A Coup in Wolf's Clothing, the Senate Flipped

Of all the things I thought might happen yesterday, a mob storming the U.S. Capitol and gaining access and ransacking the building was not one of them.  I kept an eye on national news yesterday because I was interested in the outcome of the Senate run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday.  I saw photographs of what was happening, but I didn't see videos until later.

When I thought about possible coup attempts, I wasn't expecting people draped in the skins of wolves and other animals.  I didn't think that an invading army would be made up of fellow citizens, and I didn't think an army that breached the U.S. Capitol would then wander the halls taking selfies, rifling through possessions, taking lecterns.

We may spend days arguing about what we've seen yesterday.  Was it a coup?  Was it insurrection?  Sedition?  A rally/demonstration/protest gone terribly wrong?

We may spend days arguing about who is responsible, and there's plenty of blame to go around.

I spoke to my parents a few days before Christmas, and we agreed to call on Christmas morning.  My dad said, "If we're not all under house arrest by then."  We laughed nervously.  

My dad is the kind of conservative who worries about the national debt, who thinks about the best ways to defend the country and the Constitution.  We've had our disagreements through the years, but we've always agreed on some basics.  We've had much more common ground in the past 4 years, as we've both been shocked/stunned/horrified at Trump's actions.

As I followed the news yesterday afternoon, I wasn't worried at first.  It's been a year of protests, and I thought this was going to be fairly typical--a big group, fairly peaceful with spurts of violence at the margins, while the work of the Congress went on inside.

When news came that the Capitol had been breached, I was confused.  I have always assumed that people who didn't submit to the entry check point would be shot.  I have always assumed that an invading army would be met by military force.

Perhaps it's different when it's an army of citizens.  Perhaps it's different when the President of the U.S. invited his followers to invade.

But I'm guessing that there was chaos and that protectors of the Capitol building didn't want to escalate the encounter.  I am grateful for the quick thinking actions of the ones who grabbed the electoral votes as the members of Congress were moved for their safety.

I am happy the the members of Congress met again when it was safe and affirmed and accepted the electoral votes.  I am relieved that Joe Biden has officially been declared the next president.

I am not sure of how I feel right now--relieved, yes, but shaken.  One of my friends wrote that she was "stunned but not surprised, if that makes any sense," and I responded that I had felt that way for most of the last 4 years.

A coup in wolf's clothing--I am stunned, but not surprised.

The U.S. Senate flipped--I am stunned, but not surprised.