I think I picked the wrong picture of Grogu for my last entry. I think I should have gone with this one – the “WTF is happening and why has the world gone crazy?” look.

I knew there were rabid fanatics out there. I didn’t realize how rabid – and delusional. Never did I imagine that a bunch of lunatics would storm the Capitol building and try to prevent Congress from carrying out their duties. I never thought there would be people on Twitter who honestly – HONESTLY – thought that Trump was telling them the truth, that by fighting and taking action they could “Save America” and “Stop the Steal” by basically overthrowing our democracy.

And they did it like it was no big deal. So wrapped up in their anger and blinded by their loyalty to a man who deserves none – and who gives none in return – they broke into the seat of the Legislative Branch, breaking and stealing and vandalizing… and killing.

All for a man who doesn’t care about them. All for a man who sees them as nothing more than a reflection of his own ego.

Now these people are hopefully going to face serious charges and penalties for listening to and believing the lies of a narcissistic conman. Their lives may be ruined, and they have ruined the lives of others. And for what? For a delusion that had no semblance of reality.

I can’t imagine what the people who rioted at the Capitol thought was going to happen. Did they think that it was some Hollywood movie, that magically they would stop the Big Bad from “winning” and Trump would remain president and they would all live happily ever after, fade to black? That they would be the heroes of their own little personal action flick? That they had reached the Boss Level of some video game and when they won there would be fanfare and a “High Score!” banner for them?

What did they think was going to happen?

As for the people who were caught up in the mob mentality and went along “to see what was happening” – they knew it was wrong. At least I hope to god they knew, at some level, that it was wrong. But they went along like kids sneaking into the teachers lounge on a dare, emboldened by the protection of the others. “They can’t stop all of us”… isn’t that the cry they wanted to use at Area 51? (Which reminds me, did anyone see a Naruto Run at the Capitol?)

There is one good thing that came out of all the idiots who were walking around the Capitol like it was no big deal. So many of them had cell phones and were taking pictures and livestreaming their antics that there are lots of faces for the FBI and DOJ to sift through. And even though some folks may have made it home, their faces are still out there. So while they wait for law enforcement to knock on their door, I hope they have plenty of time to regret what they have done.

As for Trump… when he was first elected I did some reading on hubris and on Nemesis. Hubris describes a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. One thing I knew about Greek gods is that they tend to get upset with mortals who exhibit hubris, and Nemesis was tasked with meting out divine retribution for their arrogance.

Everything that has happened in the past two and a half months (actually longer, but since the election mostly) has struck me as divine retribution for his arrogance. And even when he has a chance to mitigate the damage, his hubris continues to grow as he digs in with the unwavering belief that HE is right and EVERYONE ELSE is wrong and his lies are the truth and the truth is a lie. So far that arrogance has cost him the presidency, it has cost him a second impeachment, it has cost him his social media accounts, his PGA sponsorship, his banking relationships, his public and private sponsorships. It has cost him the people who considered themselves his friends (though they were fooling themselves – they may have been his friend, but he was never their friend), and it has cost him the people who considered themselves his supporters in the GOP… but not nearly enough, because there are still numerous delusional fanatics out there who would turn on their erstwhile friends like rabid dogs if they dared defied Trump’s will. Such is the power of a cult.

There was a certain irony in the impeachment vote today. Enough Republican House members voted for impeachment that the vote total was 232… the exact same number of electoral votes Trump received in his 2020 election loss.

Maybe the gods do have a sense of humor after all.