One of Those Moments in Time: Musings on a Failed Assassination
Hey Dreamers,
this is a little bit unusual, but I'm interested in your [creative] take on the failed assassination attempt involving Donald Trump, given how we're potentially dealing with world history here. That said, I'm not trying to incite a partisan flame war, but given the difficult subject matter toeing the line probably requires a group effort.
So where were you? What caught your eye? How have you been feeling? How would you describe your reaction, your environment? Your sensations? Maybe imagine someone reading your take thrity years from now. You could wove in some fiction, or go gonzo. Just post/link your stuff in the comments.
Have a good one :-)!
P.S. I don't have the means to hand out rewards and such, none the less I figure it's still a decent opportunity to hone your skills and get some exercise in.
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Well... Since you've asked... ;-))
Trump is not a good president. He's not as stupid as he pretends to be, but he's not good for the country or the office. Biden is not a good president either. I could have imagined two who would have brought real change for the better: one so old that he won't run (Bernie Sanders) and the other so young that she won't be elected (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ). There will still be no good president in the USA. Not there and not in many countries around the world either. The really good politicians will no longer have any influence...
None of this justifies an assassination. It is not for one person to take the life of another. Not even a dictator whose death might have saved many lives or a serious criminal who would never be free again. By killing a person out of a perceived moral superiority, you make yourself common with that person, you put yourself on the same level as that which you reject. Killing a person is not legitimate. It would still be debatable on demand, but that is not the issue here.
Who did it...? I have no idea. I may have speculations on offer, but they are irrelevant. Killing people should simply no longer be part of the spectrum of human problem-solving strategies.
Oh, I'm totally with you. Not only does it seem unjustified, it might have been counter-productive as well. Nothing good would've come of it. Just more radicalization, bitterness, and conflict. Personally I'm tired of the false dichotomies urging people to take a side, like we're trappend in eternal gang wafare, rather than trying to accomplish detante. But then I figure this itself might be seen as some kind of radical statement. Sometimes you probably do have to pick sides, but this isn't it imo, but rather it appears like a spin on 1984s and the Two Minutes of Hate. Or as they say, if you know who your enemy is, your day will have structure. I'm paraphrasing, but you know what I mean?
What I found interesting is how the footage was showing audience members who more or less instantly turned around and started cursing at the media, seemingly blaming the journalists for the assassination attempt. I think there's something to that notion, given how much of the media's business model has been revolving generating as much outrage as possible and fanning the flame, but then framing itself like an independent force for peace. Like Jerry Springer asking "can't we just get along" after rubbing onion juice into the tissues he handed to his guests.
I don't really know what's going on, but again I figure we're dealing with some kind of strange social dynamic that goes beyond individual rationality. Just some group think where the integrity of the group is more important than the actual truth, or justice. I don't like Trump, I don't like Biden, but justice is justice, and truth is truth. But yeah, you're right, Trump might have not happened in the first place if organic reformhad not been suppressed. Bernie, Tulsi, or RFK for that matter. Maybe even Cortez.
Don't take this too seriously, I'm just jazzing around. I'm not trying to write a paper here :-)
Good morning! Well... It has probably always and at all times been the case that older people didn't understand the ideas of younger people and thought the world was crazy. No problem. In my opinion, people have always had the opportunity to orientate themselves according to fundamental values and these seem to me to have begun to falter. I find that worrying.
Hey! Makes me remember that Socrates quote about disobidient kids:
Overall I'm starting to appreciate the balance in things and even though change might be overall beneficial, maybe it should happen organically. And that's coming from a boderline pathological contrarian, who tends to be anti-establishment by natural sentiment. So it's not like I couldn't find things to complain about, but then there's that tendency to make things worse. On the other hand, you probably can't just do nothing either. Per defnition, that is. Like "doing" nothing itself seems oxymoronic. In that sense, circling back to the political stuff, I'm all for checks and balances. Like having an upper age limit for political offices makes sense. Having to pick between two 90 year olds doesn't.
In terms of lost values I'm missing personal integrity, but granted I'm a bit of a hypocrite myself. I suppose power was always something you shouldn't give to people who've been looking for it, but it seemingly has gotten worse. In my humble opinion the ends don't justify the means, for the most part, but to some life is just Game of Thrones I guess. I genuinely hate that machiavellian stuff.
Edit: Oh, by the way. Remember when I told you I was trying to write a novel? It's weird because as soon as I'm trying to write actual narrative I'm instantly blocked, but then when I'm writing stupid comments on the internet I effortlessly ramble for days. Ironically enough maybe even about narrative. Go figure!
TEAM 5
TEAM 5
I remember dreaming I was stumbling through the darkness, wondering about all the broken light switches I kept pushing unsuccessfully. Eventually I woke up, about 30 minutes past midnight German time, and sat there in silence. Eyes swollen, pale hairy legs dangling out of a pair of old shorts (I guess at least I had undressed this time). There were some hints of an emergent panic attack. Whatever it was, I didn't feel like indulging it, so going back to sleep wasn't an option. Time to look for an distraction. So I sat down in front of my computer, the one I don't even bother shutting down anymore.
There's a subculture of weird somewhat anachronistic chatrooms. Not talking about fancy apps either, but a decentralised network of international night owls, weirdos, misfits , aging drunks and heroin addicts gathering in forgotten gaps and spaces. A bit like the digital equivalent of a lost dive bar, still inhabited by a few loyal patrons. Yo! What's up!? Not much, just enjoying the weekend. Watching Master and Commander, having a beer. Looks like Trump got assassinated? What? Yeah. No way!?
Someone links some grainy footage of Trump turning his head and grabbing his ear, followed by him being rushed by bunch of Secret Service agents. End of the video. What the fuck!? I visit Youtube and start listening to Born in the USA on a loop. A young Bruce Springsteem leaps into the air strumming an electric guitar mid flight, in front of a giant American flag. I start smiling, I'm feeling it. What exactly? I was feeling alive, for some strange reason.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like violence, that wasn't it. It's hard to describe really, but it's like... all the monoton bullshit just faded away and instead of just.. that... for a moment life became something else. I figure usually we're all running away from this sort of stuff, rightly so, but there's also a strange alure to it. A bit like a manic Herbert Grönemyer in Das Boot standing in the middle of a storm laughing at angry winds splashing waves into his face. He must have lost his mind, one of the other characters barks. True. I assume like in the movie the feeling of euphoria will fade eventually, but for now it just feels like... maybe a hint of what life should feel like. Not this or that, us desperately clinging to life in a way that prohibits us from seeing it for what it actually is. But again, maybe just crazy talk.
More info was pouring in, along with pictures of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in triumph, being surrounded by a bunch Secret Service agents. The crowd behind the former president scattered and revealed something what looked like a smear of blood. One of the newsstreams was interviewing a doctor, who claimed one of the attendees in the crowd had died and there being brain matter scattered across the floor. Dang! This was getting big. Later some of the rightwing commentators would argue Jesus himself diverted the bullet, but I wonder what the dead guy would think about that. Lots of prayer, a bit of fake crying, and more prayer.
TEAM 5