I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for this election season to be over. I’m done with the never-ending TV ads, phone calls, and texts, not to mention the overabundance of lawn signs. You can’t escape them.
When I started this blog in 2014, I said I wouldn’t talk about politics, religion, or my in-laws. I held true to that promise for awhile. But as the years passed, things happened and I wrote about it. I shared some stories about discriminatory situations we as a mixed race family have experienced, and I made my position known on some (should-not-be) controversial topics that I felt strongly about.
As outspoken as I may be on certain topics and as obvious as it may seem which way I lean politically, I’m not one to outwardly announce my political affiliation (I’m a registered independent, by the way) or presidential candidate of choice by way of a lawn sign. Never have. Never will.
Why?
For one reason, it’s nobody’s business. Ballots are cast in secret for a reason.
More importantly, though, I don’t engage in lawn sign culture because it’s potentially unsafe for me to do so — and that makes me both sad and angry.
While I can blend in with the majority of people in my community, my husband and sons cannot. We’ve experienced targeted hatred, bigotry, and racism before. There’s no need to call extra attention to ourselves with a sign.
Our reality is this: Adding a sign to our lawn could potentially bring hate to our front door — and that is not a chance I’m willing to take.
I wasn’t always an active voter, I’m embarrassed to admit. But when you marry a man who strongly believes in the importance of casting your vote, you start to pay attention. Having kids—Black ones, especially—makes it even more important.
I’m not here to tell anyone how to vote. (Okay, I’ve actually been in my mother’s ear, making sure she’s considering her Jewish and Black grandsons when she casts her ballot.) But I will ask you to think about others, not just yourself, when you make your decision. After all, we all deserve to pursue life, liberty, and happiness without sacrificing our safety.
—LJDT
