Last week I covered Kelowna's (first ever?) vote mob. A bunch of people got together in downtown Kelowna and learned some really basic dance choreography for a music video the organizers were going to put together that they hoped would go viral. It was really neat to see young people excited about politics and excited about voting. Statistically, young people just don't head to the polls. I don't necessarily think it's our fault, there's a lot to blame: politicians who don't reach out to young people, platforms that don't include topics we're interested in and a lack of education about the voting process in high school.
It was cool to be in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a vote mob. Everyone was dressed in red or white (Canadian colours, obviously) or were wearing Canadian flags as capes or wearing those famous Olympic mittens ($10 at the Bay, seriously) or Canadian sunglasses or...well...you get the point. There was a lot of Canadian pride going on.
I feel, or at least, I hope the people there seriously wanted to be the change. The group spontaneously broke out in Oh Canada at one point and then did the wave after their dance choreography and chanted Canada as they huddled around a downtown landmark. It's the type of behaviour we're used to seeing in this country after a gold medal hockey game (Olympics 2010 and 2006 if you don't remember), not the behaviour we associate with young people wanting to vote.
May 2 is coming up pretty quickly. I hope this vote mob and the others like it across this country weren't just a passing thing. We need change and these young voters could be it. I'm crossing my fingers.
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