The Way I See It - and a Question

This is a political opinion piece.

The US Presidential Election is over.  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won by a margin of about 3% on the popular vote, I think when the counting is done, they will have around 300 electoral votes with 270 being a majority.  As a percentage of qualified voters, voter turnout was the second highest in the history of the country, the overall number of votes cast was the highest in history.  

Turn out was the key.  I think voters turned out on a handful of critical issues.  

Racism; the soon to be former president, aka, He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named (HWMNBN) started off early in his term with a travel ban based on majority religion of the country the person's passport was issued by, and his campaign promise to "build a wall" along the border with Mexico (strangely not along the border with Canada - the largest undefended border in the country, one of the largest in the world.) Then came "Richmond" where white supremacists and neo-nazis attacked peaceful protesters for racial equality and HWMNBN simply said "there are good people on both sides" and refused to denounce white nationalists, and self described nazis. The refusal to speak out against our national history and current racist practices, and steps taken to deepen the divide, caused a lot of people to turn out to vote.  I dare say the voters for racial equality, outnumbered the white supremacists at the voting booth.  

Police brutality, racist policing.  HWMNBN failed to speak out against  bad police who repeatedly murder Black and other minority suspects.  Passing an (allegedly) counterfeit $20-bill is not a death penalty offence.  Failing to speak up when police murdered George Floyd, on video, and responding to protests calling for police reform by tear gassing a peaceful crowd near the White House for a photo-op with a Bible in front of a Church he does not attend, brought out voters, who want leaders who will speak out and work for change.  Being Black or Hispanic should not result in disparate treatment - let alone murder.  Voters voted on this issue, because as a people we are better than this. 

Treatment of Women: Women were a critical voting block, with the percentage of women voting for Biden/Harris reflecting the margin of victory.  HWMNBN's long history of misogyny, his repeated comments judging the worth of a woman based on her looks brought out a lot of voters.  Some of these voters were motivated by voting for Kamala Harris, a woman of color, for Vice-President.  

LGBTQ rights:  HWMNBN's pushing back against Equality, brought more LGBTQ voters to the polling place.  I would love to think that all of us vote every time, but we know that is not true.  But there was a real fear of losing the gains made over the past 25 years.  This brought out a few extra voters.  

COVID-19: HWMNBN has failed to lead, leaders lead by example. HWMNBN refusal to wear a mask, to listen to science, to urge nationwide action, has led to million of people getting sick, and over 230,000 deaths, and we are not done.  History tells us that the second wave kills more than the first, and the second wave is hitting now.  Voters who want science, and medical professionals leading on public health, and not the "My Pillow Guy" and the "Demon Sperm Doctor," turned out and voted.  

Overall, when you break it down to the margin of victory in critical states, the election would have turned with a-couple-hundred-thousand votes in critical states.   An extra vote or two, here and there, makes a difference. Some of these votes were votes for Joe and Kamala, some of them were votes against HWMNBN.  All were votes for change on these and other critical issues. 

A question regarding Facebook; What do I do with "Facebook Friends" who are dead? I have a couple of high school classmates, three former teachers, and at least one deceased blogger that still show up on my FB Friends list.  I get birthday reminders for them. The birthday reminders kind of creep me out.  Do I unfriend them? Unfollow them? Simply be reminded every year that they were once a part of my life?