Why Don’t You Like Me?
I was conversing with my friend Lewis tonight about politics. He mentioned how much some people frustrate him.
This simple conversation made me think of a house down the street. I pass it all the time. I dread that house. I try to avoid looking at it.
There is a mini-van that is often in the driveway. It has one of those “Marriage=Man+Woman” bumper stickers that were so popular during the 2004 elections. Even though 4 long years have passed, this person still maintains that sticker on the back of the vehicle.
It’s a statement of hatred. It’s an ever so subtle way of saying “I don’t like you”. It reminds me that the bullies who picked on me at the playground have now grown up into bullying adults.
I feel fairly certain the driver of this vehicle is a woman. There is a car in the driveway, probably her husband’s. Isn’t it funny how much you can assume about strangers?
There have been many times I wanted to knock on the door and just say “Hey lady, what happened in your life that made you hate me so much that you’d ride around with an anti-gay sticker for 4 years?”
Well today I noticed that she (or they) had put a McCain/Palin sign in their yard. Whoa, what a shocker. I could have never seen that one coming.
I felt even more compelled to stop by, knock on the door, and just look into the eyes of the person. I wanted to see who they were, and try to get a feel for their spirit.
But I didn’t, and probably never will. It’s their home, their yard, their car. They can do what they want. I just wish they felt I deserved to do what I want too.
It’s strange how you can build a whole story around a bumper sticker and a sign, isn’t it? 
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I’ll admit this probably sounds simplistic and naive, but I’ll wager the person with the bumper sticker has never known a gay couple … or even a gay person. To him/her/them, it’s just the idea of “gay” she’s against, and no one in particular. Gays are “those people I’ve seen on TV” and “those people my preacher has told me about.”
Now, explaining away why they’re Republican? I have no idea.
This post would really set them off, I’m afraid:
http://spiritofsaintlewis.blogspot.com/2008/08/pat-robertsons-nemesis.html
We’ve got one of those houses near us…homemade signs in the windows, bumper stickers, yard signs….all behind a big fence. Curtains closed. Lovely people, I must say. I’m kidding….they’re rotten….but, of course, they haven’t met the likes of you and me yet….that’d change their minds!