*Warning. Political ramble coming–and I do mean RAMBLE.
Two years ago–shit. THREE years ago, we took a trip, dragged our adult children with us, went to a wedding, and then toured Washing DC and Philadelphia. I remember taking a trip like this with my family when I was a teenager, and even then, under all the layers of insouciance, the idea that this was the CAPITOL, and that was where the PRESIDENT was, made an impact on me.
We’ve had some reprehensible presidents. Reagan was elected when I was in middle school and I hated him. Even then I could see that Carter was doing what was best for the country while Reagan was doing what was best for himself. George Bush Sr. was monstrous. Dub-ya was dimwitted. But even through all of that bullshit, even looking at the racism and the shortsightedness and the willingness to just throw people away based upon a misguided sense of human justice, I believed–not in the people, but in the office. As bad as they were, they weren’t TRYING to be bad. Criminally stupid? Shortsighted? Racist and classist? Yes. But they honestly believed that they were doing the most good for the most people. Was it true? No. But they THOUGHT they were doing it, because that’s what the office entailed.
So reprehensible presidents–but at least guided by a higher purpose. It kept them from slaughtering civilians wholesale, and taking diarrhea dumps all over the constitution and making a transaction of the entire ideal of honor that the office was trying to achieve.
We all know what’s in the office now. I can barely think if it as human. The craven, cowardly assholes trying to prop up this diseased pustulous blob of plasma and call it a man have also cashed in their humanity card.
I know that politicians have to lie–if they’re going to succeed in doing even a little bit of good, they’re going to have to lie. I know that humans are dishonorable and traitorous. I know that negotiating who is telling the truth and who is genuinely standing for somebody else and who is just trying to mine social media for clicks is a treacherous swampy business, no matter which part of the internet you are trying to negotiate.
But we’re not a “turn the television on and watch the news” family. In fact, in nearly 30 years of motherhood I can remember only two “turn on the television and watch the news” moments. One was 9/11. The other was when President Shitbag won. And then, today, a third time. When stupid motherfuckers stormed the Capitol building to do what?
Trash the place?
Shit on our American institutions?
They claimed they were there to fight for Trump–but you saw the ones who were teargassed. They were A-ghast that people wouldn’t want them there trashing up the joint.
And anybody who doesn’t believe that BLM is a thing was not watching today, when an Enwhitlement of Terrorists vandalized the Capitol building like they were having a tailgate party at a high school football game.
I keep trying to imagine how exhausted my friends and family who are POC must feel, watching that, and frankly, I can’t. Because I was exhausted. I got home from my walk, we turned on the TV and I went down for my nap. Under my cave of blankets. Listening to my audiobook, because it was safe in there.
I’m so angry. I’m so tired. The things I was shouting at my TV today were violent. I’m embarrassed my children heard me saying them. “SHOOT THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!” is not exactly the peace and reason I strive for when I teach my children or write my stories.
And when President Shitbag said, “I love you all,” I honestly felt bile rising.
The one thing that kept me from breaking down completely was the commentary on MSNBC btw. Because as badly as journalists reacted to Shitbag when he first came on the scene, and as long as it took them to call a Shitbag a Shitbag, they are not having any of this crap now, and that was refreshing.
And I also admit–the other thing that kept me sane was that damned audiobook. I’ve been writing through the pandemic, and I’ve been rather shyly promoting my Patreon and my books, because Jesus, don’t we all have better things to worry about?
Except we don’t.
Because sometimes reality sucks so badly we can only take it in little tiny baby bites, and we have to retreat into our blanket forts with our escapism before we can come back out again and start screaming things like “CRAPBAG SHITWIT COCKDOCKERY!” at a sack of flesh that’s too putrid to be human.
So if writing or reading on Thursdays on my FB page or posting on my Patreon is what’s keeping people from losing their shit, much like the audiobook I was listening to kept me from losing MINE, then I will keep doing that–and be grateful for all the people who keep reading.
If we just hold hands and escape together, we can come back and rage against the machine another day.
