Politicking on the South Side

I went and voted last week at the Early Voting down by my grocery store.  It's so convenient that it seems just lazy for people down in South Knox to not vote. Criminal almost.

I get there and there are short lines, with 2 or maybe 3 people in them.  The place is entirely staffed by efficient senior women.  Retirees seem like they are a large enough part of the population that this would be expected, but for some reason it struck me, both their age and their gender.

First the gender.  Here are women taking an active part in making sure that their neighborhood's votes, for or against their personal choice, are collected and counted.  As we've seen, particularly in this election and more so by the investigation on Obama's tactics, this bottom to top approach is likely going to be what makes future political approaches different (I know other groups have been doing it, it's just that it hasn't been so visible to the general public until now).  So this is grassroots, they are the primary workers with the commodity of votes. Closest to this resource of change, the first to be able to implement the will of the people.

And to think that other women are ready to take away a woman's right to chose.  Palin with the Anti-choice (not pro-life, not ever pro-life) platform.  Even Ann Coulter wants to take away a woman's right to vote.  These women have seen the civil rights movement, the feminist movements.  Whether or not they were participants or even supporters of it or , they are ready to support the choice of the current residents of South Knox.

And the age thing? Well, I will admit that although it seems ageist, I never expected to get computer directions from a retiree.  She was the most patient in explaining the voting machines and went through every button.  She wouldn't leave until I could prove that I knew how to enter in my number. 

I left the polling place oddly conflicted. But happy. I excercised my right to vote in a most pleasent atmosphere.  Honestly, I felt so well treated I was surprised when I got back to my car that they didn't hand out cookies and "be nice to me, I just voted" stickers.