On July 18, 2024 the world, for the most part, grounded to a halt. Any computer running Microsoft Windows displayed “the blue screen of death.” Air Travel, hospitals, and law enforcement were greatly affected. I myself, along with several other flight crews, were stuck in Vancouver, B.C. for 13 hours! Tensions were high and folks wanted to blame everyone that was visible for their delays. I became the voice of reason and broke up several verbal and near-physical altercations by simply being calm and assertive (my vertical privilege and the fact that I’m cis-male presenting probably made it easier). 

The metaphor here is easy: this is the perfect illustration of interdependence. When a resource disappeared (in this case, the internet), people were quick to blame everyone but the company responsible because they were unaware and uninformed! The moment when they realized that they were NOT the only person affected by this was when they calmed down, listened to reason and were rational. I am genuinely curious if this would work for the upcoming election. I doubt that it would on the MAGA crowd, but would those on the fence be willing to sit, listen, and process? I dream of purple because it means both sides have a voice.