Hitting the Streets

Today was the day I have been dreading.  I had a shakey stomach all morning and was very nervous. I tried to think of a good excuse not to go, but couldn’t come up with one. So this morning I went door to door to see what people think about Proposition 8.  I arrived at the high school parking lot late, secretly hoping that for some reason there would be nobody there or that there would be nothing left to do.  It’s not that I don’t feel strongly about the issue.  I’ve devoted a page on this blog to it, but I do not like talking to people when I’m not sure what they are going to say back.  I could never debate anyone in real time because I need to sit and process everything and don’t come up with quick answers ever.

Luckily when I went to sign in, there was an odd number of women, so I was able to join Tina and Kirsten as part of a group of three.  We had a map and a list of homes with registered voters.  There was a very general type of script that we followed, and we were there basically to find out how people are thinking of voting.  And if they support Prop 8 ask if they might want to put a sign up in their yard when the election gets closer.

The first street we knocked on was full of people that were either not home, or didn’t answer the door for whatever reason.  It was a good warm up though.  At least I was trying and actually knocking on doors. Then we discovered that we didn’t really need to do that end of the street because it wasn’t on our list and moved on.  The other women I was with started getting people home, and were doing great.  I was starting to wonder if God was sending me to the empty houses so I couldn’t screw anything up. Then I started to get people at home too.

Most people were nice, but didn’t want to chat much.  I’m the same way when someone comes to my door, so I wasn’t surprised. I do have a couple of memorable doors though.

I met one woman who was standing in her doorway waiting for me to approach her.  I wasn’t expecting to see her there, and she didn’t look happy.  I was wearing a “Vote 2008” tag but she seemed to think I was out for the “no” team.  She didn’t want to tell me what her feelings were on Prop 8 until I told her that I was voting yes.  She then talked for several minutes about how she thought letting same sex couple marry was fine until she started doing some research. She had a lot to say about the lawsuits she and her husband have read about against photographers and others whose businesses have been attacked because they don’t want to support a gay marriage, and why she doesn’t want her kids told stories in school of a “prince looking for a prince.” She seemed glad to have met me, and told me how she did a lot of knocking doors for political candidates.

One apartment had a noisy dog barking when I knocked, so I waited for someone to come.  Ten seconds later, I knocked again.  Then I saw a forearm and hand appear and slowly close the window next to the front door, so I waited a while longer knowing that someone was home.  Nothing after another 20 seconds, so I left a flyer on the door and moved on.

Another place I went to, after knocking I heard a dog start barking and a man yelling angrily at the dog to “shut up and sit down” several times over again before he answered the door.  Once he answered, the dog continued to bark and he yelled at it a few more times to “sit.” I gave him my usual introduction which went something like, “Hi I’m Amy and I’m here to see if you’ve heard about Proposition 8.” He said he wasn’t sure what that was, and I told him that it would amend the California Constitution so that only marriage between man and woman would be recognized. He said, “I think they should all be able to get married, so I’m for that, yes.”  I told him a yes vote supports marriage between a man and woman only and he said, “Oh, I think that anyone should have the right to get married if they want.” I asked, “So you are a definite no vote then?” He said he was, and then went on, thinking that I agreed with him, and got more verbal.  “That’s just intolerant, and prejudice. People should marry whoever they want. The government should get out of the marriage business if they don’t want to let them. Don’t you think?”  I looked him in the eye and said, “actually I’m voting yes.” His eyebrows furrowed and he told me angrily, “people like you are intolerant! I think this should have happened decades ago, centuries ago…” I answered, “I’m not here to fight, I just want to see what people are thinking.  I’ll let you get back to your Saturday and agree to disagree.” I then turned and walked away and heard him call out to me from his doorway, “I won’t agree to disagree (mumble, mumble)….” That was worst of my experiences.  I wasn’t scared by him, even though he was incredibly rude, and I wasn’t ashamed of my position.  In fact, I felt like I had handled the situation pretty well, and was ready to move on to the next door.

In talking with people today I realized that most people don’t understand how changing the laws to allow same-sex marriage will actually cause others to lose their rights. There is no other group of people that have the level of protection that this would provide.  Many people will be slapped with fines etc. if they use their religious beliefs as the reason for refusing to participate in same-sex weddings, adoptions, etc.  The schools will be allowed, and required, to introduce the concept of homosexuality to children regardless of what their family’s beliefs on the subject.

Tina asked two men walking past us today what they thought about prop 8 and one was decidedly for same-sex marriage and the other was undecided and said he has more important things to worry about than this proposition.  He was focusing more on the presidential election and things like the economy.  He said “Why the he** should I care who can get married or not?” Scary.

To educate myself, and in preparation for this volunteer work,  I went to a discussion of Proposition 8 hosted by a friend of mine that is also an attorney.  She has done a ton of research, and had lots of information.  I posted the outline she put together as a page if you’d like to take a look.