There’s a lot of talk about normalization these days. You know, once the media reports horrors with a ho hum attitude, people take a ho hum attitude towards horrors and thus it becomes normalized. 15 years ago if you’d seen a guy holding a touchscreen computer on the train you’d have assumed he was a high tech terrorist assassin with the means to destroy the train you’re on by jiggling his techno slab. Today literally every last person on the train has one of these devices and yes, potentially, every last one of them could have the ability to take out the entire train by tapping a few keys, it’s unlikely, but it could happen. There’s a lot of talk about normalization these days. I hope it doesn’t become normal to attack women, people of color, trans people, religious people. If it does, my god the worst thing that could happen would be for us to say, yeah that’s what happens. Kinda like a lot of people have been saying for years when unarmed black men were being gunned down by the police. It’s hard to think of jokes or even derive enjoyment from something as silly as potato chips when you see a dark cloud forming. I sure hope it’s a storm that passes, reminding everyone of its potential power and fury. But I fear that it will consume us, even those we assume would never give in to the dark forces of fascism. Please stay safe and be sure to show love and respect to those who might be experiencing everything from a more ominous perspective than your own. Peace.