Holding Space for Collective Grief

Plus a poll on SNL's best political sketches

Welcome back to the This Day In Esoteric Political History newsletter. Each week, a member of our team (or a friend of the show) gathers together bits of America’s past and attempts to find a throughline that might add a little understanding to our current moment.

Before we get going, though — today’s episode was about the history of SNL and politics, and we want to know what you think the best political sketch in SNL history is. (Here’s a nice roundup of some of the best if you want a refresher before you vote)

Here’s what happened over the week ahead in American political history…

February 13

• 1861: The first military action to earn a Medal of Honor is performed by Bernard J.D. Irwin. He is awarded the Medal in January 1894

• 1935: Bruno Richard Hauptmann is convicted of murdering Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr.

• 1945: Allied planes begin bombing Dresden

• 2006: A UN report accuses the U.S. of violating prisoners’ rights at Guantanamo Bay

February 14

• 1849: James Polk becomes the first President to be photographed while in office

• 1884: Future President Teddy Roosevelt’s wife and mother die in the same house within hours of each other in New York City. Roosevelt etched a heavy black X in his diary and wrote “The light has gone out of my life.”

• 1899: Voting machines are approved by Congress for use in federal elections

• 1935 : A Congressional committee releases a report acknowledging what came to be known as “The Business Plot,” a scheme by Wall Street financiers to stage a violent coup and replace Roosevelt with a military dictator.

• 1936 : A delegation of US civil rights activists is touring India, where they would meet with Mahatma Gandhi to discuss non-violent resistance

February 15

• 1933: President-Elect Franklin Roosevelt escapes an assassination attempt that kills Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

• 1961: All 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team are killed in a plane crash near the Brussels airport.

• 2005: A U.S. appeals court in Washington rules that journalists have no First Amendment privilege to protect confidential sources.

February 16

• 1804: 74 disguised Americans sail into Tripoli during the First Barbary War

• 1968: In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service. Public Service Commission head Bull Connor attends the ceremonial first call

• 2005: The Kyoto Protocol comes into force following its ratification by Russia

• Elizabeth Peratrovich Day is celebrated in honor of the Alaska Native activist

February 17

• 1801: An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President and Burr VP.

• 1819: The House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise, admitting Missouri to the Union as a state that allowed slavery while Maine joined as a free state.

• 1909: Apache leader Geronimo dies while under military confinement at Fort Sill, Okla.

• 1981: President Ronald Reagan signs Executive Order 12291, requiring that ''regulatory action shall not be undertaken unless the potential benefits to society from the regulation outweigh the potential costs to society.''

February 18

• 1791: Congress admits Vermont to the Union after it had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent state.

• 1984: A New York State liquor board is holding hearings on the all-male strip club Chippendale’s

February 19

• 1807: Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama

• 1859: Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on the grounds of temporary insanity

• 1942: The U.S. government begins relocating Japanese-Americans to internment camps

In which we take the above collection of events and find themes, throughlines, rabbit holes and more. This week it’s Kellie Carter Jackson’s turn at the typewriter.

This week’s connecting the dots was tough. A few highs, but lots of historical lows. One in particular stood out to me: In 1961: All 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team were killed in a plane crash near Brussels airport. Sabena Flight 548 left New York City and was headed to Brussels en route to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia when it crashed upon landing. There were seventy-two people on board and no survivors. The cause of the crash is still largely unknown. The loss was so catastrophic to U.S. Skating that the U.S. Figure Skating executives issued a mandate which still applies today: “No team traveling to an international competition is permitted to fly together.”

But just two weeks ago, at home, another unfathomable tragedy struck U.S. Figure Skating. Many are still reeling from the American Airlines regional plane crash in Washington, DC. Sixty-four people were all killed in a tragedy that will undoubtedly leave us with many unanswered questions for years to come. Of the 64 victims on board the plane, 28 were returning from an elite figure skating camp. Their group was also made up of skaters, their parents and coaches. Entire families were gone in an instant. Many of the skaters had big dreams of competing in the Winter Olympics. Cory Haynos, 16, had just nailed a triple axel. The talent was unlimited. But more than anything, everyone on that plane was loved and had plans for their life cut off way too soon.

I remember watching the early news coverage, and Nancy Kerrigan, a beloved Olympic figure skater and icon, was giving a press conference in tears. “You look at people go through tragedies, and you wonder, 'How do they do it?' I don't know. But we're so strong,” Kerrigan said. “Somehow, we have a reservoir to dig from, and each one of them are strong enough to get through this somehow.” This week, I want to hold space for collective grief. Instead of connecting dots, I’m encouraging readers to connect with their family, friends, and co-workers. Carve out space for love and laughter and joy. It is not the least we can do, but the greatest thing we can do in the face of inexplicable loss.

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