The Next Four Years

     I'm going to do blog posts on things that catch my eye, and not follow all the various helmet-fire freakouts or unseemly celebrations.  These are going to be contentious times, as anyone who remembers the years between November 2016 and the Spring of 2020 could predict.  People will get burnt out on politics, and I don't intend to be one of 'em.

     Individuals will be physically hurt as politics play out in the real world and the only advice I have to offer is to try to zig when the bad stuff zags.  Protests and rallies carry a small risk if you're going with the flow, but the various kinds and intensities of riot absolutely do not care what your politics are or if you and all your friends think you are a good person: get in the way and you will come to harm.  Understand both the odds and the stakes.  Don't go doing stupid things in stupid places with stupid people.

     Mind the trolling and poking.  As the Cynic philosopher warned, "Boys throw stones at frogs in jest, but the frogs die in earnest."  And remember that while gentle persuasion sometimes works, screaming at people will never change their minds.  It just encourages them to yell back.  After a while, everyone is yelling and nothing gets done.