Thoughts on this day of days

November 5, 2024.

If I got any sleep last night - and as of this writing, there's no reason to believe I would have - I can guarantee that I woke up with a not-so-great feeling in the pit of my stomach.

November 5, 2024.

Will this be yet another day that will live in infamy?

Will this be - with the exceptions of the days on which people I loved died - the worst day of my life?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

My brother Rick, an experienced and astute observer of things political, told me a couple of weeks ago that he had a bad feeling about this one.

My friend Joe, an experienced and astute observer of things political, told me a couple of weeks ago that he thought Harris would win in a landslide.

Two men who have been directly involved in campaigns over the years. Two different gut feels.

Depending on the day, depending on the time of day, I'm a total downer, Rick-inspired (despired?) pessimist, or a grinning, buoyant Joe-inspired optimist. All I know is, over the past six months, I've gained about 10 pounds nerve eating. Why open the vino or mow down edibles when you can munch on Lindt dark chocolate with orange and almonds?

Even in Boston - which in 2020, broke about 85:15 in favor of Biden - I look at folks walking by with suspicion. Is that a MAGA?

If I lived in a red state, I'd likely have stroked out by now.

Whatever happens today (or over the next few days), if the outcome is not Joe's forecast landslide, I'll be wondering why.

But today's blog is not mostly, not directly about the election. It's about the disinformation/misinformation world we live in, where some folks seem to believe anything - however preposterous - they "hear" from certain sources, and act accordingly.

And so, it was a few weeks back, in the aftermath of Helene - or was it Milton? - that we heard that FEMA had to temporarily pull out of some communities in North Carolina because of threats of violence directed at FEMA workers.

And then there was this: a stunning headline in Rolling Stone that read "Meteorologists Get Death Threats as Hurricane Milton Conspiracy Theories Thrive."

Meteorolgist? That friendly guy on the evening news who tells you whether you need to bring an umbrella with you the next day? Or is it sunscreen? That guy?

"It's their job to warn residents about destructive storms—but political polarization has made them targets online."

"'People are just so far gone, it’s honestly making me lose all faith in humanity,' says Washington, DCM-based meteorologist Matthew Cappucci, in a phone interview conducted while he was traveling down to Florida for the storm. 'There’s so much bad information floating around out there that the good information has become obscured.' "Cappucci says that he’s noticed an enormous change on social media in the last 3 months: 'Seemingly overnight, ideas that once would have been ridiculed as very fringe, outlandish viewpoints are suddenly becoming mainstream & it’s making my job much more difficult."

The prime-crazy conspiracy theory: the hurricanes were created (using space lasers) or modified (and sent the way of red areas) by meterologists at the direction of Deep Staters - that would mostly be those enemies-of-the-people, the Democrats - to screw over red states. 

"'I put on armor every day to try to go online & make sure people aren’t saying things that could harm responses,' says [Meteorolist Katie] Nickolau. She’s had to fend off rumors that meteorologists should just use giant fans to blow the hurricane away or try nuking it. "'Stopping misinformation is becoming an exhausting part of the job which is taking away from spentime forecasting or sending out other info that could be helpful,' says Nickolau. She says her heart sinks when she sees a false post get millions of views 'cause it’s virtually impossible to go back & fact-check it for everyone that’s seen it. "After that call, Nickolau received an even more troubling message on her page: 'Stop the breathing of those that made them & their affiliates.' "'Murdering meteorologists won’t stop hurricanes,' she tweeted. 'I can’t believe I just had to type that.'"

Talk about shoot the messenger. Sheesh. 

Meteorologists, of course, aren't always right. How often have we packed the sunscreen when we should have packed the umbrella? How often have we made a last minute raid on the grocery store to stock up on milk and bread, knowing we really needed to be prepared for a major Nor'easter that's going to dump two feet of snow, but ends up fizzling into a yawn of a two-incher.

But do I blame Eric Fisher of WBZ-TV? No, no, a thousand time no!

Disinformation (deliberate lying). Misinformation (passing on someone else's deliberate lies out of ignorance). Willful and unwillful ignorance. Innate or acquired stupidity. Cynicism that says that nothing matters, the reality and government are boring, that everything is one big wrestling match, so why not root for the villain who entertains you and at least kinda/sorta says what you're thinkging. 

When I was a teenager, I started doing extensive reading on the Holocaust - first person accounts, historian analysis, fictional imaginings - and my fear since those long ago days has been that the biggest threat to democracy is not from the left, but from the right. From fascism. And while, even with a terrible outcome today, I don't foresee gas chambers, the wholesale wipe out of a people, I can definitely foresee people - hapless immigrants, political opponents - getting rounded up. Women being tracked to make sure they don't cross their state border to buy the morning after pill. The US abandoning historic alliances while cosying up to the Orbans and Erdogans. Journalists silenced. More books banned - and even burned. Armed to the teeth militias stoking fear and violence. Peaceful protestors met with an armed military. Gay marriage rescinded. Christian fatwas. Anyone not deemed sufficiently patriotic enough being hounded out of position, job, community. Using the military against "the enemy within" - which would be folks like Congressman - soon to be Senator - Adam Schiff, and anyone else who had the temerity to oppose him. ("Enemies" I've heard named by Trump's brigade of henchmen - men like Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn, Kash Patel, Stephen Miller - include Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mark Milley, and Anthony Fauci. Execution of such traitors has been bandied about.)

There's a reason I woke up today worried.

If I were the praying type, I'd be praying that Harris wins in a landslide, and that TFG concedes (gracefully would be a nice touch, but not one expected) and doesn't go all out urging the most die-hard and ignorant of his supporters to tear the country apart.

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And, no, I don't believe that everyone voting for Trump is an intellectually and morally challenged, fascism-welcoming person. But they sure do have a different world view than I do.