Tag: capitol riot

First, my pirifiromis: not so good this morning, though 3 miles on the treadmill (or 3.3 if you use the treadmill odometer) was ok, after a sluggish, “more painful than it should have been” 2 outside.

Yes, I forgot to start my watch. I also did a lot of mat “glute stretch” exercises.

Once again, it seemed to appear after squatting. So, perhaps I ought to cut that out.

5 miles total: better than zero miles.

Capitol attempted insurrection

Ok, what caused this…I mean, how did conditions get to where Trump was able to get so many to behave so badly?

Now…in case you might have underestimated the degree of violence:

So, what caused this? I’d guess there was a perfect storm of several factors.

No, I do not believe that “aggrieved non-educated white male” argument explains all of it. It may explain the vote for Trump. But this…remember many flew to get here; you had the offspring of judges, medical doctors, service academy graduates, Olympic medal winners, real estate people flying on private planes, sitting members of state legislatures, etc.

These aren’t exactly under-privileged people.

My guess:

1. Some (not all) Republicans believe the election was stolen, and some of those who really don’t feel pressured to say so.
2. The immaturity of our population.

Seriously. Yes, this applies to Republicans at the “Beer Belly Putsch” and perhaps to some liberal protesters. Life..well, much of life consists of doing ordinary, boring tasks…nothing that will get you kudos on Instagram or Tick-Tock. And the same applies to doing good…basic stuff like giving your money to charity, volunteering your time to serve some, well, non-famous people.. etc.

But…to STORM the Capitol..that would be just AWESOME!!!! BAD ASS!!!

Well, untill…

But I digress a bit…I’ll direct you to this excellent Tom Nichols thread:

Watching footage of the Loser Sturm overrunning the Capitol during the Beer Belly Putsch, I am struck again by how much of what plagues us is an addiction to the narcissistic idea that everyone is the most important person ever, that everyone should be the boss of everything. /1

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 14, 2021

People who want to be heroes seem to have no patience with a normal workplace or the self-disciple involved in showing up and doing your best no matter what the job is. After all, Thor and Captain America didn't have to listen to their supervisor. /8

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 15, 2021

But life is heroic exactly when it is not dramatic. Taking care of your loved ones, looking after a sick friend, letting someone go ahead of you at a stop sign, hold the door for someone at a store. Adults know this. Stunted, selfish, undisciplined, stupid adolescents do not. /9

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 15, 2021

Read the whole thread. A lot of winning in life is grinding…instead of trying to do something big and being viewed as a BAD ASS.

And that might be part of the problem: real life is NOT fantasy. It has a lot of “ok, let’s take care of that even if it is not fun and won’t get you kudos.

So, will this finish the Republicans as a party? Probably not but…here is Fareed Zakaria’s take.