ASK Musings

So, that happened, eh?

I turned on the TV yesterday afternoon to see a bunch of pathetic men and women (MAGAs) storming the US Capitol Building, because they had a sad that they lost an election. Inside, a bunch of elected pathetic men and women (e.g. Republicans) were giving speeches about non-existent election fraud.

The MAGAs decided they were going to come inside, and the Republicans suddenly started clutching their pearls, acting shocked – SHOCKED – that exactly what they’d been encouraging the MAGAs to do actually happened.

And the MAGAs didn’t have to do much to get inside, because the Capitol Police appeared to just let them in.

So much about what happened yesterday is infuriating. The current president – who should definitely be impeached and immediately removed from office – encouraged the MAGAs in their march, and then released a video declaring his love for them. Meanwhile, the Republicans read their lies into the Congressional record during the certification process.

The entitlement of the MAGAs isn’t surprising, because we’ve seen how the police often act when faced with white people vs Black people and those supporting them. You’ve probably seen the photo of the Black woman with a flower being charged by police in full riot gear. Meanwhile, at the US Capitol last night, even though they’ve known for weeks that this riot was heading their way, they seemed to just let them in. And once the MAGAs were inside, they appeared to be allowed to run around like kids in a toy store. Destroying offices. Possibly accessing sensitive information. Disrespecting everything about our electoral system.

And then, once the MAGAs decided they were done, the Capitol Police just escorted them out. Fifty two arrests. The rest just got to go back to the Holiday Inn and exchange ‘war stories’ about the time they stormed the Capitol.

(But is it really storming when the people meant to keep you out welcome you, taking selfies?)

We should all be livid. We should be livid that the MAGAs hold these views, and that the Republicans encourage them. We should be livid at Mitch McConnell and Mike Pence. I see people praising them for “doing the right thing.” That is not okay. The bar is so low it’s being melted by the heat of the Earth’s core. If Mike Pence really had a problem with Trump, he could have resigned after the election. Shoot, he should never have signed on. Him remaining in his role is an acceptance of every single one of Trump’s actions, from putting children in cages to inciting an insurrection.

And McConnell? He’s always been horrible. Remember how he treated President Obama? McConnell is an asshole who is 100% concerned with power. That is it. He’s Trump, but smart. He doesn’t get to distance himself now. Just because he did the right thing when he’d tried all other options first doesn’t make him worthy of praise. For the next six years, he needs to be ignored, and when he isn’t being ignored, he needs to be shamed for his actions.

I disagree with President-Elect Biden when he says ‘This isn’t who we are.’ It is who at least 75 million are, and probably more. It’s a huge problem, and pretending it is a small group of people, or that this is anything new, isn’t helping.