No, it’s not ONLY the Donald’s legacy. It’s the legacy left by genocide of indigenous peoples, slavery, then the sham of abolition of slavery, unimaginable cohort inhumanity of segregation (America, the apartheid state, where people of color became either gladiatorial entertainers- on the playing field, boxing ring or the stage,) or low wage toilers and pretty much still are. Play by white rules or perish.

The ascension of Good old Joe Biden to the throne, replete with imperial Romanesque splendor of martial music ‘all in ‘good taste,’ pennants fluttering in a chill wind but toned down no doubt, filled me with a grisly sort of wonder. J Lo trotted out in awkward white and foolish glaring Chanel embellishments, delivered her bizarre rendition of ‘This land is my land’ Ga Ga laboring under a grotesque red balloon belted out a wonderfully moving national anthem which was the highlight of it all for me, I found staggeringly in poor taste. The beautiful young poet laureate took my breath away, not with her sweet noble poetry but her sheer presence and unsullied grace, delivery and yes, hope.

In the face of 400,000+ covid deaths, the nightmare’s end nowhere in sight, utter vaccine chaos and all this expense? A simple ceremony in the Oval Office would’ve not only sufficed but would’ve gone a long way towards establishing some dignity and decency. But then we are an upstart nation and thousands of deaths of mostly minorities and poor white folk are not part of the equation.