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| ‘Please skip our door’: what I learned canvassing for Clinton in Philadelphia | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| I signed up to take a bus to canvass voters on behalf of the Democratic party in Philadelphia two days before the election because of fear. Fear of a Trump presidency. Fear that I could have tried harder. Fear that if the worst happens, it would be my fault. | I signed up to take a bus to canvass voters on behalf of the Democratic party in Philadelphia two days before the election because of fear. Fear of a Trump presidency. Fear that I could have tried harder. Fear that if the worst happens, it would be my fault. |
| “What did you do in the election?” I imagined my nephews saying, in a post-Trumpalyptic world. I went to Philadelphia so that at least I could say, “Well, on a Sunday in early November, I knocked on some doors.” | “What did you do in the election?” I imagined my nephews saying, in a post-Trumpalyptic world. I went to Philadelphia so that at least I could say, “Well, on a Sunday in early November, I knocked on some doors.” |
| But I’m hardly your typical hardcore Clinton supporter. I do want her to be the next president of the United States, but I’ve not yet peeled the “Billionaires can’t buy Bernie” sticker off my laptop. For most of the election, the lack of excitement I felt about Clinton was enough to keep me from getting more involved. I didn’t care that she was bad at managing email – so am I, to be fair – but I just wasn’t inspired by her ideas. | But I’m hardly your typical hardcore Clinton supporter. I do want her to be the next president of the United States, but I’ve not yet peeled the “Billionaires can’t buy Bernie” sticker off my laptop. For most of the election, the lack of excitement I felt about Clinton was enough to keep me from getting more involved. I didn’t care that she was bad at managing email – so am I, to be fair – but I just wasn’t inspired by her ideas. |
| But then I became anxious. In that, I was not alone. As the election nears, across America there are reports of rising anxiety in people opposed to Trump – especially women, people of color, LGBTQ people and children. I posted on Facebook: did anyone else want to deal with their anxiety by coming to knock on doors in Pennsylvania, the nearest swing state to where we live in Brooklyn? My friend Sid offered to join me. Even better, she offered to drive us from Brooklyn to Philadelphia in her car so we could leave seats on the campaign bus for other volunteers. | But then I became anxious. In that, I was not alone. As the election nears, across America there are reports of rising anxiety in people opposed to Trump – especially women, people of color, LGBTQ people and children. I posted on Facebook: did anyone else want to deal with their anxiety by coming to knock on doors in Pennsylvania, the nearest swing state to where we live in Brooklyn? My friend Sid offered to join me. Even better, she offered to drive us from Brooklyn to Philadelphia in her car so we could leave seats on the campaign bus for other volunteers. |
| When we arrived at the field office in the neighborhood of Fishtown in Philadelphia, a tall young man at the door signed us in. “Take a sticker,” he said, indicating a big roll of Clinton-Kaine labels, designed for lapels. Then he gave us our instructions: we were to only talk to registered voters who planned to vote for Clinton – and not try to change the minds of Trump supporters. Our job was to ensure that everyone knew how to get to their polling place on Tuesday and to remind them to bring ID and vote early. If they seemed unsure about their decision, our script directed us to say “I can certainly understand not being sure” and to choose one of three reasons why we had decided to support Clinton: her support for children and families. Her preparation and experience. The fact that “she never quits anything she believes in” and “keeps fighting when she gets knocked down”. None of the reasons had to do with being terrified of fascism. | When we arrived at the field office in the neighborhood of Fishtown in Philadelphia, a tall young man at the door signed us in. “Take a sticker,” he said, indicating a big roll of Clinton-Kaine labels, designed for lapels. Then he gave us our instructions: we were to only talk to registered voters who planned to vote for Clinton – and not try to change the minds of Trump supporters. Our job was to ensure that everyone knew how to get to their polling place on Tuesday and to remind them to bring ID and vote early. If they seemed unsure about their decision, our script directed us to say “I can certainly understand not being sure” and to choose one of three reasons why we had decided to support Clinton: her support for children and families. Her preparation and experience. The fact that “she never quits anything she believes in” and “keeps fighting when she gets knocked down”. None of the reasons had to do with being terrified of fascism. |
| Fishtown was once home to the Delaware river’s shad fishing industry. Today, many of the narrow, cozy-looking rowhouses in the town are still decorated with fishy motifs, but they house middle-class families, young couples, groups of cohabiting twentysomething roommates. The people in the neighborhood we covered were predominately white. | Fishtown was once home to the Delaware river’s shad fishing industry. Today, many of the narrow, cozy-looking rowhouses in the town are still decorated with fishy motifs, but they house middle-class families, young couples, groups of cohabiting twentysomething roommates. The people in the neighborhood we covered were predominately white. |
| I know these demographics in part because this is the nature of canvassing: in a couple of hours, you get an unprecedented window into the homes of the strangers who open their doors to you. Roommates sitting around coffee tables. Some foyers were lit with fancy chandeliers; others with modest lamps in paper shades. A woman drinking a beer and making a delicate watercolor. | I know these demographics in part because this is the nature of canvassing: in a couple of hours, you get an unprecedented window into the homes of the strangers who open their doors to you. Roommates sitting around coffee tables. Some foyers were lit with fancy chandeliers; others with modest lamps in paper shades. A woman drinking a beer and making a delicate watercolor. |
| In Fishtown, very few people had doorbells. Maybe they’re obsolete devices in an era where no one stops by unexpectedly. Showing up unannounced is an act of social awkwardness in 2016. Many folks didn’t answer their doors to us. Why would they? We stuck Post-It notes by their doorknobs with details to remind them to vote. | In Fishtown, very few people had doorbells. Maybe they’re obsolete devices in an era where no one stops by unexpectedly. Showing up unannounced is an act of social awkwardness in 2016. Many folks didn’t answer their doors to us. Why would they? We stuck Post-It notes by their doorknobs with details to remind them to vote. |
| Sid and I divided the work. I talked. She identified houses and names, tracked responses and directions on the clipboard. Some people we spoke to were happy to see us. “You’re doing great work!”. Some people were less happy. “I’ve talked to ten of you in the last few days!” said a woman in a house with jaunty autumnal decorations in her windows, before shutting her door. | Sid and I divided the work. I talked. She identified houses and names, tracked responses and directions on the clipboard. Some people we spoke to were happy to see us. “You’re doing great work!”. Some people were less happy. “I’ve talked to ten of you in the last few days!” said a woman in a house with jaunty autumnal decorations in her windows, before shutting her door. |
| This is the burden that people living in Pennsylvania and other swing states must carry for all of America: relinquishing their right to a quiet Sunday afternoon at home two days before the election. One household erected a friendly sign: “Dear HRC volunteers,” it read, in buoyant handwriting, “We can’t wait to elect the first female president ... Please skip our door and go knock where it’s needed. Thank you for all your hard work.” It was signed with a heart. | This is the burden that people living in Pennsylvania and other swing states must carry for all of America: relinquishing their right to a quiet Sunday afternoon at home two days before the election. One household erected a friendly sign: “Dear HRC volunteers,” it read, in buoyant handwriting, “We can’t wait to elect the first female president ... Please skip our door and go knock where it’s needed. Thank you for all your hard work.” It was signed with a heart. |
| Sunset in Fishtown was rosy and beautiful. Sid and I finished all of the houses on our list – 74 – and started to walk back to the office. The streets were mostly quiet. Two men walked past us, across the street. “He’s gonna vote for Trump!” one called over, pulling on his friend’s sleeve. “Nah,” said the friend, “I’m not gonna vote for anyone!” We shook our heads. Our work was done. | Sunset in Fishtown was rosy and beautiful. Sid and I finished all of the houses on our list – 74 – and started to walk back to the office. The streets were mostly quiet. Two men walked past us, across the street. “He’s gonna vote for Trump!” one called over, pulling on his friend’s sleeve. “Nah,” said the friend, “I’m not gonna vote for anyone!” We shook our heads. Our work was done. |