Health and Sanity Check-Ins

[sprocketta]

Things are crazy now. I think we are all trying to stay healthy and maintain sanity as well. I thought I would start this thread so folks can check in and discuss how they're doing. I want all my BIC friends to be okay. I will kick this off with a first post. Take care of yourself lovelies.

[Samtian]

In my area its pretty split, half the people are very against what happen, the other half actually fully supported it. I live in a very very heavy conservative republican state and some of them seem like they are becoming radicals. I get to hear about how oh it's ok for the BLM rioters (and other not nice names they say) to do it but not ok for white people to. How it would be ok if it was the demotards, and other stupid names, and all that kind of crap. I had actually been sleeping through the whole thing and woke up after it was all over. 

[WinglessOne]

@Samtian  I wish I'd slept through it. I was grocery shopping and running other errands when this terrorist attack happened. On my bus ride home, I checked the news on my phone. Before I could say "WTF" aloud, another bus passenger beat me to it; I guess he'd also just checked the news. Then suddenly half the bus (which was already just half full anyway, thanks to covid-related restrictions) was in "oh hell no" mode. Since I have relatives and friends in DC and the surrounding area, I started checking on them as soon as I got home. 

At times like this, I'm glad to live in a liberal big city. But we definitely have ultra conservative people here, and I'm thankful I haven't run into any of them (while they're openly supporting this terrorism) yet. I deal with enough of that crap online, plus one of my relatives is a supporter of the current administration—because gosh, I guess a klan member dressed in a white hood could be the republican candidate and this relative would still vote for them because dEmOcRaTs ArE eViL sOcIaLiStS. Anyway, I hate listening to their crazy rhetoric about this attack, and I'm sorry you're surrounded by it. 😞 

[SportyGirly125]

@WinglessOne I keep saying that it is mind blowing that they got into the Capital in the first place.  That should have never happened.  If it was a person of color you bet it would have went down differently.  Where were the rubber bullets and such.  I saw the police step aside in a video when they were banging on the doors and glass and saw that there was police on the other side ready to shoot.  I saw another officer getting his head gear ripped off and being shoved in an entryway.  All of this is just angering. 

[WinglessOne]

@SportyGirly125  The video footage and photos are crazy. Friends and family in DC have told me many times over the years that Capitol police aren't nearly as effective as DC police, but wow... they were ridiculously unprepared, despite expecting a large crowd of protesters—which turned out to be a large mob of terrorists. I read in a WaPo article that the FBI in Virginia did warn their DC counterparts of this attack a day ahead, but nothing was done because the info/tip couldn't be attributed to a specific person. I guess the Virginia feds should've said they had info about a BLM protest instead, since I'm 100% positive that would've resulted in a stronger show of force. 🙄 

What makes me angriest about all this is the reason it happened: this terrorist cult is throwing a hate-fueled tantrum because their guy lost a national election fair and square. Do they want this to happen after every presidential election from now on? (That's a rhetorical question: I'm sure they haven't thought about it, let alone care about it.) 

And it brings back all the anger I felt during the election ballot counting, when mobs of these morons very loudly harassed poll workers in person who were counting and verifying ballots. There's video footage of this happening in Detroit, and it's absolutely disgusting. These people don't want fairness or democracy. They just want their cult leader to stay in power. Add to that the bigotry rampant among them and yeah, these aren't the hateful creatures I want to unify with going forward. 

[SportyGirly125]

@WinglessOne This whole thing about finding the votes and recounting them and then saying the election was rigged has got to stop.  I didn't hear Hilary Clinton get this upset about it 4 years ago or when they had to do it between Al Gore and Bush.  The nation voted and he didn't like the outcome and now he is facing impeachment.

[pocketvenus]

@WinglessOne Not to downplay the seriousness of what happened but hopefully this will help prevent potential domestic terrorist attacks by making it clearer that the threats posed by such groups are real. The failure of this coup will also likely fracture those organizing similar mass actions. Yes, a healthy and robust democracy requires citizen engagement and actions that go far beyond discussion and voting!!

[WinglessOne]

@pocketvenus  Part of me shares your optimism. When I think about US history, though, in terms of domestic terrorism, that optimism fades. The FBI has warned of planned attacks on all state capitols (and another US capitol attack) between now and January 20, and I'm not surprised. I'm glad the feds and police are acting swiftly against the terrorists they've identified, but I wish they'd taken better notice of plans being made in the open before Wednesday—including our current White House occupant's incitement. 

The only way to discourage these particular terrorists is probably a massive show of police/National Guard force at the US capitol and state capitols. And even then, I think some of these clowns would attack. In addition to invading the capitol, they placed pipe bombs around DC on Wednesday. They see this as American Revolution 2.0, which is sadly funny since the government they're rebelling against is headed by the guy they claim to support—but anyway, that's their driving mentality. They're not going to stop, not anytime soon anyway. 😞 

I'm also worried about foreign terrorists seeing how easy it was to overtake the Capitol. If they attempt it, I suspect they'll be better organized than these domestic terrorists were. We were quite vulnerable before Wednesday, but now... I try to optimistically convince myself the feds are on it, but good grief. 

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne that is what struck me as well - how foreign countries who oppose everything about this one - interpreted the events of Wednesday. It is terribly disheartening. I don’t have anything particularly moving or persuasive to say, except that it just hurts. 

[pocketvenus]

@WinglessOne I hear you. While I hope for the best, I'm afraid I am no optimist and have been deeply concerned about a rise in ultra-right nationalism and white supremacy for close to two decades now. I'm old enough to remember Timothy McVeigh so I'm very relieved none of the bombs detonated.

The research I have read on these groups suggest they are not well organized. But there are people with real military and combat training involved who are well armed, so coordinated group actions are not required to inflict serious harm. And I agree that this and other recent events have opened up opportunities for others, including other governments, to compromise the US's security. But despite its domestic issues, the degree of damage the US can still inflict via military retaliation or economic sanctions are not insignificant deterrents.

I also think chance plays more of a role in the unfolding of historical events than we tend to give it credit for. Things can sometimes flip on a dime or be really random.

I hope you are holding up alright and really appreciate your thoughts ❤️ And BIC members' honesty here! I think these situations call upon us to share, act, and also to dig deep to understand human nature and to ask what a good life and a good society are. These are important questions anytime but during difficult times, answering them and living accordingly become responsibilities no one asked for. Please stay safe and well everyone!!

[heartsmyface]

@itscarin Oh no, you saw what I saw and you’re not going crazy.  There was indeed a violent coup (most likely organized by the president) to overthrow the will of the American people.  If treason charges aren’t pending I have lost my faith in the system (haha if anyone wants to move to Canada, our leaders are corrupt but they do get some work done and generally don’t pit us against each other to pacify their fragile egos ;);)) 

[lmaster]

@heartsmyface I literally was playing with that idea in my head.... Moving to Canada...

[itscarin]

@heartsmyface I am exploring my citizenship options. 😂  thank you for confirming Wednesday was as nuts as I thought it was. 

[Titian06]

@itscarin - You're not the only one who feels this way!  Why did Capitol security not have a contingency plan in place for a violent demonstration?  That was absolutely rediculous!  😪

[Samtian]

@Titian06 I can tell you why. According to the arm chair experts in my area, the police and security were all in on it. How else would they have gotten in so easily? 

[itscarin]

@Titian06 I've been reading a lot on the subject.  I'm with you -- I think they should've planned better.  It's a very complicated, nuanced situation.  

The front page of the NYT "Inside a Deadly Siege: How a String of Failures Led to a Dark Day at the Capitol" had a good explanation.  I'm not all over social media scouring everyone's opinion on the subject, but I have seen comments here and there about people being upset that the capitol police "let them in" based on a few video clips that show the police opening the barricades and letting the mob in.  Seeing the collection of videos the NYT put together showed a bigger picture of what the cops were up against, and what the political situation was with the higher ups that prevented them from acting more swiftly.

There was also a good article in GQ "The man who saw the coup attempt coming is only surprised it wasn't much worse".

When I saw this unfolding live on TV, my first reaction was "I hope they don't find AOC or Ilhan Omar".  I really think they would've torn those women limb from limb if presented with the opportunity, and the fact that any elected official should be worried for their physical safety in their workplace is beyond the pale.  

Wednesday's security failure has a lot of different ways for fingers to point.  It sounds like there was an aversion to having an overly militarized police presence in response to the excess use of force for BLM over the summer.  There was questions about the chain of command.  Capitol Police failed.  A lot of different law enforcement agencies failed to take domestic terrorism seriously. 

You have to give credit where credit is due: it's  tricky to navigate how to respond to an armed protest.  The Boston Massacre started because the red coats used excessive force and the people of Boston got fed up and that moment became the tinderbox for the American Revolution.  There's also no denying white privilege was on full display.  It's tricky pinpointing an exact reason this turned into such a disaster.

That being said, it's incredibly frustrating seeing a slow and fractured response to Wednesday.  Everyone should be able to agree: angry mobs threatening to hang the Vice President, looking for elected leaders and their staffers to physically detain and worse is absolutely unequivocally unacceptable.  

[pocketvenus]

@itscarin As you say, this is a super complex situation. There are so many factors influencing the response from pandemic fatigue to the fact that the news media industry has been financially struggling more and more. Scholars will be studying this event many years into the future and even then, will probably not agree on causes or how much certain causes should be emphasized.

While this is very much unprecedented, the US also has a deep history of insurrection, domestic terrorism and white supremacists inciting extreme forms of violence, and so on, so like the GQ article, I saw the potential for much worse. For me, when the travel ban was enacted, the writing was on the wall. Political violence and aggression always starts with the easiest targets, the weakest, the most convenient. I foresaw there would be a series of cascading, self-inflicted damage from which the country would not be the same afterward. The rise of troubling trends started long before the travel ban of course. The ban was just like, a sign to me that they would accelerate.

I hope you're doing okay! ❤️ You're not overreacting or misreading things. This is major!

[eshoe]

On the news this morning🤔

 

[Titian06]

@eshoe - I sure hope there's an actual mask under that!  😯

[naturalooks15]

I legit saw someone in my local grocery store who was wearing something on his face which was in no way protecting/ covering anything or could considered mask. (metal mesh mask). 😩

[eshoe]

@naturalooks15 that is both amusing and mildly infuriating 🙄

[eshoe]

I just have to imagine there is, @Titian06 😂