On Politics and Gallows Humor

So 2016 is going to be one of those years I remember.


The kind of year that you don't believe is dead till it's two weeks in the ground.


There were the big things of course, the death of my father, all the extra shifts trying to keep shit together at work. 

Trying to keep my head on straight with a good three quarters of the people in my life trying to take advantage of my familial distractions.

Digging myself out of medical debt in hopes I'd be able to help my family with their debts.

Housing homeless friends.

Getting family members clear of the harder drugs.

Calling in favors, racking up favors...


And losing people.

Losing lots of people.



But right now the thing I want to remember in years to come,

(that isn't indelibly etched into my memory)

is this one sterling little cadre of coworkers.



The ones who, on November 6th (and for several months before that) told me that they couldn't wait for Hillary to win so that the ATF could "go Waco" on all of the evil cowardly poorly endowed gun owners (like me).

and who, on November 10th asked me to help them pick out firearms for home defense and tell them where they could learn how to shoot.

I wasn't the only person I know to experience this.  (living as I do in a very liberal part of the country)

but they were of the more insulting, and condescending school of social discourse,
and I find certain types of hypocrisy incredibly humorous.

Now I don't care for our president elect.

I didn't care for his competitor.

I didn't vote for either of them.

(and, contrary to popular belief, not voting for someone is not 'stealing' a vote from them... theft implies ownership and I tend to take umbrage at the prospect of being owned)

But I derive a small bit of satisfaction at seeing how the sheep on both sides of the fence change their tunes so drastically when they don't (or do) get their way. 

Spent eight years listening to it when president Obama was elected.

Spent eight years before that listing to it when president Bush was in office.

Eight years before that with president Clinton...

and so forth.

No I'm under no illusion that the next four years will be anything other than a shit-storm.

But damn if I didn't get at least one good belly laugh out of 2016