Should Republicans Be Obliged To Vote Based On Race?

I’m of the opinion that nobody should be obliged to vote based on race. Or gender. Or any other immutable characteristic. If you voted for Barack Obama just because his dad was black, you’re a rube. If you’re voting for Hillary Clinton just because she has a vagina, you’re a rube. I’d rather you weren’t a rube, rube.

But I’m in the minority, if you’ll pardon the term. Here’s a tweet that Twitchy calls “panic-inducing,” from Tim Mak of the Daily Beast:

"It's the first time we voted in a caucus," said Eduardo Gonzalez, a Cuban-American who voted for Trump rather than the two Cuban-Americans

— Tim Mak (@timkmak) February 24, 2016

“Rather than.” Because, you see, that’s the expectation: If you’re Cuban-American, you will vote for another Cuban-American because you’re both Cuban-Americans.

I really like Twitchy, and I really don’t like Donald Trump, but the idea that this should be “panic-inducing” baffles me. Why are we expecting people to vote based on race? That’s what Democrats want people to do. It’s one thing for a guy from the Daily Beast to assume that people can be reduced to skin color. Why is Twitchy doing it?

I don’t think Cuban-Americans should vote for Trump, because I don’t think anyone should vote for Trump. He’s awful. But I also don’t think anyone should be expected to vote based on race or gender or any other immutable characteristic. That’s just tribalism. Why do we keep descending to tribalism? It’s 2016, man.*

People are individuals. You are more than just a collection of checkboxes on a form. You’re more than M/F, White/Black/Other, etc. I really wish everybody would stop treating vast swathes of Americans like they’re indistinguishable from each other. Please stop doing that, everybody.

Whoops! I guess that’s racist, isn’t it? And sexist. And transphobic. And lots of other bad things as well. Sorry about that.

*And/or woman. No offense.