Dear Pennsylvania, Don’t be Such a Racist
I just want to say some simple words to any Pennsylvanians out there who might be reading here and somehow are both interested enough in my ideas and also hesitant to vote for Barack Obama because he’s black.
I grew up in Central Pennsylvania. There are very few blacks in that area. I think I saw about 4 black kids in my entire high school experience, which ranged over three different schools. Almost all of my friends were racist, or at least were lacking enough in opinion to laugh at racist jokes about black people. We had little to no experience with other races, and so I always supposed that it was the old “fear what you don’t understand” attitude.
Now it’s time to seriously think about why you would hate a person, or mistrust them, simply because of the color of their skin. You wouldn’t do so because of the color of their hair would you? It is absolutely silly. I dealt with my own problems with race after moving from a small town outside of Johnstown to Pittsburgh and was suddenly surrounded by black people and had no idea what to expect other than the racist basis my neighbors and friends had instilled in me. The good news is, you can get over it, and it’s not that difficult.
Like a child who doesn’t like a certain food because they’ve never tried it, and then once they do finds it’s not that bad – hey, sometimes it’s even something that you like more than your old favorite food.
I will be voting for Barack Obama this year, but I’m not saying that you should. I’m just saying that if the reason you’re voting for McCain is strictly because Barack is black, then either please seriously consider if judging people on the color of their skin is a valid reason to vote for someone. If you still can’t come to a decision that has nothing to do with race, please, as a fellow Pennsylvanian I implore you, simply don’t vote.
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