Today was the day when Democrats could elect delegates to the Democratic National Convention. I was on the ballot in the 9th Congressional District (Barbara Lee Speaks for Me!) along with 100 other people, for 4 delegate spots and 1 alternate spot. The odds are not good that I won. Still, it was a really fun and inspiring time. The caucus was held at a black church at 39th and Telegraph (Hillary's was held at Mills College), and there were literally thousands of people there to vote. The line snaked through the church parking lot and down the street for a block for over an hour. I don't even know how many people left because they were overwhelmed by the turnout. But the people who stayed were in a great mood, just talking and being hot and sweaty. Most people were willing to listen to my campaign spiel, even if it was in a daze of dehydration and am I really just standing on Telegraph Ave for 2 hours?
The inspirational part was the diversity of the crowd. Not token-ish diversity, but real diversity. Young and old, Black, white, Asian, men, women, gays and lesbians holding hands. Kids (mostly mine) running around. A woman showed me a new way to tie Qu's shoes. A man fell over and 8 people rushed to help. People weren't even jostling each other or pissed if people cut the line. There was plenty of room and a sense of "we'll get there eventually" that kept people sane. Very cool. NBC11 has this video of the crowd.
Obviously if I win I will be crowing about it here, but I'm not holding my breath. Still I am glad I participated. Although I really don't know what to do with this overabundance of warm fuzzy uncynicism.
No comments:
Post a Comment