My partner and I live in Texas, one of the reddest of the red states. Texas is a state that I’ve often said “eats its own” if you don’t follow the pack. Fortunately, it’s also one of the states that allow early voting to encourage voting by avoiding the long lines on election day. Last week we voted early for the only candidate we feel will be a better president for us. That man is Barack Obama. The sad part is we know too many people that did not vote early and worse, they don’t plan to vote at all. Why? Because they feel if they vote for the democratic presidential candidate they would be just throwing their vote in the trash. These people have decided statement with a question mark. That statement, “So, why vote at all?”
Trash can votes: In Texas the polls show the state is split by a 60/40 margin with republicans being on top. Historically, the state has voted republican in presidential elections. And most democrats feel they don’t have a chance in hell to tip the state in their favor at the top of their local ballot. I agree, but… this election’s early voting has been turning out record numbers of voters. That says something, right? Of course what it says is probably that republicans are pissed off their candidate is not on top nationally.
My argument to the people that I know who are not voting because they say it’s a waste of time is, “vote anyway!” So what if it’s not going to matter. How are you going to know unless you and everyone who feels the same as you cast your votes. “What if… What if there’s enough others like you to make up that 10% deficit?” Could you imagine a state like Texas turning blue for Obama? It’s a crazy thought but it’s not impossible if everyone voted how they really feel. In fact, our capital city of Austin which sits in Travis county has voted blue the last several years. By the way, Austin is the coolest of cities in Texas. Very people friendly in my experience.
There’s another reason some Texas dems aren’t voting this year. They are afraid to vote for Obama. How ridiculous is that? I’ve been told this by more than a few people. Including one member of my extended family. She really likes Obama and everything he stands for but she won’t vote for him. Instead, she tells me she’s not voting at all. She said, “at least it’s not a vote for McCain!” I told her not voting for Obama is the same thing as casting a vote for McCain. She thanked me for being so understanding and then hung up the phone…Grrr! Of course, I called her back and we made nice with each other but I was still unsuccessful in getting her to vote. She’s young so it would be her first time voting and she did register. It’s a shame her right to vote will be wasted.
I know race is rearing it’s ugly head in this election so I asked her if she was afraid what others would think if she voted for a black man. She assured me her reasons have nothing to do with Obama being half black. It’s all about
being from a strong republican family and their values. She told me she is afraid her family and friends would shun her if she voted for any democratic presidential candidate. I told her I wasn’t givng up on her until November 5th.
The point of this article: Even if you think your vote is a waste, get out and vote anyway. You’ll feel good that you did.
Keeping it fun… When Jake and I went to vote we knew we weren’t allowed to wear clothing or accessories that in any way suggested who we were voting for or our party affiliation — it’s not allowed! But… With our exhibitionist nature and being a couple of guys that like to have a little fun we decided put our ballsyness to the test. Jake wore a dark blue t-shirt with the Obama logo in white letters. Under the shirt he wore a ribbed white tank top. I wore an Obama baseball cap and carried a shiny chrome keychain with the initials D.E.M. in my pocket. There was a line outside our voting facility but it wasn’t overly crowded so it didn’t take long to get noticed. We were there only five minutes before being approached by a male security officer who politely asked that I remove my cap and that Jake would either have to change his shirt or turn it inside out.
I carried a small backpack with me and quickly changed out the cap with one that read, Party Time. The officer grinned and said, “smart.” Jake jokingly asked the officer if he could go in shirtless and was told, “that wouldn’t be a good idea. I’m sure your fellow voters would rather focus on what they’re here for.” Jake was reminded that he had to either change the shirt or turn it inside out. Jake asked if he could change his shirt there so we wouldn’t lose our place in line. He was told that would be fine. Jake pulls both shirts over his head [mental alert: I noticed the male officer checking him out] and put the Obama shirt back on right side out. The officer grinned again and said, “look guys, don’t give me a hard time [yes, he definitely emphasized those two words]. I don’t want any trouble here.” Jake responded, “We’re cool dude” and put the white tank on over the Obama shirt. Then asked, “Cool?” The officer gave each of us a couple of thorough up and down looks. But it’s what he said and did next that really threw me off-guard. He said, “you’re both fine.” Then he winked at us. Not once, but twice! Well, he winked at Jake first, then me. He thanked us for entertaining him and told us to have a nice day and Jake even got a congratulatory pat on the backside (of his shoulder, haha).
Strangely enough, the people in line near us were all in their 20′s and 30′s. We got a few disappointed stares but for the most part they enjoyed the show too. After the security officer left one of the guys laughed and said he could tell we planned it and that it was pretty cool of us. A girl in her early 20′s rather loudly said, “ya’ll must be gay, right?” I responded, “what makes you think that?” She said, “Duh! You have matching bracelets! Ya’ll are cool, I have several gay friends. I lurve my gay friends!” Jake nodded and I said, “cool, it is nice to meet you.” She smiled and said, “ya’ll too.” That’s when we started to get some awkward glances with some being on the side of uncomfortable along with a faint but inaudible grumbling from a couple of people. The guy who previously said what we did was cool chimed in again. He said, “People chill, these guys are no different than you or me. They’re cool, OK?” With that everyone just minded their own business. The four of us had a friendly chat and got to know each other while we waited in line. We even quietly exchanged contact info. The girl apologized for the “gay thing” and said she meant no harm, that she just has a loud mouth and it can sometimes get her and others in trouble. They turned out to be really cool even though they both were voting for McCain.
The best news is… Our plan worked!!! While outside it was sunny and bright so Jake’s tank appeared to be not at all transparent with the reflection of the sun. But when inside the building, the word ‘Obama’ could vaguely be seen through the ribbed tank. And I fastened my D.E.M keychain to proudly dangle from a front belt loop.
I should probably note that we didn’t plan this to scream out the “We’re gay and proud” slogan. We’re not really into that sort of thing especially when it’s inappropriate. Our body language, looks and voices don’t even fit the gay stereotype. Most people who don’t know us would never guess that we’re gay. We actually bought the bracelets a few weeks ago and have been wearing them ever since as a token of our love for each other. Hell, I don’t think we’ve taken them off with the exception of showing them to our friends who wanted to inspect them closer. The interlinking symbols are on the small side so no one ever really notices them. So it’s not like we wore them to promote a gay agenda at a political event. We’re both are well aware that a voting facility is not the place to push same-sex agenda especially in Texas.
Our intention was to simply have a little party fun. Still, the attention we drew caused a couple of people to take a closer look and notice the bracelets. I’m sure the security officer did too. He was all too obvious although he was trying really hard not to be. But his wandering eyes, actions and choice of words gave away what he really had on his mind. It was quite amusing and kind of cute too. He wasn’t bad looking himself but he did wear a wedding band. Jake and I both agree that the officer probably would have engaged us more had we not been surrounded by others at the time.
Later when I told Jake how the officer was checking him out he asked if he looked at his ass. I said, “twice!” Jake’s response: “heh… that’s hot! Did he have a nightstick?” What?!?! But I love him and his hot ass!!! 
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