Can we take down the plywood over the windows now? With Joe Biden on his way to the White House, can we show our goods again in the storefront, confident that “largely peaceful” protesters won’t loot the place or burn it down?

We thought we’d ask on behalf of America’s urban shopkeepers, from Beverly Hills to Manhattan, who had boarded up their windows in anticipation of post-election violence. In the event, Mr. Biden has won the election pending recounts and, what do you know, there was little or no violence. Instead the streets were filled Saturday with partisans celebrating the democratic result they wanted.

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The Trump supporters stayed home. No doubt they are disappointed, perhaps even angry. But perhaps they are also accepting the results as unfortunate though the price of living in a democratic republic. Sometimes your candidate loses.

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Would it have been the same if Donald Trump had won? You know the answer. The protests would have been ugly, perhaps worse even than earlier this year. And the media and many Democratic politicians would have cheered them on, or at least not objected as they also failed to object this summer. They would have blamed the disorder on Mr. Trump.

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