Witness

[H2O Man]

"For No One" is surely one of Sir Paul McCartney's finest songs. John once noted that it was a great example of Paul's ability to write outstanding lyrics when he wasn't self-conscious, and the man could definitely create the music to back his best songs. I picked this one for a reason: most male adults have, at some point in life, been able to relate to the sad mood of the song.

Other male adults can't relate to it, because they don't do "sad." They do anger and rage instead. These are the "look what you made me do!" males. And Donald Trump is one of them -- far from the only one -- and thus the topic that I'd like to discuss here. He is angry that America has moved on.

Obviously, he believes that he has been betrayed. He is angry at every person who did not vote for him. More, he feels that he was betrayed by his supporters. They did not do enough for him, those darned losers. And so we can be sure that he will try to punish America, and cause harm to her, before she has Joe Biden move in.

Keep in mind that this will become worse, in his mind, when his campaign's attempts to use the federal courts to steal the election. He thinks that because he has appointed federal judges and Supreme Court justices, they owe him loyalty. He is convinced that loyalty includes going against the will of the people, against the laws of the land, to support his naked effort to complete his goal of turning the US into a banana republic. It will not happen.

Now let's consider some of the sociological issues related to angry uneducated white men who support Trump. First, it is important to understand that riots generally do not take place when a group is treated so badly that they feel hopeless and helpless. They tend to take place when a group that has been -- or believes they have been -- oppressed, but then something gives them hope, and then that hope is crushed. This is not the only recipe for riots, but it is the most common one.

Trump had convinced the uneducated white male cult members that the Democratic Party was planning to steal the election. He called upon them to "monitor" voters at polls, which would happen. This is known as a "dry run," intendiing to intimidate those seeking to exercise their constitutional rights. Similar tactics, by no coincidence, had been taken during the summer's protest. People died as a result. Then the FBI and Michigan state police arrested a group of angry, frustrated, uneducated white males, who had engaged in preparations to kidnap the governor.

Since Tuesday, being incapable of coming up with something original, the Trump campaign sponsored a group re-acting the 2000 Brooks Brothers riot in Florida, which attempted to stop votes from being counted. Yet, this was worse, as it was a clear call to action on the part of the proud boys that the president had recently ordered to "stand by." It worked. Armed angry uneducated white men began attempting to intimidate those counting votes in Arizona. And last night in Philadelphia, police arrested two men who traveled from out of state, to attack a center for counting votes.

At the same time, the votes are being tallied slowly. The official outcome is being delayed longer than the judges' decision when I kicked a hometown favorite's behind in front of a rowdy crowd -- especially if beer was sold at the fights. While neither you nor I can say for sure why this is taking so long, when the outcome has been obvious for days, I have a few theories. I'll limit this to one that I suspect may be at play.

Everyone here with solid experience with interrogations is familiar with this. More, I've seen numerous good lawyers follow the same outline in questioning a witness. (Regardless of how one thought about the OJ Simpson trial, both Barry Scheck and Johnnie Cochran were masters of this.) This method is most commonly used by detectives as a step up from the old "good cop/bad cop" method with more sophisticated suspects, and relies upon biology.

You start by taking a serious tone, noting that this interview is important. Use the formality for a period of time, then shift to being friiendly. Pretend to believe that what the person is saying is important. Let this go on for a bit, then shift quickly to a key that creates a high level of tension. The person's adrenaline will rise. Keep this going until it spikes, then quickly shift to a more friendly tone. The adrenaline will flatline.

Then you move physically closer to the suspect/ witness. In a tone without emotion, you take the fullest advantage of their being mentally exhausted. They are no longer able to keep what they have previously said straight. (I remember the first time I demonstrated this method to my supervisor. After the interview, she laughed and said, "Jesus, am I glad you weren't my father!&quot

The Trump cult's hopes were raised on Tuesday night. The majority of them actually believed that Trump would win. Their adrenaline increased. When the Biden-Harris team began to take the lead, the adrenaline spiked, and they were at the highest risk for widespread, semi-coordinated violence. Starting Late Thursday into early Friday, it dropped. Today it has flat-lined. This doesn't mean they aren't angry, or do not pose a substantial danger in the weeks to come. But it does mean that, during the delayed results, a very serious flashpoint was avoided.

Stay safe. Do not engage with Q-anoon types.
H2O Man

[coeur_de_lion]

1. It is very worrying

I'm not unhappy that the results took so long to be published. Worth the wait.

I will happily avoid Q-Anoners but I hope they all have big Qs on their foreheads so we can see 'em coming.

[H2O Man]

4. The public celebrations

taking place in cities across the country are much the same as those that took place when WW2 ended. And we were fighting the same enemy in both cases.

I'm very happy today. But I'm not unrealistic. There is a dangerous undercurrent in this country.

[coeur_de_lion]

10. We have a lot of healing to do

I don't even know where to start. But I'll follow your lead as usual.

[dalton99a]

2. Wise advice

Ignore them.

They are not worth your time and energy.

[H2O Man]

5. Definitely.

Last night I watched a documentary about fights that took place in public in the US, where a person died after being punched one time. And I knew as I watched it that we face a threat that is not limited to groups of thugs attacking from the shadows. I think that we will have a spike in strangers fighting over parking spaces, and similar madness.

[malaise]

3. One of my siblings thinks just like you

I am less troubled, but you both know the culture better than me. ByeDon!

[H2O Man]

6. A great day!

We knew that Joe Biden had won on Election Day. In fact, he had the victory in the bag well before that.But, as Onondaga Faith Keeper Oren Lyons has taught, when you gather the good force, you will also finding the bad force gathering, like a shadow.

It's a day in history -- and in our lifetimes -- worthy of celebration! About an hour ago, my cousin told me, an on-the-street Fox News reporter in DC was saying the crowds were upbeat, with singing and dancing and the odor of pot in the air. Then the network cut away. Probably too late for me to head down to DC!

[malaise]

7. Some of us always knew that the Con would be a one term president

The pandemic made me 100% sure. The best part is the way in which the institutions have him on ignore.

[H2O Man]

8. Right.

The orange boy must be furious that the federal judges are rejecting his legal team's filings. They are fucking pathetic excuses for legal documents.

I like that the rest of the world is happy to see the end of Trump.

[malaise]

9. I went to the small supermarket up the road

The owners used to live in the US - their kids an grandkids live in the US. They are 3rd generation Jamaicans of Chinese origin. They are in ecstasy