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Yes. But I feel that my whole life has been a sham. If America doesn’t stand for what we thought it stood for, if the country and the people aren’t something to be proud of, if we’re all actually ignorant bigots, if we’ve always been in the wrong but just didn’t know it…then everything turns to quicksand. Do you see what I mean at all?

I really hope this doesn’t come across as patronising, because it really isn’t meant to.

“Do I contradict myself? Then I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.”

I was having my car fixed recently, and the chap in charge of the garage is fantastic; clear about what work needs to be done, doesn’t rip you off, does what he says he will when he says so. There were some unfortunate but understandable and acceptable delays and he said, one afternoon “I’m glad you’re not black; those black blokes would have been pissing and moaning about the delays even though they’re not my fault.”

I was so shocked, I didn’t say anything.

I don’t think that all Americans are “ignorant bigots”, not even the ones that voted for Bush. Some may be ignorant (and that’s a shame, but at least the ignorant can be educated) and some may be bigots (which is more than a shame, but there are bigots everywhere) but that is by no means what defines your country, or your compatriots.

I’ve visited the USA twice and both times found it a friendly welcoming place with a generosity of spirit that I don’t often encounter in Britain. That was true of the people we were going to visit, but also of the people that we encountered at random, walking around the streets of Boston or driving through New England.

I’d be very surprised if those people have changed, just because of the politics of your country.

I’m really sorry that George Bush has been elected President again, but I’m not going to let that stop me liking what I see as great about America.

I really, sincerely think that most of the Bush votes came from ignorant, bigoted people. Yes, there was a chokehold on the American media, and anyone not getting their news online got a very skewed view of world events and the way that the outside world views the US. Yes, the current regime has carefully built an environment of fear that effected the voting. But let me tell you about a personal case: my entire family.

They’re the very best of small-town folk. They’re good people, they help neighbors or anyone in need. My father was a well-respected local cop, my mother helps the needy through church groups. But they are all rabidly pro-Bush because of moral and religious issues. Because they are anti-gay and pro-church. They are against abortion and for prayer in schools. They have a distrust of foreigners and a belief that anyone from outside the US (unspoken connotation: BROWN people from outside the US) are here to either commit terrorist acts or suck on the welfare teat. They have a very bigoted, close-minded attitude. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t great people…they are, and I love them very much. It just means that they have very fucked-up reasons for voting.

I think that last paragraph should be x-posted everywhere – it’s a very succinct way of saying what lots of people have been trying to say all over the net…

*nods*

It’s not all that different here, I guess; which is not intended in any way to detract from the point you’re making.

It’s only really in the last 5 years that my dad didn’t vote Conservative as a kneejerk; through the 14+ years of Tory rule he voted for them each time, despite getting made redundant twice in the 80s because of the bust that they brought to this country. Their attitude towards non-white people is that weird mix of condescending and scared; my mum still has a collection box at home “for the little brown babies in Africa”.

And they’re good people, and I love them too.

I forget how lucky we are in this country sometimes.

Anyhow; long winded as always; I guess I just wanted to say that in a small way, I understand, I hope.