Auchtoon!

You haven’t used one of your many streaming services for a while, and now they are making you log in again! The carafe at the cafe with your favorite coffee is empty, so you either have to wait three minutes or go with your second favorite! Your spouse needs the “good” car, so now you’re stuck with that abomination of a vehicle that doesn’t have heated seats!

Okay, so not having a candidate that you’re excited about voting for in the upcoming primary next week is not really on the same level of pettiness, by I do think it qualifies as a first-world problem. I, too, wish for a selection of more engaging choices.

Biden is an old-school politician, which has its merits, but definitely leaves a wanting for a more dynamic and (yeah, I’ll say it) younger choice.

Haley seems an opportunist without convictions — more interested in achieving the office than actually doing the job.

And Trump is an existential threat to our nation. Plus, you know, the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins.

But in the end, we are voting. So let’s vote, appreciate the opportunity, and do what we can to make the next election better.

This week, State Representative Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) was reprimanded for promoting a racist conspiracy known as the Great Replacement. No need for me to give that conspiracy theory any more oxygen by explaining it here. It’s enough to know that it grows out of (and continues to be incubated by) the Neo-Nazi/Klu Klux Klan/Proud Boys groups among us.

You’d think we’d know enough from history that there’s nothing good down the hyper-nativist path. And yet, rallying to the nativist calls is often seen as the most patriotic thing we can do. For a country of immigrants, we sure have a particular disdain for immigrants.

From the NPR story:

“The mother of a Michigan teenager who killed four fellow students and wounded seven other people during a mass shooting at Oxford High School in 2021 was convicted Tuesday in connection with her son’s crimes.

The jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter. It’s believed to be the first time a parent has been tried for manslaughter in connection with a mass shooting conducted by their child.”

Everything about the events leading up to the mass shooting, the shooting itself, and events afterward is saturated with sadness. From the victims to the perpetrators, there are absolutely no winners. The only redeeming takeaway may be that a small amount justice seems to have been served.

The parents of the shooter had clearly been negligent in their responsibilities to their son and their community. (Ms. Crumbley’s husband, James, will soon be tried on the same charges.) She will now have to face lawful consequences for her actions (or, more accurately, inaction).

It doesn’t fix anything, but justice does provide a reason to be hopeful that lessons have been learned.

Aligning various demographic groups into voting blocks is a longstanding American electoral tradition. (Well, maybe not at the start — white, male landowners pretty much had the whole thing locked down in the early years.) But as immigrants arrived, enslaved people were freed, and things got generally more democratic, it became clear that people with shared characteristics often voted in similar ways.

Naturally, political parties and their political machines took note. Pollsters, too. And God knows pundits and talking heads are clear on the concept.

Being part of a voting block isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. Organizing as a group is a great way to ensure your voice is heard. Many Arab Americans in Michigan are displeased and horrified by the ongoing war in Gaza, and their leaders have taken steps to use their leverage as a significant demographic in a so called “swing state” to effect change from the Biden administration.

One of the downsides, though, is the aforementioned pundits and talking heads seizing upon this: “Southeast Michigan chock full for Arab Americans! Who knew?!” “Growing rift with White House likely to sink Biden reelection bid!” “Experts predict effect on 2028 election … and the 2024 NFL draft!”

It’s disheartening how quickly it goes from people’s real concerns to the gamification of those concerns.