On a Personal Note: Whaddup wid dat?

I have two beefs. One is more about frustration while the other is astonishment. I'm not sure what I'll do with either, beyond sharing them with you.

First, I am often asked (since I recently graduated) what my major is. When I tell people it is English, they respond, "Oh you want to teach!" I've heard this a gazillion times, and it makes me nuts. NO, NO, NO! I don't want to teach. Why does everyone assume that every English major wants to be a teacher? The next question they ask is, "Well, what do you want to do?" I respond, "I want to write." "WRITE?" (Like I'm some sort of crazy person). Yes, I want to write for a living. So sue me!!

The next issue stuns me to this day I have a button affixed to the handle of my pocketbook. It says, "Friends don't let friends vote republican." Guess what the responses are? "Did I miss the election?" "When is the election?" "Who is running?" "What are the offices in play?" (Okay, I admit that this question came from the Korean woman who did my manicure. She's probably not a citizen. She asked if the presidential election was next year!! (geez!). She even went further to ask if banks are closed on election day (huh?)!

I had a similar line of questioning at the gas station two days after our primary (Lamont/Lieberman), when the young cashier asked if she missed THAT as well! What the hell is wrong with these people? I mean, if they don't even know when to vote, what does that say about their potential selections? They don't seem to get that it is a privilege, and they should make informed decisions.

When I think about how hard women fought for the vote (and they recruited the African American community in that plight -- at least here in Hartford), it makes me crazy.

Seems to me that we have the lock-step group of right voters; we have the apathetics (who don't do much of anything); and we have the dems, who lack cajones.

Where do we go from here?

Rose