Watching the Demise of Democracy
I spent the afternoon in the office (despite the pandemic; I needed to pick up some equipment and ended up attending meetings from my desk there because I didn't have time to drive home before the next one) and then driving down to San Jose to drop off the picked-up equipment with a colleague. I also spent it watching a live stream of an attack on the Capitol with the sound on mute for long stretches so I could listen to my colleagues on WebEx.
I watched a bleeding woman being wheeled out on a stretcher, eyes open and staring at the news camera. She later died.
I watched confederate flag-waving hooligans walk between the cordons through Statuary Hall as if they were approaching a ride at Disneyland and were excited that the line was finally moving. They all carried cell phones, recording everything around them like awe-struck tourists with guns.
I watched a woman in a bicycle helmet, wearing a Trump flag like a cape, take photos of every document left behind in one of the congressional chambers by fleeing congresspeople. Evidence!
I saw a still photo of something that looked like the freak killer from season one of True Detective standing at the podium in the House of Representatives. The knit-capped man who apparently claimed the same spot before him proclaimed that Trump had won the 2020 election.
By the time I started the drive back from San Jose after dropping off the equipment with my colleague, the Senate was back in session and debating the objection to Arizona's electors. I thought I knew where the Vice President should go after he finished up at the Capitol: back to the Cabinet Room to convene a meeting and vote on the 25th Amendment.