SHERIFF AND DEPUTIES VS. CATTLE THIEVES

JANUARY 8, 2021 – Trump was absolutely right about something: If I voted for Democrats, there’d be a breakdown of law and order—inside the Capitol Building, no less.

In part I find relief in seeing that the mob was as motley as they were.  Put less charitably but more precisely, I’m relieved that they were as dumb as they were mean and misguided. They seemed focused on gratification from taking selfies in a place where they didn’t belong—not on mounting a viable “insurrection.” The country is fortunate that however craven those creatures and their cult leader are, they can’t plan or plot beyond their unmasked spit.

Nonetheless, they’ve wreaked a lot of havoc and damage. If they aren’t corralled, they’ll wreck a lot more than glass, furniture, and . . . lives. They’ll destroy the ranch.

That’s where law and order come into play.

Mind you, I’m not in favor of vengeance—retribution against “dumb” is itself dumb.  But “dumb” can be dangerous, and when it’s on the loose, we need to lasso it and haul it back to the corral. Confine the bull to its own bullshit.

But the job doesn’t end with the latch of the corral gate.  In saddles of the “rule of law,”  the sheriff and deputies must chase down the rustlers who led the cattle off the ranch. If the animals were big, mean, and dumb, the cattle thieves know how to ride, rope, and slaughter democracy, all so they and their kind can gorge themselves on steak while the rest of us roam the desert.

The most chilling images from Wednesday’s stampede weren’t of goons smashing up glass inside the capitol. Far more disturbing were the video clips of Clown Man, Clown Man, Jr., Crooked Consigliere, and Congressman from Hell inciting the goons. By extension, it was 147 Republican members of the House and six Republican senators who voted for “the big lie”—who objected to certification of Biden’s victory.

The mug and name of very single one of the rustlers—must be slapped on “MOST WANTED” signs and as appropriate, prosecuted to the full extent of the law; censured under Congressional rules; excoriated via speech free of falsehoods; removed from office by free and fair elections; stripped clear of their dangerous ambitions. We must show the world and more critically, ourselves, that however much our cowboy culture is rooted in traditions of “MeNow” and “Don’t Tread on My Crazy Thoughts,” we can, after all, corral the bullshit and hold the reins of rational, democratic rule.

If we fail, we will fall among scorpions and rattlesnakes as herds of cattle branded “Dumb” and “Mean” stampede, shredding the remnants of our sorry selves.

Every single citizen who is horrified by what’s happened must self-deputize and join our common mission. We must ride together, or each of us will fall alone. “Don’t Tread on Me!” must be overwhelmed by the unifying cry, “We’re in this Together!”

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© 2021 by Eric Nilsson