Anyone else feel the weirdness of this unprecedented time?

[NewHendoLib]

The election results vs those who think that something was weird about the results
The parade of reality TV failures and worse for tfg's cabinet
Mentions of nukes due to escalation in Ukraine
More capitulation and normalization by some (all?) of the MSM
Inactivity on the climate front leading to likely accelerated disasters

It's been what - 2 weeks since the election. I as yet don't know how to feel (except angry, sick, confused).
I don't understand the rush to yet another social networking site (Bluesky) - I don't use such tools - DU is enough. Why?
I don't understand why the left has never (aside from Air America) put any resources in countering the massive right wing propaganda machine.

Things I am waiting for - clarity on what "the resistance" will look like. How are our Dem politicians going to fight this mess? What part are we going to play - not to just stay in an echo chamber and scream, but actually DO?

Lost and wandering in the wilderness here. Wondering how this could have possibly happened. Wondering how so many people have lost their minds.

[Walleye]

1. We've got to stop letting them call us "the left". There's maga and then there's everybody else.

The right wing decided we were the left.

[Magoo48]

21. We aren't the left so much as we are the opposition.

Their machine sells hopelessness, confusion, paralysis, and fear. Our task is to purchase none of it, literally, figuratively, or psychologically.

What helps me is to keep my imagination busy devising ways to resist.

[Walleye]

25. It's hard, but keep up the good work

[Magoo48]

51. You As well

[TomSlick]

104. We are the Resistance.

Do not obey in advance. Do not lose hope. Fight for the truth.

[Mossfern]

27. I consider us

"the Sane."

[Walleye]

32. That is accurate

[bluestarone]

57. perfect name!

[kerry-is-my-prez]

77. We are actually the conservatives.

a person who is averse to change and holds traditional values.

[Walleye]

81. Yes, I'm not happy with change sometimes. Specially when it's unnecessary.

[Clouds Passing]

89. Maggots are extreme far right, us "lefists" are in the center

[bronxiteforever]

2. This is me all the time now

At times I feel the floor opens before me and swallows me. I feel like we living through the final days of our Country.

[Mountain Mule]

96. The final days of our country

That nails it for me. If the Gaetz nomination goes down in flames as it should, shitstain should just cut to the chase and put in Putin as AG. The plan to demolish the government, healthcare, the economy, the environment and the climate is going on apace even as we speak. Millions of people will rounded up and deported. Millions more will simply die once Musk throws out the ACA and guts Medicaid and even Medicare. The list goes on with nothing that we once cared about getting spared. All because a bunch of hopelessly bigoted imbeciles don't like the price of eggs.

[doc03]

3. It is worse than weird, I can't comprehend how someone like Trump could

be elected a second time. When I talk to my friends, they can't believe it either. It is like we are in an episode of
the Twilight Zone. I hope I wake up someday and find this has been a dream.

[Mr.Bee]

33. More like 'The Stand'

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108941/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
After a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.

[wnylib]

46. The parallels are eerie.

[Mr.Bee]

73. If yoiu think those parallels are eerie,

Take 90 minutes to watch this movie.
I saw it a few years ago and couldn't believe someone could be so unscrupulous!
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219743853

[allegorical oracle]

72. So true. After he was elected, I sincerely tried to make myself feel better by

trying to think of some redeeming value the man has. I've known difficult, even ornery people, but they would donate time or money to needy causes, or surprise me with some kindness.

Couldn't come up with one decent quality of drumpf. He's a perverse, cruel, vindictive, evil human being. Some wag pointed out that djt's the only person he knows of who has violated every one of the seven deadly sins. Sure enough, he has.

We come on this site and try to make sense of his admin appointments and how so many are unfit choices. Meanwhile, the guy who is selecting them is the most unfit of them all. This country is too good to have this happening to it.

[TheKentuckian]

76. His most "redeeming" features are laziness, incompetence, and lack of conviction (he has plenty of convictions though).

He is complete ridiculous as a "leader" of any sort, the man isn't fit to run a neighborhood book much less any legitimate enterprise and especially has no business near the government.

[Ron Green]

4. The American Empire has ended, and there's no good plan for what's next.

What sane politician wants to be left holding that bag?

[Delphinus]

5. I don't even think

I'm feeling - I am in shock and numb. I'm panicked and cry myself to sleep every night. Lost and wandering in the wilderness is a great way to describe where I am.

[Beck23]

69. Try to get out of it as soon as you can

Because you are going to need your wits about you in the coming years.

[Dennis Donovan]

6. I use Bluesky as I used Twitter - as a news aggregate

The traffic there is also much greater than on DU. More content. That's why I bring content from Bluesky to DU, so DU has content.

[bamagal62]

12. What is BlueSky?

I’ve never heard of it.

[Dennis Donovan]

15. It's a social media website

https://bsky.app/

[bamagal62]

37. Thx!

[Upthevibe]

82. Dennis Donovan........

I was able to get to the point on Bluesky where I could repost but I can't post because there's some kind of glitch. I'm supposed to put a code in which they sent to my email but then it says "token is already in use" (or something like that) - whatever the Hell that means...

[Dennis Donovan]

83. Did you try logging out-back in?

Log out->close your browser->reopen your browser->log back in

Good luck!

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

98. I am having the same issue

I am sorta signed in but keep getting kicked off.........

[hunter]

86. Yoiks. DU by itself is already too much on my plate.

[Diamond_Dog]

7. I'm in step with all of you above.

I blame Reagan for starting the ball rolling on the right wing brain cancer taking over this country.

They’ve been working on this for over 40 years and now the scary thing is that they have the presidency, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court.

[yardwork]

10. Reagan was a puppet. They picked a genial actor for a reason.

[StarryNite]

20. Dump isn't the brains behind the destruction of the US.

It's the Heritage Foundation. They wanted Dump because he's seen as a charismatic cult leader that got the votes. And he's more than willing to go along with it because it serves him and his narcissism. It's a symbiotic relationship.

[usaf-vet]

47. Never have truer words been spoken.

[Diamond_Dog]

79. Yes. I agree

[NJCher]

109. they didn't have a choice

they had no one else to go to. I don't argue with you about The Heritage Foundation being behind a lot of their r-w actions.

trump is actually a disastrous choice, but like i said, there was no choice.
He is actually going to be a disaster. He already is with the Gaetz nomination.

[BComplex]

75. A genial actor with alzheimers.

And Newt Gingrich, rush limpballs, and fux nooz.

This has been in the works for a very long time. Anyone that has read Das Kapital (Marx) understands that unregulated capitalism turns into a fascist oligarchy of sorts. We were almost there before the great depression hit, and it evolved into an actual plotted assassination of FDR (thank you, Smedley Butler for warning him!).

We're going through a serious period of chaos, and we're going to have to keep our heads about us.

My opinion: It's time to re-write the constitution to get rid of the "holes" (electoral college for one; two senators per state for another, etc) in our democracy that has allowed this mess trump and putin have bestowed upon us. We couldn't get there without this period of chaos, and a fight against tyranny.

Let's keep our heads, and push for a "more perfect union".

[LittleGirl]

112. I remember speaking with a

Swiss guy, probably only 30, say that they rewrote their country’s constitution several times. Removing century old laws that simply weren’t needed any more. They rewrote it for modern life. I kinda like that idea but not with their side controlling the content of our new one. Expand the Bill of Rights. Delete the second amendment.

[bamagal62]

13. Yep.

They’ve been playing the long game.
We didn’t.

[Dave says]

39. And the mass media

[Texin]

68. The rethugs vowed during FDR's presidencies that they would someday regain total control and obliterate all that had

been accomplished, including bringing the people out of the depression. They wanted a return to the Gilded Age and all it meant.
Timothy Snyder wrote a piece when someone posed the question whether MAGATs (through Project 2025 and along with the Heritage Group) wanted to create a population die-off, and his answer was an unequivocal "yes", especially among the older generation and underprivileged minorities. Oh! And let's throw in planetary extinction as a cherry on top!

This whole sorry time is terrifying and the fact that these psychopaths want to accelerate things is beyond my comprehension. Why anyone would VOTE for it is even more incomprehensible.

[peregrinus]

8. It's how I felt after Bush the Lesser was appointed by the courts

When that happened I said that we would soon be at war with Iraq. I was correct.

[yardwork]

9. I'm feeling the same way.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that this is different. A lot of institutions we depend on (and take for granted) are going to be destroyed.

Billionaire sociopaths have seized control, and they want it all. They want all the money and all the power. It's important to them - in their sick twisted little minds - that everybody else be beneath them, with no power, no rights, no choice but to serve and obey.

We've seen this for years in the way Musk communicates. He's mean. He punches down. When somebody dares to stand up to him he wrecks them. Trump is the same. They savor cruelty.

After we all come to terms over this loss of our democracy, we need to figure out how to survive and fight back.

[UniqueUserName]

11. I'm the first Rec for your post. With one caveat:

Agreed with "come to terms over this loss. . .figure out how to survive. . ."
Disagree with "fight back". I am old. I do care for the children of the future, but I don't have any. I am sorry that the parents of those children were too frightened of others (racism/white privilege); willfully negligent (all of the non-voters); and/or brainwashed by disinformation.

Sorry kids. I tried. Ask mom and dad why they voted for Caligula.

Edited to Add: Of course, I will still vote as long as it makes a difference.

[happy feet]

52. I hear you-me too

[usaf-vet]

54. Start by not letting them steal election. With the only REAL response is "thank you let me have another." Where is.....

.... the real resistance. We have no other choice but to feel helpless.

While those on the Democratic side stay safe and content in their congressional positions, they don't want to really rock the boat so that they won't become targets of the right.

While we send our token dollars to help them keep their comfy jobs in Washington.

While, we are fearing the next BOMBSHELL MSM report, which will lead to forgotten news in less than a week.

[MissB]

14. yup

Last edited Wed Nov 20, 2024, 01:58 PM - Edit history (1)

I think part of "the resistance" will be to spend a whole lot less, which I think we're already starting to see folks do. The effect of that will not be good for the economy, but tRump doesn't deserve the Biden economy. January is always a bit of a bleak month for retailers; I'm guessing it'll be worse than normal. A whole lot worse.

I'm still mostly ignoring news. Planning next year's gardening task calendar. Making sure my deep pantry doesn't have any holes in it based on current consumption. Questioning whether I have any big ticket items before the end of the year to deal with. Deciding that we'll be taking our 401k draw on January 2nd as a lump sum instead of spreading it out through the year. Doing the math on Dh taking social security now rather than waiting for full retirement age.

[Tbear]

30. The math can be stunning

*made up numbers, but close enough
Age 62-$2000/month x 36 months =$72,000

If age 65 gives you a $400/ month raise, it would take you 180 months to make up for the last 3 years age 62-65 of not drawing at 62.
$72,000/$400per month=180 months. 15 years. And if you could save some of that original 3 years it adds up more.
Your circumstances are undoubtedly different, however the math probably still applies.

And, yes, I am paralyzed too. Fight? Flight? Head in the sand? Uuuuggghhhhh

[MissB]

92. I think we're holding fast

for now anyway.

I think we calculated it a bit differently - more of if we take it now (64), how long until we'd have the same overall total if he waited until he was 70. I think it converges at about age 77, and he's likely to make it to mid-80s. So it is probably worth it for us to take his later.

Still haven't worked out how survivor benefits are determined. If they're based on the amount he gets when he first draws, it probably is worth it to wait overall, as I'm a decade younger.

I just renewed my passport, to make sure flight is possible. Just in case.

[Cirsium]

80. Many people can't do that

So many people cannot spend less than they already are spending.

I just took a look at the income distribution in the US map by county when I was searching for income disparity data. Here in Michigan, the income levels and the election results are a close match. Poor counties went for Trump, affluent counties went for Harris. It looks as though that holds nationally, as well.

[MissB]

91. yeah, that is true. I'm able to shave my budget a lot

Dh is retired; I'm still working. I make more than enough to cover our expenses and spend without thinking too much about the impacts to the budget. I'm not out buying new shoes every weekend, but I'm not necessarily counting pennies at the grocery store either. I'm comfortably in-between where I can budget X for food but still spend X plus Y if needed without worrying about how I'm going to pay for car insurance.

I think that's a bit more typical of folks in blue areas where they're nearing the twilight of their professional career. Money isn't as tight as it was in my 20s and 30s, kids are grown, house is paid for, college is done etc.

So by January 20, I'm not buying shit. I will cook a lot more from scratch (already do for most meals) and plan to expand my garden next year. I might make a game of it to see how far I can stretch without buying "stuff". It is a privilege to be able to do so, but it's the way I plan on saying screw this next administration. I can afford to step back from this economy.

[orangecrush]

16. Yup

[KPN]

17. Longest two weeks of my almost 74 year life.

So to answer your first question: yeah. Hiw could I not. Over the course of my entire life, time has sped up, until the psst two weeks.

[LoCo Cat Lady]

18. Processing still...

I was born and raised in the DMV (DC, Md, VA) and many in my family were/are Fed workers. My best friend works for DOD and yesterday was the first time that his boss brought up a possible "BRAC" and going back into the office 100%. Haven't heard the term BRAC in some time...although it's not surprising. If "DOGE" does "delete" the federal agencies at the level being discussed, it will be devastating here. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Personally, I am still numb and trying to figure out a back-up plan if shit goes south. I'm in a very red district of rural northern VA and it's MAGA country out here. I'm not a wallflower by any stretch but I'm laying low and watching how things proceed. I refuse to participate in the hate so I'm holding space for peace but who knows?

[BonnieJW]

58. I'm in NOVA too.

Thinking about leaving the country. I'm 75 and the thought of doing that makes me ill. But if they cut social security, that's so much of my income and I'll have to find a cheaper place to live.
My youngest daughter said she'd come with me, no kids and never married. If we find a place, we're hoping my other 2 daughters and their families will come.
I've never been outside the US. Any suggestions?

[whathehell]

63. Hi Bonnie..

I am very close to your age, and I know exactly how you're feeling...As for leaving the country (I have been out of the country quite a bit), I would suggest Canada. I've been there (Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal area) and it's where my husband and I are considering moving...It's very close to our country, obviously, and the most similar to in language and culture.

[LoCo Cat Lady]

84. What I 've Read Recently...

is that Canada is currently limiting who can come in. They're looking for specific skill sets from new residents (they want workers). I can't remember where I read that but you'll definitely want to research it. (I have heard Canada is beautiful and mostly friendly so if you fit the criteria for new residents, I wouldn't rule it out.) Otherwise, I'm not sure where to go. I also read there are a lot of ex-Pats in Costa Rica.
I'm going to stay put and see how things go. If I have to rage against the machine, I'm here for it.

[peregrinus]

88. Sicily

[Beck23]

66. They want to dismantle the VA

[Hugin]

19. At times it may not seem like it...

I’m right there with your mood.

The two biggest burrs under my saddle are…

The torrential normalization I see everywhere. What is happening is not normal! It’s self-destructive and pre-obeyance to buy into it. The frogs (us!) are being boiled slowly!

Then, there’s how you put it, clarity on what the resistance is and will look like. Even if there is to be a resistance. After months of screaming from the rooftops about how this is an all-hands emergency, now there’s crickets from those we were looking to to lead us. It feels as if we’ve been ghosted and it’s not a good look. After a lifetime of YOYO (you’re on your own), I am used to it and it has made me extremely self-reliant and resourceful. I am an outlier and no person is an island. The vast majority of people need leadership and community. Especially in times like these. If those who would be leaders think that the multitudes are going to fall behind them when they re-emerge, they are sorely mistaken. So many people went all in this time, without seeing a return on their efforts. They will move on to something that seems to have a return. It’s called survival and is the basis of evolution.

As to the election, of course Trump and what’s left of the GOP cheated. It’s the only way they can get the powerz! Trump has cheated at every aspect of his life, business, relationships, and golf for crying out loud. He fills out his score card before he hits the links on his own golf course! It’s important to realize that this loss was a loss of a thousand cuts. Most of this cheating was in the grey areas of the law and done in such a way as to be difficult to prove, impossible to prosecute, and no silver bullet that would overturn the results. None. What impresses me the most about it is wouldn’t it be easier just to have popular stands on issues and campaign?

It’s better to take the offense. But, we’ve circled around to where is the offense?

[NewHendoLib]

22. thanks for your most excellent post.

[Hugin]

45. You didn't mention it specifically...

My biggest question mark at the moment is where was the bodily autonomy bloc? I just don’t see it in the results of this election.

Since Roe was revoked, liberal causes and Democratic candidates have over-performed in every election. Usually by double digits. This election, not so much. Where was that bloc? Have the GrOPpers discovered a message that mutes it? I know that locally the Democratic candidates were pounding it and they all did well. I saw some on the Presidential level, maybe it wasn’t enough.

[Beck23]

70. Ask Stephen Spoonamore

[Doodles]

48. Ghosted

That’s it—after all the work and hopes—nothing. Yes, I feel ghosted.

[BonnieJW]

61. I agree. It was rigged.

Where was/is the intel community???!!!

[bluestarone]

95. Perfect diagnosis. I'd like to add one thing here, as to your "they cheated"

Hell, TFG even told us they cheated by these comments 1) vote for me you'll never have to vote again. 2) Hell, i don't even need your votes. WE A:LL KNOW.

[Hugin]

101. Yes, I'm glad you emphasized that...

At this point all of the post-mortems have become counterproductive and divisive.

[NNadir]

23. I feel as I have lived to see the fall of the United States.

[BradBo]

24. You mean that Trump will help Putin destroy Europe and America if he can then yes. It's weird.

[Gore1FL]

26. I think I can answer some of these things:

Anyone else feel the weirdness of this unprecedented time?

Yep. It's thick in the air.

I don't understand the rush to yet another social networking site (Bluesky) - I don't use such tools - DU is enough. Why?

Users of Twitter are abandoning it due to the the way it is run, who it is run by, and new terms of service. The closest/best replacement is Bluesky.

I don't understand why the left has never (aside from Air America) put any resources in countering the massive right wing propaganda machine.

We don't consume data in the same way as the right. Sure, there are left-leaning talk shows and talking heads, but things like Air America never took off in a way that would compete.

Things I am waiting for - clarity on what "the resistance" will look like. How are our Dem politicians going to fight this mess? What part are we going to play - not to just stay in an echo chamber and scream, but actually DO?

I think we are all in this position. A lot of it is waiting to see the lay-of-the-land. I expect to see more things put in place to protect programs and people before Jan 20.

Lost and wandering in the wilderness here. Wondering how this could have possibly happened. Wondering how so many people have lost their minds.

People looking for answers found what they thought they were looking for in a cult of misinformation and fear.

[wnylib]

74. Good points. I can agree withh most of your perspective

but I question your explanation about our lack of a communication system to compete with RW propaganda. You mention one effort that did not catch on, Air America. So that's it? We don't even try again with another model, or with a variety of media?

I know that clear cut messaging is difficult for us because we are so diverse. But so is the RW messaging. The right's issues cover guns, race, abortion, religion, anti regulation, anti government, anti social programs. As we saw in the midterms, not all on the right agree on abortion. Same is true about reasonable gun regulations. But all groups are addressed with a variety of media outlets and messsges, some even self-contradictory, to target the variety of views. They are united by hate for manufactured tales and left wing boogeymen to fear and oppose.

The RW spends millions on propaganda messaging outlets. We do not spend nearly as much money or effort. We allow them to control the public interest and spin. We don't have the same wealth on our side but more of the wealth that does exist among us could be spent on media like our own talk radio programs and hosts that would reach people where they are in their daily lives, riding in their cars, watching news on cable. MSNBC does not come close to what we need.

We need to have popular radio and TV hosts and programs that don't mince words. We need to tell our own story and message to the working and lower middle classes. We should have been hammering back at complaints about the Afghan withdrawal, explaining how Trump sold out to the Taliban, leaving Biden no choice. We should have radio host shows that tear apart trickle down economics and explain how they hurt average people and how the right uses racism to explain it all away, blaming immigrants, the outsider, the left to distract people from what billionaires are doing to them. We should have been daily hammering at how the cost of living increases are directly due to tax cuts at the top pushing the burden of costs on the bottom. We needed to explain that public services are NOT socialism or communism. They are the normal responsibilities of good governance to meet the needs of the people with education, police, fire departments, public libraries, etc. to maintain democracy and civilization.

We have dropped the ball completely. Roosevelt knew the necessity of maintaining communication via the media of his times, the radio fireside chats. He could not have succeeded without doing that. He kept the people on his side and they responded by giving him the Democratic Congress that he needed.

We need more local grass roots emphasis on reaching people where they are. And national level of constant communication to lead the grass roots.

[Bluethroughu]

28. General Strike.

They take our stuff? pensions, jobs, SS, healthcare, do nothing buy nothing.

They get nothing.

[Aaeia]

29. Left

I'm Canadian. It is deeply apparent that there is absolutely NOTHING "left" about your country. NOTHING!!!
Why you let them call you "left" is beyond me

[k55f5r]

41. Never did understand that myself

[bucolic_frolic]

31. The resistance looks like your local Democratic group

They may be working on changing or maintaining school boards, environmental issues, with the county Democratic committees, or issues of oppression, freedom. They are forming everywhere. Join one in your area!

[Roc2020]

34. There is a sharp resistance

it's just not as alarming as storming the capital. Relationships being terminated, 24hr news/national newspapers losing millions of viewers/readers that will not return, the seething anger from dems that leads up to the midterms. I agree does not satisfy the suffering dems are going through right now, but it's a significant resistance

[Yavin4]

35. It's not unprecedented. Black people lived through this in the Jim Crow South.

Now everyone is going to experience it first hand.

[WestMichRad]

36. It sure seems like...

We’re about to witness the crumbling of our democracy and a return to something resembling the robber baron era. Very difficult to remain hopeful about the future.

[MiHale]

38. Right with you...

I can’t believe the current administration is just going to accept this with no pushback at all. Can’t count on the Supremes. We need a voice a strong voice to rally around. Where’s our leadership? It feels like there is no opposition party.

Acceptance is defeat.

Until then gotta work on growing stuff, gardening is going to be a huge stress buster. But you know that.

[Auggie]

40. Welcome to Shock Doctrine U.S.A.

Unfolding before our eyes

[k55f5r]

43. That should be the headline on every newspaper in the country

In 24 point font.

[erronis]

59. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shock_Doctrine

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a 2007 book by Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein. In the book, Klein argues that neoliberal economic policies promoted by Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics have risen to global prominence because of a deliberate strategy she calls "disaster capitalism". In this strategy, political actors exploit the chaos of natural disasters, wars, and other crises to push through unpopular policies such as deregulation and privatization. This economic "shock therapy" favors corporate interests while disadvantaging and disenfranchising citizens when they are too distracted and overwhelmed to respond or resist effectively. The book challenges the narrative that free market capitalist policies have been welcomed by the inhabitants of regions where they have been implemented, and it argues that several man-made events, including the Iraq War, were intentionally undertaken with the goal of pushing through these unpopular policies in their wake.

Some reviewers claimed the book oversimplifies political phenomena, while others lauded it as a compelling and important work. The book served as the main source of a 2009 documentary feature film with the same title directed by Michael Winterbottom.[1]

[FirstLight]

42. Very surreal indeed...

Nothing is certain, all is in play, even our very lives. (food inflation, vaccines, climate, more)

It's worse than 2016 because there was still a sense of normalcy .

This is like stepping into the looking glass and everything is upside down and backwards.

Personally, all I can do is try to survive and hope that I can keep my family safe. But beyond that, I have no fucking idea what to even prepare for. The doom & gloom of possibilities doesn't help either.
And it's been SO MUCH to digest and deal with in such a short time (as you mentioned above- 2 weeks?!? wtf?) No wonder it feels like even time is playing tricks with our minds.

There's just a sense that something's gotta give, you know? But I am also afraid of what that means. And honestly, we won't know until after the new year/inauguration, etc.

It's a helluva note, as my Dad would say.

[sprinkleeninow]

103. "There's just a sense that something's gotta give, you know?"

My take also.

[sprinkleeninow]

107. On occasion I receive 'words of knowledge', if you will. It happens

when I'm around a source of water. Kitchen sink, shower, and like that. Earlier in the kitchen before closing it down, the words 'Shock and Awe' came to me. Not in the manner uttered by that human standing on a battleship. No, emanating from a Divine Source. This could be that "something's gotta give" as you posited. And with which I am in agreement. A beneficent resolution.

Edit to correct: It was a 'Mission Accomplished' banner on that battleship. Still, 'Shock and Awe' slogan used justifying illegal Middle East invasion.

[GreenEyedLefty]

44. I can only speak for myself

I stopped consuming any TV news.

I did migrate to Bluesky; it's only 1 of 3 social media platforms I frequent and the only one with news sources that I actively seek out for information.

There are independent media sources that are worth tuning into. Meidas Touch, Brian Tyler Cohen to name just 2.

I also hate to say this, but... there are no saviors coming to rescue us. There is no United States that will save us from authoritarianism, like we did in Europe and Japan during WWII. There are no billionaires who are interested in building a left wing equivalent to the right wing media machine. I don't believe the answer to propaganda is more propaganda. We have to actively resist individually and as groups of concerned citizens. I have dropped out of news consumption but plan to be active in my local Democratic club.

This is the time for self care, to be caring and kind to others despite the coldness and assholery that is going on.

[Beringia]

49. Yes

[barbtries]

50. i can hardly say anything to ease your mind

given that i'm still reeling.

I'm loving Bluesky; twitter helped get me through the first TCFSF administration and BlueSky i believe will help me through the next one (or as long as I stay alive for it). it's like group therapy and also a decent news aggregator (DU being my gold standard)

My son, granddaughter, niece and I plan to attend the 2025 Womens March in LA. 18 January 2025 https://www.womensmarch.com/

The resistance will be loud, I think. It has to be. Many, many court cases. For myself, my only firm determination is that I will not change, I will not shut up, I will not cower. This is the very least I can do for the generations coming up. It means everything to me right now.

[hay rick]

53. Weird is a too nice a word for evil.

You don't have to believe in God , Jesus, Allah, or flying pancakes to recognize and believe in good and evil.

I view the current mess as a bunch of sideshows designed, or at least having the effect, of diverting attention from the organizing principle of current history, which is the looting of the public and the environment for the amusement and enrichment of oligarchs.

As for what we can do, I suggest starting by doing SOMETHING- something that you haven't done before. Complaining about what others are not doing is just a poor excuse for doing nothing oneself.

[Maraya1969]

55. There are so many Fox type news things playing round the clock and you can tell

that they are trying to protect trump. When a small group controls the media that is where democracy ends

[Prairie_Seagull]

56. Overwhelmingly what I hear is that we are numb,

myself included, along with my wife, my kids and their friends. 'Action' has been mentioned, to this I have had a calming effect and I would be willing to bet others in our my age group also are the calming effect in their families.

Numb is not the correct mindset to even ponder such things.

Keep busy, if you can in your local democratic party. Whatever, if you can, find some way to help in your area. Even if it is just picking up litter. (please wear PPE) The litter is abundant and now has a name. This is how I need to look at it.

Must stay busy

[1WorldHope]

60. Yes.

I feel hopeless. I notice, as always, young families aren't freaking out about the state of the nation because they are too busy raising kids and making ends meet. Many of them who didn't vote made that choice because they have never been able to notice the difference in their lives between D or R in charge.
And while we are losing our minds about the circus before us, the environment just keeps falling to pieces.
I'm staying in touch with my friends, playing more music and not watching MSNBC all night long.
Find happiness in the moment, that's all we can control. Choose what you think about. Don't let that clown occupy your brain. We can't make him go away by thinking about this constantly. When you notice you are mind racing on the clown and his minions, stop, replace those thoughts with Bunny wabbits, puppies, and butterflies. We aren't alone.

[Blue_Tires]

62. I felt it in 2016...

[Beck23]

64. Yes it's weird

We're watching the dismantling of our country.

[Linda ladeewolf]

65. I've never been on xitter

I did get on Bluesky, I quite like it. I’m able to follow most of the people I watch on YouTube, and get some newsletters and hear what a number of liberals have to say first hand. It’s seems to be pretty peaceful for now. Hope they can keep it that way.

[CaptainTruth]

67. Yep. I feel like I'm on a plane that's going down, waiting for the crash.

America is that plane & we know the crash will come in two months, but all I can do is hang on & brace for it. I don't know how bad it will be. Will it kill me? If I lose ACA coverage, it just might. I'm certain others will die. How extensive will the damage be? I really don't know.

I'm an old guy now & I've never felt this way before. I always believed we could defend ourselves against foreign enemies trying to destroy America, but now the enemies are within, our own government is going to try & destroy America.

Not long ago I believed this scenario was unthinkable, it would never happen here... but here we are.

[Arne]

71. Whatever was in Pandoras locked box is loose,

and in charge.
I like the advice to help out the local dem group.
I can do that.
I will never give money to anyone for anything again.
I have none left.

[wnylib]

78. We're not in Kansas any more, Toto.

[soldierant]

85. Right and left are not really the main political divide any more

and haven't been probably since 1980 but it should have been obvious since 2016. The real issue is up and down.

https://www.politicalcompass.org

It really is much easier to get anywhere when you know what you are up against. And we are no longer fighting the Right. We are fighting the Top

[mwooldri]

87. Strangely "The Daily Show" spoke to me.

I honestly think Dems should adopt "FAFO" as their policy.

[cer7711]

90. Dystopian NIghtmare

Feels like a living nightmare. The End Times.
Trump + feckless Democrats + ever-accelerating global climate change + the aggregate toxicity of our food supply + dieing oceans + the rise of A.I. + too many new conflicts to count.
Things are grim, indeed.
I gird myself with stocism facing oblivion.

"Happiness, too, is inevitable."
--Camus

[bdamomma]

93. The plan was

to take down the US has been in the planning by unscrupulous inside traitors and foreign adversaries.

A mentally unstable "useful idiot" was chosen by outside adversarial Putin and billionaires who rather stand by their power and greed and not by our Constitution and our very way of life. Social media and propaganda has been drilled into people's heads. I don't know what the future holds, but we will be going through some things.

But, I take comfort that those who have done this to us, will be eating their own.

[markodochartaigh]

94. I feel as if I'm living

the Cliff Notes version of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Especially now the part where Didius Julianus buys the throne and then devaluates the currency to pay his debt.

I pay homage to Our Galactic Calliope, for this most extraordinary historic rhyme.

[JHB]

97. The only part of that I'm not wondering as well is "how so many people have lost their minds"

The Right invested money into building an independent media-sphere that would pound their message 24/7/365 across the whole country and there was no response. They cowed the MSM into dancing to their tune, and nobody put money into a leftward equivalent unless you count Vladimir Putin and RT. During the Bush years it seemed the only opposition outlet, but since Vladdy-boy was only interested in undermining any US administration, it was only the "America can do no right" lefties that thrived there. There was no space to build a liberal-left counter-narrative.

So the Right had several decades unopposed to wank and diddle various people's bigotries, axe-grindings, and pet peeves. It became the background noise that everyone heard, and any other message had to swim upstream against it.

They've been actively working toward this since the 70s or earlier.

[Smackdown2019]

99. Our Forefathers seen this and knew this

Our forefathers seen this and knew that people in mass can be hoodwinked into false uneducated rhetoric that would be bad for the nation and had male landowners to vote back in the day. Dont get me wrong, times have changed, but educated voters should be the ones to vote. Anybody over 18 years of age can vote, but what are they really voting for? What someone tells them how to vote. Educated voters can come to terms to what is wanted. Truth, i feel anyone with a 2 year degree or higher or veterans/military service women/men should be the only individuals to vote. Just imagine what that voter political outlook would be like... i be guessing a strong Democratic voter base.

[hydrolastic]

105. 2016 already showed us what to do

Back then I joined indivisible right by my house. There I found people I could ask the dumb questions and listen to people that I still see in my mind. My group had a old woman come in and tell us that this was exactly the way the germans did it. and she knew from personal experience it was a very moving short speech she gave back then. Recently I asked about her and she passed away a year after she gave her speech. I will always remember it.
I also plan on attending any protest I can. but I am going to have a couple of rules since I am getting older I dont want to get hurt. I plan on always leaving before dark. I won't be on the front dealing with the police. I just want to be one of the numbers. Last time ( the first term) I knew someone who knew the guy that was running a food truck to give food to the protesters I gave him money so he could keep doing that. I will do something similar this time. I think there will be a better prepared resistance this time and a lot less being surprised all the time. One of the things I saw on twitch was a protest in portland where they started using leaf blowers to blow the tear gas back on the police it was quite effective. Again I personally won't be using it, but my new leaf blower may end up at the protest.

[Crunchy Frog]

100. The nuclear sabre rattling from russia has been going on for nearly 3 years.

Nothing new there. They use it to try and get western leaders to self deter in providing Ukraine with the levels and types of aid they would need to more effectively defend themselves.

The rush to Bluesky is because Musk's Twitter is becoming intolerable, and an effective alternative has finally emerged. Big social media sites like that play a different kind of role in the internet ecosystem than a site like DU. It really serves as a vast international town square.

We are living in unprecedented times, but I've been expecting this country to eventually go full on fascist for over 20 years. I'm not really shocked or confused, but I'm definitely scared.

I don't know what people will do to resist. I guess we just watch and find out.

[Jarqui]

102. I'm not over it. Sucked the juice out of me

Feeling aimless because I can't seem to find a meaningful way to fight back.

[proud patriot]

106. Yes .. I started a diary today

I want to document things going forward day by day .

[AdamGG]

108. I had to change my laptop homepage away from Google News

and reduce my news consumption for now because it's just making me angry and depressed.

I will back whatever resistance coalesces, but I really fear that the government is going to be eviscerated in ways that are hard to undo. Do you remember when Grover Norquist talked about how they wanted to "starve the beast" to get the government small enough where they could strangle it in the bathtub? It seems that Trump and the rogue's gallery surrounding him will have the desire and means and nearly unchecked ability to do that.

Susan Collins said that she plans to seek re-election in 2026, so I hope that she will have some self-interest in voting against some of the worst aspects of this and that a few other quasi sane Republican Senators will join her. But, that's an extremely slim and unreliable reed to rest any hopes on.

[Fish700]

110. Beside the billionaires and "Entrepreneur" Lawn service moguls

I think there were a decent number of trolls who voted for the LULs not to mention the people strung out on meth who have no hope and don't know why we should have any.

[HighFired49]

111. I think the best definition of what many of us are feeling is "anomie"

There have been many articles and studies of the phenomena, especially by Emile Durkheim. For a definition see https://anthropologyreview.org/anthropology-glossary-of-terms/anomie-a-state-of-social-chaos-or-normlessness/#:~:text=Anomie%20is%20caused%20by%20complex,and%20purpose%20within%20their%20communities.

Durkheim was a prominent sociologist who introduced the concept of anomie as a state of normlessness or a lack of social cohesion in society. "Anomie occurs when there is a breakdown of social norms and values, leading to feelings of confusion, disillusionment, and a sense of disconnection."A good article "Durkheim’s Anomie and its Contemporary Relevance in the United Kingdom" can be found here: ]https://easysociology.com/sociological-perspectives/functionalism/durkheims-anomie-and-its-contemporary-relevance-in-the-united-kingdom/# Although he was focussed mainly on the UK, his theory can apply broadly to nearly any social group or country.

[electric_blue68]

113. Surreal is my word...and Fear! Through the "Funhouse" Mirror.

Last edited Thu Nov 21, 2024, 01:08 AM - Edit history (2)

Reading this thread started me crying. My general not the easiest life bc of low income but quietish, and pretty stable would be be totally endangered with entitlements cuts.

While I'm talking about myself; I fear for other vunerable groups of people esp those who haven't had it easier bc of history, without achieving hoped for full support, equality etc.

I've been involved partly in politics for decades late '60s. Also semi activist in various issues. Can't quite quit the news but listen to local NYC public radio. I'm here, on DU since mid 2020. Grateful for finding it!
Going to add bluesky bc of people in the public eye.

71. SS, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Medicaid pays for my housing, and food in a good assisted living facility. I could end up homeless or in a shelter. Have friends, and relatives. No kids (which doesn't always gaurentee anything).
Still there's most likely no one probably willing to take me in. Maybe a miracle will happen in that area should the worse happen.

I don't think I could work enough to make rent. I haven't worked since my 40's bc of disability. I'd hate the thought of roommates bc I had one really incompetent one, and one violent one. It became a complicated life. (Not without some serious joys, and good times) Then I finally had my own sweet place for about 12 yrs. Now this for just 2 yrs.

Trying to just concentrate on prettying up my apt more, doing my art - drawing, and digital art, painting a bit. Jewelry making, yarn craft. Following my many interests on line. Streaming TV. Staying in the now if I can.
The "funny" thing about my art, craft making if somehow I got biggish commercially (which I'd stopped aiming for several hears back), I'd lose my Medicaid and housing. So complicated! But I doubt that would happen anyway.

I guess it'll be waiting (like most of us) to see how things unfold.

And try to be as creative as possible in the meantime. Brings me such joy.

[Marcuse]

114. It's like 2016 - only worse.

[bee_peaceful]

115. Me too... NT