test

“This is a test of the emergency broadcast system this is only a test. 

                       BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system. Had this been real emergency, the sound you just heard would have been followed by important information regarding your specific emergency. This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system”

You remember that don’t you? I remember those growing up. Especially over summer holiday when my sisters and I watched The Price is Right. We’d be pretending we were Janice or Diane and model random objects around the living room for Bob to talk about. Then a commercial break would come and if we weren’t fast enough we would be assaulted with the alarm beep. 

That test always made me afraid, not because I don’t like tests, but because it brought the fear of “what if?” What kind of emergency would constitute the use of the emergency broadcast system? And if it was a real emergency, are people really watching their televisions? I guess 30 years ago they were. As I grew older I just shrugged my shoulders whenever those came on. Well, we’ve never been in a situation to need to use it so what’s the point? I became numb to the test.

This is all I’ve been able to think about these last 24 hours. “This is a test” It feels like we are being tested at this moment, and failing horribly. Donald Trump has continually shown his true colours and a sizeable chunk of the United States population continues to turn a blind eye. The virus that has infiltrated the minds of our southern neighbours is incredibly contagious. Yes, I am a Canadian living in Canada but we are but a breath away from infection. Yesterday a video recording came forth of him showing his degradation towards woman, his “I take what I want” attitude, his overinflated sense of entitlement. It is sad at best, evil at it’s worst and somewhere in the middle I want to vomit. This isn’t an “all of a sudden” kind of arrangement here folks. This behaviour should surprise no body. Trump embodies everything that is bad and titillating about the internet. He is the internet incarnate and this is why he can’t be ignored even though he should. He speaks unbridled, and people have called that refreshing, he continually lies and instead of calling him out on it his supporters just turn the tables. And yes, his opponent is no better. Seriously, NO BETTER if you are interested in any sort of moral integrity. But since when did we vote on candidates based on moral integrity? 

The reality is that we already failed the test. We have been tested for years and years. On the basis of Trump=internet, we failed years ago. When we continue to ignore the warnings and go for the titillation. When we turn a deaf ear to objectifying and degrading words. When we laugh at a meme that makes light of a woman’s worth with words like “bitches” and “hoes”. This recent “revelation” of Trump’s behaviour and the lewd words read no differently than any random rap/hip hop lyrics. Trump should sell his words to Vince Staples and he’ll turn it into a hit overnight. You can’t laugh at a mom in tears horrified by the lyrics of a rap song then turn around and be horrified at Trumps words and attitude. 

I look at my boys and am so glad they aren’t old enough to hear any of this on the news, but the reality is that Trump is not the only man on this planet that thinks and behaves this way. As we have learned about so much this last year, rape culture is a real thing and it’s roots are power and entitlement. I am so focused on making sure my boys respect not just the opposite sex but all forms of life. We do not take just because we want. That may seem like typical behaviour for a toddler but not for a seven year old, or a 34 year old and certainly not for a 60 year old man running for president.

Shock and awe people, it is not just a Dessert Storm attack stance. It is how we receive our information. We get riled up and angry or hurt or insulted and rant from our keyboards that we are going to do something about it. And in fairness, I know some people that have. They have been so compelled by what they have seen that they have taken up the mantel of injustice fighter and it is thrilling to witness. This is the kind of shock and awe I want to be surrounded by. 

Stop waiting for the emergency broadcast system to tell you what to do. We are in a state of emergency. This is dire. Being Canadian does not make you immune to the ramifications of this outcome of this election. We have been in a global village for decades and for good and bad we can not escape it.