us can assume anything about her. All I know is she looked at us like we were aliens and continued sorting her laundry. To ask now what she might or might not have been thinking when we had just met two vibrant politically involved people and were discussing the state of the state is impossible to know.


Second guessing, it's what makes sports shows interesting on Monday mornings.

[merh]

34. You are second guessing her.

You have no clue what she thought.

And to be convinced that your conversation with your friend was vibrant and worthy of more than just a look is pretty petty and egotistical, but you go ahead.

LOL, this is the stuff that comedy skits are made of ... :rofl:

[Harry Monroe]

25. Ever consider that her exclamation of "What election?" could have been construed as sarcasm

She may have known about the election, but may have figured that no matter how she voted, it wouldn't count.

I live in a very red congressional district. The reelection of the right wing, Republican, conservative asshole was a foregone conclusion. The Democrats put up a sacrificial lamb for a candidate every 2 years, but it's really a futile gesture. And he is almost as conservative and right wing as the incumbent. I voted for the Reform Party candidate, but I felt like I was just going through the motions.

‎"I think this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid
gesture be done on somebody's part - and we're just the guys do to it." Eric "Otter" Stratton, in "Animal House".

The above quote perfectly describes how I felt when I voted.

[DainBramaged]

29. When I learn to read minds, I'll let you know.

:eyes:

[madmax]

35. And while your at - pm me this weeks winning lottery numbers ;) nt

[Harry Monroe]

36. So...if you can't read minds, how did you deduce

...that she had actually been ignorant of an election going on? It could have just as well been sarcasm. Either way, you wouldn't have known. Yes, let me know when you learn to read minds.

[WinkyDink]

26. Oh, it affects her "day to day", But ignorant? Yes. (Why'd she butt in, anyway?)

[DainBramaged]

30. See above ^

[JustAnotherGen]

32. You know

Those Indypublicans got precisely what they deserved. I know that sounds horrible - but I did NOT vote for Christie - so there's no dirt on my shoulder to rub off. I certainly hope they go vote to the Left in 2012.