by Craig Wiesner – San Mateo Daily Journal – October 28, 2024
I don’t have very many photos of me during my early childhood. As the third kid my parents must have grown tired of taking photos and Super 8 movies. I do have a photo of my grade school class from PS105 and I vividly remember the kids in that photo. The interesting thing I asked myself as I pondered it is: to which of those children was I drawn as friends? Six decades later the answer is clear. Jennifer jumps off the tiny photo’s paper. She always had a sweet smile, a kind word, and was ready to help her classmates. She got top grades, always had her homework done, and carried herself with confidence and poise. As I go through the rest of the people sitting on the floor I see some who were friendly, some shy, and a small number downright mean.
I was bullied by a few of them, beaten up, called names, the target of pranks. Clark, in particular, was the bane of my existence. As I wrote in a long ago column, my grandfather had taught me not to let words wound me and I overcame having the nickname he gave me by pretending I liked it. Clark’s taunts transitioned to saying I seemed more like a girl than a boy. Once when he punched me harder than usual and I cried, he yelled “Aww… The little girl is crying for her mommy!” Funny, right?
And now I look at the other children in that class and realize there was an overall clear division. Many of the kids, boys and girls, were drawn to people like Jennifer, but around half the boys were drawn to Clark. Like many bullies he could make people laugh, broke all the rules, lied whenever caught, and it was far safer to be on his side than against him. I remember the division during recess. Me, alone on a bench reading, Jennifer and some kids playing together, and Clark and his entourage alternating between playing together and menacing me and a few other unlucky kids.
So what does this have to do with 2024? Well, I’m in Arizona right now volunteering as a Poll Chaplain / Peacekeeper. Part of the training involved knowing what to do if a truckload of people with AR-15s showed up at my polling place and got near the voters waiting in line. “As long as they don’t point their weapons directly at anyone you should do your best to keep everyone calm. It is an open carry state.” What’s the point of showing up outside a polling place or near a dropbox openly armed?
When I look at this election there couldn’t be a clearer metaphor for our choices than Jennifer and Clark. Yes, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in this giant classroom we call the United States of America care deeply about issues, policies, past performance and future possibilities and are choosing their candidates rationally, based on their behavior, platforms, and track records. Grocery prices, world conflicts, tax policies, freedom (bodily autonomy, bearing arms, freely loving whom you love, presenting your gender, speaking your mind, book banning, gas versus electric, unionizing, etc…) are all issues where folks are reasonably divided. Then, frankly, there’s recess.
With Vice President Kamala Harris I see Jennifer. Smart, well prepared, helpful, thoughtful, strong, surrounded by people I respect and someone I can count on to do the right thing. I look at the Democratic platform and listen to Harris on the campaign trail, during interviews, and I resonate positively with most of what she says. As a veteran I believe she’ll make a great Commander in Chief. As a shopkeeper I believe she’ll be good for business. As a columnist I believe she supports freedom of the press. There are issues I wish she’d take a different stand on, and I have faith that I can safely openly disagree.
I watch Donald Trump and see Clark and his cohorts. Trump calls people like me “the enemy within, radical left lunatics, evil Communists, lowlifes and crappy Jews,” promising to destroy us. The FOX News pundits say they love Donald Trump because he never backs down and knows how to throw a punch. They laugh and echo the names he calls people. They say Harris supporters, especially men, are “wimps with mommy issues.” They warn that not embracing Trump’s form of “masculinity” and electing Kamala Harris will destroy the country. They cheer when he says “I will be your retribution” (threatening domestic enemies). Trump’s opponents, including retired generals and many others who served his administration, say he’s a fascist who will undermine democracy.
So, it’s time to decide, Jennifer or Clark (I changed their names). Kamala or Donald? This isn’t a schoolyard game. The stakes are high. Please vote!
Craig Wiesner is the co-owner of Reach And Teach, a book, toy and cultural gift shop on San Carlos Avenue in San Carlos.