The crazies came to town again yesterday. There was a MAGA rally here in DC, in support of the "Stop the Steal" campaign. Ironically, the powers-that-be are doing exactly what the protesters are asking: They are stopping a lame-duck president from stealing an election he clearly and definitively lost by 74 electoral votes and over seven million popular votes. But I suspect the irony is lost on the red-hatted, mask-eschewing, democracy-hating mob.
The Proud Boys were here, of course. They never miss a chance to embarrass themselves, cosplaying as White-Boy ISIS. Seriously, they wear paramilitary gear, brandish weapons, attempt to suppress others through intimidation, and rally for their (wannabe) strongman leader to remain in power against the will of the people -- that is some serious ISIS shit right there. They claim to be a pro Western civilization movement, and yet all they do is act out the worst parts of the anti-American extremists they supposedly hate. Again, I suspect the irony is the lost on them.
They did some truly vile things last night, desecrating historic Black churches, burning their personal property in a manner than not-so-subtly evokes Klan-like terrorism, and being involved in some manner (it's unclear exactly how) in some stabbings outside of a bar called Harry's, which has sadly become a de facto alt-right clubhouse (it used be a fun after-softball-games dive bar). For the most part, however, the police did an admirable, unenviable job of keeping them separated from the counter-protesters. Although it's tempting to want to see these ugly people confronted, it's not worth it.
This all happened miles away from my neighborhood, by the way. I only know about it from reading the paper. I'm torn, too, on what the best way to handle this type of thing is. Is it best to call it out head-on and stand up against it, or does that just give the terrorists oxygen? Is that just giving them what they want -- the notoriety, the legitimacy? Is it better to de-platform them, ignore them, as much as possible, and just live your own best life? I genuinely don't know.
But let's pivot to the latter, because it was a lovely day yesterday (a product of global warming, no doubt, but lovely nevertheless), and the G & G family took a fun little excursion to Fort Washington Park. The views are remarkable, and it's cool to walk along the massive barricades of the fort. ("It's like a mini Great Wall of China!" proclaimed Lil' S1.) It makes me nervous though. I'm a bit of an acrophobe. Not really for myself (although I wouldn't say I love heights) but for my kids. Even if they're on firm ground, behind a barrier they would have trouble breaching if they tried (and why would they try?), I get irrationally scared they're going to fall off. I get so uncomfortable I try to get everybody to go somewhere else.
S isn't like this, but she has her own thing: water. At one point, the kids were playing on the bank of the Potomac River, walking along the rocks, tossing stones, and she was as nervous as I was on wall. The thing is, though, if somehow they fell off the wall, they would be dead; if they fell into the river their legs would get wet. It's not that deep by the shore, and we could easily pull them out if need be. On the flipside, they could realistically fall into the river (Lil' S1 at least got his shoe wet), whereas it would be nigh impossible for them to fall off the wall. So, I guess it all evens out.
Anyway, let's hit some pics and call it a post...
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