(no subject)

On Wednesday there was an attempt to overthrow the federal government by force. I don't really have anything intelligent to say about this that hasn't been said elsewhere. I will probably want to remember it later, though, so I'm marking the time.

Wednesday was meant to be a largely ceremonial day celebrating the peaceful transfer of power, a day we have never marked in the past because it was always so uneventful. Trump held a rally and incited a mob to go break into the Capitol and stop the tabulation of Electoral College votes. The mob easily overpowered police, for reasons that are still emerging. Congress was evacuated. Significant damage was done to the Capitol itself. Several people died. Photo and video evidence that has emerged since the attack suggests that the assailants (or a subset thereof) were intent on kidnapping, possibly worse. There is talk of a second impeachment but it has not happened yet.

I took leave Wednesday to gape and to grieve. Thursday and Friday weren't much better on the focus front. Work seems like a farce. Meanwhile our chancellor somehow still has not released a statement about the insurrection (turns out I was wrong about this; there is a statement, but it was not emailed to campus).

And on the political nature of the violence: We told H about the events on Thursday morning. That evening her school newsletter had a blurb about how to talk with your kids about the attack. "As with any conversation that might be politically charged, it is important you don’t let your own partisan perspective color how you present facts, so take care to be as objective as possible," they advised. I'm sorry, but what? How does one convey in a nonpartisan manner that one of the two major parties is no longer committed to honor democratic elections and in fact is willing to incite insurrection to prove the point? How does one explain Wednesday while omitting this?

I keep thinking about my father, and how likely it is that this will have changed nothing in his mind.