Watching the US Inauguration

Bonny61

Hello, I've just joined from the US. As an 80-year-old American, I've watched a great many, but I've also never felt as emotional before as for this one ( part of that was anxiety, unfortunately . I think the closest was during JFK's first inauguration.
I had the same thoughts about the shoes -all that walking, and especially so many flights of stairs to navigate. There must have been several pairs of tired, achy, but happy feet that night!

P.leased to have you join us Bonny61. We can learn a lot from our American friends and we do know that most of you are not right wing cult supporters who are taken in by ridiculous conspiracy theories.

Now Trump's followers in the Proud Boys are mocking him and he has thousands that believe he let them down. Now, hopefully, others gently bring them back to reality so that we don't have more suicides. I fear the two Capitol Police officers may have committed suicide because of their involvement and the realization that they were involved in something so horrid.

Sorry about my reference to Bernice Sanders. Stupid auto-correct! Now I can't stop imagining a female Bernie. ?

Thank you for your wishes. A hard road ahead, as the toxicity runs deep. We'll need all the goodwill, fair winds, and good luck we can get. I'm afraid goodwill in certain quarters is in very short supply, but I'm hopeful that if anyone can get things moving in the right direction this team can. Importantly, we can say Welcome Back, science!

Annaram1

Bluecat Who is Bernice Sanders?

It's probably an autocorrect, Annaram (bane of my life)

Bluecat's post seems to be spot-on otherwise!

Hello, I've just joined from the US. As an 80-year-old American, I've watched a great many, but I've also never felt as emotional before as for this one ( part of that was anxiety, unfortunately . I think the closest was during JFK's first inauguration.
I had the same thoughts about the shoes -all that walking, and especially so many flights of stairs to navigate. There must have been several pairs of tired, achy, but happy feet that night!

beverly10

It is understood that PM Boris has invited President Biden to attend, with other world dignitaries and their entourage, the 2021 G7 Summit, This to take place in Cornwall. Covid cases in the SW have increased which is already threatening the hospitality businessThis they do not need.

'Boris' didn't invite anybody. It's a long planned summit of world leaders and they all come as a matter of course.

Johnson is now frantically spinning support for Biden in the hopes that everyone will forget that he was a great Trump admirer (and copyist) Wanted him nominated for the Nobel Peace prize...

MayBee70

Me too. I’m hoping it’s a brave new dawn, not just for America but for the whole world. Never felt so emotional at an inauguration before. Well done America! (Just wish the women involved wore good sensible shoes though: worried that they’ll trip over)

One of the women did trip, MayBee70. I think it was Ms Harris... I was pleasantly surprised by the way Mr Biden conducted himself at the inauguration and then got straight to work the next day. I wear a hat most days in winter so felt very chilly for them. Hope none catch cold ... or worse.... They seemed to have little, if any, concept of social distancing. Ms Harris even stooped and pressed her mask to a small child's...

It is understood that PM Boris has invited President Biden to attend, with other world dignitaries and their entourage, the 2021 G7 Summit, This to take place in Cornwall. Covid cases in the SW have increased which is already threatening the hospitality businessThis they do not need.

Bluecat, totally agree. Further to Snooze58: Antifa is not a group or organisation, it stands for Anti Fascists. It seems to be mostly used for scape-goating by people like white supremasists who don't want to take responsibility for their own actions.

The names of the two opposing US parties are a bit confusing. When one party is called "Democrats" it seems to imply that the other must be against democracy, and the other being "Republican" implies the the Democrats are against the US being a republic.
It is all historic, I suppose, but it is another subliminal reason for animosity between the two sides. So is the image in the US of the meaning of "liberal" as being destructive of everything fine about the states..

I watched it. It was quite ‘theatrical’ but so glad that Trump has gone (spoilt brat). Here’s hoping that Biden delivers.

Bluecat

Sorry but the notion that Joe Biden is a woke, radical Lefty is the funniest thing I have heard for ages. The man is a centrist. If he lived in the UK, he would be a moderate Conservative.

As an old-school Lefty myself, I don't expect any huge reforms from Biden. (I would have preferred Bernice Sanders but you can't have everything.) However, if he reverses the damage done by Trump, it will be enough. He has made a good start.

Trump was bitter and mean-spirited right up to the end. I am not surprised that, at the end of his presidency, he left Washington filled with heavily armed troops and every state in fear of possible violence. It amazes me that people keep comparing the attack on the Capitol to the BLM protests. There have been many protests in American history - for instance, most of us here are old enough to remember the Vietnam demos and the protests after the murder of Martin Luther King - but this was an insurrection. An attempt to prevent by force the result of a democratic election, with the threats to kill people like the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives....That's not a protest, it's an attempted coup, and the President himself incited it. Thank God that he has gone and that yesterday passed without incident.

My family in the USA feel more hopeful than they have done for a long time. Covid is out of control and the country is so deeply divided, with so much anger, so the need for action is urgent. Now they have leadership which is sane and sensible, after 4 years of madness. Hopefully Biden will be able to heal the wounds but he has a struggle on his hands, particularly as Trump has convinced so many people that the election was rigged. I wouldn't want Biden's job.

And why, as Trump boarded the plane, was Y. M. C. A playing in the background? Satire?

I agree Bluecat good post .....and I did wonder about the playing of YMCA as well.?

Bernie Sanders Annaram ....there was a lot of interest in his mittens yesterday.

Bluecat Who is Bernice Sanders?

@Callistemon. Well put, I feel exactly the same. The grown ups are back. Trump did a few good things for the pre Covid US economy I suppose but he was so divisive and his handling of the pandemic was woeful. I think he started to lose the plot when it became obvious that his claims of a rigged election were groundless and inciting the storming of the Capitol building was the last straw - even if he had won the election he would surely have been impeached after that. His decision not to attend the inauguration and the farcical ‘farewell ceremony’ were the actions of a petulant child throwing a hissy fit because they can’t get what they want. Good riddance Trump and good luck Biden.

MaizieD

He has signed it indeed, PippaZ.

It means that men can now play women's sport, can insist on being sent to women's prisons, can share 'female spaces' etc etc. just by self identifying as a woman and claiming discrimination if they are barred in any way.

I leave it to you to judge whether that is a good or a bad thing...

Ah. I can see that might not please everyone. I'll re-read it. Thank you Maizie.

Your quote about lady Gaga being Miss Piggy was by Quentin Letts in the Times, I’ve always found him a sneery unpleasant commentator and his piece today was no exception. He didn’t even have the grace to mention Amanda Gorman.

It feels like a new start for the USA - and what I have seen and heard of Joe Biden, I like. The reports this morning made me giggle - Lady Ga Ga was described as 'overdelivering, like Miss Piggy at the Oscars'; Jennifer Lopez also appeared to be belting it out as if she were on tour. I'm probably just a stuffy old bore but an over the top bellowing performance detracts from the solemnity for me.

Or even: Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

Why is it, when reading comments from NannyC2 et al, I get the image of the bad witch in the film: The Wizard of Oz'?...and as for Trump... well, we all know what happens at the end!

Hoping Joe was wearing his thermal undies- hoping he has nt caught a chill at his advanced years!

I think he s great.I was in tears at his decency after u know who.

At last, an aspect of the world moving towards true hope!

on grounds of gender identity

That's the dodgy bit...

As an American I am thrilled that we have a new administration and the former occupant of the White House is gone. I am optimistically hopeful for the future of our country.

He has signed it indeed, PippaZ.

It means that men can now play women's sport, can insist on being sent to women's prisons, can share 'female spaces' etc etc. just by self identifying as a woman and claiming discrimination if they are barred in any way.

I leave it to you to judge whether that is a good or a bad thing...