Joe Biden is president and Lars, my journalist friend, is furious. What should be a time of joy has become one of apprehension, even fear. It’s all Trump’s fault, of course. It always has been. But there’s another reason.
“The Trump Supporter,” he says, pausing at his laptop.
Neither of us has ever met one. But they are out there. A tiny group convened the other day at the state capitol, demanding schools reopen. Dozens of riot police stood waiting. One couple sat in lawn chairs, wearing scuffed work boots. The man wore a knit MAGA hat.
I show Lars the pic on my phone. He waved it away. “They might feel safe,” he says. “But just you wait. They will pay.”
I am disturbed by this. Maybe it’s time for charity. Supporters of Trump have endured a constant barrage of insults. But now that Trump is gone…
“We’ve got to pursue them,” says Lars, through clenched teeth. “Root them out. Expose them. Remember the three D’s: De-fund, De-platform, De-legitimize.”
“What if they hide?” I knew I would. And I voted for Joe.
“We’ll find them. No degree? Check. Over fifty? Check. Two-bedroom house? Check. Pickup truck? Punch a clock? Watch Fox News? Check. Check. Check.”
“Sounds to me,” I said. “Like a sort of French Revolution in reverse. An uprising of the haves against the have-nots.”
Lars turned his full attention on me. Like a spotlight. “You’ve got a pretty smart mouth on you. You don’t own a pickup, by any chance?”
Not me. And if a mob comes to my door with pitchforks and torches, I know what I’ll tell them: Make it snappy. Rachel Maddow is on.
After all, Mama didn’t raise no fools.
Richard Donnelly lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Classic flyover land. Which makes us feel just a little… superior. He publishes a weekly column of essays on the writing life at richarddonnelly.substack.com