stupid vandals
Nov. 4th, 2008 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
merchimerchMy polling place was vandalized by anarchists - they put epoxy in all the locks and spray painted slogans like "f**k all politicians" on the building. I'm appalled.
Their efforts were in vain - nothing was accomplished, except that they made the nice volunteer poll workers hustle around at 6 a.m. to find an alternate to the voting room and equipment that we usually use.
The people of my community were gathered in a different room of the church and were filling in *regular* (non-provisional) paper ballots that are always an option on election day. I was assured that the validity of these ballots would not be challenged.
The one thing I was deprived of because of the vandals was my sticker that says "I Voted," which is a shame since I wanted to wear it in class today.
It is funny how the most extreme factions of both political parties end up resembling each other in the most tragic of ways. This is NOT the way to cause election reform.
However, I was heartened to see my community getting out the vote and to see so many in my online communities talking about the civic participation in their own communities.
Their efforts were in vain - nothing was accomplished, except that they made the nice volunteer poll workers hustle around at 6 a.m. to find an alternate to the voting room and equipment that we usually use.
The people of my community were gathered in a different room of the church and were filling in *regular* (non-provisional) paper ballots that are always an option on election day. I was assured that the validity of these ballots would not be challenged.
The one thing I was deprived of because of the vandals was my sticker that says "I Voted," which is a shame since I wanted to wear it in class today.
It is funny how the most extreme factions of both political parties end up resembling each other in the most tragic of ways. This is NOT the way to cause election reform.
However, I was heartened to see my community getting out the vote and to see so many in my online communities talking about the civic participation in their own communities.
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-04 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-04 06:10 pm (UTC)I don't even mean this on an abstract psychological level. It's not even a secret that most of America's current enemies are ex-recipients of American funding. It's a known fact that a lot of terrorist atrocities are perpetrated by mercenaries who will fight for whoever allows them to commit mayhem, regardless of political or religious label. And I very much more than slightly suspect that the common phenomenon of peaceful demonstrations "turning ugly" (and likely enough the demonstrations themselves, since what are actually the odds of having a demonstration without making people hate you?) are the result of the actions of agents provocateurs and lower-grade apolitical mayhem-seekers.
Some people just thrive on chaos and hate, and the culture desperately needs to be adjusted so as not to encourage this pattern.