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High fives!

Posted Nov 7, 2012 at 1:15 pm by
Categories: Life in the Mission, Media and Politics
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High fives on market st

[photo by Doc Pop]

Here in the Bay Area many of us are probably feeling good about last night’s main election result. Obama won. (Spoiler?)

I think it was an exciting night for our country. Especially that it was decided and not dragged out and brought through various legal möbius strips. Personally though, I’m feeling dismayed by the overall results of the state propositions. We really want to keep the death penalty? We don’t think that consumers should be able to have questions about what’s in their food answered? Well, at least 30 passed and it’s not all on George Lucas’s shoulders to save education.

Yet I’m excited overall that our country generally seems energized to head in a direction that I think is best. It was a good night for LGBT rights, people overcame voter suppression and intimidation to get their voice heard, and we re-elected a president who best represents the majority of the people in this country, not just the most privileged. If this sounds like very careful, faint praise, it is. In last night’s acceptance speech, President Obama once again set the standards perhaps impossibly high for what we’d like to expect from his presidency. He mentioned really taking care of our returning veterans, LGBT equality, a lot of feel good things that I really wanted to hear. Does he believe in those ideals? I think he does. But how much will he actually do? How much can he do?

Election Night in the Mission
[November 3rd, 2008]

Four years ago our neighborhood exploded with joy and celebration when Barack Obama won the first time. This time around, not as much. While I think most of us are grateful that we didn’t see the chaos that followed the recent World Series win, maybe we were still a little underwhelmed by the relative quiet. The Castro partied. And why not. But the HOPE and CHANGE that we felt four years ago feels a bit more like PERSIST and SUSTAIN at this point.

And keep hoping.

Anyway, the rest of the internet has much better election breakdowns than you should expect to find here. I’m just rambling. Elections are big and broad and complicated and it’s all still sinking in for me. Feel free to ramble on in the comments. If you haven’t yet, check out Mission Local’s great coverage of our neighborhood’s experience of voting day.

For now I’m hanging on to the little things, the things immediately around me. Things like the picture at the top of this post, taken this morning. Doc explains:

It was an extra gloomy walk down Market Street this morning until I reached this Muni stop full of schoolkids cheering along every cyclist that came their way. Perfectly lined up along the bike path, the kids started reaching out their palms for some extreme high five action. Even the most serious bikers popped a smile at the scene. Perhaps in a post election world, this is a sign of pedestrians and bicyclists finally coming together ;).

Delightful.

16 comments

16 Responses to “High fives!”

  1. Whataperv says:
    November 7, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    I felt the same way this morning about the propositions and it reminded me of the let down I felt the night after 2008′s Obama win when it became clear Prop 8 had passed.

    While California is a wonderful, interesting place, we should reflect on how liberal it actually is. We’ve failed multiple times when it comes to gay marriage, we’ve failed when it’s come to legalizing pot and we’ve failed on the death penalty (although it was great prop 36 passed). We’re just not as liberal as we think we are. Luckily, other states are leading the way and should give us all something to strive for. Thanks you Maine, Maryland, Washington, Colorado and others before this year for leading the way when it comes to marriage equality and ending the drug war.

    • sure says:
      November 7, 2012 at 2:44 pm

      Yes – as a European I’m constantly reminded that being in one of the most progressive liberal states in the USA doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a progressive and/or liberal state!

    • Doctor Popular says:
      November 7, 2012 at 2:54 pm

      I remember that night so well. Celebrations on 24th and Mission turned into a real somber mood, folks holding candles, when Prop 8 passed.

    • Ryan says:
      November 8, 2012 at 12:36 am

      Yes, but—as one who recently (within the past year) moved here from the South, this state still seems like La La Land (and I don’t mean LA). I would have loved to see Props 34 + 37 pass, but still, look at what did! Porn w/condoms! Reducing “3 Strikes”! Taxing the rich! An overwhelming vote against “corporate personhood” (in SF)! Things may not be perfect here, but remember that we live in quite the bubble. Fight for improvement of course—but keep in mind what a relative paradise we inhabit.

  2. Whataperv says:
    November 7, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    I forgot Minnesota!

  3. Lillian says:
    November 7, 2012 at 2:37 pm

    Frustration with my state, praise for other states, and meh for the country as a whole. We seem to be pretty close politically.

  4. Lindsey says:
    November 7, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    Ariel, you are the greatest.

  5. Where says:
    November 7, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    Nobody partied in the Mission because suburban tech DB are not political

  6. Dr. At0mikfro says:
    November 7, 2012 at 5:01 pm

    I was at Doc’s Clock and there was totally a party, with hugs all around, the bartender walking down the top of the bar pouring tequila into everyone’s mouths, etc. The best Tuesday night I’ve had in I-don’t-know-how-long!