I went to the first Manhattan event for Obama that was a citywide thing, organized by New York City For Obama. First it was slated to be at Rudy's near Times Square where I have been going for Drinking Liberally. But soon too many had signed up and something more spacious was found. You could just feel the energy. We ended up in the East Village, I think.
Then I went to the first Brooklyn event for Obama. It was in Park Slope. I had planned on walking, but with my usual disorganization and last minute catchup, I boarded the train. I got reminded of the Brooklyn appeal. The place was just so much more spacious, the street outside quieter. Manhattan tends to be high tempo, crowded. You could just feel the energy.
Manhattan is for work. Brooklyn is for living.
When I landed in NYC, I sought out DFNYC and that was all good except Howard Dean was no longer running for president. I never got around to getting excited about the many local races the organization specializes in. The mayoral election got me excited, but apparently it did not excite DFNYC.
Since then I have been going to several groups.
Drinking Liberally DL21C Manhattan Young Dems
But only now I feel the energy and the sense of purpose. All these Manhattan groups have been disproportionately white. You can put people in the same room, but the boundaries stay. The Obama crowd is more colorful, more to my taste, more reminding of NYC to me.
I am a Brooklynite. I have been going to Manhattan events, because events by the same groups in the outer boroughs tend to be much smaller. I remember going to a Drinking Liberally event in Williamsburg, since I really like that place, it is more leisurely, it has this Mardi Gras, New Orleans ring to it, but I was a little late, and it felt like noone showed up. I did not meet anyone. Back then I had a car. I readily drove back.
It is that same democratic arithmetic that drives me to the Nepali political events in Queens. And the biggest Nepali events are easily larger than the big events of the major Manhattan progressive groups. Go figure.
http://my.barackobama.com
This is a great tool. Gives Obama 2008 a clear edge. This is The Matrix that I had envisioned, only much better. It is really user friendly. It has also been good for my mailing list.
http://groups.google.com/group/dfAmericana
You add one listserv email address, and the larger ones now are hundreds strong. The largest is 2,000 strong.
I have been making some friends. I have also been pitching my business plan on the side to select contacts.
Obama 2008 feels like Race 2.0. Top income bracket professionals who have come to a strong realization that identity never goes away, is not supposed to go away relate to Obama 2008. It is not even about shared experiences in racism. It is just a realization that race continues to be a reality even when racism might not be around. There is healthy acceptance of one's heritage, a more muscular approach to remnants of racism.
For me it is global from day one. Obama is my Third World guy.
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