Schlep?
For those of us who are not completely familiar with Yiddish, Schlep is a Yiddish word meaning to pull or tug. Schlepping is what many (mostly young) Obama supporting Jews are doing by dropping their lives for a couple of days and flying to Florida, land of the old and a state with a large Jewish population. These schleppers are migrating to Florida to convince their elderly grandparents to support and vote for Barack Obama on election day and to convince them that Obama supports those issues important to Jewish voters like Israel and to quell their fears of the fact that he is black. The Great Schlep occurred over pacing break so if any of you took part in the Great Schlep I'd
thegreatschlep.com states:
"The Great Schlep aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor. Don’t have grandparents in Florida? Not Jewish? No problem! You can still become a schlepper and make change happen in 2008, simply by talking to your relatives about Obama."
The website includes a funny (it includes some bad language, but its a fun intro) video from comedian Sarah Silverman as well!
The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.
The website, besides including funny Sarah Silverman includes talking points for jewish grandchildren to talk to their grandparents about to get them to support Obama, basic info, as well as how to donate and get involved.
Some people may think this is silly, but I think its an amazing campaign tactic! What is better than having your grandkids visit you and having them passionate about something!? Also, you obviously dont have to be Jewish to be a Schlepper. Most of us have grandparents and if we can't schlep over to where they live, pick up the phone and call them. Even if they don't change their mind, I bet that they will really appreciate a call from their grandchild! Unfortunately my grandmother is extremely Republican and loves Bill O'Reilly and thinks that Obama is in fact a Muslim, cause good old Bill told her so, but I still called her and told her I loved her anyways. She definitely didn't change her mind, but she definitely appreciated the call!
To read a news story about the GREAT SCHLEP click HERE!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Great story about you and your grandmother, Noelle. I read that about 100 people actually went down to Florida to talk to their grandparents. Of course, as you might expect, these were Democratic grandkids talking to Democratic grandparents who didn't need to be persuaded!
I think that it was interesting that this approach to campaigning was suggested and that it was really creative! I think that the Obama campaign/ those who support it have been really innovative in this election season. Even though, like you said, the great schlep was mostly young Democrats and their already Democratic supporting grandparents, I think that the media attention that this story got could also inspire others to do something in the same. I was inspired to call my grandmother, even though I knew that I would definitely NOT change her mind, but I thought sharing the story with her and calling her would be much appreciated! She did say that she thought it was a great idea, and she wishes that I would call her more often. Talking to someone with opposite political views of myself, and who is someone I love, is definitely an eye opening experience!
Post a Comment