Mission Mission

Today, my epic Midwestern road trip has brought me to Indianapolis. Fearing for my safety, my friend Bri (a real-live Indianan) sent me a link to a post on Take a Breather called “Indiana McCain and the Obama of Doom”:

Two nights ago, a friend (and Iraq War veteran) was walking down the sidewalk wearing an Obama 2008 shirt when a man, eating dinner with his wife looked up and said, “So, you’re a communist?”

That same night, a person in the bar shared this story with my friend: “I was wearing an Obama shirt in here the other night and three guys surrounded me and started harassing me about the shirt. Realizing I was outnumbered, I asked them what they would like me to do. They made me turn my shirt inside-out.”

Another recent evening, I was driving my mom’s car, which has an Obama bumper sticker on it. As I was using a drive-thru ATM, a truck pulled up behind me and began chanting Obama’s name out his window, but not in a good way. More like a tone that invoked the ghosts of the KKK. I didn’t look back, I just pulled away and acted like I didn’t hear them.

And then there’s this zinger, brought to light by an acquaintance: “I hope every racist person in America comes out and votes against Obama.”

Indiana is an interesting place.

Lots more analysis here. So yeah, I guess I won’t be donning the “Fuck Cars” t-shirt I picked up this afternoon in Bloomington until I get back to California. Thanks, Bri!

San Franciscans ask the right questions I guess. Somebody at some San Francisco fundraiser (likely not in the Mission) asked the question that gave rise to this fiery Obama response to unfounded attacks by Hillary and McCain. They say he’s an asshole for asserting that Americans might be bitter about the way their government treats them. Obama says, “Sheeeeeeeeit – o’ course they bitter! They bitter as fuck and I’m here to help!”

More Media & Politics on Mission Mission.