TomFlannery.com

As I type these words, thousands of Trump supporters have gathered on the streets of Harrisburg, protesting for their right to die for the Dear Leader, even if it means they’ll take many of us who do not share their same…er…devotion…..with them.

Most are without masks, and are standing in each other’s back pockets. In the midst of a global pandemic that is still raging. Perhaps assuming their ever-present red hats are protection enough? Many of the adults have brought their children along. And their guns. Many of the protesters are blowing their horns from vehicles that do not have PA license plates. Undoubtedly some will get sick because that’s how these things work. They will then spread the virus to others who are not dumb as dirt. The not-dumb-as-dirt people will too become infected, because the virus doesn’t do an IQ check. Of, these, under current projections, 3.5% will die.

Many are waving Trump 2020 flags, along with the always popular in-these-here-parts flag of the long-vanquished confederacy. Homemade signs are everywhere, mostly rife with misspellings (“Faucci is a fascist”…..I was impressed they got “fascist” right at least…it’s a tricky one. “Re-open Pennslvania…We the peaple” and “Wolf is a Dick Tator” were particular favorites). A short drive away sits the most hallowed of American battlefields, where over 23,000 Union men fell fighting the evil the confederate flag represents. But this bunch doesn’t seem much like the self-reflective type.

At a similar Trumpian event yesterday in Colorado, health care workers lined up across the road to block protesters. A wild-eyed lady in a red white and blue t shirt called them “communists”, told them to “go back to China”, and then said…..and no I am not kidding….”you get to go to work why can’t I go to work?” Somebody yelled to her “they are saving lives” and her response was “oh bullshit”.

Trump’s America. He called them “great people”…..of the “very fine” Charlottesville variety one suspects.

Positive cases will increase. Deaths will increase. And our quarantine will need to be extended ever further. It’s like marching into the ocean to protest drowning.

The rest of the world looks on in horror. In between bursts of insane laughter that they can’t control.

There are speakers at the rally…..the sort of right-wing dolts you would expect. Ranting and raving….tossing spittle in the air. Owning the libs. Mostly whacked out fringe politicians and loony conspiracy theorists. The kind of folks you wouldn’t trust as your kid’s crossing guard. All desperate haters latching onto Trump like Rose reaching for that piece of debris from the sunk Titanic. These imbeciles have always been with us, but never have they felt so emboldened. Anti-government zealots taking their cues from the leader of that government….which makes about as much sense as waving the flag of traitors to show how patriotic you are.

At this point our nation is like the addict that has to hit bottom in order to seek treatment. The problem is, every time I think we’re already there, the knuckle-draggers are inspired to go even lower. By a tweet urging civil war. By some fake Doctor on Fox news. By some mad-shared Twitter bot. The idiots haven’t just taken over the asylum, they’ve burned the fucking thing down and are rolling around in the ashes covid-ing each other while listening to mix-tapes of Kid Rock and Ted Nugent. It would seem the constitution, as brilliant a document as it is, simply never imagined so many people being so dumb at the same time. Democracy has simply been overwhelmed by stupidity. And it may never recover.

I’ve thought about this, and wonder if it’s true. It’s been said that in a crisis, your personality is amplified. So if you’re an everyday asshole, during something like a pandemic you’re like an asshole on steroids. And if you are a quiet, calming, empathetic person, you’re even more during times of stress. Something kicks in and brings out either the angel or the devil already on your shoulder. Maybe this argument works with intellect as well. Dumb becomes dumber. Smart becomes smarter. Talk me out of it. If you can.

My kids are here now…..we’re all together and safe. They’re watching all of this in worried fascination. They’re going out into this world again in the fall…on their own. We can’t protect them forever. They ask me questions I cannot answer. They ask why.

In a bit..

–tf