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Saturday, May 02, 2020 - 23:31 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

AWESOME

It's been an unusually great day - probably a climax of sorts - so what better time for a quick blog update? But before that, some apologetics of sorts.

With the coronavirus trucking along nicely, it has come to my attention that the anti-quarantine protests in Michigan have come down to a number of armed fellows entering the Capitol building, as the state's legislators mused on whether to extend the state of emergency. Personally, that was frankly a very bad and mostly unexcusable look, which was why the usual pro-administration subreddits and forums went out of their way to avoid discussing the intrusion. Frankly, their actions - and those of the few thousand others who gathered outside to support an end to the lockdown - were probably quite irresponsible, especially since masks and proper distancing measures were not consistently adhered to.

However, to play devil's advocate, some points:
  • While extremely ill-advised and very bad optics, the behaviour of the protestors was, as far as I could discern, entirely legal, according to the First Amendment. Moreover, private weapons (but not protest signs) have always been rightfully allowed within the Capitol building, thus no special dispensation or concession was made for these dumbos. Now, I'm not saying that it was wise - but it's entirely within established and recognized rule of state law, and they even had their temperatures checked before entry.

  • Secondly, on the makeup of the protestor group - while, again, recognizing their irresponsibility, it might well be that their membership's rather more diverse than reported, with fringe anti-vaxxers apparently united across party lines, in making their concerns heard; other commonly-spread photographs, such as a supposed swastika, seem to very possibly be literal false flags by elements of uncertain affiliation, held up for brief photo-ops. Well, all's fair in love and war, I guess.

  • Thirdly, it might be noted that the extension of the lockdown was actually declared against the collective intent of the state legislature, roughly the equivalent of a Presidential veto of Congress, at the national level. Now, I'm no expert on Michigan's current situation, but the opinion of the elected legislature might hold some moral, if not medical, legitimacy. This is, as noted in February, both the virtue and failure of a democracy. There's always the PRC method of forcibly locking hysterical citizens in their own houses, definitely, but is going to that extent worth it? I'm not sure.

  • Continuing on the legislature's recommendations, they moreover seem... not entirely insane? In particular, wanting certain, generally more-rural and less-populated regions to have some restrictions lifted early appears to be merely in line with neighbouring states restarting certain parts of their economies before others. Again, I don't pretend to have the full details, but this does at least appear superficially worthy of consideration, particularly as, I imagine, some of them could really do with the income (or a haircut)

But yeah, even considering all of the above, the protestors' actions were still no good, and GEOTUS probably blew it in encouraging them; while similar protests (less the firepower) have been held in over a dozen states, both red and blue, fanning them in Democratic-run states in particular was also uncalled-for - and unnecessary in any case, since his national approval rating's currently at an all-career high anyway.


More Clarifications

Regular readers should have surmised that this blog has consistently maintained a pro-TRUMP vantage point, which I... can't really apologize for. I can hardly blame the other side for casting them as uneducated redneck gun-toting grunts, definitely, but I hope that my exposition above may shed some light on additional perspectives, and there sure as heck are more than enough news outlets selling the opposing view.

I have to admit that I have been pretty trollish on some personalities (e.g. in the Democratic debates roundup), but eh, I figure that these people are politicians who kind of signed up for it. Additionally, as this is a personal blog with an agenda, I again hardly feel bound to present all angles, despite my instinct being to debate my stands on public forums.

And in any case, I certainly don't hate, or even really dislike most of my public-figure roastees - definitely nothing remotely on the level of Klobuchar vs. Buttigieg, anyhow. AOC probably has a long and eventful career ahead of her (I wasn't joking about the consequences of Real Socialism™, though), especially if she continues polishing up on actual politics. Nothing wrong at all with Gillibrand, hopefully Beto finds more fulfilment with a revival of his rock band; Harris has a very good shot at a VP run as forecasted, which will be a huge resume booster for being the actual candidate in the future. Castro remains relatively young and fits a demographic niche; Hopefully Williamson finds more success with her spiritual healing bestsellers, Booker still has a reputation, Yang has many die-hards, Buttigieg and Klobuchar have always been hard strivers, and, like, I can't really feel bad at all for Steyer and Bloomberg, when they can afford to wipe their arses with hundred-dollar bills. Warren will probably retire as a respected elder Senator within her own party, and maybe Gabbard can jump ship, I think she'll be a hit in the GOP.

See, it's really nothing personal; I just think GEOTUS is the man called by the times, is all, atop being a godlike troll - and frankly nothing out of the ordinary in the modern polarized climate. You see, the President of the United States wears the Crown of the World, with very little exaggeration. And heavy is the head that wears the crown. Daily decisions are often of such a form: start a bombing run in Syria, and a hundred Syrians are expected to die today; pull out, and two hundred Kurds are projected to perish. Do nothing? All of them die.

Clearly, the job takes a certain kind of character - which is, at best, very weakly correlated with qualities most people would regard as "virtue" or "kindness". To elaborate, very few have been considered as unimpeachable saints by, say, Reddit - offhand, I can reel off only Mr. Rogers, Bob Ross and Dolly Parton. They have managed to be universally-liked, by doing only nice things; Mr. Rogers' the friend to all kids; Bob Ross paints only happy trees and landscapes; Dolly Parton simply beams and say wholesome stuff (and has yuge bazoongas, besides). Could you imagine them in the middle of a raging abortion debate, or deciding whether it's the Syrians or the Kurds to perish today? To browbeat the freeloading but oh-so-good-PR Europeans into paying their fair dues? To absorb the inevitable slings and arrows that come with just about every dirty, but absolutely necessary, political judgment?

No, this is my appeal - I have identified TRUMP as America's closest to LKY in spirit on his swearing-in, and I have witnessed next to nothing that would change that assessment, just that TRUMP's the nicer version - yes, he says "Lock Her Up" on the debate stage, and disparages reporters as FAKE NEWS (and, really, not wholly without foundation); Singapore actually had journalists and dissidents locked up. So why not just let the man do his job? FAKE NEWS aside, he's really not bad at it!


Well, That Took Some Time

But back to why the day was great - unless my trusty hamster-senses have abandoned me, I think I have just seen the development of some quite competent strategy, with appropriate research being performed. Suffice to say that I have done things in the past that were, on hindsight, not entirely well-conceived; and I did feel kinda bad about it. Of course, as some of you lot with more colourful life experiences might understand, making amends is not always... straightforward. These things have gotta be done properly to be savoured, like a good steak; they can't be rushed.

Part of proper execution is, of course, the strategy. There has to be some standards here. Unless I have read it wrongly, the first two attempts were kind of abortive (and awkward) false starts, with follow-up badly lacking, despite me trying to fish a little on the second. I can't deny that I'm not an especially patient person, and thus was perhaps a bit too harsh, when the third try finally came. That was... decent, I suppose, but having waited for so long, I was feeling entitled to something bigger and better, something more worthy of the situation. Can't complain about the end result. Now, I wouldn't have done it that way myself, but I'm all for leveraging one's strengths - common sense, right? - and I can respect and appreciate different styles and techniques. It's all good.

Anyway, just a brief unsolicited after-mission review, though it may be slightly forward. Employment of backchannels is an entirely valid tactic, especially if well-prepped, but it also comes with certain limitations and risks (I'll discuss it in Singapore's geopolitical context in due turn). Developing and relying on it too much can bring with it a... reputation, that may not always be vocalized, and collateral damage, that might not be willingly recognized. It can be very effective, but also has a well-earned history of saddening forthright men. Frankly, was there really a need? One might not bow before gods and kings, but I can gladly abase myself before a friend.

While I'm at it, more shameless unsolicited advice, because what the heck. It's definitely true that the climate has likely become more dangerous for Chinese, not just in America, but all over the West (and perhaps even elsewhere), due to the coronavirus matter. Indeed, a commentary in today's State's Times attests that "...a whopping 91 per cent of all Americans see China as a threat of some kind. Even for the most liberal, anti-TRUMP, hope-of-the-future demographic - young people below 30 - fifty per cent have a similar threat assessment. It is not surprising that racist attacks against East Asians have increased dramatically, even in 'liberal' places such as California and New York."

...it kind of sucks that China-China is so monoethnic, I guess, and that nobody either inside or outside pressed them harder for the truth earlier on, and GEOTUS's couple of tweets about a "Chinese virus" probably wasn't helpful here (though it might be noted that the majority-ethnic Chinese Taiwan and Hong Kong have employed similar terminology). Given this, putting some thought into self-defence is only responsible, but one caveat about acquiring a gun is that it kills, which is... kinda a big thing. Many are never quite the same afterwards, before going into whether the jurors would be sympathetic. Some pepper spray might be a useful secondary non-lethal option, though of course practice on the range/in the bathroom would be required. Knowing where to run is possibly even more important, definitely, and if faced with multiple potential assailants, try to identify and take out the ringleader first. Yeah, that covers the most critical basics, I suppose.



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