That was an agonizing four and a half days. I spent almost the entire 84 hours anxiously refreshing my phone, waiting for data dumps from counties like Fulton, Maricopa, Clark, Allegheny, etc. Everybody has their own way of handling this type of thing. Many prefer to tune out everything until the big news comes along, states are actually called, or a winner is declared. I'm the exact opposite. I have to obsess over every bit of information and every possible scenario.* I crunch numbers on scratch paper; I map out different electoral maps; I follow various data-journalists on Twitter and hang on their every analysis. (Nate Cohn of the NYT's The Upshot is the most insightful, in my opinion.) It's excruciating, yes, but it's better than not knowing. Of course, I have to take breaks to shower and work and whatnot, but even then, in the back of mind I'm still thinking about it.
*By the way, I totally could've made a career of datajournalism. I'm not saying that as a joke. I legitimately think it's something I would be really good at.
The relief still hasn't kicked in yet, to be honest. I believe Biden will be the next president. I don't think the allegations and law suits of our current manchild president will lead anywhere. I'm not even sure they're designed to lead anywhere. As somebody on Twitter put it (I don't remember who and I'm paraphrasing): The purpose of these law suits is not to change the outcome of the election. It's to crystalize to the base that the only reason in life they don't get what they want is because somebody unfairly took it from them. I think this is all true, and nevertheless, I still haven't had that cathartic release of anxiety. I believe it, but I don't feel it. I don't know why. Maybe it will happen when Arizona and Georgia are called; maybe it will be on Inauguration Day; maybe it won't be until I can go in public again without a mask on.
But, in the meantime, I'm not going to abstain from celebration, because it's been wild here in DC. After the race was called by the major networks yesterday, I wrote "BYE DON" on a white tee, put it on, and ran up a major thoroughfare. In part, I did this because I needed exercise and was planning on a run anyway, but also it was because I knew there would be people lining streets, celebrating, honking their horns, and I wanted to get in on it. I wish I would have gone down by the White House -- or as close as you can get right now, an area called Black Lives Matter Plaza -- but I weirdly didn't think of it. I went back today, and it was cool, but it wasn't a party. It was like the morning brunch after the wedding reception. Not everybody is there, and those who are are kinda slow and bleary-eyed, and there are little kids running around, because they're the only ones who have any energy.
Still, I got a decent bike ride in (about 11 miles) and some pics to share.
[My favorite thing about this pic is the patheticness of this old guy's sign. I mean, I get it, I'm not artistic at all, but anybody who can write a message on a sign can write it so that people can read it from further than five feet away. (It says "Congratulations Biden & Harris," if you're wondering.)]
[You can just see the top of the Washington Monument poking up in the background. By the way, all this fencing was put up during the protests against police brutality earlier this year. There's an entire park engirded that's no longer open to the public. If I were the mayor of DC, after Biden is inaugurated, I'd tear all this shit down, and celebrate like it's David Hasselhoff razing the Berlin Wall.]
I know what you mean about knowing it's decided vs feeling it's decided. I'm still shocked he was ever even *nominated* by the RNC back in 2016 much less elected and then nominated again! WTF?? How did we get to this point where a completely unqualified & incompetent person was elected to our highest office and then ... everything after that... it is terrifying. We are living an episode of Black Mirror. I am hopeful, I'm always hopeful, and I believe positive changes can come from the worst disasters, we've seen that over and over again in our history, but that doesn't make it easier to live through.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think there is any "grand plan" when it comes to Trump's denial that he lost. It makes sense we all want to believe he is some sort of evil genius since it's even more shocking to think a blithering idiot could have made it as far as he has, but... he *is* a blithering idiot. He has gotten this far because the Republicans in power are propping him up and enabling him every step of the way, but they lost this election because they can't control his idiocy. He doesn't have a plan, he is incapable of that, he shows us over and over again he is a one-trick pony incapable of growth or learning of any kind. He is throwing a huge temper tantrum because he has never had things not work out for him before. Now, I do think there is strategy behind why many Republicans in power are going along with it (including that you can't publicly say there is no voter fraud if you have been making vague accusations about this very thing for decades to justify various voter suppression tactics), but as to Trump's motives? Pure delusion.
ReplyDeleteI think your assessment probably right. Whatever the case, January 20th can't get here soon enough.
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