Yesterday, I was unpacking a bag of interlibrary loans and came across a book on unexplained phenomena and the American fascination with it. I wondered who might be requesting such a thing and realized that it was indeed, myself. I had placed the order on Monday, then completely forgotten the beginning of a week that might as well have been a month or more. Mostly, you would have found me this week staring at news sites and refreshing the page, watching, waiting for that Biden electoral vote to nudge. Today, I woke up around news to the amazing news that it had. Last night, found me watching a statement from him and I realized I was crying--not really just because of him, but the woman who stood with him on stage--the miraculousness of a woman on a winning ticket, even as VP, and a woman of color at that.
Tuesday had found me a little high and curled up on my bed, fearing the worst. Watching as, like four years ago, red spread across that map. I woke that next morning to the news that all was not so dire at all. The states filed in. Michigan. Wisconsin. It was alarming for sure, that the GOP managed to get as many votes as he did, but at least I feel vindicated that there may be any number of the worst sort of people, but the good ones outnumber them, and the good ones have spoken. All the hate flushed--the bigotry, racism, homophobia, xenophobia. The anti-science, anti-intellectualism, and anti-compassion. Those people, emboldened by the past 4 years, still exist, but maybe they will shrink away or at least shut the hell up.
Covid is still scary. The world is still a little scary. But for the first time, I feel like we might be alright.
