The Fortnight. An observation of America by a Black Canadian

I went to bed on January 5, 2021 feeling kind of content. My American friends to the south in the state of Georgia were about to flip the Senate to elect two Democrats. As a Jamaican-Canadian with left (Liberal?) leanings I felt good knowing that the Trump era was coming to an end. That nationalistic, white supremacist shit storm had highlighted the racist fuel that has always been the blood of the U.S. Republic. Trump leaving would only cut the head off the poisonous snake while leaving the writhing body of his acolytes and followers. But it would be a start.

January 6, 2021

I woke up knowing that my biggest task today was getting a cavity filled at the dentist. Beyond that all I had on my plate was some client work and some design work for companies under my design studio umbrella. As a political junkie I had some interest in the U.S. Congress counting the Electoral College votes. What had always been a ceremonial process had this year become the last gasp focus of Trump in his efforts to thwart the 2020 election results.

But I was casually watching it, I had things to do and even though some Republican senators had vowed to actively contest the results of some states the proceedings remained background noise for me.

So I went to the dentist. Got my cavity filled painlessly because my Black dentist has all of the new toys. Good times.

I came back home and flipped on the TV again. This time I was watching CNN. Ok…what the fuck? Trump’s followers cum thugs were storming the Capitol building? I watched as the police practically escorted them inside, putting up minimal verbal resistance. My melanated ire was rising as I immediately reflected on what the Blue Lives Matter crew would do to my Black ass if I dared to try the same shit.

I got on Twitter and IG to take the pulse of social media. Most of the views reflected my own. The dissent was of course from the right wing and ranged from joy to misdirection (It’s Antifa! You can tell because their baseball caps are backwards!).

This is madness. Insurrection. A coup in progress. And the cops are right there. In sparse and flaccid numbers. They act as de facto tour guides, escorting these terrorists inside the hallowed seat of American Politics. The abdication of responsibility isn’t lost on me. They’ll shoot Black people for jaywalking but White right-wing nuts can run amok? Wild.

The Democrats won both Georgia seats. They control the Oval Office, House and Senate.

January 7, 2021

It’s a transition day so my son arrives early to my house. He’s on virtual learning due to COVID-19 (remember that?) so I get him set up to begin his school day.

The fallout from last night has begun. The House reconvened after the police and National Guard retook Capitol Hill. The events of the day seemed to have shook everyone to the core and what was supposed to be a procedural rubber stamp of the incoming Biden presidency ended up pretty much being just that. The images and events are unsettling. Four dead. Many injured. A modicum of arrests which seems alarmingly small by the recent precedents set by law enforcement when compared to BLM led protests. The lackadaisical racial favouritism just adds to the uneasiness that is felt around the globe.

So many things are being bandied about. Arrest Trump. Charge him. Impeach him again. Invoke the 25th Amendment and strip him of power. In a sharp but too late action the big social media players censor him. Donnie’s Twitter fingers are cut off. Facebook and Instagram ban him until at least after the Jan. 20 Inauguration. Snapchat blocks him. Shopify closes his stores. It’s a scarlet letter for a man who spends far too much time online.

In ceremonial, performative, calorie-free actions senior officials start resigning. It’s weird because they are already linked in blood oath to this administration. But judgement and tact has never been their strong suit.

America’s gilded perch is tarnished. Maybe irrevocably.

January 8, 2021

There’s talk that White Wednesday — y’all good with that name? — might be a super spreader event. Too bad. In their arrogance and defiance of COVID-19 protocol most of the terrorists didn’t wear masks. And they took LOTS of selfies and videos and posted them online. The internet being what it is took no time to identify the main culprits. The FBI is now actively soliciting and getting help. Lots of lives are about to change for the worse.

All of that documentation is starting to pay off. They’ve arrested that fool who brazenly propped his feet up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk. They’ve also arrested a West Virginia legislator who also stormed the Capitol building. The number of arrests so far is a paltry 41. Lots of them will ironically be charged under laws beefed up by Trump himself.

Speaking of the Orange Shitgibbon, Trump’s 12 hour Twitter ban passed and he started in with his foolishness again. In what some are already calling a veiled sign he indicated that he wasn’t going to the Inauguration. Is this because he wants to remove himself from a potentially volatile situation? Ay yo, but wait, TWITTER PERMANENTLY SUSPENDED TRUMP’S ACCOUNT! I never saw that coming. Cynics may say that it’s too little too late but the man is trying to incite a 14 Day War. Any and all social media tools that he has need to be shut down.

The promise of 2021 extinguishing the dumpster fire that was 2020 is waning fast.

January 9, 2021

So much is happening. Too much maybe.

Every day brings something new. Something profound. Somethings that should’ve happened years ago. Today’s big news is the banning of Parler, the nascent right wing social app; from both the Google and Apple stores. That will handcuff communication no doubt but something will always crop up. The right is crying censorship but no one is listening.

They’re catching the most prominent rioters with each passing day. And the tangled web of support is being revealed as well. Alabama’s Republican Attorney Generals Association has been revealed to be behind the funding of robocalls around the Jan. 6 DC rally. I suspect that as time goes on we will see how the power was/is more in the hands of the old boys’ network and less in the grasp of the unwashed goons in cosplay.

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This is as far as I got. Too much immersion. Too much adjacent PTSD. America may be the most successful failed state ever. It feels like we’re in the middle of the erosion.