Intimidation by the loud boys
Call me naïve but I bought into those civics lessons from the 1950s. Voting is sacred! My parents often talked politics (we liked Ike) so in 1968 it was an honor to vote in my first Presidential election. I was proud.
My admiration for our government and the electoral process only increased as I spent years teaching the American story to high school kids in northern Jersey. We’re not perfect, I taught them. We’ve made mistakes, I taught them. But we’ve also accomplished wonders. And we’re the best there is. We have the ability to vote for changes, to make our country better, to be the role model for others. I taught them to be proud of their nation, their government, their vote.
Once I retired, I moved to the front lines of this sacred experience. I worked for campaigns, I marched for causes, I registered voters. And on Election Day, I sat outside polling sites with political signs, American flags and campaign literature. We would greet our opponents, divide into separate locations and wish each other good luck. Because we were all doing the same thing — working for candidates, respecting one another, supporting our democracy. At the end of the day, we went home, proud of our efforts, proud of our system of voting.
In 2020 in Charlotte County, Florida, I can no longer do that. The traditional Republican men and women have been replaced by aggressive, loud and abusive self-identified Proud Boys and Trump supporters with bullhorns and enormous flags. Their goal is to intimidate. I don’t know what the normal Republicans think of them, but I have yet to hear any rejection of their methods or their beliefs.
In the last two years I have witnessed polo-shirted “Proud Boys’ descend on events critical of Trump. While holding a sign supporting a Democratic candidate for Senate in 2018, I was approached by one such “boy” who screamed in my face accusing me of being a socialist who hated America. I should go to Cuba, he yelled. He and his gang of “boys” marched parallel to our line within 2 feet of us. They held their banners over our signs. We were a group of mostly female retired senior citizens; they were all under 40, male and angry. Sound threatening to you?
In person voting started here last week. I was ready to hold my sign when I received word that the Proud Boys were in the parking lot. They were chanting “Fuck Biden” at those holding signs. So I stayed home.
These pathetic, angry, bullying boys succeeded in intimidating a 73-year-old retired school teacher. They must be so proud.
