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Just got back from a week in Jackson Hole and western Wyoming with my parents (Bushies), sister (wacko fundie) and nephews (delightful).
My 14-yr-old nephew (who rocks!), who's stuck in the middle of Texas and heavy indoctrination from all sides, has--all on his own--come out for Kerry. He's an incredible kid, well-informed, independent and thoughtful. He knows more about what's going on than most adults you'd meet on the street. His opinion enrages his mother of course, who basically tells him he'd better think hard because he'll go to hell if he doesn't support Bush, etc. This is the sum of her political nuance. All the kids he goes to school with support Bush "because their dads support Bush," as my nephew puts it. I'm the only one he can talk to freely about politics without being emotionally blackmailed or physically beaten up. That's how bad it is. And yet he still will speak his mind--and his courage really gave ME courage. I mean, if he has the guts to speak up, how can =I= not?
So--since I'd been to the Las Vegas NM whistlestop, I had 4 Kerry buttons. Having heard about other DU'ers wearing buttons in red states, I decided to wear mine on my hat--parents, sister and Cheney be-damned. I rehearsed a few rational lines of response in case someone tried to beat me up on the street or something. ;)
So, we got off the plane and I put on my hat. First place we went into to have lunch, the waitress took one look at me and exclaimed, "That button is the best thing I've seen all day!" She gushed about it a little (while my mother announced she was a Bush supporter and my sister muttered that she'd have to get a Bush button), and my nephew was wide-eyed and grinning.
OK. One.
Same evening, at the hotel pool. I was sitting on the side and a different waiter asked if I wanted something to drink, then said, "By the way, great button!"
OK. Two.
We went to Yellowstone. I was browsing t-shirts in the Old (Kinda) Faithful gift shop when the salesgirl ran (I mean ran) up and grabbed me and said, "WHERE do you get those buttons? I can't find them anywhere and I'm dying to have one!" She didn't have internet access at Yellowstone to buy one, lol, so I gave her one of mine and she practically kissed me.
OK. Three.
Meanwhile my nephew is really grinning now. He said that Grandad had told him that everyone who wanted Kerry for president was a lazy bum who didn't want to work.
Back in Jackson the next day, he and I split off on our own to hike and ate at an open-air lunch spot with shared tables. An older couple ate next to us. As we were leaving, the lady asked if that was my hat on the table. When I said yes, she said, "We LOVE your button!" I asked where they were from. Ohio. And they DO plan to vote. Her husband called me a smart lady. ;)
OK. Four.
I think my nephew was in awe by now. He said it was so weird and great to be able to talk about politics and Kerry. He ran on for about an hour about what was wrong with Bush (intelligently, too).
Next day, doing some shopping with my mother and sister, I took something to the counter and the salesgirl said, "Not to pry, but where are you from?" I told her (Santa Fe NM) and she said, "I love your button. We don't dare speak openly around here, the whole state is owned by Halliburton."
Number five!
No one ever said anything negative to me, though there were a few times people kind of looked at me oddly. There was only one place, a tiny town in southwestern Wyoming, where I deliberately didn't wear my hat when we went inside to eat at a restaurant. Lots of oil patch types, it was getting too dark to need a hat and I didn't want to seem as if I was too in-your-face about it.
It was all a lesson to me, and to my nephew. We talked a long time about the guts it takes to stand up to the crowd, and how by doing so, you encourage others to speak up too. We talked about Hitler and the Nazis, and how scary it can be to feel like the "only one" who thinks the way you do.
A small thing, a button. But a big deal in many ways.
P.S. I finally asked my nephew what in particular made him decide on Kerry. Turns out it was The Daily Show. ;)
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