In an election such as this, where the candidates look different but have voted so similarly on so many topics (everything from taxes to gay marriage, and beyond), it's up to the "young, twenty-something, college-aged hipsters" to figure out exactly what's up with each candidate before they vote. I highly doubt there would be so much press surrounding this election if people WEREN'T informed about the candidates on an individual level.
Realistically speaking, people CERTAINLY aren't voting for Obama because he's 'black'-- and I think you're limiting our generation by assuming that. The 'Bradley Effect' has been referenced endlessly by so many pundits that we have to be familiar with it by now-- in a hegemonic white-hetero patriarchy, the Bradley Effect has to have some hold. Saying that people of our generation are voting for Obama because he's black doesn't necessarily connect-- if this theory was applicable, and people of Gen Y (or whatever we're calling ourselves?) would have voted HC into office because she's a woman. At the very least, Hil would have been the VP candidate.
I think people are voting for Barack because: 1. He wants to return taxes to the state they were in prior to the war, 2. He's pro-civil-union and doesn't want to repeal Roe v Wade, 3. He believes homeowners should have a 90-day grace period before foreclosure, 4. He's willing to give 2/3 of a state ed. loan to prospective college students, 5. He wants to be TOTALLY OUT of Iraq before summer 2010...
... amongst other things. I've got mono and I'm completely incoherent, but the point of all this is as follows: To say that we are voting for Barack because he is black so distinctly limits our generation. We're voting for Barack Obama because he nearly guarantees a change that our country needs. The rights of almost every non-white, non-male group would come into question in a McCain-Palin government, and people realize that. It's time to save the country.
And in that way, it's a real shame that you didn't vote.
Are you kidding me? There wouldn't be this much press surrounding the election if people weren't informed?
IT'S THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. There's going to be press either way. And since when is the press dictated by what the people know? We, as citizens, don't create news broadcasts. It's out of our hands.
I'd also direct you to read my post again, where I clearly state that I know not everybody voting for Obama did it for the scene points or hipster cred. But you'd be a fool to deny the fact that there are a great deal of people who voted for him for just those reasons.
I also didn't say that the only reason people were voting for Barack was because he's black. I didn't say anything close to that. I said that a number of young idiots are voting for him because it's the hip thing to do, and the fact that he's black probably lends some weight to their decision - along with him being young, handsome, not a Republican, not "George Bush, Jr. (Jr.)" or whatever other superficial reason can be lumped in there.
I'm sorry, I just don't think we're going to agree on this-- People just straight up don't vote at ALL before they vote for someone based on 'hipster cred'! The only reason I can think of that a relatively uninformed or politically inactive person would vote for Obama over McCain would be because he's young, 'liberal' (according to popular media), and isn't George Bush. And none of that smacks of hipster elitism, seeing as all three of those things are BASIC TRUTHS.
I think that might be kind of a deconstructionist way of looking at the whole thing. I guess I simply can't see voting as being 'trendy,' foolish or not. But I also can't see the point in not voting.
Realistically speaking, people CERTAINLY aren't voting for Obama because he's 'black'-- and I think you're limiting our generation by assuming that. The 'Bradley Effect' has been referenced endlessly by so many pundits that we have to be familiar with it by now-- in a hegemonic white-hetero patriarchy, the Bradley Effect has to have some hold. Saying that people of our generation are voting for Obama because he's black doesn't necessarily connect-- if this theory was applicable, and people of Gen Y (or whatever we're calling ourselves?) would have voted HC into office because she's a woman. At the very least, Hil would have been the VP candidate.
I think people are voting for Barack because:
1. He wants to return taxes to the state they were in prior to the war,
2. He's pro-civil-union and doesn't want to repeal Roe v Wade,
3. He believes homeowners should have a 90-day grace period before foreclosure,
4. He's willing to give 2/3 of a state ed. loan to prospective college students,
5. He wants to be TOTALLY OUT of Iraq before summer 2010...
... amongst other things. I've got mono and I'm completely incoherent, but the point of all this is as follows: To say that we are voting for Barack because he is black so distinctly limits our generation. We're voting for Barack Obama because he nearly guarantees a change that our country needs. The rights of almost every non-white, non-male group would come into question in a McCain-Palin government, and people realize that. It's time to save the country.
And in that way, it's a real shame that you didn't vote.
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IT'S THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. There's going to be press either way. And since when is the press dictated by what the people know? We, as citizens, don't create news broadcasts. It's out of our hands.
I'd also direct you to read my post again, where I clearly state that I know not everybody voting for Obama did it for the scene points or hipster cred. But you'd be a fool to deny the fact that there are a great deal of people who voted for him for just those reasons.
I also didn't say that the only reason people were voting for Barack was because he's black. I didn't say anything close to that. I said that a number of young idiots are voting for him because it's the hip thing to do, and the fact that he's black probably lends some weight to their decision - along with him being young, handsome, not a Republican, not "George Bush, Jr. (Jr.)" or whatever other superficial reason can be lumped in there.
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I think that might be kind of a deconstructionist way of looking at the whole thing. I guess I simply can't see voting as being 'trendy,' foolish or not. But I also can't see the point in not voting.
Good for you for being informed, though.
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