Who Wants to Come Together?

 Votes are still being counted but the results appear to favor former Vice President Joe Biden, who stands to be the 46th President of the United States. Less than a week after Election Day, Biden, along with his supporters, are calling on the country to come together as one nation, to work together and put the animosity behind us and recognize that we are all Americans.

Social media has been filled with posts and pictures of Biden supporters hugging and congratulating each other. Signs on front lawns are saying we are all Americans and the time has come to put our differences aside and to work and live together again.

People voted for change again and they got it. The past two elections will have resulted in a transfer of power. Granted, the last came because President Barack Obama had served two terms. The most allowed under the Constitution. Those who were ready to welcome a new leader took to the streets with fists raised when they saw the results were not what they had expected or hoped.

Donald Trump's presidency was met with angry cries, destruction of private property, chants of, "Not My President!" These people who shouted down political opponents, who trespassed on private property and stole or vandalized signs supporting President Trump, now want these people who suffered loss of property to come together and stand with them in unity; To show the world we truly are a united nation.

It's one thing to be upset when you lose something. Everyone has lost and everyone gets upset. But to stand in the middle of the street and prevent people from getting to work, to school, to prevent people from taking their children to a doctor's appointment because you don't like how an election turned out, and then expect the other side to show class and grace now that you finally get a result you like; That is the apex of hypocrisy.

But Trump was never president to begin with. He LOST. Hillary Clinton got more votes than Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton got more of the popular vote. Donald Trump received more electoral votes. The electoral votes decide the White House, and people knew that all along. It's been the same way for every Presidential Election. Now that the system didn't favor your candidate, you want to change the rules?

Of course you do. And while people waited for the rules to change, they protested. Not in the sense of assembling peacefully, making speeches and listening to what was said. No. Instead, people burned things down, looted stores, shouted profanities at Trump and his "racist" supporters. People sought to post disparaging pictures, memes, and other derogatory messages about trump on every social media platform so much, so often, I wonder what these people were accomplishing at work and at home.

But now we need to come together. Like a little child who finally got the toy or gift they wanted and is loving and tenderhearted toward their parents after throwing a fit in the middle of the store, the same people who shouted and spit at people who supported their candidate's opponent want everyone to come together. Those who ripped hats of individual's heads, those who stood in the middle of the street and smashed windows of oncoming cars who refused to stop while you tried to block them because you didn't get your way now want their opponents to meet them in the middle and join arm in arm to celebrate the one thing we have in common: Being Americans.

Before all of this happens, maybe you should check the mirror.

Or, even better, your cell phones and Internet History.

A New Flag for Massachusetts

Native Americans in Massachusetts have assembled outside the State House on Beacon Hill calling for a change to the official flag of the commonwealth: A Native American in the middle of a blue shield. The shield is in front of a white background. The Native American is holding a bow and arrow. The arrow is pointed down to signify peace. Under the shield is the motto of the commonwealth: "Ense peiti placidum, sub libertate quietum". The phrase is Latin for "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty."

The sticking point about the flag is a hand holding a sword over the native's head. This is interpreted as the White Man exercising his strength and power over the Native American and his people. Some of the people assembled have called Massachusetts the, "last U.S. state, whose flag includes representations of white supremacy."

Slow down.

The flag depicts an Algonquian man standing there with two of his daily tools: a bow and arrow. Other than than, the man is just standing there. The flag does not insinuate that the man is threat to anyone or anything. He is standing there. If this a threat to anybody, there is a new level of "triggered" I am not aware of. The sword? Is it threatening the man or is it there above him ready to defend him against anyone who may try to attack him? This, of course, could be open to interpretation.

The "Heritage Bill", as it is being called, goes on to require schools and sports teams in the commonwealth that use a Native American as a mascot to replace said mascot. Proponents of this measure say there is a "stereotype" that "relates to civil rights".

Earlier this week, the Washington Redskins gave in to protestors and agreed to get rid of the name and logo, a profile of a Native American's face.

I am trying to figure out how a man standing tall and holding his tools of daily living can offend someone of this heritage. Native Americans used bows and arrows to hunt and defend themselves, not only against white people but also against rival tribes. The man on the seal is not depicted as an idiot. He is not shown as someone inferior to another tribe or even to another race. He is simply shown as a man.

Protestors want this symbol removed. What's next? The name "Massachusetts" comes from one of the tribes that once inhabited a part of the commonwealth, the Massachusett. Does that exploit Native Americans? No, you say? Just wait.