Today was day 2 of canvassing for Barack Obama this weekend. This time in hostile territory. Evidently, the canvassing was so successful yesterday that they decided to extend the out into Republican territory. We were given the choice of Clermont County, Milford, or areas north of the city. My friend Chris and I chose to do Milford which was the closest area.
We drove a half hour out to Milford to the local Obama Canvassing station and was given two packets of houses to canvas. Each packet was only 24 houses so they said that it shouldn’t take so long.
Unfortunately as we started to canvas we realized quickly that this wasn’t going to be a traditional “canvas”. All the houses were pretty isolated and far apart. We ended up driving to every single house. The process of finding the house, parking in the driveway and then backing out when done was extremely time consuming.
Milford is primarily a white area, but it’s an area with a huge disparity in income. We hit beautiful log homes, gigantic McMansions and a couple of trailers with dogs tied out in front. At no time, did I feel as comfortable as I did yesterday in safe Obama territory.
At least the weather was nice- Milford does have some very nice fall foliage going on right now.
Our reward for our work, two Volunteer tickets for tonight’s Barack Obama rally. That makes our hard work feel that much better.
UPDATE: In response to a comment. I am in no way uncomfortable
around white people. To clarify, I was uncomfortable in Milford in my
Obama t-shirt and buttons, canvassing for Barack Obama. I bike on the
Loveland trail through Milford relatively often and the people I have met are
perfectly friendly in a non-election setting.
2 Comments
Morris,
I’m having a hard time understanding the comment made about “Milford being a primarily white area” and how you felt uncomfortable. As you know, I’m white, so I guess you feel uncomfortable around me as well? I work with a diverse group of people, from white, black, hispanic, and Asian. NEVER have I heard that they feel uncomfortable around white areas of town.
4 dictionary results for: racism
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) – Cite This Source – Share This
rac·ism [rey-siz-uhm] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
[Origin: 1865–70;
Let me clarify. I felt uncomfortable in Milford as a volunteer canvasser for Barack Obama. I was wearing my Obama shirt and quite a few Obama buttons. I forgot that I was wearing my shirt while getting gas at UDF and I was getting some pretty nasty looks. I know a couple of others who were canvassing that area who are white and mentioned also how uncomfortable they were out there too.
The story is the contrast of canvassing for Barack Obama in a white neighborhood vs. a black neighborhood. I’m not uncomfortable around white people. I lived in West Chester for 5 years!