December 15, 2020
BILL LEE
... the people screaming outside Benson’s house raise an entirely different question, about how long our society can endure absent any overlapping values or common truths.
- Michelle Goldberg (2020)
The USA, a country to which I have many and varied positive connections, including family, seems to be tumbling further and further down a dystopian rabbit hole of chaos and violence. The era of Trump appears to have let loose some sort of national derangement. Of course, the USA has had some deep fissures and “sins” since its founding. They have indeed caused deep anger, frustration and pain. But this is different. George Froehlich (FB, Dec. 11, 2020) was moved to remark that, Donald Trump has ripped open that soft underbelly for the world to see, the cesspool of systemic racism, inequality, the super rich and the super poor, and politicians who are totally corrupt. What has not simply been exposed but activated is a very dangerous farrago of deep working-class anxiety and frustration, a deep sense of lost entitlement, paranoia, toxic individuality, white supremacy and a passionate love affair with lethal weapons. These conditions have existed, to a greater or lesser extent, for many years but have been latched onto by this most unethical man to build his power base. I do not mean that most of the country, or even half of its inhabitants, have come all over barking mad, but to have chaos spread in any country one does not have to have anywhere near a majority involved, only a fanatically committed minority with the passive acceptance of the rest of the population and their legislatures. I think, sadly, that we can see both situations in the USA at present.
This is a seriously unhealthy situation for any nation to endure for any length of time and this one has been festering for some years. Yet, there are increasing stories of far-right thugs, obviously taking their cue from Trump’s incendiary tweets, and some of them are armed and threatening violence against officials in swing states where Trump is seeking to overturn the election. In a recent example of yahoo bullying, the Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had her house surrounded by protesters, some armed, bellowing slogans in support of Trump and demanding a “forensic audit” of the election results - a demand that is linked to baseless allegations that Detroit election workers stuffed ballots and otherwise engaged in pretend nefarious absurdities. Swaggering gun toting militia types of course have become a staple at various right-wing type rallies. Whether it is demanding the freedom to go mask-less (and thus to infect any poor soul with whom they are in breathing distance), celebrating the Second Amendment’s freedom to brandish all manner of murderous ordinance, or demanding that Trump be declared the winner of the election, which was not even close, people around the world can count on seeing pictures and hearing the angry yelps and bawling complaints of these heavily armed, camo wearing gangs of arrogant malcontents.
But what is concerning me equally is that this disgusting stuff has not only gone on for some time, but it appears to be becoming worse, more brazen, more unhinged and frankly, more
violence tinged. As one observer (Pitt, 2020) has noted, “Trump’s backers are becoming more violent.” And in a recent article in Business Insider (Zitser, 2020) it was reported that, “Michigan electors, of which there are 16, will meet in their state capitol to formally cast their votes. Due to the risk of violent protests, they will be accompanied by law enforcement officers.” This is in response to reports that a pro-Trump group plans to protest the results on Monday, according to the website Patch.”
A further apprehension is that it is not being frankly confronted in any serious way. The Democrats seem worried and fearful, they wring their hands. But they also seem perplexed as to what action to take. Perhaps they are pinning their hopes on their president-elect to be able to soothe the anger. In any event, their stance is one of frozen inaction. The GOP, that strange political organization purporting to represent itself as the torch bearer of “law and order”, freedom and family values are literally silent. So-called leaders, like Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, have been tying themselves in knots so as not to imply the reality that Trump has been decisively beaten. The Christian Church people, at least those rabid fundamentalists on the right, if anything, seem to encourage the dangerous zaniness. The media reports on it, sometimes condemn it, but do not call for a crusade against these dangerous, anti-democratic shenanigans.
I take no pleasure in saying that I don’t see things getting better in the USA anytime soon. The chances that somehow Joe Biden, with his reasonable words and demeanor, will be able to calm these roiling waters seem long. Even Chris Cuomo the CNN pundit/interviewer, who is always ready to talk about Americans being “all in this together” seems to have lost faith. Recently I heard him, more than once, say that he didn’t see how it was going to get any better. Even after the Trump gang is ushered out of the White House and the second rate grifters, and outright crooks, who have surrounded and abetted this president in his criminal enterprises have been dismissed, the history and recent four years of division will continue to do its ugly work, particularly with the vile Insurgent and Chief continuing to instill as much anger in his cultish and brutish followers.
So, I am left totally flummoxed at how the denizens of the USA can have the self-confidence to refer to their country as “civilized” and law based when thuggish “terrorists” are allowed to swank around attempting to bully public servants into subverting the practice of a fair and free election. How can they maintain that they are a “nation of laws”? How can the leaders and media piously intone the sacredness of the values of law, freedom and democracy, and at the same time look away (which amounts to the condoning of the chaos) while armed yahoos go wherever they choose, to bully and threaten whoever they choose, for whatever twisted sense of reason they choose? How is it possible to think of the USA as a “free” country when armed troglodytes are free to roam the nation threatening those with whom they have disagreements. There is a profound and fearsome contradiction in operation here between the depth of the threat and the energy to confront it. It, unhappily, is suggestive of an insanity in the republic to which I feel so close, a dangerous, lethal insanity.
____________________________________________
Resources
Goldberg. M (2020). “No One Expects Civility From Republicans. New York Times International Weekly, Toronto Star. December 12-13. (p.15)
Pitt, W.R. (2020) “Trump’s Backers Are Becoming More Violent. I Fear What Will Happen in January.” Truthout. Blog https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-backers-are-becoming-more-violent-i-fear-what-will-happen-in-january/?fbclid=IwAR3OQUFo0MYgtHhNo6WnG1GdOasUnmLp8CqIkhGY6gbAI_whs5RYRFG-_DM. (December 9)
Zitser, J. (2020). “Michigan electors need an armed escort for the journey to the State Capitol to cast their ballots for Joe Biden as angry pro-Trump supporters plan protests”. ”https://www.businessinsider.com/michigan-electors-have-a-police-escort-ahead-of-mondays-vote-2020-12?fbclid=IwAR14xCLIINlPm9XYpf-3nFgGhFOXUwgV7iBz-pKq-8mSQiq1zs2mB34wU8g. (December 12)
This is a seriously unhealthy situation for any nation to endure for any length of time and this one has been festering for some years. Yet, there are increasing stories of far-right thugs, obviously taking their cue from Trump’s incendiary tweets, and some of them are armed and threatening violence against officials in swing states where Trump is seeking to overturn the election. In a recent example of yahoo bullying, the Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had her house surrounded by protesters, some armed, bellowing slogans in support of Trump and demanding a “forensic audit” of the election results - a demand that is linked to baseless allegations that Detroit election workers stuffed ballots and otherwise engaged in pretend nefarious absurdities. Swaggering gun toting militia types of course have become a staple at various right-wing type rallies. Whether it is demanding the freedom to go mask-less (and thus to infect any poor soul with whom they are in breathing distance), celebrating the Second Amendment’s freedom to brandish all manner of murderous ordinance, or demanding that Trump be declared the winner of the election, which was not even close, people around the world can count on seeing pictures and hearing the angry yelps and bawling complaints of these heavily armed, camo wearing gangs of arrogant malcontents.
But what is concerning me equally is that this disgusting stuff has not only gone on for some time, but it appears to be becoming worse, more brazen, more unhinged and frankly, more
violence tinged. As one observer (Pitt, 2020) has noted, “Trump’s backers are becoming more violent.” And in a recent article in Business Insider (Zitser, 2020) it was reported that, “Michigan electors, of which there are 16, will meet in their state capitol to formally cast their votes. Due to the risk of violent protests, they will be accompanied by law enforcement officers.” This is in response to reports that a pro-Trump group plans to protest the results on Monday, according to the website Patch.”
A further apprehension is that it is not being frankly confronted in any serious way. The Democrats seem worried and fearful, they wring their hands. But they also seem perplexed as to what action to take. Perhaps they are pinning their hopes on their president-elect to be able to soothe the anger. In any event, their stance is one of frozen inaction. The GOP, that strange political organization purporting to represent itself as the torch bearer of “law and order”, freedom and family values are literally silent. So-called leaders, like Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, have been tying themselves in knots so as not to imply the reality that Trump has been decisively beaten. The Christian Church people, at least those rabid fundamentalists on the right, if anything, seem to encourage the dangerous zaniness. The media reports on it, sometimes condemn it, but do not call for a crusade against these dangerous, anti-democratic shenanigans.
I take no pleasure in saying that I don’t see things getting better in the USA anytime soon. The chances that somehow Joe Biden, with his reasonable words and demeanor, will be able to calm these roiling waters seem long. Even Chris Cuomo the CNN pundit/interviewer, who is always ready to talk about Americans being “all in this together” seems to have lost faith. Recently I heard him, more than once, say that he didn’t see how it was going to get any better. Even after the Trump gang is ushered out of the White House and the second rate grifters, and outright crooks, who have surrounded and abetted this president in his criminal enterprises have been dismissed, the history and recent four years of division will continue to do its ugly work, particularly with the vile Insurgent and Chief continuing to instill as much anger in his cultish and brutish followers.
So, I am left totally flummoxed at how the denizens of the USA can have the self-confidence to refer to their country as “civilized” and law based when thuggish “terrorists” are allowed to swank around attempting to bully public servants into subverting the practice of a fair and free election. How can they maintain that they are a “nation of laws”? How can the leaders and media piously intone the sacredness of the values of law, freedom and democracy, and at the same time look away (which amounts to the condoning of the chaos) while armed yahoos go wherever they choose, to bully and threaten whoever they choose, for whatever twisted sense of reason they choose? How is it possible to think of the USA as a “free” country when armed troglodytes are free to roam the nation threatening those with whom they have disagreements. There is a profound and fearsome contradiction in operation here between the depth of the threat and the energy to confront it. It, unhappily, is suggestive of an insanity in the republic to which I feel so close, a dangerous, lethal insanity.
____________________________________________
Resources
Goldberg. M (2020). “No One Expects Civility From Republicans. New York Times International Weekly, Toronto Star. December 12-13. (p.15)
Pitt, W.R. (2020) “Trump’s Backers Are Becoming More Violent. I Fear What Will Happen in January.” Truthout. Blog https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-backers-are-becoming-more-violent-i-fear-what-will-happen-in-january/?fbclid=IwAR3OQUFo0MYgtHhNo6WnG1GdOasUnmLp8CqIkhGY6gbAI_whs5RYRFG-_DM. (December 9)
Zitser, J. (2020). “Michigan electors need an armed escort for the journey to the State Capitol to cast their ballots for Joe Biden as angry pro-Trump supporters plan protests”. ”https://www.businessinsider.com/michigan-electors-have-a-police-escort-ahead-of-mondays-vote-2020-12?fbclid=IwAR14xCLIINlPm9XYpf-3nFgGhFOXUwgV7iBz-pKq-8mSQiq1zs2mB34wU8g. (December 12)
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