My thick skin is growing by the minute.One guy told me that he is not voting this year.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

He does'nt like McCain and does'nt want to vote Obama because of his Muslim past.A Muslim past that does not exist.The only Muslim past that Obama has is from living in Indonesia,a predominantly Muslim country.And while there he attended a Catholic school although the family was registered Muslim. He said he "heard" that Obama's father was a Muslim and that could have had something to do with his upbringing.Then the middle name thing. I told him that my name is both Arabic and Hebrew in orgin but I am not Muslim nor Jewish - a name is a name.He brought the experience factor. Boom I knocked him down starting with Obama's community work and the fact that Obama was actually in the Illinois State Senate.The guy I was debating had no idea that Obama was in the Illinois state senate.I hope the Obama campaign forces this fact down the throats of everyone that want to throw the experience factor into play.

And on the subject of Obama's former church - he says that the subject of racial inequality does not belong in the Christian church.I hit back that the Civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s started in the church. He said "yeah yeah but the Jim Crow days are over and you don't see seperate water fountains anymore" and he just shrug his shoulders.I educated him a bit about Obama's childhood,directed him to each candidate's websites and I told him that I too did'nt know much about him until I RESEARCHED Obama and all the candidates.He asked me why I was getting so defensive.Before I walked away I told him "People who speak more than 10 words of ignorance really piss me off.I can persuade you to vote,you already seem to close minded to understand the election process." Mind you this guy was 39 years old and not 19 years old.

I know that not everyone is going to vote for Obama.But at least let it be a valid reason for not doing so.

Edited to add:And I asked him "What is wrong with being Muslim?" - He couldn't answer.

[babylonsister]

1. Our new mission is to educate, and you did just that! Thank you! Rec'd! nt

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. I even thought about making my own flyers to educate people.

Just give it to them and walk away and pray that they can read.

[babylonsister]

5. Ah, I remember this well in fighting against the dim one. You could

put flyers in the library, leave some in shopping carts, there are ways to get out the word. Hell, freeway bloggers! :)

[AZBlue]

6. I've used some handouts from Obama's site and left them on cars.

The link I was using is no longer valid now that we've moved beyond the primaries so I bet there will be new ones coming soon. However, I did find this:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/actioncenter/resourcelibrary/

[niceypoo]

20. Well, the means used to 'educate' Hillary supporters...

..drove them away in disgust. I believe the term is, 'negative reinforcement.'

Not advisable in the general.

[Joe Bacon]

43. Al Smith has the same lies thrown against him in 1928!

Dad told me all the lies that were spread about Al Smith in 1928. All those lies saying Al Smith would let the Pope call the shots and he would force everyone to convert to the Catholic church. And the Republic Party sure let stooges like Billy Sunday bullshit the masses about how godless New York City was. All those evil bootleggers financed by the Pope. Of course they never mentioned Chicago because one Al Capone was a good Republic Party member. Just imagine, if Al Smith had gotten into the White House, he would have taken action against the Depression right from the start and he could have minimized its impact instead of Hoover's do nothing attitude. Think of all the lives ruined by the stupidity that the Republic Party encouraged, and the same stooges are spreading the same bullshit!

[Muttocracy]

2. as for the experience argument - I thought it was the GOP pushing term limits not so long ago...

I thought they hated career politicians? :shrug:

[opihimoimoi]

13. What experience does McSame really offer? What are his ideas to advance the Nation? Nada

Old Band Aids is what the GOP Offers.....nothing exciting, Promising, and New.....The whole GOP Party is stuck on SLOW

[Muttocracy]

18. they shouldn't even want him in the Senate! nt

[opihimoimoi]

27. no shit...dump the dude....POS he is....

[whistler162]

45. Well from the 1980's you could site his....

experience in banking.:sarcasm:

[Emit]

4. Sounds like you did a good job, CarolinaPeridot

It is hard not getting defensive and/or frustrated with the ill- or misinformed -- I went door to door in '04 and '06, doing surveys and persuading voters. It's not easy.

Good job, Keep up the good work. We have a lot more educating by word of mouth, one vote at a time. And, don't get discouraged. It does get easier.

[AZBlue]

7. You did everything you could - thank you!

And you never know...

These barriers often aren't broken down in one day. You probably set that process in motion and he may just wind up voting for Obama in November after all! :D

[Yael]

8. How people can criticize his 20 year CHURCH in one breath and then claim they aren't

voting for a MUSLIM just short circuits my brain.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

9. Its because they are looking for excuses NOT to vote for him.

[Skittles]

21. don't forget

for a lot of people, these silly excuses are a lot more acceptable than saying I WON'T VOTE FOR A BLACK, PERIOD. As someone who has never been a fan of Obama I know this is not true of all naysayers but it certainly is true of SOME of them.

[Nay]

34. Short-circuits my brain, too -- and makes me realize yet again how

goddam stupid most ppl are.

[laugle]

10. It sounds to me

like you were rude, intimidating, condescending and lost your cool. I don't think you made a convert.

Best to read the book by Dale Carnegie, "How to win friends and influence people." It's a short read, it's sold a zillion copies, it's on e-bay............guaranteed it will change your life!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

11. I would rather be rude with the right facts ...

than to walk around ignorant.

Your opinion is your opinion.

And I wasn't trying to make a convert.I was just trying to let him know that Obama was never a Muslim.Its ok to call me rude ahhh who cares.Enjoy your night.

[laugle]

16. Sorry, I'm not saying you

are rude, I don't know you. But your argument sounded rude, etc.

People will draw there own conclusions, and perceive things in their own way. I agree with you about pointing out facts, but assuming a person is ignorant and taking a superior attitude gets you nowhere.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

19. I apologize.I do admit that I am hotheaded.

And there is room for me to learn.Thanks for pointing that out :hi:

[laugle]

25. You are a sweetie....

I've had a long career in sales/finance so I've read my share of closing the deal books. I hope you check that out.

After all, politicians are just sales people. If you like their product you buy it!

Influencing people to your point of view, is about presentation and product.

We all have things to learn from each other, no one is superior, of course some are wealthier, or have higher positions, but in the end a happy life comes from within us not from the outside. But creature comforts are nice too. Best to you....thanks for being receptive.............

[The Night Owl]

12. In the 1950s, churches took the lead in the Civil Rights Movement, but the movement...

...originated with the Communist Party USA, which fought valiantly against white supremacy and for the rights of black labor.

[ananda]

14. Who cares if O had a Muslim past or not?

I wouldn't even care if he were a Muslim
or even, heaven forfend, nothing at all.

Sheesh

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

15. Some people do apparently.

[Double T]

17. There is NOTHING wrong with being a Muslim. Denying the TRUTH.......

is the REAL PROBLEM. Enough said.

[babylonsister]

23. What truth are you talking about? I'm seriously curious. WTF

are you talking about? Are you listening too much to Hannity or Rush? :think: And just for you, here's a clock:

http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/fullscreen.html?mode=m&year=2008&month=6&day=11&hour=12&min=0&sec=0&p0=179

[ScottS]

28. I think he just meant the guy the OP was talking about was denying the truths told to him by the OP.

[Double T]

31. I don't listen to the RW or the LW shills or pundits; BOTH have a lot in common.

Denial got US bush; don't make the SAME mistake twice. And the clock is for what, as if I didn't know?

[The Night Owl]

26. A candidate's religion is not something which would dissuade me from voting for that candidate...

...but I can think of at least a few things wrong with following Islam......or Christianity... or Judaism... or Buddhism... or Hinduism... or Paganism... or any religion.

[Double T]

30. Religion of ANY TYPE has NO PLACE in politics or government..

bush exemplifies my opinion.

[The Night Owl]

35. That religion has no place in government goes without saying as far as I'm concerned...

...but my point was that I can think of a least a few reasons to criticize someone for being Muslim... or for being a follower of any religion.

Religion is not sacred for me. I have no qualms about criticizing or even ridiculing religion and those who don't like that can fuck off.

[Double T]

36. Religion should be personal and private; NOT shoved down the throat of others.

[babylonsister]

33. You still refuse to explain this remark? Then why did you put it here?

For the record, Obama is a Christian despite the shit you want to stir. And there is nothing wrong with Muslims, but he is not one.
YOU are part of the problem and remind me of this admin, who smeared anyone who might be Muslim because they are all "bad people" in the eyes of many who have been lied to. What's your excuse?

[Double T]

38. YOU filter what YOU want to hear and ignore the rest.

Quit twisting and ignoring my words.

[babylonsister]

42. You haven't answered the question. What "TRUTH" is being denied?

Do tell, I'm waiting.

[Double T]

44. The TRUTH is............

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5544 obama was a Muslim as a child, so what? I would be far more concerned about his recent Christian Rev. Wright associations and actions. If a candidate will lie about his past, what else would he lie about.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

47. He was never a Muslim as a child !

When he lived in Indonesia his family was registered "Muslim" because of his stepfather's belief.BUT Obama grew up as a Christian and attended a Catholic grade school where he received Christian teachings.

Why is this such a problem?

[Double T]

50. The problem isn't that BO was once a Muslim; the problem is HE denies it.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

51. Who cares ?

Have a great week.

Xenophobia will get you no where.

[babylonsister]

48. YOU have got to be kidding. First off, Pipes is a neocon bigot who's a

liar to boot, at least that's his reputation, based on comments by reputable people.

Second, Obama is not and never has been a Muslim, not that there's anything wrong with being a Muslim. I wish you'd read his book, "Dreams From My Father". You'd know the truth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pipes


Views on Islam

snip//

However, in The Nation, Kristine McNeil describes Pipes as an "anti-Arab propagandist" who has built a career out of "distortions...twist{ing} words, quot{ing} people out of context and stretch{ing} the truth to suit his purpose."{14} James Zogby argues that Pipes possesses an "obsessive hatred of all things Muslim", and that "Pipes is to Muslims what David Duke is to African-Americans."{15} Christopher Hitchens, a fellow supporter of the Iraq War and critic of political Islam, has also criticized Pipes, arguing that Pipes pursues an intolerant agenda, "confuses scholarship with propaganda", and "pursues petty vendettas with scant regard for objectivity", making him a "poor if not useless ally".

[OwnedByFerrets]

22. Not that idiots care.....

but when the "experience" thing is brought up.....My response is "yes, McSame has tons more experience at voting for 96% of Monkeyboys programs, including a war that spent over 4000 American soldiers lives and over 1 million Iraqi lives. If you like what Monkeyboy has done to this country, by all means vote for the "experiene" of McSame."

[davidpdx]

24. Some people are going to believe that shit

no matter how hard you try to set them straight. Most of them are probably McCain supporters anyway.

[Fly by night]

29. Had a 2 minute conversation w/ 3 Repub friends on Friday.

One is voting for Barr and the other two aren't voting.

I encouraged them all to look at Barr. I have some Libertarian tendencies myself, but my heart belongs to Obama.

Fired up. Ready to go.

[Honeycombe8]

32. He is free to vote for who he wants. By "muslim," what he means is....because Obama's black.

Don't let the various reasons fool you. If you listen carefully to Democrats who say they won't vote for Obama, they are all too eager to seize upon any reason that they could easily discover are untrue. A friend of mine quoted a rightwing e-mail about Michelle Obama, then denied her info came from one of those e-mails when I called her on it (oh, Linda...you know better than to believe those fake rightwing e-mails that they send around). I found the substance on Snopes....it IS a rightwing e-mail being circulated.

It boils down to race, IMO. And you cannot convince someone like that to vote for Obama. Best to concentrate on those who are not like that. Like the many moderate Republicans and Independents that are considering voting for Obama.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

37. Muslim is code word for "militant" and "black." They use the Muslim argument

to shield against claims of racism.

[complain jane]

39. One of my best friends votes however her Republican husband tells her to.

This year she heard Obama, Clinton and McCain speak on tv and told her husband she is voting for Obama and that if he votes for McCain he's an idiot. I was so proud.

[Duder]

40. Probably half the country won't vote

If they haven't been living under a rock the past 8 years the ones that do will vote for Obama.

[EFerrari]

46. The good news is that new Dem registrations are overwhelming

election boards ALL over the country.

We'll vote, all right. :)

[Tippy]

41. He couldn't answer.

"What is wrong with being Muslim?" - But many will answere 9/11...so prepair an answer...

[otohara]

49. Then He Can't Complain Later

or be proud.