The Voting Booth

by Brandy Colbert

He’s not the first person to judge my coffee consumption, and he won’t be the last.

“Change takes time. And patience. And…a willingness to listen to people we may not understand.”

“That’s what people want—for us to be too scared to stand up for ourselves and what we believe in. I think that’s more dangerous than trying to change things.

That, if he was on foot, he should keep his hands up and in clear view, away from his pockets; if he was in a car, he should keep his hands on the steering wheel or dashboard unless explicitly directed to reach for his license and registration—and that he should do whatever it took to stay alive.

Not safe. Alive.

And I’ve been pulled over and—some people aren’t so lucky, you know? Some people don’t make it out of a ‘routine traffic stop,’”

I know voting doesn’t solve everything, and people may think one vote isn’t all that important, but I really believe it makes a difference.”