Victory, at least for the moment!

[dorchadas]

I'm not online for Shabbat, but I still knew exactly what was happening yesterday. It's unseasonably warm in Chicago, above 20°C for days, and so we had the windows open and we could hear cars honking and shouting and cheering from outside. lisekatevans texted me at 11:30 a.m. telling me that it was basically over. Later, I went out for a walk to see the fall colors and see what was going on, and when I walked into Clark Street there were cars going up and down the street, honking their horns and cheering:

Brought to you by gay communists for socialism. There were literally people dancing and singing in the streets. As I've seen multiple places, it was more like the population celebrating the fall of a dictator rather than the election of a new president. Which isn't half-wrong--with Trump's repeated statements about not accepting the results of the election, and maybe seeking additional terms past a second one if he was elected again. He was very clearly angling for additional power and the Republican Party and their voters was perfectly happy to let him.

That's the real issue here--the environment that gave rise to Trump still exists. More Republicans voted for Trump in 2020 than in 2016, meaning they looked at incipient fascism and decided that they wanted more of it. Deliberate cruelty as the primary driver of government policy. As the tweet says:

Conservatives haven’t understood yet that when they got everything they wanted, that also meant we all saw what they always wanted, and our disgust is genuine and enduring, and consequently millions of us will never respect or trust you again.

Feel however you want about it.

— A.R. Moxon (@JuliusGoat) November 8, 2020

We have to show that their attitudes are unacceptable while allowing them an opportunity to change their mind. As frustrating as it might be, giving them no path back means they'll just double-down repeatedly. A lot of them will do that anyway, but it's important for the future of the country that we reduce the prevalence of fascist beliefs in the Republican Party without compromising our own. Progressive policy did well in the election--people want change that helps them. A big chunk of them just apparently want a tyrannical blowhard to do it.

Still, we are in an objectively better situation than we were a few days ago!

Comments

[corvi]

Aw, that sounds like fun! I remember there was a spontaneous block party in the small American college town I was living in in 2008, after news of Obama's election broke, I think around 10PM or so. Someone scaled a building and put a boombox up on a stone awning, and there was "dancing" for values of dancing mostly equivalent to jumping up and down and waving signs and American flags around and fist bumping. It was neat to be part of that sudden outpouring of glee; I felt like a voice the spirit of the city was using to express itself. Haven't gotten to do that since.

I think most voters for any party don't pay much attention to politics and have only the vaguest idea of what their candidate stands for or how awful the candidate is. But maybe that's just what I desperately need to believe to keep my sanity. Like believing every horrible opinion on the internet is expressed by a twelve year old.

[dorchadas]

To this day I'm kind of sad that I was living overseas when Obama won. All the stories I've heard of the celebrations sound amazing.