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Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:28:49 -0800

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/eastside93/2008/11/i-didnt-vote-for-obama-today.php

I Didn't Vote For Obama Today
November 4, 2008, 9:37AM

I have a confession to make.

I did not vote for Barack Obama today.

I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.

I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.

But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.

I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross. She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.

But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.

I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.

But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.

I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.

But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.

I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.

In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.

So who did I vote for?

No one.

I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway.

Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.

I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along.

It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/24141582/

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:52:26 -0700

http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=499
Excellent article!

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/23803774/

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:50:23 -0700

Sometimes I just get into a rather ratty mood about the funniest (peculiar, not ha ha!) things. The thing that's getting to me right now is that so many people don't understand the difference between "your" and "you're". I wonder why that is and why is gets to me so? Anybody got any thoughts? As a writer I guess I am fanatical about writing in a way which can be understood easily and directly. The other, I guess somewhat related thing, is when people use apostrophes incorrectly, as in "blog's" when what is meant is "blogs" (i.e. plural, more than one blog, not as in possessive, or something belonging to the blog). Such simple things which can make the difference between an easily understood sentence and one which is rather more difficult to understand. Not wanting to be pedantic or anything, just wanting to get better clarity and understanding

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/22959297/

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:06:03 -0700

A new discovery for me - a fellow-South African now living in Ireland! Visit his blog for fun and insight!
http://heinmarais.blogspot.com/

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/22786507/

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:16:55 -0700

Alas I have reached the magical 200 friends mark! There are still more people I would love to have on my friends list, but there you are. If I don't add you even if I like you that's the reason and please accept my apologies if not those of SU!

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/22087429/

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:23:51 -0700

Some of my writing on my WordPress blog: http://tonymcgregor.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/music_writing/
Please have a look and give me some feedback!

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/21578879/

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:46:02 -0700

I have just written a piece in response to the violence that has erupted across Gauteng Province in South Africa and posted it in HubPages. For anyone interested in my views the URL is: http://hubpages.com/hub/Xenophobia_poverty_and_capitalism_in_South_Africa. Please read my article and give me feedback. This is an issue that is deeply worrying to me.

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/17005137/

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:54:04 -0800

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

A link to my blogger pages.

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/16653349/

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:46:16 -0800

http://poefrika.blogspot.com/

Great blog with interesting Africa-inspired poetry and other stuff. Great! Please visit.

http://tonymcgregor.stumbleupon.com/review/16472578/

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:11:33 -0800

I have been a bit absent from SU for a couple of days due to getting out of MS Vista and onto Ubuntu at last! Very nice too! One rather big downside - my CanoScan 4400 is not supported on Linux/Ubuntu. Anyone able to help me with Linux/Ubuntu drivers for it?