YES WE CANNNNNNN

I'm sure everyone is blogging about the election but... HOW CAN YOU NOT?!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OBAMA WON!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!!!!!!

We took Q down to his county to vote & guess what? He was in & out within like 10 minutes. I swear! I was like dang! We should've waited till today to vote. Oh well, I don't mind standing in line for change.

We hung out at his dad's place for a minute & went back home around 6 or so. I watched the entire process on CNN all night; from beginning to end. Well, I switched to Trading Spouses, Real Housewives & Rocky inbetween but I caught most of it. I wanted to be surprised at the numbers so didn't want to watch it the whole time. At 1st McCain was in the lead 8-3 & then I turned back & it was like 33-16 (or something) in favor of Obama. Can't remember the specific #s but Obama kept soaring & never looked back. I screamed for joy EVERY. SINGLE. TIME his # went up, even if it was 4 points. lol. By the time he reached over 270 I was ecstatic. I ran in the room to tell Actor, high fived Q & screameddddddddddddddddd. Longest scream I've ever done in my entire life! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I wanted to go outside & run around & scream but decided not to. lol.

Everybody started calling us & we called others & all screamed & talked shit. Everyone we knew were rejoicing.

It was THE most amazing thing that I've ever seen in my whole entire political life. For the American political life period. The 1st African American president. Wow. I'm SOOOOOOOO proud. I feel deeply honored to be a part of this. I've always been a huge supporter & believer of civil rights. I'm so thankful for those before us that led the way, fought, bled & stood their ground so that we could come to this. It's a beautiful beautiful thing. I might not be black but my family & friends are & I'm a minority in this country so I still feel proud. I feel proud for Actor & Q & all African Americans. It's indescribable how much the atmosphere has changed. At that exact moment.

Actor said (looking at the tv) that black people actually look like they belong now (referring to this black lady host amongst her white counterparts.) That black children actually have a shot at becoming a president now. Nothing is impossible now. He said that back then black parents used to tell their kids that they could be anything, but they knew deep down inside that it couldn't be a president, you know? Can't kill a kid's dreams though.

Him & Q said that there's no excuse for black people now. Especially men. Alot of them feel like society and/or the judicial system is against them or whatever & now they can't say that. They can't use that excuse anymore to be sorry at anything. At parenting, having a job or any race related cop out.

I personally hoped that alot of racist people were watching, people who think white people are the only good or that only the blacks were happy for Obama's win. The crowd proved otherwise. Obama coming out & everyone at Grant Park (blacks, whites, asians, hispanics... everyone) cheering brought me to tears. It was refreshing & life changing to see that everyone wanted him to be president. Not just blacks.

That leads me to another subject: haters. I just don't understand why people are so hateful, angry & narrow-minded. Every since this election started there were strong supporters on both sides. But people are so wrapped up in their own views that they are condescending to the opposite party & I really can't stand it. My coworkers get so worked up & upset at each other talking politics that they don't speak to each other for days. I don't discuss politics at work anyway so don't ever engage them. But it's so disturbing to hear people call each other stupid & narrow-minded when you're the one doing the same but even worse. Everyone has their own opinion, who's to say who's right or wrong? Just stick to what YOU believe in & let others feel how they feel, you know?

On that note, I couldn't believe that the McCain supporters booed while he was making his congratulatory speech. Are you kidding me? Have some class and/or respect for your country & new president. HE AIN'T GOING NOWHERE. At that moment I actually felt a little sympathetic towards McCain. He's a good guy & he ran his race. Not many people can say that they've ran for President.

But they did & Obama won. By more than double. Now THAT I wasn't expecting. Since both sides had such strong supporters I thought this was gonna be the most heated & close race in history but it was quite contrary. I couldn't believe the numbers; I know alot of McCain supporters didn't believe it either. But that just goes to show that AMERICA wants Obama. Not just blacks. Not just younger people. But EVERYONE. Refer to the crowd at Grant Park for proof. And the number; numbers don't lie. He even won Florida & numerous other "Republican" states. Goes to show even further that everyone feels like change is needed. And they feel that Obama can bring that change. So for all those who say that people are stupid for voting for Obama I guess the whole nation is stupid then. We'll all be stupid together.

I'm extremely proud that this election broke voting records. From people voting for the 1st time to those who are voting again after a long time. From younger & more urban people to older & conservative people. From gays to straight, rich poor, abled & disabled. Everyone showed up & did their thing. That makes me proud. To see everyone unite for a cause worth believing in, for change that we needed. Shows that anything is possible when people work together.

Many people are fearing assassination plots and such. I refuse to believe that someone will carry that out. I'm sure many are thinking it, but if someone were to try then I'd be so disappointed at this country. I would lose my patriotism. I just, I dunno, I pray for his safety but I also pray that I wouldn't have to pray for his safety, you know? I shouldn't have to. People need to stop being so hateful.

But at the end of the day, I am proud to say that I am VERY happy that Obama is our new president. I pray for him to be successful, loved & respected. I pray that he makes the right decisions, change the right things & make a positive impact in this country & world. I have so much faith in him as I'm sure millions of others do. Make us proud Mr. Barack Obama. We'll stand by you every step of the way.

Love,
Hanh