Well, here we are. Today, we celebrate MLK on the same day we inaugurate Donald J. Trump, president of the United States, for the second time.
I couldn’t imagine this moment happening, not even leading up to the election, in which I turned out to be no genius when predicting winners.
It is disheartening that these two men are tied together today. Trump and King are completely different people in every imaginable way.
King was a religious man who believed in ending discrimination and eliminating poverty. He also hoped that Cleveland’s baseball team would win the World Series.1[1]
Trump is a godless narcissist who, along with his father, was sued by the federal government in 1973 for housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, a law passed days after the assassination of King just days before. He also believes in lying, the power of disinfectant, and strong hair products.2[2]
For those of us old enough to remember Trump’s first term, it was an instant roller coaster of nonsense. After his inauguration, he immediately declared it was the largest crowd ever, repealed regulations, and dismantled the Affordable Care Act. This was just a few hours of taking office.
Over the next four years, it was up and down, side to side, all of us getting whiplash from the guy who spent most of his time watching the same television programming as his supporters did.
It feels like we are on a constant roller coaster that many of us don’t want to stand in line to ride.
But here we are again.
It’s only fitting that this week, we recognize that LaMarcus A. Thompson of Coney Island patented the roller coaster on January 20, 1885.
Thompson was born in Jersey Township, Ohio, about a thirty-minute drive straight north from where my mom lives. He moved around a lot and spent time toying with mechanisms to produce different things. He became quite rich after designing a device that produced seamless stockings for women.
As he was known, LA moved to Coney Island and developed a railcar system that appeared to defy gravity, earning him the nickname “The Father of Gravity.” The roller coaster and its metaphors were born.
I love roller coasters. But I hate the metaphoric ones. It’s time to hold on tight and get ready not to vomit all the time.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. Buzz Aldrin was born on January 20, 1930. The last surviving crew member of the Apollo 11 mission, Aldrin was the first astronaut to have a doctorate (MIT) and was the second man to walk on the moon. Aldrin endorsed Trump for president, which makes everything I wrote earlier less impressive.
2. Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission was decided on January 21, 2010. The landmark Supreme Court case was decided by a 5-4 vote, allowing corporations unrestricted political financial support. The 2024 election is a direct result of this ruling, allowing the wealthiest man in the world to spend $270 million on Super Political Action Committees and buy Donald Trump the presidency. I wish George W. Bush were around for this election; we could have tied this to him, and everyone could be reminded of how bad he was.
3. United Mine Workers of America was founded on January 25, 1890. The labor union was founded in Columbus, Ohio (I grew up there!) to represent coal miners. It now advocates for better roads, schools, and universal healthcare, all things that Donald Trump would never support.
The neighborhood has been inundated with MAGAts for the last few days leading up to the inauguration.
A few quick observations of these people:
1. If they are concerned about the price of things, they might be best served to stop buying Trump merchandise.
2. None of them know how to parallel park. My street looks like a jigsaw puzzle of drunk drivers.
3. I can walk around this town, and no one knows my political leanings. I’m a white guy, so it doesn’t matter; I’m good either way, but what cracks me up about MAGAts is the fact they wear those silly red baseball hats. Does anyone remember that hillbilly comic who did the “Here’s Your Sign?” The sign was “You Are Stupid.” That’s how I feel about these people wearing these things. If you don’t want people to think you are in a cult, you might want not to wear things that everyone in the cult wears to identify each other who’s in the cult.
I’ve been writing like crazy this weekend for work and OKH. So, I will have the first essay of the latest edition for those readers who financially support Okay History. I’m hoping the way the week is going is that I’ll be dropping the second political scandal rankings this Friday.
Sound good? Have a good week. Say a prayer for the country.
Okay,
Chris
Unverified. But possible had he been asked.
All verified.
Finally, I know the name of the inventor of the roller coaster! Amusement parks around the world rely on the invention of LaMarcus Thompson to draw customers, even more so than that of his better known contemporary, George Ferris (of wheel fame).