okay, going to expound a little upon this and tell you why this speech -- and much of Biden's rhetoric leading up to the election -- is like hostage negotiation https://twitter.com/RaeLoverde/status/1325260554261336067

you've all seen the FBI shows (Criminal Minds, Mindhunter, etc) where they use psychological tactics to try and catch criminals

in many of these instances, they're dealing with hostage situations

it's a pretty apt comparison to what's been going on for the past 4 years

think of R*publicans as the hostage-takers, us -- the people who are actively being harmed by Tr*mp -- as the hostages, and Biden as the FBI profiler-hostage-negotiator

(remember that this is all metaphorical -- I'm not saying all R*publicans are violent criminals)

in tv hostage situations, you don't want to go in guns blazing

why?

people die

sure, you'll probably get the bad guys, but there will be a lot of collateral damage

yeah, charging in headfirst like a superhero is super cool, but it often comes at the expense of the hostages

so what do you do?

you set up a perimeter to try and contain the situation to as small an area as possible

you have a team set up positions -- snipers, swat, the whole she-bang

it helps if you do this with as little fuss and pizzazz as possible

the last thing you want to do is freak out hostage-takers or make them feel like they're backed into a corner

escalating an already tense situation like that can result in the bad guys (often reflexively) lashing out because they think it's the only move available to them

so what do you do?

as I said, you prepare plans and reinforcements and backup

but while you're getting all of that into place?

you talk to them

(we're talking stereotypical tv hostage situations, so don't come at me with "well, actually")

the first thing tv profilers trying to resolve hostage situations tell you (the audience) is to try to make a personal connection with the hostage-takers

listen to them

make them feel like you empathize with them

make them feel heard and understood

find out their motives

don't give them a reason to freak out

don't put them on the defensive

listen to their reasons and/or demands

make them feel comfortable enough with you that you can de-escalate the situation even a little bit

let them feel like they're in control

do you actually empathize with armed dudes holding innocent people hostage?

lol probs not

but they don't need to know that

in any case, while you're making your personal, empathetic connection, you're making sure your team is in position and ready to go if/when things get hairy

you plan for all eventualities and contingencies

you make your plans as airtight and foolproof as possible

if you need more time, you stall

"Sure, we're working on getting you that plane and duffel bag of a million dollars. It just takes some time to get here, but it's on its way. In the meantime, tell us more about why you feel threatened by POC and The Gays"