Ignorance

I have received numerous emails declaring Barack Obama as an unfit candidate based solely on his religion and upbringing. Then, I got into a debate with a young man there who expressed with a chuckle in his voice that he was going to switch parties to vote for Hillary in the primary because he would do anything to make sure we don't get someone with the middle name "Hussein" in the white house. He went on to describe just how much he despises Obama, that he would not want him in office because he's really a Muslim pretending to be a Christian (like it matters what religion he is, anyway), and that he would rather see Hillary in the white house than some "Muslim who grew up in Indonesia." Mind you, Obama lived in Jakarta from age 6 to age 10. I know that's when I developed my religious ideas and political views... (in case you missed my tone, that was sarcasm).

Sadly, this was the second person Aaron had heard this week who jumped parties to throw off the democratic primary. It makes me wonder how many other people are doing the same thing, and it makes me sick to my stomach.

How someone could say they despise someone for being Muslim (especially when he's not even a Muslim), for the fact that he spent part of his life in a predominantly Islamic country... and not see any problem with saying something like that, with thinking something like that, it just makes me incredibly sad.

I know it's just politics, and by this time next year it will all be over, but that kind of blind discrimination and intolerance is unacceptable.

Ugh.

*This post has been edited. I would like to apologize to anyone who may have taken this as being an attack on the young man from the conversation. Really, this blog is not directed at him. It's intended as an extension of the big political conversation, and I am thankful that there are people having these conversations. So if you're reading this, I'm sorry. Please accept my apology and know that I didn't intend any disrespect by writing this. Also, if you have read this and interpreted it as harsh, I'm sorry for that as well - I am more concerned with the issue of religious intolerance and assumption than one individual's thinking.*