In 2007 I wasn't ready to sign into anyone's campaign, wasn't particularly "political," but I loved the idea of a black man getting even close to the Presidency. Besides, it appeared that this particular candidate had no scandals connected to him, carried a background in community organizing, and loved basketball. I'm quite sure I noticed the t-shirt in one of those pop-up ads that come unrequested from the internet, and liked the idea of this one--a sort of football jersey thing.
I don't remember how much it cost, but I'm guessing it wasn't cheap--and it's a good one. I gambled that its subtlety would make it wearable in Sioux County, Iowa--or so I believed. After all, it didn't just blast out his name; it seemed, first of all, a jersey, and then a political statement.
In 2007 I was edging close to retirement and going over to the college gym early in the morning, along with other colleagues and other emeriti. I don't know that I would have worn that shirt to the downtown mall or a church picnic, but the gym was sparsely populated so early in the morning. I wasn't sure all my friends' eyes were even open.
I was wrong. Two colleagues ripped at me and my shirt, were not only open about their disapproval but voluble in what seemed their hate for Obama. I don't know that either of them said it in their summary anger, but today I'm quite sure their anti-Obama vehemence grew from his toleration of abortion, not his race. At least I'd like to think that was the truth. Whatever their specific motivation, I wasn't accustomed to being slaughtered in public--in front of others--by old friends who thought an Obama t-shirt an abomination, an outright sin. Ripped, screamed at, scolded--one of the prophets of doom was a woman, the other a man. Their whippings happened at different times and different spots in the gym, but both were very public.
Their shocking fusillades made me more of an Obama supporter, but I didn't wear that t-shirt to early morning workouts again.
Just a couple of mornings later, I happened to come away from the workout with another retiree, the just-retired President of the college, who'd heard part of one of those Jeremiads. "Just thought you'd like to know," he said, whispered, as if we were behind enemy lines, "Louise and I think you're right, but it's not something I can say publicly." I was being commended.
That made me even more sure that my jersey was a good buy.
On January 3, 2008, I caucused for Barack Obama in the traditional Iowa way, by walking over to the side of the room those in charge had set off for the Obama supporters. Most of my liberal friends caucused for John Edwards, who would nosedive soon after.
As everyone knows, that night was a huge and unexpected win for the skinny Obama, and I still have the t-shirt. It's been a pj for all of these years so it's in great shape.
And today, I'm a registered Democrat.
1 comment:
It is sad that you had to get that treatment from your colleagues. I know that abortion is a very big issue for most Christians. I am not in general for abortion either. But I have a thought about this whole thing: nobody likes abortion because everybody loves babies and those signs along the highway with unborn fetuses and the caption "Don't Kill Me" are striking. But what if there were billboards with a student at her desk, an elderly person getting groceries or someone sitting at a concert with the caption ,"Don't Shoot Me?' Those same abortion critics seem to think that the right to have guns is more sacred than life itself. At least two former Supreme Court Justices ( GOP nominees) have stated that the second amendment should never have happened or should be repealed. It was NEVER meant to encourage or allow any citizen to have guns for any reason than to support the soldiers at the time of revolution. WHY can't people in our churches and schools have discussions instead of condemning those who see things differently. Why do we have to whisper our opinions in these settings? Maybe the question should be "why can't I even have a differing outlook in these settings?" It seems that it has become a new thing in some denominations and colleges that if you have a different view of things you are just out. I think that is sad.
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