The Inauguration
“You will find it necessary to let things go; simply because they are heavy.” — Anonymous
Preface
As I draft this preface, on the eve of the inauguration of Trump’s second term, today TikTok went dark and returned in the same day. The recent news that Facebook will no longer use independent fact-checkers, instead ‘community notes’ like the X social media platform to determine the veracity of information, caused some friends to leave and join Bluesky instead. They posted their contact info, and said their goodbyes. Lastly, there’s the Facebook Blackout on inauguration day, plus a protest of Trump’s inauguration and news coverage by not watching. What does this really accomplish? This is how I weigh in…
The Backstory
“You can’t move forward until you look back.” — Cornel West
Beginning in 2016 following Trump’s election as POTUS, and through the first rear of his presidency, I wrote and posted six installments of the series, The Toilet Zone to my blog, Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! From the first Installment of the series, The Toilet Zone: First Flush:
“This essay, written in December 2016 at the close of the year, focused on the theme of letting go, an example of the intersection of politics and the personal, when the tools of my recovery helped me respond. The Serenity Prayer became my mantra and the toilet my metaphor, reinforced by the fact that I had developed an intimate relationship with flushing toilets as I prepared for my colonoscopy following the election. The series found its name, inspired by years of watching Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone.”
During the first year of Trump’s 2017 presidency — and especially during the pandemic in 2020 — many friends and family decided to limit how much news and bizarro press briefings they could tolerate. Others, like me, watched more news, tuned into Rachel Maddow many nights, subscribed to the online versions of The New Your Times and/or The Atlantic, and doomscrolled social media. My main social media source was Facebook, and some days I rabidly posted multiple status updates and my take on current events. I’m reminded of my compulsive commentary that pops up on FB memories. Oh, My!
I also want to acknowledge that news outlets overused the term ‘breaking news,’ losing its impact on audiences. During Trump’s first term and especially during the pandemic and reelection campaign, every post on X or Truth Social is not news, simply opinion, often disinformation and outright lies. The January 18th SNL cold opening clearly made this point.
I decided to relaunch The Toilet Zone series. Like a big turd, it requires a second flush!
The Toilet Zone: Second Flush
“Your silence will not protect you.” ― Audre Lorde
First, I want to acknowledge that there are many ways to make our voices heard. Saturday was a perfect example, The People’s March, in Washington D.C. and across the country, including in Madison, Wisconsin at the State Capitol. It’s incumbent too, that we support independent journalism and advocacy groups like the ACLU, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, especially those that protect marginalized communities.
Contributing time and/or dollars to local community social justice organizations and services is critical. The following may seem obvious to most, however, we need to be informed when we vote, and vote during every primary and election. It’s our responsibility as citizens. A protest vote, by not voting, in the end, is a vote in absentia.
Friends and family exit social media platforms for their own mental health and to protest Trump’s and Facebook’s influence on media. The intention of today’s Blackout 1/20/25 event was designed to send a message to FB and reduce the audience numbers for the inauguration, which seems that it comes at a cost, informed citizenry. I plan on watching the inauguration, the mainstream media, and Facebook. I will judge for myself.
Not to sound grandiose, I’ll consider myself a war correspondent covering the battle for democracy. I fear some people on the left, will join the right, by reading news in echo chambers. However, let me go on record, I support the decisions on how people need to navigate the next four years and practice self-care. I also support the decision by Michelle Obama and Nancy Pelosi to not attend the inauguration.
“There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough.” — Unknown
As a person who identifies as a lesbian who was born intersex, a liberal and progressive social activist, a person in recovery, and a boomer who witnessed multiple wars, assassinations, Watergate, and 9/11, I will not tune out mainstream media, and I won’t return to any closet, especially one where I’m invited to hide. I will remain visible and to the best of my ability find and express my voice. Prayer for My Voice.
For those reasons, I’m launching, The Toilet Zone: Second Flush, a chronicle of Trump’s second term as I monitor news and disinformation. I’ll hang around Facebook for awhile and postpone my decision to exit Facebook and join Bluesky instead.
The Inauguration
Eve of the Inauguration
Cue up the song, Eve of Destruction.
Last night, the eve of the inauguration, Trump held a rally which, in essence was another victory celebration. The NYT’s noted, “At Trump’s rally, the contradictions are in the music. The president-elect danced along with Village People as his rally closed with a live performance of “Y.M.C.A.,” after Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood played.
Trump announced that he saved TikTok, and would sign 100 executive orders, including pardoning the January 6th protesters. From CNN, “His inaugural show of force — “close to 100 to be exact,” he said Sunday — will set the tone for a second term anchored on Trump’s strongman persona and vision of an all-powerful presidency, aimed at unleashing intense disruption at home and abroad.”
As Trump takes the oath of office as the 47th President, he has already broken his campaign promises (no surprise), nominated his loyal (to him) cabinet, some who are dangerous, threatened mass deportations, threats to democracy, our climate, the health of Americans, protection under law for ALL people, the rule of law, adherence to our constitution and the protection of our democratic government, with its checks and balances. Oh, My!
Inauguration Day
First takeaways
Trump, always bucking protocol for his own aggrandizement, rather than sitting in the middle of flock at St. John’s Church service, sat in the front row. Many of the attendees looked like they were attending a funeral service, except for V.P. – Elect J.D. Vance’s wife, who wore pink, both a symbol of femininity, also the color of the Women’s Pink Pussy Hat March in 2017, protesting Trump’s first term.
Photo Credit: Evan Vucci/AP
Later a CNN commentator, when asked about the First Lady, Melania Trump’s fashion choice, compared to the first term inauguration when people thought she took cues from Jackie Kennedy, Today, her fashion was described as ‘Royal Family Governess.” Oh, My!
Personally, I find the visual clothing choices symbolic of more than fashion selections. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden wore a purple, Kevin McCarthy’s wife also wore pink, as did Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s eldest daughter, Arabella wore a pink coat, while her mother forest green.
Navy and royal blue was the color choice for men, while republican women wore red. Callista Gingrich, Newt’s wife, chose the brightest red to stand out as much as possible as they greeted Republican legislators as they entered.
The seating arrangements made a statement, tech oligarchs seated behind the Trump family.
Photo Credit: ulia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Inauguration Speech
Photo Credit: Shawn Thew/Pool/AP
Key excerpts:
- “The Golden Age of America begins right now.”
- “America’s decline is over.”
- Trump will create an, “The External Revenue Service” to collect tariff income.
- “There are only two genders.”
Press coverage:
From NPR, Key moments from Trump’s inaugural address.
‘America First’: Donald Trump’s Populist Inaugural Address from The Atlantic.
Full annotated text of Trump’s Inaugural Speech from the NYT.
Here’s a video of the full inaugural speech if you prefer to watch.
Photo Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AP
I end this inaugural edition of The Toilet Zone: Second Flush with this reminder from Howard Zinn:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history, is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction… The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
The Toilet Zone Series from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!
To read the full content of The Toilet Zone commentary series from first to last installment:
The Toilet Zone: A Government of Men
The Toilet Zone: Tipping Point
The Toilet Zone: Unhappy Anniversary
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