Israel Daramola likes the campaign managers that didn’t get captured.
[Ed.- The country seems to be disintegrating at a remarkable pace. Every day brings a fresh deluge of horror. In Alternative Facts, Israel Daramola pauses for a second to look back and take stock of the previous week to ten days. There’s danger in retreating into a shell and letting it wash over you; it’s important to catalogue each new, impossible wrong.]
1
Let’s talk about trying new things. I am getting older and I’m afraid of losing my edge and desire to stay active, imaginative and full of wonder. As a result of this, I bought a skateboard–a thing I’ve always wanted since I was a kid but never got the chance to have. At this point in my life, it’s easy to just let it go and move on but I couldn’t. I needed something to pull me out of my funk. I needed something to become good at and most importantly, I needed something to believe in again.
2
This week, former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. This comes along the news of indictments for former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates on charges that he funneled millions of dollars through overseas shell companies and used the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, antiques and expensive suits; naturally because if Manafort is gonna be accused of a crime he’s gonna stunt on you the whole time during. This is exciting for people who hate Trump aka people and it should be. It’s tempting to tell yourself that somehow none of this will make a difference and Trump will get out of it but that’s defeatist and it also undermines the real thing that is happening here: the people in charge are trying to fuck you over and use their positions to get away with bleeding the country dry and America will never be the same from it.
3
When do you think characters in dystopia entertainment realized they were living in a dystopia? Do you think it took a decade or two? People don’t realize a great change happening because no one stops to look around. Everyone is on the go and in that sense it’s easy to understand why people are so antsy to get rid of Trump and go back to the status quo. But if you stop and pay attention, you’ll learn why Trump is president and you’ll also learn that there is no more status quo. The country didn’t change but it got angrier and it’s not gonna suddenly be at ease enough to go back to a quiet, more respectable brand of subjugation. I don’t say that to scare anyone, I say it to make you understand that there’s no quick fixes. There’s only slow progress towards a better end.
4
Part of the appeal of new is a chance to ignore the old. That’s the wrong tactic to take. The old should inform the new. I wish I’d started skateboarding sooner but I don’t think I’d care as much if I did. I needed to be at my lowest to learn about myself and to make a decision that would actually encourage my betterment. I’ve often wanted to do things just to do it but my mind moves a mile a minute and I forget those things as quickly as I think of them. It’s the things that I think would actually force me to learn discipline, patience and peace that I hold onto the most. Doing the new is great but what’s the point if it doesn’t progress you forward.
5
This administration has been objectively bad; incompetent at best and evil at worst. It was never sustainable and watching it collapse will be the only thing beautiful enough to pull people out of the depression it has surely caused. Robert Mueller is going to flip more people despite the fear Vladimir Putin strikes in the heart of many. I can only hope that when the bomb goes off and the dust settles we’ve learned something from all of this and actually carve a way forward.
Song Of The Week:
Song of the week? Go listen to Beach House 3 because it is album of my whole life right now.
Halloween Advice:
- Don’t be a dick
- Seriously, don’t
- Don’t drink and drive
- Don’t drive. The streets are gonna be stupid
- Blackface. I’d go against it. See rules 1 and 2.
- If you don’t have candy don’t open the door if you hear a knock. Don’t be the person not giving out candy.
And that’s it. It’s gonna get better eventually guys.
