Remember the line in Jurassic Park when the chain-smoking character played by Samual L. Jackson said, “Hang on to your butts?” He was referring to being ready for what could happen when the power grid came back on.

There are some weird parallels, metaphorically speaking, between that and what we’re about to go through when the Trump power grid comes back on in January. We’re already seeing it and folks, it ain’t looking good.

From the orange T-Rex (think of how he moves his arms when ranting) to the various raptors in his regime to the seemingly innocent Dilophosaurus that spits in your face, it’s looking like the next four years will be unlike anything we’ve ever experienced.

I hope that kind of hyperbole, which Trump loves to use, is wrong. But aside from the pandemic, I’m thinking that the way his previous term went might be okay this time around. Sure, his stacking of the Supreme Court caused a lot of problems, mostly in women’s rights. But there is so much more that can happen, especially since that same court gave presidents enough free rein to more or less put them above the law.

Think I’m exaggerating the presidential immunity ruling? Wait and see. I mean, who is going to prosecute him if he breaks the law while in office? At least it won’t rely on Matt Gaetz (Please!) after that minion took himself out of the running for Attorney General.

And the checks Congress is supposed to provide? For at least the next two years those won’t exist.

His other picks for his cabinet don’t lend themselves to a feeling of security. A devout anti-vaccine activist leading the Department of Health and Human Services? A short-time member of the U.S. House who has been accused as being soft on Russia now directing national intelligence? A Fox News host as defense secretary?

It is quite obvious from the appointments he has made so far that Trump cares far more about control than he does about what is good for the country. He needs to control the people he appoints to do his bidding and the resulting outcomes. He claims, of course, that those outcomes will be for the good of the country.

I hope, of course, that they will. I hope those who voted against him are wrong about him. I hope democracy will stay safe in his hands.

I hope.

Do boycotts work?

A loved one asked recently where we could find what companies supported Trump so we could boycott them. It isn’t hard to find what corporations helped fund GOP candidates, as a quick search of the internet showed.

Studies have shown that far-reaching boycotts seldom do much good. Other than personal satisfaction, refusing to patronize a national food chain or grocery conglomerate has little effect.

There is some evidence that a boycott against Starbucks because some believed the company supported Israel had some effect. But it has been largely abandoned in recent weeks.

Some boycotts work in the short term, but in the longer term people forget and resume spending at those places as before. Their own spending habits are ingrained and geared toward saving money. The bigwigs at such corporations know that or else they wouldn’t risk it, especially for extremely controversial candidates such as Trump.

The most effective boycotts may be more localized ones, such as boycotting a company for refusing to negotiate with its unionized employees. I remember one such instance, shortly after I came to Peoria 40 years ago. A local of the Food and Commercial Workers union went on strike against a now-defunct grocery chain and asked consumers to boycott said chain.

It worked; the strike was short-lived and a contract was approved. (I should note that the strike and subsequent contract had nothing to do with that chain, Eagle, folding. Rather it was sold and later its stores were closed.)

History shows us boycotts can be effective, if enough people believe in the cause. According to an article in Forbes, a Harvard University study showed only about 3.5 percent of the population’s participation is needed to create real political change.

I suppose, therefore, one could argue this election was a boycott of current political policies.

And we’re about to see the results of the real political change it will bring about.

So, rather than worrying about what corporate interests fueled the results of this election we should start thinking ahead to the elections in 2026 and 2028 and decide then if some real political change is needed again.