Just a little background on my grandfather....he's 90 years old and has been pretty racist towards basically anyone who's not white and Jewish all his life, especially African Americans. It seems like later in his life, it's gotten worse, and while he used to try to hide it and not make it so obvious, now he's got no problems throwing around the n-word and schvartze which is the Yiddish word for a black person, typically used in a derogatory manner. I don't know if he's just gotten meaner (and dare I say...bitter) later on in life, or if senility is kicking in. I have no idea, but either way, it's sad and unfortunate, and because of that (and other things, mainly family issues I won't get into. Long story) none of us really want to be around him, including me, so I never talk to him, especially about politics, so I was just going to concede 2 votes, one for him, and one for my grandma, to McCain, despite the fact we're in Missouri where every vote will count. Some things just aren't worth arguing over, especially with these two.
My grandma and grandpa are both moderate Democrats. They voted for Clinton both times, and Gore and Kerry. And they voted for Hillary in the primary. But when Obama sealed the nomination, they initially refused to vote for him for no reason other than the color of his skin. Disgusting, isn't it? My grandfather (by the way, when I say my grandfather said something, I guarantee my grandmother agreed with him 100%, they're 2 peas in a pod with this racist crap) said such gems as "I don't want to see a n****r in the White House!" and "Any Jew who votes for Obama is screwed up in the head" which, of course, came off as rather insulting to his entire family, who are all proudly casting their ballots for Obama. But this man has said worse things to me before, so I brush it off. He believes Obama is anti-Semitic, but race is the main factor (he just won't admit to that part).
My dad, who is 110% behind Obama, and visits them on a very regular basis, has tried to change their mind before to no avail. Typically, any attempt by him to debunk this bullshit is met with a "you don't know what the hell you're talking about!" (see why none of us want to be around him?). They treated my dad and his brother like crap their entire lives, but they both help them out as needed. Despite how badly they treated them in the past, they're still his parents and he feels an obligation to help. My grandma is permanently in a wheelchair and can barely move her legs. My grandpa had a stroke a couple years back and while he can still walk with some difficulty, he doesn't have much feeling in his legs and he can't drive anymore so he relies on my dad to, as us Jews say, schlep him around for errands and such.
Today, my dad had to go over there, and when he walked into their apartment, Fox was on the TV, Obama was on Fox, and the typical tirade of "N****r-this" and "Schvartze-that" was coming out of their mouths. But my dad, who normally doesn't argue with them, was relentless this time. My dad doesn't hang around on Daily Kos or barackobama.com to get talking points: he's barely a step above McCain when it comes to computer literacy. Most of what he gets is what he sees on TV and reads in the paper, and every now and then, what he hears from me, so he's probably not the best person to try to convince someone to vote a certain way. Something must have changed with my grandparents, because my dad was successfully able to debunk the anti-Semitic crap. He found out that with them, it wasn't so much that they thought Obama was anti-Semitic, they just didn't like the fact that Louis Farrakhan and Jessie Jackson (who both have said plenty of stupid shit) were Obama supporters, and that Obama was guilty by association. My dad mentioned that Obama has denounced things these two have said, and more importantly, has no control over who supports him. And they almost seemed to buy it. There was also, in one of their Jewish magazines, an advertisement, or story of some sort (I didn't see it so I don't know exactly what it is) about Obama wishing Jews a Happy New Year (Rosh Hashana is tomorrow) which I think eased their fears even more. Next up was healthcare. My grandparents have some huge medical bills, and while they're pretty wealthy and haven't had much difficulty in the past with bills, it's something still important to them. My dad basically just repeated what we all know....McCain thinks our current healthcare system is just fine, and Obama wants to guarantee every American has adequate healthcare. I'm just paraphrasing here, my dad said he went into more detail. Then, of course, the economy. My grandpa is many things, but he's sharp as a tack when it comes to Wall Street. They've got plenty of investments that could be at risk. And, last year, they had to move from their condo into an assisted living complex. But, they still haven't sold that condo over a year later, which is still costing them money in condo fees and taxes, and the current mortgage meltdown isn't helping them out with that, and my grandpa damn well knows who's responsible for this mess...the republicans.
Healthcare and the economy aren't enough to convince them though. What's got them almost convinced is, you guessed it. Sarah Palin. I don't think these two know her full background yet, especially the Jews for Jesus crap. But what they have seen, they don't like at all. They don't think she's qualified, they've seen the interviews and think she's as dumb as a rock, and they don't want her a heartbeat away from the presidency. So, now my grandfather, who was completely behind McCain, now says he doesn't know who to vote for. That's right, my racist grandparents, given the choice between a white guy, and a black guy, don't know who to vote for. Hell has frozen over.
At 90 years old, racism doesn't just go away, so I am not quite sure they could ever actually bring themselves to vote for a black guy, and if they did, I don't think they would even admit to it. I think right now, if anything, they might not vote at all, which is better than voting for McCain. But my dad knows he has a little over a month left to try to drive the final nail in the coffin and completely bring them over to our side. He's going to keep working on it, and when I see them later in October, I'll definitely give it a shot too.