Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1214 (SoD #2091) - Character Matters
Hi Mom,
I decided to address this one to you because I would love to talk to you about all this STUFF. I did call Dad.
I know you would have loved this turn of events. I think you would have loved Kamala Harris for the same reasons I do, or most of them, anyway.
And I will get around to the image of Van Jones crying in a minute. I, too, cried a lot yesterday.
Here's how we start today, Mom:
I am exhausted.
This year has been a hot dumpster fire of pain. Sure, I have coped as we all have, and really, I have it easier than many people with kids at home trying to do Zoom education, loved ones who have died of Covid-19, or from the cold reality of police brutality.
So, I am not trying to exclaim that I am some special snowflake and have had it especially difficult. Not at all.
But all of us have felt it.
Having Trump as president, surrounded by his toady sycophants and enablers as well as those using his influence to do great evil (Mitch McConnell) was bad enough. All of that was a daily drain on my psyche that I tried to avoid with a news blackout. No NPR, no CNN, limited exploring of the Internet. But the trickle down effect did not save me from the worst of it and from little uglies that would slip through the protective shield with which I had surrounded myself.
And then, the pandemic began. And we tuned into the news, mostly CNN, because we wanted and needed to be informed, our lives depended on it. And so that meant more of the Trump nonsense as he spread disinformation and lies, down-playing and denying, deflecting, misdirecting and misinforming. "It will go away very soon," he said. "We are doing everything we can," he said. "Slow the testing down," he said, "because if we test more, then we have more cases." Because somehow knowing the truth is bad. It is. For him. "I don't see it for myself," he said about wearing masks and following the most basic of public health guidelines. And as we watched, we were getting wise, so when he suggested that his task force study using disinfectant INSIDE the body and studying using light inside the body to wipe out the virus, we knew he was not kidding or being sarcastic. Here was a person in the role of president (not my president) who wanted a miracle cure to save his re-election campaign. Not to save the American people, mind you, or at least not those in states run by Democratic governors. It's just about him and his future prospects.
So, then in the final days of the campaign, when he suggested that Covid deaths were being over-diagnosed by doctors greedy to make more money, because he claimed that they made more money from Covid deaths (not true), we knew he was full of shit because we knew that all along, really. But Bob Woodward helped by publishing a book -- Rage -- in which he revealed recordings of Trump telling him that he KNEW (Trump knew) how deadly and contagious the virus was, but he didn't level with the American people because it would make him look bad; it might hurt his chances for re-election, though he claimed he didn't want the American people to panic (which they did anyway), so we knew that was bullshit just like everything else.
And then at the end of May, after two months of pandemic quarantine, Minnesota police officers murdered George Floyd without mercy or regard for his humanity as he cried out for his mother and repeatedly told them "I can't breathe." This murder came shortly after the reckless actions of police that led to the death of Breonna Taylor and some good old Georgia boys taking the law into their own hands in murdering Ahmaud Arbery.
And so now, we had two major things happening nationally. A virulent pandemic killing thousands of Americans daily and then protests and riots around the world, but especially in our country, starting in Minnesota where police abandoned a police station to rioters who burned and destroyed it in a cathartic display of pent-up rage and fed up intolerance for lifelong battles with systemic racism for them, their parents, their parents' parents, and so on.
And then, as the election campaign continued, and the pandemic did NOT get better and did NOT go away, and as states lacking federal leadership tried to open up only to see cases and deaths rise and then restrict citizen activity again for safety reasons, and the misinformation from the occupant of the White House and his cronies became more and more dangerous, it seemed like nothing could go right in 2020.
Trump held huge rallies that were super spreader events that resulted in hundreds of deaths from the virus. Then Trump himself got Covid-19 because of his own lack of precautions and common sense. But did he change his tune? Of course not.
I have to confess that, for a little while, I wished that he would die of it. But I managed to get those impulses under control, my better nature prevailed. So much better to actually see him dragged out of the White House kicking and screaming and straight to prison. I wish that may become a reality.
Meanwhile, unidentified, supposed "federal" agents in cities like my nearby home town Portland started snatching people off the streets, even if they had press badges, and detaining them for little to no reason.
And the horrors piled on the horrors, and many of the horrors were out of the mouth of the man who believed he was president and his toadies. Just when I thought I could not be shocked any more, he found a new way to shock me.
And then the run up the election with Trump's stand-up comedy routine of hate that he trucked around to all his rallies, suggesting that the plot by domestic terrorists to kidnap and execute might not have REALLY been a problem and than taking credit for sending in the FBI to foil it, something he had NOTHING to do with. Or then later, when he praised and/or encouraged his loyalists who tried to run a Biden-Harris bus off the road or blocked bridges and highways in efforts to stop people from voting.
After all, as many political analysts have pointed out: not all Trump supporters are bigots but all the bigots are Trump supporters.
What I don't understand is that since Trump is clearly a racist and misogynist, a serial rapist and a con man, a business failure who has avoided paying taxes while avoiding two common things presidents do -- divesting from his businesses and releasing his tax records -- and since he is someone with zero dignity and zero integrity as most everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie and the rest is projection, then HOW, I wish someone could explain to me how, could anyone support him who is not JUST LIKE HIM.
And then election week.
We were all glued to the TV around the clock, watching the vote counts come in, watching the numbers, fearing the worst. On election night, we knew that Trump would appear to have a bigger lead because of the difference between those who voted in person on Tuesday 11/3 (mostly his supporters) and those who voted by mail (mostly Biden's supporters). But even so, it was hard to believe that Biden was going to win with the totals we had on Tuesday. Hope was difficult to pan from the rock and soil because we all had PTSD from 2016 when there was NO WAY he could win and he didn't, at least if we went by the popular vote, which we don't. Though wouldn't it be a great fix if winning the national popular vote was worth another 20 electors? That would be a great change.
And so, seeing the results announced that data analysis shows that Biden and Harris have won was elation unlike I have felt that many times before in my life. Elation and profound relief.
And so when I watched this segment below by Van Jones and the other farther down by Don Lemon, I wept. I must have wept hard and heavy for at least five minutes each time. Wracking sobs. Trouble breathing, which is ironic. I can't breathe.
It's been a nightmare.
It's been a very dark time, the worst of my life.
It's been a struggle each and every day to be optimistic, to minimize outrage, to try to hold onto my better instincts.
Because I have never hated a public figure more than I hate Donald Trump. And I don't like that feeling. I don't want to hate. I do not believe that hate is righteous or useful. I do not respect those who hate, which means I am a hypocrite.
So, I must turn that hate into something productive. I must root out the hate and pity the poor, sad narcissist. Truly poor as his debts come due and he is found guilty of all sorts of criminal shit.
I must turn away from hate. I may not be able to turn hate into love, not for him. But I can turn hate into action, into education, into democratic action, freedom of speech on a free and unregulated Internet, which will return to its better self during Biden's administration.
Because character matters.
Our president should be a man of dignity, a man of honor, a man of integrity, a man of decency, compassion, caring, and intelligence. A student of history. An experienced public servant. A bipartisan rainmaker. An opponent of the world's dictators. A champion of human rights. A healer. A man of science or at least one who lets experts be experts and listens to them. AN ANTI-RACIST, ANTI-HOMPHOBE, ANTI-SEXIST, egalitarian humanitarian.
Donald Trump is none of those things.
The presidency is not about who has the best ratings, who has the bigger rallies, the bigger inauguration. The presidency is a historic position of great authority about SERVING THE PEOPLE of the United States. ALL OF THE PEOPLE, even those who vote democratically and/or live in states led by democratic governors.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are those kinds of people.
Because, character matters.
#CNN #News
Van Jones fights back tears: Result shows character matters
489,070 views•Nov 7, 2020
CNN
11.2M subscribers
CNN's Van Jones reacts to Joe Biden's election as the 46th president of the United States.
#CNN #News
Meanwhile on CNN just now a truly righteous moment from Don Lemon: https://t.co/yNYsG2S0jC
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 8, 2020
The Lincoln Project
It's been a long year so far.
I have hit the election pretty heavily this year, Mom.
Time for a break.
As much as possible, Mom, I am going to try to be in low power mode for about two weeks. I will go the easy route. Simple posts. Shares. some of THAT ONE THING. And try to spend less time making these blog entries.
I know you would advise that, Mom.
Thanks for making me who I am.
LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.
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Reflect and connect.
Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.
I miss you so very much, Mom.
Talk to you soon, Mom.
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- Days ago = 1955 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2011.08 - 10:10
NEW (written 1708.27 and 1907.04) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. Dropped "Talk to you tomorrow, Mom" in the sign off on 1907.04. Should have done it sooner as this feature is no longer daily.
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Andrew Harnik/AP - Supporters arrive to attend an event with President-elect Joe Biden, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 |
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