Why This Election WANTS You to Be Nuts. Plus Unicorns

[mallorys_camera]

This election is driving people nuts. I mean literally nuts. The degree of anxiety, frustration, and disassociative rage is not to be believed. Even in New York City where HRC polls at something like 70%.

I honestly don’t get it.

Fivethirtyeight.com has become the equivalent of bird entrails. People are logging in five, ten, fifteen times a day. Omigawd – she’s under 70%! He’s close to a third! North Carolina is going red!

It’s like some vast computer simulation game we’re all playing constantly.

I wonder what happens when the election is over?

I’m fairly certain we go on playing the game in some guise, shape, or form. It’s the new reality. It benefits someone – media? American politicians? shadowy Chinese billionaires? the manufacturers of antidepressants? – if we’re all kept in a perpetual state of uncertainty and panic.

###

Here’s the deal: In the last 30 years of elections, all polls have tended to tighten up in the week or so before a Presidential election, and furthermore, said tightening turns out to have virtually zero effects on the final results.

The media needs a horse race right up to the end. That’s how the media sells ads. They want the election to be close for the same reason that they want the Superbowl to be close. When the Superbowl’s a blowout, the fans tend to check out early. And nobody wants that: There’s too much money riding on it.

###

Polling is predictive in a general sense, but it’s ridiculous to read too much into the last minute wriggling of a graph. This election has been characterized by an extraordinary degree of partisanship. Pollsters like to prattle about the “undecideds,” but I don’t think there have been too may “undecideds" in this election: The contrast between the two candidates is just too stark. I suspect most people made up their minds who they were going to vote for weeks and weeks ago.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that HRC is going to win.

And there’s not a doubt in my mind that her win is not gonna result in significant positive changes. Some people rise to the level of the trust that’s placed in them, but I don’t think she’s one of them.

True, HRC is marginally less creepy than Trump. But that still makes her creepy.

###

In other news, met up with BB for some excellent pastries at a little Haitian bakery close to Atlantic Avenue and then tromped down to the Hassid nerve center on Kingston Avenue to do cultural anthropology.

Then met up with Summer and Spring at Fort Tryon for an afternoon at the Cloisters:



I’d forgotten that the famous Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries are at the Cloisters! The tapestries are just amazingly evocative and beautiful and strange, and one wonders how, in a culture that was dominated by a genuinely creepy religion (Medieval Roman Catholicism), something this lyrical and yes, almost playful could have been created. I suppose they must have been woven toward the very beginning of the Renaissance. And definitely not in Spain!

On the subway ride back into Brooklyn, I read a copy of The Best American Short Stories 2014 that I’d scored for a buck from a street seller and eavesdropped on two teenage boys, crumpers, who were speedrapping madly about dance moves and shoes, high-fiving at frequent intervals.

In the tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn, they decided to dance.

They were not particularly good. That might have been the confines of a semi-crowded subway car, I don’t know. They took out their little music blaster from a knapsack, did a few athletic pole swings, some aggressive floor moves, the little robots that could.

But something about them just made me start to weep.

They were just so sassy and filled with bravado. Little Mercutios! I could just see their dreams floating around them. And I knew exactly what was going to happen to those dreams.

I emptied out all the cash in my pockets and gave it to them.

This is one of the reasons I make it a point never to carry around very much cash by the way – because I have a tendency to give it all away. To random strangers. Which aging pensioner that I am is not a smart thing to do.

I remained sad, sad, sad for the rest of the evening. If I think about those boys too hard, my eyes will well up with tears right now.

Which is insane. The kids were obviously enjoying themselves.

It is the blight man was born for
It is the Unicorn you mourn for.

Or something like that, I suppose.

Comments

[petrona.livejournal.com]

"There’s not a doubt in my mind that HRC is going to win."

A year ago, you were certain that Trump was going to drop out of the race. :-(

An account of a coffee shop incident by a friend who lives in the DC area:

"Overheard in a coffee shop:

Man 1: "It's not racist to say what you think. Trump just helped show the world that its ok to say it if that's what you really believe."

Man 2: "Maybe next week we can all safely say something about public displays like THAT. (Points to a young minority couple)"

Me: "Yes. Perhaps we can do something about disgraceful public displays.... like yours."

Some days... It's all just too much."

I hope you're right.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

A year ago, you were certain that Trump was going to drop out of the race. :-(

I sure was. So much for my predictive powers.

I'm glad you spoke up.

[lifeinroseland.livejournal.com]

It's not insane. It is extremely sad. One of the ways I noticed I was getting older (other than, man that cut is taking forever to heal) was being unable from shut myself from that kind of awareness (on the train). I think it was in his last book that DeLillo says, "always jarring."

[lifeinroseland.livejournal.com]

[And the president can't do anything about it.]

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

It's a really good thing that I don't ride the subways all that often anymore.

[lifeinroseland.livejournal.com]

May unicorns roam free in the scenic Hudson Valley.

[cah1470.livejournal.com]

Yes! what Petrona said 10 times yes.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Pollsters like to prattle about the “undecideds,” but I don’t think there have been too may “undecideds" in this election: The contrast between the two candidates is just too stark. I suspect most people made up their minds who they were going to vote for weeks and weeks ago.

Most people have, but it's for just that reason that the 5% of so of the electorate still identifying as "undecided" have such potential to shift things.

I mean, we can speculate all we want about them being truly undecided or just unwilling to tell posters who they're voting for, but the end result is the same: a great deal of uncertainty about how much support each major candidate really has.

[therobertpaul.livejournal.com]

Anxiety: We’ve sold ourselves on this “land of the free, home of the brave” rubric. But, at some level, we all understand this is the land of treating each other like shit.

[lilchiva.livejournal.com]

The Cubs won. :)



Remember when Trump reminded us that The Alan Parson's Project is awsome? We were so young then.

[lilchiva.livejournal.com]

I did not realize that Hunt of the Unicorn was quite so large. Wow.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Fivethirtyeight doesn't think there are many undecideds either:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-voters-havent-changed-their-minds-all-year/

There are a lot of people who were voting Third Party and have now decided to throw in their lot with one or the major party other candidate. Throughout much of October, Gary Johnson was polling at 7%; he's now down to 5%. One assumes those votes are Trump pickups. (Although I'm voting for Gary Johnson, and were I to change my vote, I'd vote for HRC.)

There's also a significant contingent of voters who'd decided not to vote for anyone. This is the closest thing to "undecided" that fivethirtyeight picked up, and some of those voters do appear to be going over to the Trump camp. They may be motivated by the same "right wing conspiracy" exhaustion with HRC that I've reported on in this very space.

All I can say is that I remain confident that HRC will win. But let's say the handwriting is on the wall, and she's gonna lose: How does it benefit anyone to work himself or herself up to this fevered pitch of anxiety and desperation?

If you really want to do something to help HRC win, take Tuesday off and volunteer to give rides to HRC voters who depend upon public transportation to get to the polls.

I know you're in Chicago. But let's say you were in Pennsylvania... Philadelphia's in the midst of a public transit strike, and that actually might have an effect on voting since HRC's power base in PA is in the city. The rest of the state are mad frackers, so (one assumes) Trump supporters.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Oh! You're just feeling bitter and misanthropic 'cause the Cubs won. :-)

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Yeah! The tapestries were designed as wall hangings. Really big wall hangings! :-)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Earlier in the race they were saying they expected Johnson to draw at least as much support from Clinton. I certainly wouldn't assume all those voters are defecting to Trump. (Polls often ask third-party voters who their second choice is, so there is some data out their to be mined if someone has an eye to.)

There's also a significant contingent of voters who'd decided not to vote for anyone. This is the closest thing to "undecided" that fivethirtyeight picked up, and some of those voters do appear to be going over to the Trump camp.

And some are plumping for Clinton. Overall, they conclude it's a wash.

If you really want to do something to help HRC win, take Tuesday off and volunteer to give rides to HRC voters who depend upon public transportation to get to the polls.

Several of my friends are phone-banking for Clinton. And more than one person has told me they've given money to her representing the first time they've ever donated to a candidate in a political contest.

[therobertpaul.livejournal.com]

No. I meant that with all sincerity without knowing Melania Trump was saying the same thing yesterday. That must have seemed like watching a Kennedy give a speech on temperance.

[therobertpaul.livejournal.com]

Eh, I suppose we'll let them get away with that. ;)

And those lyrics to Eye in the Sky speak to the campaign to me.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Have you seen The Manchurian Candidate? Maybe Melania is really Der Donald's handler, and whenever she sez, "Der Donald! Would you like to play a little game of solitaire..."

[signorinakatina.livejournal.com]

I love The Cloisters! And this is such a touching entry.

The unicorn is a very medieval symbol, and even its symbolism would contradict current interpretations: it can symbolize Christ, and it can symbolize a maiden losing her virginity. But in the holistic view of medieval Europe, these things aren't contradictory at all.

I urge you to explore medieval Catholicism further, because at that time the magic, trance, and mystery were ONE with the Church. it is one of the medievalist's burdens and struggles to understand what's often called the "medieval mind," and it's a fascinating rabbit hole. I found it illuminating in many ways--but on-topic for your entry, I think trying to understand it highlights today's weird and unusual interpretation of Catholicism as restricted, prude, anti-education, Victorian, conservative, and sex-negative. The intense awareness of magic and mysticism in the medieval everyday--even at the highest levels of the university, church, and court--created a reality for these people in which unicorns (and other mythical creatures) not only COULD exist, but actually DID.

Hildegard (major Catholic of the 1100s and the most famous mystic of the twelfth century) wrote about the unicorn in her book of plants and animals. She begins her description of the unicorn by saying it cannot be captured, but then elaborates that there is one way to capture the creature: "The girls walked separately from the others, and played among the flowers. Seeing the girls, a unicorn shortened its leaps and gradually drew near. It sat on its hind legs, diligently gazing at them from afar. The philosopher, seeing this, thought hard about it; he understood that a unicorn could be captured by girls. . .A unicorn, seeing a girl from afar, wonders that she has no beard but does have the shape of a person. If two or three girls are together, it is more amazed, and it is caught more quickly when its eyes are fixed on them. The girls by whose means the unicorn is captured must be nobles, not country girls. They should be neither completely grown nor entirely small, but in the midst of adolescence. The unicorn loves them, because it knows they are gentle and sweet."

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's so interesting! The dual nature of the Unicorn. I forget sometimes that one of the positive aspects of Catholicism is that it encourages believers to see dualities -- because of the dual nature of Christ.

You've written about Hildegard often, and you whet my interest enough to do some reading. Of course, it's ridiculous for me to think of the medieval era as a monolith. There would have been so many variations, depending upon the year, depending upon the place.

Much of my view of Catholicism is informed by my own religious tradition: I'm Jewish, and Jews were constantly being tortured and exiled in the name of the church.

On a tangentially related note: Have you read Connie Willis's Doomsday Book? If you haven't, I think you might like it.

[signorinakatina.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it! I will check it out! Thanks. As you may know, I jump into this hole any chance I get. :)

Hildegard is one figure I know a lot about through my research and performing her work, and she is one of the most famous mystics of the middle ages. She's known and famous partly because she was known and famous in her day. (Since the overall mindset was more collective, most creators at the time did not sign their work; the work may survive but their names often do not.) While Hildegard was an inspiring mystic and leader, her ideas resonated with a lot of people, many of whom remain relatively or completely anonymous--and I mention this just to underscore that her views and ideas were not all unique. She saw herself as a channel for the "living light," relaying messages that surrounded everyone in the universe. She was special, yes, but she also found that inspiration within her worldly context and reflected it in her work, because the everyday medieval experience was CHOCK FULL of this stuff.

You mentioned Spain--in fact, something much sillier and more playful was created in medieval Catholic Spain. One of the Cantigas de Santa Maria is about a dancing porkchop--a true miracle of the Virgin Mary, the song says! :) you can hear it here: https://youtu.be/P0hMOzAnAaQ

[signorinakatina.livejournal.com]

P.S. I think a lot of people see medieval Catholicism as nothing more than the crusades and torture. And I get that, it's right to condemn the murder of people based on religious grounds--but it's important to remember that the government WAS the church, and those were battles like any other human battles, fought largely for territory and power. Even Christians were tortured. Like all atrocious systemic trauma, mob mentality, and societal brainwashing, within context the medieval atrocities are much more subtle than they are evil.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

he government WAS the church, and those were battles like any other human battles, fought largely for territory and power.

Very, very true, and something I keep in mind whenever I read about politics in the Middle East.

And the reason why I believe the separation between Church and State must be scrupulously enforced.

The Edict of Expulsion that drove the Jews from England in the 13th century was largely motivated by economics. Edward Longshanks used Jewish money to finance his wars with Wales. He didn't want to pay his lenders back, so he had them seized and tortured. Executed many of them. Exiled the rest. Interestingly, it was Oliver Cromwell -- hardly a man whom History recognizes for religious tolerance -- who reversed the Edict in the 18th century.

[signorinakatina.livejournal.com]

that's really interesting! there is depth in every story.