Life is nowhere near returning to normal just yet—the coronavirus continues to ravage the US and the rest of the world, crushing the economy and decimating New York City—and yet, somehow there’s a sense of a new normalcy taking hold. People are still adhering to stay-at-home orders, but at least now they’re finding other things to discuss; or, at least, they’re finding new ways to talk about Covid-19-related stories, whether it’s fake medical advice or Twitter’s Jack Dorsey pledging $1 billion to fighting the disease.
Even as folks experience strange dreams due to current stresses, they’re still adapting to anxiety multitasking, allowing them to find the space to care about the end of Modern Family or whether or not the name Karen is a slur. (It’s really not, by the way.) This feels like a good thing, even though everyone must be careful not to trivialize the surreal, scary times they’re living in. This, then, is what people have been talking about for the past week: things touched by the pandemic, but not necessarily about the pandemic. This is the new normal.
Stay in Line
What Happened: Even as the world focuses on social distancing and keeping away from any kind of large gathering of people, voters in Wisconsin were forced to congregate en masse in order to make sure they could take part in democracy. That feels … not quite right.
What Really Happened: So, it’s safe to say that Wisconsin had quite a week. If you had half an eye on the news over the last few days, you might have noticed that the Badger State—yes, that’s apparently a real thing; it’s also America’s Dairyland, for those of you who love cheese—held some elections. If you thought, that’s an odd thing to do during a global pandemic where social distancing is a thing, then, really, you don’t know the half of it. Last week’s elections, you see, were the result of a political and legal fight that may hint at similar battles ahead in this presidential election year in the US.
It wasn’t just the race between Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and former vice president Joe Biden that Wisconsinites were voting on, as it turned out. There was another vote that just might explain why the state’s Supreme Court wanted the polls to stay open despite the clear and present danger to those who’d have to stand in line to let their voices be heard.
Given the situation, it’s not the biggest surprise that the number of voting locations was significantly smaller than usual (and there were significantly fewer locations available on Tuesday). It’s almost as if they should have postponed the vote or something.
Equally unsurprisingly, the lines to vote were extraordinary, despite how dangerous it could be for those waiting—and those lines were shared on social media, for the world to see.
And so, despite everything, the Wisconsin primaries went forward. At least this means the American public will know the results, right?
Oh yeah, that’s right, they can’t; there’ll be a delay of around six days, as it turns out. That’s part of the same Supreme Court decision, if you’re wondering.
So, you know; the election was too important to postpone, but not important enough to have votes counted in a timely manner. Got it. Surely President Trump had something to say about what happened, as the leader of the country and everything. After all, “the buck stops here,” right?
The Takeaway: Forcing people out into long lines during a pandemic so that they can have a say in how things run—ain’t democracy grand?
Bernie Sanders Drops Out of the Race
What Happened: Bad news for Saturday Night Live fans who really liked seeing Larry David on the show; Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign last week, which also brought to an end all the speculation about when he would suspend his presidential campaign. Not everyone was happy with the choice, however.
