Rose Colored Retrospectacle

Anyway, this year's main project is political in nature. I've turned most of my attentions to the electing of John Kerry and some local campaigns. Of course, this means the usual stuff -- passing out literature, being able to run the gamut of talking points for my chosen campaigns, answering questions, and being charmingly annoying to everyone who knows me. I hope I get the appropriate level of "charm" going; it can be a fine line between informative and pedantic, interesting and over the top, and I've always skated pretty close to the edge, and gone right over more than once. I want to impress, to influence, and you can't hold back in those pursuits, but you can come on too strong and end up doing as much harm as good.

Among other things, I am applying my energies to making t-shirts and online logos for the One Nation Under Goth (a goth / industrial / punk / underground 'get out the vote' effort over on LiveJournal), for now; buttons and stickers, perhaps, later.

I spent last night at a show, signing up voters and getting signatures on the Don't Amend petition. It doesn't feel like much, when I look a the numbers -- 7 new or re-registered voters, and 23 signers -- but it was a lot of work. By 1am, I felt like I was going to fall asleep on the sound board where Paul was doing sound for the band, and my eyes wouldn't stop watering. There's no good reason for this sort of thing to be as exhausting as all that, but something about going up to people one does not know, or whom do not like one overly much, and giving them a whole song-and-dance about one's latest "scheme" is really tiring.

One guy actually stopped me mid-sentence and said, "You're always up to something, aren't you?" Well, yes. He then soundly insulted my work and sent me on my way.

Another guy, some aging hippy type, got me into some kind of strange historical discussion. I only talked to him because I didn't want to only approach the young punks and freaks, but he gave me the willies and I should have paid attention to that. I believe he was testing me. He kept asking me to fill in the blanks, various questions about the founding fathers, their religions, their quotations. He was of the opinion that Abraham Lincoln actually originated the quotation about "An it harm none, do what ye will." I have some concerns about aligning Lincoln and Gardner, but what they hey, the Republicans incorrectly like to claim him (Lincoln, not Gardner, but that would be funny!), so why shouldn't the Wiccans and related folks claim Lincoln, too? Anyway, it was a bit aggravating to be schooled by an aging hippy; I realize I still look, dress, and generally act like I'm not a day over 23 (amazing what sun avoidance will do for you), but regardless of my appearance, I'm an educated and intelligent woman, and I don't need someone's stamp of approval to do my part for my state or my party (which is frankly up in the air at the moment, since I am not following the Socialists' party lines with regards to dumping the democrats. After dominating my time for 20 minutes or more, he then announced he "believe[s] in what [I'm] doing," but that he was "not gonna sign any of [my] damn papers." Well, hell. Freemasons! Bah! (This gentleman claimed that Freemasonry was his political party as well as that of the founding fathers, although he made this claim in a roundabout fashion, forcing ME to make the claim so he could smile benignly and nod coolly.)

Nevertheless, except for those two, and one person who asked me what use his vote was in Utah, especially after the fiasco that was the 2000 election -- one of the reasons that it pisses me off so much, because how can we not feel disenfranchised? -- the general response was good. A couple of my acquaintances are too anarchist to vote -- I think they just don't want to get called to jury duty -- but I can accept that. Paul was getting a bit overzealous with one person about registering, but I don't see any reason to do so. I will ask if they are registered, and offer to get them registered if not, and I will give my opinion of why they should be if they ask or demure a little, but as far as I'm concerned, after that, if they still say no, then the answer is no, and that's just fine. I don't have time to argue; it's 11:51pm, and I for one, do not want to see permanent, inescapable midnight. (We need a new doomsday clock, to track the state of our Civil Liberties... and I see I'm not alone in this opinion!)

I still have another Gothic Rap Project show and a few Tragic Black shows to sign people up; both bands are willing to give me a plug, and with their messages, they should! We have until about October 10 to register people in this state. I have so much work ahead of me.

On November 3, regardless of what has happened the night before: I am sleeping in!

posted by marchenland  # 12:36 PM