Kqeds Perspectives

Sandhya Acharya contemplates being a good loser – on the playground and in politics. Some time back, I was witness to a kids’ plank showdown. Timers were set, poses struck, seconds counted. But when it came time to declare the winner, a chorus of voices, including my son’s, broke out into complaints. “My jacket slowed me down!” “He moved!” “I wasn’t ready!” I watched from the sidelines, cringing. A question troubled me. Are we raising good losers? On Jan 6, 2021, we saw the damage a bad loser could do. Trump lost the 2020 election. He didn’t like losing. He made many accusations, but they were all disproven with facts. Then he incited his supporters, who turned into an angry mob that desecrated the Capitol, a historic symbol of American democracy. Five people died. Ironically, at the same time, we also saw the culmination of what a good loser could do in the 2020 Georgia elections. In 2018, Stacey Abrams lost the gubernatorial election in Georgia. She didn’t like losing. She raised many issues and supported t