My Great-Aunt (bless her 87 year old heart) received this mailer
a couple of days ago. She was born two years after the 19th amendment (giving women the right to vote) was ratified. Her mother belonged to the National Women's Party (which was originally the Congressional Union which was formed to lobby for a federal amendment to our Constitution giving women the right to vote). She's definitely pro-union, as was a majority of my family.
Throughout the years growing up, my relatives would tell me that the Unions protected the workers, and fought for better conditions than the horrific ones her parents and grandparents had worked under. She would tell me stories that her father had told her about the treatment that workers received, and how they had no rights whatsoever, and that I should thank my lucky stars that I had to get up every morning and go to school instead of working in a factory where little kids, sometimes as young as 5 years old, were put to work. Sometimes they died from unsafe conditions. (I can remember thinking to myself that they were just telling me this so I would behave....little did I realize how true it was.)
You'd think she would have been supportive of that apprenticeship law the Town was going to push through, right?
Not a chance.
On a visit with her just after the apprenticeship law was offered for a resolution at the Town Board meeting - I asked her what her thoughts were on it.
She replied: "I still support unions, because they do protect the workers rights, and fight for competitive salary and benefits that support American families, but I will NOT support this in a mandated law. People have the right to choose, and this law does NOT GIVE ME THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE! The taxpayers are responsible for too many mandates already. There's no need for this law. It protects special interests, not workers rights."
I felt bad that I brought the subject up, because I'm sure her blood pressure went up a bit, and I didn't want to upset her, so I changed the subject to the cross stitch project she was working on (which was absolutely beautiful, by the way).
Fast forward to the other day when she showed me the mailer when I was over for a visit. I asked why she still had this laying around (she usually dumps them in the recycling bin as soon as she gets them - but only the Republican ones lol), and she feigned ignorance - which she doesn't do very well - (She may be 87, but she's still sharp as a machete. She cuts through bullsh$(* like one too, as my cousins can attest to) and she told me she wanted me to see it.
I asked her, "Are you voting for them? Republicans?" (She's been a Democrat her whole adult life, as far as I know.)
Of course she wouldn't tell me, because "We don't talk about such things...". lol But, she had a sly smile on her face when she said it.
I honestly don't know who she's voting for on Tuesday, but I do know she is not happy with a lot of the decisions made by the current administration, and she is sick of the taxes going up with no services increasing, and she doesn't like the apprenticeship law. I'm not sure how she voted in the King$ Pork lease referendum.....she might have voted "yes"...I'm not sure. I know she wants a Community Center, not just a Senior Center, (we had this conversation after the vote) and she is a supporter of the two libraries, not a consolidated one.
I think this mailer caught her eye because of the apprenticeship law. I guess this issue is important to her. Other people may not think it's important, but she does. That's all I need to know. No need for me to write a letter saying how her opinions are taking the town hostage, and I don't need to write a blog telling her that her opinions on this issue are insignificant. I'll leave that up to the "professionals".
Remember, "no voice is too small or too insignificant" - even if it's Richard Barone's or Bob Ament's or my Great-Aunt's? I can't tell from the letters that have been written about them the past year, it seems kinda the opposite to me. You label them as "crazy" or "negative groups that take the town hostage" without providing any sort of reasonable proof that they really are crazy and taking the town hostage.
I guess I should believe you guys because you are so "positive" and not "negative", right?
*giggle*
Here's the full Republican ad that was in Thursday's I Post.
