Thursday, February 11, 2021

Don't give up the fight

Are you watching the impeachment trial? My God, yesterday was powerful. The insurrection on January 6 was intended to be so much worse, as rioters targeted Pence and Pelosi for assassination, and looked to take hostages. At Trump's behest, they came armed with guns, zip ties, handcuffs, napalm, and pipe bombs, and with blood lust like a fever in them. The Captiol police saved so many lives that day, at great cost to themselves. 

I'm not naive enough to think that the Republicans will convict the former president, though he is guilty as sin. But as Hilary Clinton pointed out, "If Senate Republicans fail to convict Donald Trump, it won't be because the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defense. It will be because the jury includes his co-conspirators." And indeed, in Republican-led state legislatures across the country, laws are being passed to continue stealing people's votes. Arizona, for example, has proposed legislation that will allow state legislators to void the results of any presidential election and install whomever state electors choose instead. I really hope Congress is able to enact voting rights protections soon, because American democracy is on life support.

Listening to the impeachment managers meticulously present their case yesterday, two recent reflections from Congresspeople struck me anew: Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts saying she will never forget the sight of Black custodians the day after, bending to clean up glass and debris and excrement in a Capitol building ransacked and desecrated by white supremacists. And Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota recalled how, as the mob broke the glass of the House chamber, he yelled for his Democratic colleagues to follow him to the Republican side of the room, so that they might save themselves by blending in with their red-state colleagues. In that moment he realized, with the force of a gut punch, that this option wasn't available to his colleagues of color. "I've never understood, really understood, what white privilege really means," he told his fellow House members later. "It took a violent mob of insurrectionists and a lightning-bolt moment in this very room."

I don't really care that the Republicans won't convict. Or rather, I do care, but I'm resigned. The entire record of that day, January 6, 2021, and the weeks, months, and years of lies and incitement to violence that preceded it, will be set down in the historical record, with all the dots painstakingly connected, forever. I do hope our country wakes up enough over the next two years to vote each and every one of those Republican cowards out of office. We shall see. 

Here's a "fight for street art" mural Warhol and Basquiat by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra. It's on the same street in Brooklyn that my niece just moved to. I told her now she's a proper Gen Z Hipster, living down the street from true pop art icons, to which she replied, "Then I better wear my red Doc Martens more."



6 comments:

  1. The trial is the most compelling thing I've seen or heard in a long time. Possibly my entire life. I just keep thinking of what a miracle it was that none of the lawmakers were murdered. I am not at all okay with the fact that Trump will not be convicted. This is not acceptable. I truly cannot understand how Republicans lived through that and then saw it from the video perspective and still will vote against the simple truth that Trump was the instigator. I do have hopes for the investigations opening up like the one in Georgia and my greatest desire is that he be incarcerated at some point for his attempted interference.

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  2. OK, that mural is funny, only because I'm sure Andy Warhol NEVER touched a boxing glove in his life! Andy himself would find it pretty funny, I think.

    I'm sure most Republicans won't vote to convict, but as I told Mary Moon, it will be interesting to hear how they justify their decision. Given all this video evidence, Trump's guilt is irrefutable!

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  3. Every now and then I look at FOX web just to get a take on insanity. Clearly they have not altered and are more forceful than ever. Republicans will not convict but at least the presentation from the committee has been stunning, earth shaking and will go down in our history as not our most stellar moment.

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  4. I agree with you that the Republicans won't vote to convict. Some will vote no so they can be re-elected. Some will vote no because they actually agree with the insurrectionists. The Republican Party is irreparably broken. What we will have to be witness to is if they will take the country down with them. It's a scary thing to be watching, the trial, the ignorance, the denial of truth. My secret desire is that the Republican Party splinters and a new third party is born. I am worried about the future.

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  5. My hope is that Trump will be convicted in a court of law - as we know he won't be convicted in a court where half are co-conspirators! Shame on them!

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  6. I simply do not understand Trump's appeal. and how can Arizona's proposed legislation to throw out the voters choice and select who they want be constitutional? this country is in deep shit and I don't know if it can recover when one of our political parties is complicit with destroying our democracy. these are some evil people and the parallel to nazi Germany is scary. at least 15 republican senators didn't even bother to be present yesterday and 3 of them met with Trump's lawyers to advise them on his defense! I'm not feeling optimistic for the future of this country right now.

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