Who Is a Voter?

I live in Houston, Texas, the fourth largest and one of the most diverse cities in the country. By and large, we all manage to get along. We don’t have many riots and while we certainly have plenty of crime, I would like to think that some of it is prevented because the thugs don’t know who has a gun and who doesn’t. I live in an area in West Houston called Chinatown where the signs are in Chinese characters as well as English letters. Sometimes, it’s only Chinese characters. I missed a street I was supposed to turn on last night because it was dark and the street sign was black with white characters, not words.

On Election Day, a friend of mine and I went to vote at the nearby community center named after a young Asian woman who had been murdered in her car while waiting for a light to change. The thugs who did that were caught and are no more. It had been raining so a temporary awning had been set up for people to be dropped off without getting soaked. My friend is handicapped; she walks with crutches. Because of this she could have voted curbside. You should have seen the look she gave me at just the suggestion. We had a wheelchair in my car and were able to snag a handicap parking spot. It had stopped raining for the moment, so we were able to make it in without too much problem, no wheelchair required.

Once my friend was checked in, I went to check in and vote. For whatever reason, there were a ridiculous number of races to vote on. I voted straight Republican, red all the way down. My friend did as well. It took her longer because she had to sit down and reach forward to use the touch screen. It started to rain again, “bucketing down” as an English friend would say, so, it was actually a good thing it took her longer.

I sat in the front where there were chairs set up for people to wait. As I was not allowed to look at my phone while I waited, I people-watched. All manner of people came in: young, old, white, black, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, men and women. A little Asian woman came in, balancing on her cane, walking slowly and purposefully. A few minutes later, a younger Asian woman came in, the daughter of the older woman. She had already voted so she sat down in the same area I did. An elderly man who had been waiting for the rain to stop sat down in front of me. He must have been from a retirement community because there was a woman in dress pants and a button-down shirt and name tag with him. When it stopped raining, he slowly got to his feet. She encouraged him by saying, “Rise, stabilize and move forward.” He took her arm and they left.

Related: What Are We Doing?

Watching the variety of people come and go while I waited made me smile. Yes, I know, it was a terrible night for Republicans, and now we’re going to have Democrats run amok (or so they think) for two years. When the only argument you have used is “I’m not crazy like the other guy,” you’re almost certain to lose. It wasn’t that people didn’t like the choices, it was that, to a large extent, the Democrats were the only choice because they had something to run on. It wasn’t a good something and it’s bound to fail but it was there and people appreciated that.

It is a great and good thing that young people can vote, that women can vote, that those without property (which covers a whole lot of people) can vote. It doesn’t matter if you’re white or black or anything in between. As long as you can provide the required documents, you are allowed to have a say in who runs your state and the country.

Yes, I actually believe in that part. I have voted since I was old enough to in every single election that I could. So does my entire family. I do not understand those who could register to vote and choose to abstain. If you don’t want to vote because you think it doesn’t matter, that’s fine. I think you’re foolish but that’s me. If you don’t like the choice of candidates, I suggest you run for office. It can be something as simple as the school board. At least, you’re doing something rather than just running your mouth.

As for the results, calm down. A gentleman I talk to on X asked yesterday, “Is everyone done with the hysterics?” My response was, “I hope so.” Do you actually think that a moment of your hand-wringing is going to change things? No. Does it make you feel better? No. A friend put up on Facebook the following message, “Waiting for news reports on the riots and fights started by conservatives who lost the election.” On the next line, the message said, “Oh, wait a minute, the conservatives have to get up in the morning and go to work. Never mind.” I chuckled when I read that.

I do hope the Republicans buy a clue from all of this and come up with better candidates for next time. Yes, despite all the doom and gloom from the Democrats, there will be a next time. The sun will come up again, the world will keep turning and Democrats will overreach. Let them. Maybe the Republicans will use that overreach in the next election. Hopefully so. Until then, be happy that people have a say in how the country is run. You don’t have to like the results, but you also can’t hide from them. Be an adult, not a liberal.

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