General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI am stressed out. I have to vent.
I do not know how this madness will end. America has been through crazy times before. A lot of people got hurt and then things changed. We are in one of those periods now. The republican party has become a party of far right, religious extremists. The president is a lunatic. A narcissist.
I believe a lot of people are going to get hurt before things change. History tells us this. Thats why i am stressed. I can honestly tell you i have started to go after the trump voters i know. I have told them they have their facts wrong because they watch fox news. I tell them they have voted for lying lunatic. Some of them are having doubts about trump, but it is very hard for them to overcome the years of propaganda they have watched and listened too. They believe things can't be worse with trump than what we had. Thats their big mistake.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)focus on 2018
shockey80
(4,379 posts)We must get control of senate to keep trump in check. If we don't we will pay a even bigger price.
kimbutgar
(21,161 posts)Usually hubby goes to Arizona to watch the Super Bowl with his family. I went for the past three years. But this year I just couldn't go as I didn't trust myself to remain civil to the ones who voted for chump. Hubby was mad at me when I first told him I didn't want to go but by Wednesday he finally got over it. Poor me has to spend the weekend all alone!
Ace Rothstein
(3,163 posts)You must be in bliss.
kimbutgar
(21,161 posts)Last night I did whatever I wanted, ate what I wanted and watched what I wanted on tv.
I'm sure by Tuesday when hubby gets home I'll be glad I won't be alone anymore.
bdamomma
(63,873 posts)you got us
Goonch
(3,608 posts)Trust Buster
(7,299 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)vlyons
(10,252 posts)A lot of us are feeling the same way. I was so distressed after the election that I had suicidal thoughts. But I'm past that now. You need to calm down and get a grip. You cannot function if you are freaked out with anxiety and despair. Panic implies paralysis. You are far more effective if you can maintain a calm abiding mind.
It doesn't do much good to argue with the deplorables. They are not using their logical, rational mind. Rather they are reacting to emotional queues of anger, resentment, feelings of inferiority, and fear of change. When possible I simply remind them that practicing the Golden Rule is in their own self interest. Everyone knows what the Golden Rule is.
As Trump breaks his promises one after another, as they lose healthcare, as their sons and daughters get marched off to war, they will gradually get disillusioned with Trump. They probably won't stop being racists, but they will not vote for Trump again. Remember how they turned against both Bushes? They will do the same with Trump.
Meanwhile my job, and your job, is to stay calm in the face of this evil. If you need to take a break from politics, do so. When you're ready to engage in the resistance, come back with a clear and calm mind. Select some way to get engaged in the resistance that is meaningful to you. When your family and friends express anxiety and despair, be a good listener and help them to also calm down and get a grip. We all need community to survive and thrive. You can be a hero just by being calm amidst all this evil craziness.
Sending you some rays of sunshine to dispell darkness.
AtomicBiblePerson
(13 posts)But I feel it should be shared here as well. It certainly pertains to your feelings, as my feelings have been very similar to yours. That's why I've rejoined DU, because I want to talk with smart, like minded liberals about the ridiculousness of trump being president.
But I also want to do something and get involved, even if it's just thru online activism for now. We have to work together to make this burgeoning liberal movement a reality-but make no mistake, it is coming. Anyway, here was what I wrote in reply to a similar poster who feels a lot like most of us do these days:
We liberals have to start looking on the bright side! My wonderful girlfriend and I were texting a minute ago, joking about that video where that white nationalist gets punched at trumps inauguration, and it occurred to me that as barbaric as it is... I don't care anymore if sometimes these neo-nazis get punched in the face, and the resulting meme shames their side into looking weak and foolish. That's a win not for "our side" but for America. The social penalties for being an avowed racist and fascist should be high, I argue.
But I digress, it led to me talking about how trumps election might be just the thing the left in this country needs to form a real and powerful progressive movement.
I text her the following msg: I really think trumps election and all the bad that's come with it is just what the left in this country needs to galvanize a real movement. Not like the failed occupy movement during obama's first term, but something really potent and loud-made up not just of angry far left occupy types, but also feminist groups, black churches, unions, immigrants, and online activists. This could be the start of something big.