Today, Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 general election, after Pennsylvania had enough ballots to declare Biden the winner of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. This year started off poorly with a really disgusting and incompetent government in the US, and it just kept getting worse as COVID-19 infections were wreaking havoc on the populace and the economy. Then a cop kneeled on the throat of George Floyd, depriving Mr. Floyd of oxygen until he died. The video footage was clear: the cop took it upon himself to execute an innocent man. Black Lives Matter protests were staged all over the world, as we despaired at the reckless injustice of George Floyd’s murder. The Republicans and far-right extremists used the #BLM protests as excuses for spreading a fascist agenda that was racially charged, and it became more clear than ever that the Republican Party is the party of white supremacy.
This being an election year, the American people had the perfect opportunity to respond to the Trump administration’s fascist agenda. Former US senators Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ran as the opposing ticket against the White House incumbents (Trump and Pence). The general election polls closed in the evening on November 3, and the nation sat on the edge of their seats waiting for the results. Well, the Democrats waited, but Trump’s supporters did everything they could to impede the election process and intimidate the election judges. It has worked before. During the Jim Crow era, black voters were routinely driven away from the polls or lynched if they proved “uppity”. (“Uppity” is a word white supremacists use to describe black people who don’t show sufficient deference to their white oppressors.) And if we’re being honest, suppression of black voters worked in the most recent gubernatorial election in Georgia, a loss that catapulted Stacey Abrams onto the national stage as she registered tens of thousands of black voters, to give black people all over the country a Fair Fight in this election and future elections. And Stacy Abrams helped Joe Biden win in Georgia, a historically red state, but black women showed up in 2020. It’s absolutely breathtaking when considering the scope of this achievement.
I think that’s why Trump failed, and not for lack of trying, but he has no forward vision. He just wants more money, more power. Trump’s story is the narrative of a sea cucumber, sucking whatever it can through its throat hole, and ejecting the waste through the same hole; sea cucumbers eat with their anuses. And that’s Trump—not caring what goes in or what comes out. As an editor and writer, narratives consume every cognizant moment of my life, and I particularly enjoy the narratives in video games. Video games use ludonarrative structures that combine game mechanics and story; if there’s too much story, the game will be boring, but if there’s not enough story, the game won’t convince anyone to play the game. The Republicans’ narrative has greatly devolved since Trump was elected, but it seems as though the story is always related to anger, fear, and selfishness, which seems to perfectly satisfy Republican voters. If the Republicans were a video game, they’d be E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, a game so hated that Atari buried all its unsold copies in the desert. It’s just not any fun to play as a Republican, because you’re angry all the time.
My favorite kind of games are cooperative games that reward players for working together against a common enemy. Doesn’t that sound more like the Democrats? They want to have the best outcome for everyone. I know that it’s not quite that simple, but today I’m not going to open that door. We can worry about pushing forward the progressive agenda come January, when we finally get to beat the BBG, and get Trump a new outfit that matches his ugly orange face.
Thanks for reading, friends. Keep wearing those masks. There were over a hundred thousand new COVID-19 infections yesterday. Stay healthy. Stay safe. One Love.
Rosliw Tor Raekül 