Partisan gerrymandering is malicious, bizarre, and surprisingly — legal.
Gerrymandering involves manipulating the boundaries of a voting district to sway the vote a particular way. It's completely legal (though the Supreme Court will have their official say about that) and often used for dubious purposes, allowing elected officials to choose their voters and not the other way around. Racial gerrymandering in particular can diminish the power of people of color to affect change in their communities.
Photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images.
While partisan gerrymandering is among the primary enemies of American democracy, it can be really hard to get people fired up about lines on a map ... unless those lines are a racecourse.
North Carolina resident John Kennedy saw the effects of gerrymandering in action in the wake of his state's devastating "bathroom bill" that zipped through to the governor's desk.
“I saw how district borders were affecting our ability to make laws,” Kennedy told Runners World. “I was so mad that I couldn’t even find out who my representative was to write to them.”
Kennedy's wife Cinnamon suggested John combine Asheville's active running community with the need to understand these confusing borders by creating a "Gerrymander 5K" run/walk.
Participants in the St. Jude Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon/Half Marathon and 5k. Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for St. Jude.
But organizing and directing a 5K is expensive and would be time-consuming for a single person to take on. So Kennedy gifted the idea to the local chapter of the League of Women Voters.
For Alana Pierce, president of the League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County, joining forces to bring attention to such a bureaucratic, literally divisive problem was a no-brainer.
"We want to demonstrate what [gerrymandering] is, how it can divide our communities and dilute our vote — no matter what party you're part of," she writes in an email. "Secondarily, this is a fun way to get the attention of the people who are supposed to be representing us to say that we don't believe this methodology is fair and we don't feel like you are really representing us."
The 5K (3.1 mile) out-and-back route is a portion of the border of North Carolina Districts 10 and 11 in West Asheville. It twists, turns, and juts out around certain homes and buildings. In a word, it's a mess. But what appears chaotic and unorganized is anything but. It was meticulously drawn that way, and this event encourages people of all political parties to start asking, "Why?"
Image via League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County, used with permission.
250 people have registered to run the Nov. 4 race, about 100 more than originally planned.
News of the event has also sparked interest from community groups and organizers outside the area interested in supporting the effort.
"We are also getting a lot of emails from people out of state who are not able to attend but want to support us and/or put on a similar event in their community," Pierce writes.
Proceeds from the 5K's $20 fee will go toward the next Gerrymander 5K, happening in 2018 ahead of the midterm elections, and other regional and state-level leagues working to get the word out about partisan gerrymandering.
Photo by Bill Wechter/AFP/Getty Images.
No matter who wins, the goal is met. People are thinking about gerrymandering and their own districts in a brand-new way.
And, according to Pierce, it's not a moment too soon.
In May, the Supreme Court struck down North Carolina's districts, saying the state violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by filling two districts with black voters, reducing their voting power. North Carolina redrew the maps using city boundaries and the results of past elections, so while they're no longer explicitly race-based, they're potentially just as bad. That's why Pierce and the League of Women Voters, along with other local and national groups, are working so hard to bring attention to the ruinous effect of partisan redistricting.
The U.S. Supreme Court. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
"The League, Common Cause and other organizations have been advocating for a non-partisan redistricting committee for a number of years, but since the 2010 census, the redistricting has gone to a new level, as demonstrated by the number of law suits and the Supreme Court ruling on racial gerrymandering," she writes. "Essentially, this event is a way to get our voices heard in a constructive and community-oriented way."
And ... you get a T-shirt. Can't beat that.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."