Internship Incidents: “You’ll be a Republican when you’re older.”
I’ve spent the majority of my summer interning with a New Jersey based political consulting firm. Much of the work involved canvassing, phone banking, and voter outreach for the Democratic candidates throughout the state. Throughout my time working on these campaigns, I’ve had my fair share of people hang up on me or curse at me, often gruftly telling me “I’m a Republican” or “I hate the Democrats.”
These incidences don’t often bother me. I understand that people have different political views. And while I wish they wouldn’t take their frustration out on an unpaid intern, I have to respect their rights to disagree with me. These conversations don’t feel personal. They aren’t attacking me or even what I believe. They just don’t want to be bothered by something or someone they already know they disagree with.
One incident, however, sticks out in my mind as being sharply different from the others. A co-worker and I were doing volunteer recruitment and outreach at a local college campus when we were approached by an older man. I was mid-conversation with a student about her potentially volunteering when this man interrupted me to tell me “You’ll be a Republican when you’re older.” He walked off with a smug smile, like he was bragging about a well-won argument. I was speechless.
As we made our way back to the office, my co-worker and I mused about the strange interaction with the man. We were curious; what did that man gain from his rude interruption? Did he feel superior to us because of our political affiliations? Did he just want to make a point? Was he just being the equivalent of a troll?
The comment bothered me more than any other interaction I had ever had with a potential voter. I hated that this man felt superior to me and felt the need to interrupt me doing my job to tell me just that. I was bothered by his assumption that because I was only twenty, I could’t possibly know what I believed.
I may only be twenty, but I’d like to think I’m pretty smart. I am a political science major. I now have experience working on campaigns. I have a pretty good idea of the causes and policies that are important to me. I know my morals and my code of ethics. I’m proud of them. I support the candidates that I support because I believe in their values and policy proposals. I don’t blindly support things because “all young people are Democrats.”
There’s nothing wrong with being a Democrat or a Republican at any age. I doubt the man who I met that day would ever read this, but if he does; I understand that you and I may disagree on many things, but I hope you’d agree with me that I deserve the same degree of respect for my beliefs as you do. That respect shouldn’t be conditional on age.
