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Story by LindyP
Every state and federal election day I stand there -the lone figure -in my green T shirt – searching for faces that I think will vote Green. Unfortunately in Perth , they are few and far between and so instead I like to observe people’s body language as they pass by.
I like to put them into groups –
First come the angry ones ,full of unspeakable resentment and horror that a person in a green T shirt has the nerve to stand there and offer them a card -they glare at me as if they could tear the T shirt off my back ,stamp on it and burn it in front of everyone there and then. They storm past me in silent fury and I can almost see the steam rising out of their ears.
Then come the quiet stony faced ones ,they avoid my glance and outstretched
hand ,keeping their own hands deep in pockets and completely ignoring the fact that I am present -I am invisible to this group -perhaps I am living in a parallel world -or perhaps like the bower bird they only recognise the colour blue.
Finally there are the cringers , avoiding my glance and hugging their shoulders as they furtively slip past me in a widening semi circle -as if they will catch some terrible disease if they come too close. The look says it all.
At the end of my shift I join the queue and go inside to vote. People in the queue are pleasant , friendly and chatty .
Little do they know that underneath my coat, my green T shirt lies waiting for it’s day of glory !
lindyp
Rosie said:
Lindy – I am with you 100%. Well done.
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Voice said:
I walked by and said a cheery “no thank you” to everyone this year .
You haven’t mentioned a group that actually takes a card. SOMEBODY must vote Greens.
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helvityni said:
I don’t understand why people dislike Greenies, I think they are truly the progressive party…
I’m never going to Western Australia, if you have to hide your political identity 🙂 Sorry Lindy
Posters on the Drum used to call Green voters watermelons…green only on outside, pink inside; Commies, Pinkos. How stupid can you get…
I like your little vignettes, Lindy, and I like your green T-shirt, wear it proudly…
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lindyp said:
Thanks Helvi -you have to keep a sense of humour when you volunteer on election day in Perth !
I had to cover up my T shirt to vote -you are not allowed to go inside wearing your party’s slogan.
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atomou said:
I’m there, Lindy! Right there with you! (See my little rant “A Feculent election Day)
I did the same and saw the very same people you’ve described. The three types: The angry ones, the stony faced ones and the cringers.
I do this at every election and I see yet another type: the hacklers.
These go past you and call out, for all to hear, things like “Yea, as if I’m gonna go hug a bloody tree!” or “Ha! The Green bloody nuisance party!” or “Why don’t you go back to Tasie with your cross-eyed sister!”
Luckily, I usually am there with friends and we mutter our own retorts, and chuckle our own chuckles, once these twerps (Twirts?) go past.
Fantastic to see the young ones joining the fray. It’ll be a long battle but it will be worth every insult we cop along the way and it’ll be a battle that we will win!
Keep up the enthusiasm and fly the Greens flag high and proud, Lindy!
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Big M said:
Atomou, I was hoping to see some Palmer party people, just to see what absolute, complete idiots look like in the flesh. We live in such a safe Labor seat that only the Labor bloke was at the polling booth. That, and the fact that the Liberal candidate was removed after it was revealed that he recently had his own web-site that condoned domestic violence.
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lindyp said:
I loved your Feculent Election day atomou-agreed with everything you said -loved the imagery. Wish the Greens had been around when I was young -a long time ago, and wish I still lived in Melbourne where it’s not a dirty word.
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atomou said:
What’s this “when I was young” about?
Zeus almighty! You’re still a squirt, Lindy! There’s a whoooooooole huuuuuge life ahead of you!
Had I been single and young and, say, without the fairly large immediate family I have now, I’d probably go to Perth, if only to spread the word. Like Dr Livingston… or rather, not like him because, of all the years he spent in Africa he managed to convert only one person to Christianity! No, I’d work harder and more effectively…
Join the party, Lindy, get involved in the debates, absorb the atmosphere, learn the reason behind the philosophy and gong people who don’t want to learn over the head with a brick!
Go forth, young woman and do some political head gonging!
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sandshoe said:
That is a beautiful photograph. Thank you for the description of your thoughts from your part of the electoral world, Lindy. I enjoyed reading it.
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lindyp said:
The photo is courtesy of Emm -she looks like a lovely young girl -thank you for your kind words sandshoe
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atomou said:
Emm took the photo?
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Therese Trouserzoff said:
“Took?”, well, “borrowed” off the interweb tubes, ‘Mou
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vivienne29 said:
Sad indeed. I can’t for the life of me work it out. I’ve seen that attitude in comments on the Drum and elsewhere. It makes no sense. Odd too that a lot of farmers say ‘I’m not a Greenie – but………’. They then go on to say how much they care for their land. I know about this as I assist a social science researcher and I also transcribe interviews she has with farmers.
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