It's been a long year, and it's only January 9th. It's taken a couple days to process what actually happened on Wednesday enough to write about it coherently--mostly I was taking in memes (thank god for humor, or we'd all be crying 24/7) and articles and collecting information the remainder of this week. On Wednesday, I was mid-way into a post-break catch-up week and humming along with work, my eye on the troubling covid deaths. That morning, I'd had my first test myself as a campus requirement, and despite it being a bit uncomfortable, nothing too traumatizing. It was a good, sunny day in Chicago, and that afternoon, watching the live coverage from DC it seemed alarming, but also sort of silly. I'd suspected there might be violent protests happening, but not that they'd actually get inside and vandalize the Capitol. And if they did, it seemed kind of ridiculous, since they'd surely eventually be forced out and the count would continue (which is pretty much what happened on the surface.) In the past couple days, far more insidious things have been revealed..zip tie toting para-military, violent threats on social media, hanging gallows and the police that moved a barrier aside to allow the rioters to pass right through. The deaths and injuries to other police.
On the surface, a lot of yahoos treated far more generously than the BLM protests this summer, which points again to the core values of the right extremists--a problem with people who do not look or act like them. And who does act like that? I mean I am no fan of Mitch or Pence or even Drumpf himself, and while I may have wished they karmically died of covid or someone dropped a house on them. I wouldn't say my first impulse would be to string them up on the gallows (or anyone else with that kind of bloodlust). Fitter punishment would be rotting in a federal prison for decades and the besmirching of their name for all of history. Is it toxic masculinity and cultural programming that leads men to fight and rape and murder those they don't agree with? Um yeah.. It's all connected...
The rest of the week was a wash at trying to continue on with working and routines and going about while frantically scrolling the news and socials for bits and pieces of the unfolding. I did get my proof copy in the mail of FEED, so we are getting closer. Despite not knowing what I was doing, the only corrections are a couple pesky typos and some margin adjustments, but it's a lovely little thing to look at, and the book's exterior is looking better than ever. Next week, I'll prepare the final version and order the first batch of copies to make available in the shop. I ultimately decided to not use Amazon since I plan on including some prints and other paper goodies with orders, so want to fulfill orders myself. Down the road, I have the option of making it available as an e-book, so will probably do that after some time has passed. (Instead of Amazon, I used B&N, which was a little slower, but cheaper overall and apparently about the same print quality on their POD. Look for that coming in February if all goes well.
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