January 20, President Biden’s inauguration, came and went without a hitch. Phew! First, I must give full credit to my husband, Jack, for first using the phrase “the Tyrant Clown.” I laughed so hard when he said it. I thought, what a perfect, perfect description of this man, this imbecilic Pretend-President, Donald Trump. A wanna-be leader with no leadership qualities. A wealthy man with a slew of bankruptcies. A Covid denier who gets Covid after super-spreader events of his own making. And, finally, in a failed coup attempt to push the United States into a dictatorship, a leader who incites insurrection and treason…then denies he did it. At last, an end to the Tyrant Clown’s Presidency. Hallelujah!
When Trump left office, he did so with all the dignity with which he entered it. None. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, he refused to go to President Biden’s inaugural. I’m glad. The less I see of him, the better. I am just glad nothing happened; I’m especially pleased his announcement (that he would not attend) didn’t lead to any assassination attempts. I’m glad. I’m relieved.
Did you ever think we would become a country where people are relieved that no assassinations were attempted during an inauguration, just because the people who lost didn’t like the results of the election? Wow. Yet, here we are.
I know that with Biden in office, it might be (or will be) quite boring news-wise for a while. Wonderful! Bring on the Biden boring and ordinary. I am happy to trade “here’s the latest report on Covid efforts” news every night, if it means I don’t have to hear from the Tyrant Clown anymore. I’m sure we’ll still hear plenty from him, somehow. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter finally (what took them so f-ing long?!?) deciding that he lies too much, incites violence and hate, and so should be silenced from their platforms, the buzz of his bullshit will be squelched, at least a little. Finally! Can I get an Amen?
So now, Trump has fled to Parler, along with many of his rabid supporters. They probably don’t all have rabies, do they? I’m not on Parler, so don’t know how many fake accounts he’s started, how many persona he is playing. I don’t care. He’s gone, and the White House–and the world–is a safer place because of it. A better place.
I don’t know that much about Parler, other than that it is the right wing folks’ latest safe haven. It’s sort of here and there, then gone again. Then back. I’ve checked it out a bit, and that, my friends, is some scary stuff right there, I tell you! I’ve read some comments, and the whole vibe of it makes me really nervous. Maybe even downright scared.
“IF THEY WON’T HEAR US, THEY WILL FEAR US,” wrote one Parler user.
“Pledge your lives, pledge your fortunes, and your sacred honor,” wrote Linn Wood, a Trump attorney (!) who also called for Pence’s execution.
Arkansas Police Chief, Lang Holland, who has since resigned, wrote on Parler in November, just after the election, “We may have to shoot and kill many of the Communist B.L.M. and ANTIFA Democrat foot soldiers to accomplish this!!!” He added, “Death to all Marxist Democrats. Take no prisoners, leave no survivors!!”
Parler’s CEO John Metze said “We will not let civil discourse perish!” Amusing, Mr. Metze. Civil discourse, really? There is nothing civil about any of this! 5 people died in the riot at the Capitol. None of those deaths had anything to do with civil discourse. Not a lot of discourse. Nothing civil.
Kevin Greeson, who was only 55, died of a heart attack. He shouldn’t have died in the riot, but he probably should not have been there, either. His death is still sad; he is a person, after all. His death has nothing to do with civil discourse either, although at time of his heart attack, he was talking to his wife on the phone. I don’t know the tenor of their conversation. Actually, it may nor may not have been civil discourse. Maybe they were talking politely. There was probably quite a lot of background noise, I’m guessing.
Benjamin Philips, a co-founder of a pro-Trump website called “Trumparoo,” died during the riot from a stroke. That isn’t civil, either. It also has nothing to do with Parler’s goals of “free expression without violence and no censorship.” You sure about that?
‘The tyranny will cease when the elites fear for their lives.’
Appeared on Parler
Rosanne Boyland was killed–trampled on–by her fellow rioters. She was 34. Her brother-in-law says former President Trump bears some responsibility for her death because he incited the riot.
Ashli Babbitt was shot by a Capitol Police officer. I would argue, that is definitely, definitely not civil. She was shot when climbing through a broken window. Those two things are not civil discourse either, neither the climbing, nor the shooting. Her death will be investigated, as it should be, even though what she was doing was illegal.
Finally, when Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was beaten and struck in the head with a fire extinguisher, was that civil? It was not. It was not even discourse. And it sure as hell was not “free expression without violence,” as Parler would say. I think it is safe to say as you can see with these five deaths, and numerous other examples, Parler’s stated goal of “Free expression without violence and no censorship” is hogwash. We haven’t had civility since Trump has been in office. Between Trump yelling and Democrats gently mumbling back, we haven’t had much by way of discourse, either.
To be honest, funnily enough I am not even all that interested in politics usually, but when it feels like our country is in a battle for its soul, I can’t help but pay attention. I’ve been paying much better attention since Trump’s Presidency started in 2016, more since the 2020 election, and even more since the Capitol riots. I have been, and still am, frightened for our democracy.
