An apprehensive flight into Milwaukee for the RNC

An apprehensive flight into Milwaukee for the RNC
It’s a very open question as to whether or not we can gather as Americans in large crowds

By BOB HENNELLY
PUBLISHED JULY 15, 2024 5:30AM (EDT)

This article was originally published by InsiderNJ. Used by permission.


(Salon) As I write this column, I am on the way to Milwaukee to cover the Republican National Convention. My plane is packed with GOP delegates from New Jersey and New York, journalists, and civilians who have love or business somewhere in the Midwest.

There’s a palpable sense of apprehension on board. It’s the day after former president Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in what can only be described as a spectacular failure of the multi-billion dollar national security apparatus. As passengers who boarded at Newark Liberty International, we’ve all just submitted to being poked and prodded by the TSA after taking our shoes and belts off in a kind of homage to a decades-old regime virtually unchanged since after 9/11.

....(snip)....

Even in a wounded state, former President Trump struck a pugilistic profile mouthing what appeared to be the word “fight!” That footage of his blood streaming down his face from his ear is like a Rorschach video. For tens of millions of Americans he was a near martyr for others he’s a TV reality star.

....(snip)....

It’s a very open question as to whether or not we can gather as Americans in large crowds at a national political convention in a convivial way that harkens back to those halcyon days captured by Norman Rockwell. The decimation of local newspapers and community-based owned and operated TV and radio stations has left us as a nation that’s had authenticated news and information replaced by aggregated cheap to produce social media. ..............................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/15/an-apprehensive-flight-into-milwaukee-for-the-rnc_partner/