I went from sadness to anger very very quickly and now I find myself oddly with another emotion. Relief.
Relief because I no longer have to pretend that the people who voted for Trump are good misguided people, or persuadable. Relief that I no longer need to be outraged all the time. This sounds nihilistic and maybe it is a bit, but I don…
I went from sadness to anger very very quickly and now I find myself oddly with another emotion. Relief.
Relief because I no longer have to pretend that the people who voted for Trump are good misguided people, or persuadable. Relief that I no longer need to be outraged all the time. This sounds nihilistic and maybe it is a bit, but I don't think it's that. I think I'm going to spend a lot less time listening to the outrage and no time at all interacting with people whose views are inexplicable to me.
They got what they wanted and will get what they deserve. Trump's economy is going to crash, and we'll all feel the pain--his voters included. I'm not going to be sad for his voters. I'm sad about the collateral damage to good people who don't deserve it. And I will do what I can to mitigate that (and if anybody has suggestions for collective actions that will actually make an impact, I'm all ears).
Yes, I will feel no pity for them - just the collateral damage that they will cause to people far less well off. I do NOT like wishing ill on people, but they voted for it, and their vote has and is going to inflict ENORMOUS pain on women and girls, on ethnic minorities, on Latinos, and so many others in this country, as well as the poor Ukrainians who will get thrown to Russia's bear despite their own valiant efforts, and the Palestinians (good job there, protest voters) will be on the chopping block of bibi's ambitions. I hope they get ALL that they voted for.
Me too! The relief I felt this morning took me by surprise. You explain it well.
(Also, my family members near the wild fire in Ventura County are safe today. Yesterday that fear felt connected to the election, in my toxic emotional stew.)
I didn't even know there was a fire in Ventura [I'm in LA County] because I've been so obsessed with understanding WTF happened on election day. Glad your family members are safe.
I'm feeling better than I felt yesterday. I'm retired so I was able to talk about it yesterday with my sister, also retired, FOR THREE HOURS! There were other family history topics too, but we were working through how to explain his winning the popular vote - I don't think any pundit saw THAT coming - what her daughters and friends were saying. That certainly helped.
It strikes me as similar to grieving a loss. At first, it occupies your whole day. Then you start getting a little used to it, day by day. I'm not in denial, but I'm not at acceptance either. I definitely have a lot of anger toward my fellow Americans who don't see the authoritarian threat - now a majority of them. I'm not bargaining with God. I'm definitely depressed. I have no interest in doing anything productive, like chores and errands, cooking, or searching for part-time, remote income. I just want to engage in conversation with thoughtful people about what this means and what's next. Thank you Bulwark for this platform!
I find myself more able to focus on the things that I haven't been getting done actually. So I've been more productive at work and more productive at home. It does help that I have a lot of crap to do right now that can't be put off but still... I think I'm just ready to prioritize myself right at the moment. Like I said, I'm looking for things to do that will make a difference in small ways (like canceling Amazon).
Yes, relief because now we have clarity. "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." The truth has been making me miserable for the better part of a decade, but now I finally feel free. Let there be clarity, ruat caelum!
I share this reaction — relatively rapid movement through the shock, anger, sadness and now, hopefully, developing a plan for an adaptive response. The Bulwark community helps a lot!
The scale and clarity of the Republican victory here can be seen as a clarifying moment, an opportunity to do some fearless soul-searching and an opportunity to get really clear on what the guiding principles are. I frankly hope that the centrism which the Harris campaign embraced through alliances with Liz Cheney and others becomes a significant part of forming a new pro-democracy coalition.
I think that Bill’s points on forming a strategy to oppose Trumpism, a strategy that *isn’t* about claiming victim-hood and *is* about laying out a healthier, positive, and attractive alternative vision for the future, are spot on.
I went from sadness to anger very very quickly and now I find myself oddly with another emotion. Relief.
Relief because I no longer have to pretend that the people who voted for Trump are good misguided people, or persuadable. Relief that I no longer need to be outraged all the time. This sounds nihilistic and maybe it is a bit, but I don't think it's that. I think I'm going to spend a lot less time listening to the outrage and no time at all interacting with people whose views are inexplicable to me.
They got what they wanted and will get what they deserve. Trump's economy is going to crash, and we'll all feel the pain--his voters included. I'm not going to be sad for his voters. I'm sad about the collateral damage to good people who don't deserve it. And I will do what I can to mitigate that (and if anybody has suggestions for collective actions that will actually make an impact, I'm all ears).
Anger will return. The reality of a Trump SCOTUS that will rear its ugly head for at least another 20-25 years should do it.
Yes, I will feel no pity for them - just the collateral damage that they will cause to people far less well off. I do NOT like wishing ill on people, but they voted for it, and their vote has and is going to inflict ENORMOUS pain on women and girls, on ethnic minorities, on Latinos, and so many others in this country, as well as the poor Ukrainians who will get thrown to Russia's bear despite their own valiant efforts, and the Palestinians (good job there, protest voters) will be on the chopping block of bibi's ambitions. I hope they get ALL that they voted for.
Me too! The relief I felt this morning took me by surprise. You explain it well.
(Also, my family members near the wild fire in Ventura County are safe today. Yesterday that fear felt connected to the election, in my toxic emotional stew.)
I didn't even know there was a fire in Ventura [I'm in LA County] because I've been so obsessed with understanding WTF happened on election day. Glad your family members are safe.
I'm feeling good today too. I'm also thinking about how my office can unionize. I need to research office workers' unions.
I'm feeling better than I felt yesterday. I'm retired so I was able to talk about it yesterday with my sister, also retired, FOR THREE HOURS! There were other family history topics too, but we were working through how to explain his winning the popular vote - I don't think any pundit saw THAT coming - what her daughters and friends were saying. That certainly helped.
It strikes me as similar to grieving a loss. At first, it occupies your whole day. Then you start getting a little used to it, day by day. I'm not in denial, but I'm not at acceptance either. I definitely have a lot of anger toward my fellow Americans who don't see the authoritarian threat - now a majority of them. I'm not bargaining with God. I'm definitely depressed. I have no interest in doing anything productive, like chores and errands, cooking, or searching for part-time, remote income. I just want to engage in conversation with thoughtful people about what this means and what's next. Thank you Bulwark for this platform!
You feel good? I am still horrified beyond belief. Whatever you're taking or drinking to make you feel happy please share!
I find myself more able to focus on the things that I haven't been getting done actually. So I've been more productive at work and more productive at home. It does help that I have a lot of crap to do right now that can't be put off but still... I think I'm just ready to prioritize myself right at the moment. Like I said, I'm looking for things to do that will make a difference in small ways (like canceling Amazon).
Yes, relief because now we have clarity. "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." The truth has been making me miserable for the better part of a decade, but now I finally feel free. Let there be clarity, ruat caelum!
I share this reaction — relatively rapid movement through the shock, anger, sadness and now, hopefully, developing a plan for an adaptive response. The Bulwark community helps a lot!
The scale and clarity of the Republican victory here can be seen as a clarifying moment, an opportunity to do some fearless soul-searching and an opportunity to get really clear on what the guiding principles are. I frankly hope that the centrism which the Harris campaign embraced through alliances with Liz Cheney and others becomes a significant part of forming a new pro-democracy coalition.
I think that Bill’s points on forming a strategy to oppose Trumpism, a strategy that *isn’t* about claiming victim-hood and *is* about laying out a healthier, positive, and attractive alternative vision for the future, are spot on.