By Caitlin Kelly
I know many Broadside readers don’t live in the United States.
Right now, I wish I did as well.
Almost 40,000 Americans died two days ago of Covid.
Almost 10,000 people died in just my (largely affluent) suburban New York county.
The President cheers and laughs and lies and urges his base to wreak even more mayhem.
I won’t waste your time or mine trying to parse the insanity and violence and physical destruction and looting of the Capitol.
I listened this morning to a reporter, and former research librarian Brandy Zadrozny, explaining the utter bullshit these people believe and advocate.
This from a recent NPR interview:
ZADROZNY:
Trump’s referring to – we call it a misinformation pipeline or, really, a feedback loop. And what it is – is, you know, over the last four years, he has built a really impressive machine. And what it does – it’s, you know, made up of social media, of cable news sites like Newsmax and OAN, talk radio and websites on the Internet that are all sort of under his influence. So the president can make some outlandish claims, and then all of these websites and news outlets parrot those claims back and then expand them with more conspiracy theories. And then the president can say, look at all of this proof, look at all of these people that think this, as evidence for his original claims.
Here’s a 2017 article predicting this firestorm.
Americans, romantically perhaps, call the Capitol “the people’s house”, as they do with the White House.
Not now.
I can’t even express my despair and disgust.
Back in a few days after my blood pressure drops, with less-miserable news.
Broadside 
Dear Ms Caitlin Kelly,
Yes, it is a difficult time. Thank you for your very timely post. Whilst some of us may live somewhere else, there is the danger that Trumpism may spread elsewhere or be mirrored by other corrupt politicians outside the United States.
2020, the Year of the Rat, has brought us not the plague (black death) but Covid-19!
And 2020 also brought out the worst of Trumpism! Could it really get even worse in 2021?
Needless to say, we live in interesting times indeed, but often for the wrong reasons. What a day it was to unfold with sedition and insurrection!
Instead of “Flattening the Curve”, the USA is now “Steepening the Curve”, so much so that the MAGA tagline “Make America Great Again” should be changed to MASA: “Make America Sick Again”!
Here’s my little poem or ditty:
In a nutshell:
The POTUS’ FOCUS is a hocus-pocus.
Regarding the POTUS’ Twitter and Facebook accounts, some would even argue that they should have been suspended or terminated a long time ago for continually unleashing falsehood, misinformation and mass distrust. Fortunately, he has not (yet) been given free access to software or button(s) with which to launch weapon(s) of mass destruction.
In any case, those who are fair-minded and discerning are not easily swayed by his constant thrashing around and beating in the bush. Speaking of whether “the president really is a very stable genius”, SoundEagle’s adage is that Trump is a fool’s idea of a genius. In addition, the POTUS has long slid from being a “Law and Order” President to a “Flaw and Border” President.
Speaking of critical thinking and many other complex behavioural, sociocultural and political issues, I have recently published a very detailed post entitled “Misquotation Pandemic and Disinformation Polemic: Mind Pollution by Viral Falsity” at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2020/12/19/misquotation-pandemic-and-disinformation-polemic-mind-pollution-by-viral-falsity/
I would be delighted if you could kindly submit your comment to my said article, as I am very keen and curious to know what you think or make of it regarding the increasingly pressing issues that many of us are facing.
By the way, I would like to wish you a very happy New Year. May you find 2021 very much to your liking and highly conducive to your writing, reading, thinking and blogging!
Thanks.
I have little faith in the reasoning ability of anyone who believes in QAnon.
January 6, 2021 was a very sad day for our country. We will be recovering a long time from its aftereffects. I hope a thorough and full investigation of how this happened is done; and we just don’t give lip service to the idea of an investigation. To all those government officials who previously worked for Trump and then resigned or repudiated Trump’s actions in the wake of January 6, 2021-all I can say is that it’s too little and too late..
I agree. Very very scary week.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
From what I hear, there are those on the right who are either being very proud of what they did in the Capitol or claiming it was really antifa. I just shake my head, pour some wine and hope to God this senseless infection that is Trumpism dies out sooner rather than later.
We’ll see. I am not optimistic.
Neither am I, truth be told.
Unfortunately, I’m not surprised by Wednesday’s events at all. Saddened, but not surprised. I felt this was coming at least a year ago, and the danger is that this unhinged malignant narcissist will continue to incite sedition even after Jan 20. Stay safe and well, Caitlin. 💛
Thanks! Very glad we don’t live in D.C.. nor in a part of the country where people walk around waving Trump flags (some do, but few) and brandishing their guns.
Absolute power corrupts and President Trump is living proof. So much for being the bastion of democracand everything else y, political correctness, good governance and everything else that the US is supposedly the champion of.
Exactly.
The false pride is annoying — and this shows why.
it was a shameful travesty and the whole cult of trump is to blame, with their leader at the helm. living through the last 4 years, and then watching the horrific events unfold live this week, has been traumatic and overwhelming. it will take a lot of time to heal and I will never forget.
I found it very frightening. Of course, I was glued to Twitter and CNN but….how very very ugly.
Selfishly, I don’t appreciate “Murder the Media” scrawled on a door, or my colleagues being threatened, attacked and having their equipment stolen and destroyed.
I agree