It’s Monday night, and the United States as we know it is ending. Trump got mocked heavily for hiding out in the White House bunker on Friday. In response, he went outside, and had peaceful protesters assaulted with flashbangs in the background as he posed in front of a church, held a Bible upside down, and promised to send federal troops to fight protesters…

That right there is fascism, pure and simple, set in front of the staged production of police brutality against peaceful protesters who were not violating the curfew. His message was sent loud and clear to all his trigger-happy supporters – civilians as well as those in the uniform. The Illinois governor has already stated that he would not allow federal troops in his state. Others will follow soon.

It’s all moving so fast now… Last night, another black man was shot and killed by the police: he was the owner of a BBQ restaurant that would feed them for free. (If this were a work of fiction, any sane editor would’ve cut this part for being too on the nose.) Tonight, somebody will get an itchy trigger finger, and that’ll make the Kent State massacre seem quaint in comparison. As always, I hope I’m wrong.

I’d never set out to make these plague diaries so political… If you’re reading this at some point in the future, please understand this: you can’t have the story of the pandemic without the United States, and you can’t have the US side of the story without all the political unrest, violence, and rapid descent into fascism that took place at the same time. Someday, all of this will make for a very condensed and confusing chapter in history books – the way the entire Revolutionary War is taught in just two weeks in US high schools. Everything that’s happening here and now may not make sense in the future unless you fully immerse yourself in the news and social media of this period, reading it day by day, hour by hour. Even then, it might not make sense at all.

I’m going to bed now. I don’t want to think what will have transpired by the time I wake up. Good night and good luck to all the yanks who didn’t get out in time…