Outrage Fatigue - Can anyone relate?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m posting to ask if anyone else can relate to how I’m feeling at the beginning of 2023?

When trump was elected, I and others were out in front on this board and elsewhere, constantly citing his outrageous statements and behavior. I started the Clusterfuck thread that never lacked for material and participants throughout his so-called administration. Now that he’s been out of office for a few years but not out of mind (though still out of his mind), and the newly-elected Republican majority in the House has taken over his de facto agenda, I can’t muster or maintain the level of outrage from before. I’m worn out and burned out.

We’ve discussed that the now-public outrageous positions held by Republicans aren’t new. Newt Gingrich and the Tea Party set the rumblings in motion in recent modern times. “Saying the quiet part out loud” is how some have put it. With the election of trump the pot boiled over. And it has kept boiling. Are we (thinking, aware, even “woke” people) the frogs in the pot? Are we cooked?

I thought about starting a thread in the elections forum to collect and keep track specifically of the publicly announced disruptive activities the House is planning to cripple and discredit Democrats, make rich people richer, crush the poor and middle class, and avoid actual governing. But I only thought about it.

And it’s not just the House. The Supremes (Roe). State legislatures (women’s dress code??). My own state of Texas, FFS! I feel like level-headed, sensible people are being beaten to death with rolled-up newspapers.

Lest someone ask, “What do you expect us to DO about it??” I don’t have an answer for that. My intention in starting this thread was not to come up with strategies-- that’s for people who aren’t burned out yet (and God bless you, whoever you are!). I just want to know if others are feeling Outrage Fatigue, too.

If anyone has answers or wishes to discuss how to find relief and remain conscious, by all means, share. As my late husband used to say, “I’m out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas.”

2

I also have outrage fatigue, and it impacts everything about me. Having grown up in the 60s I thought the country was on the right path, the Vietnam War not withstanding, but after Watergate and Reagan’s trickle-down theory, I started to lose faith that we were heading in the right direction.

Obama’s election (twice) gave me hope again, but Trump’s corrupt administration set me back hard, and it’s been downhill ever since. I’ve given up thinking that the US is heading to a better place for everyone and realize it just a better place if you’re wealthy.

I sincerely hope that the country stays together long enough for the pendulum to swing back, but I honestly don’t think that’s likely to happen. Too few people have too much wealth and power and they can easily pull the strings of government to their own personal benefit. Until that changes, I don’t see any real progress happening, and possibly dissolution into red versus blue states surrounded by high walls to keep the “others” out. IOW, the future looks bleak to me.

3

Same here. I am limited in the amount of emotional energy I can expend. In particular, my personal life has been in crisis the past few years. The outrage I can exert towards politics is very little.

4

Yup. Sometimes I try to imagine how we should arrange society knowing that selfishness and bigotry will bubble up and destroy progress, but I tend to conclude that humanity is just not capable of creating and maintaining a just and sustainable global civilization, which is hella depressing.

5

I’m there to the extent that I really do worry that everything will hold together enough before I die, which should be in about 25 to 30 years (I’m 63 now). The state of the US, and its possible implosion or fragmentation or whatever is frightening. Things which would have been obviously and self-evidently bizarre, ridiculous, insane, offensive, and dangerous, are now acceptable to a huge proportion of the US population and to the GOP. I honestly don’t see how that can change for the better.

This is also scary as I live in Canada, which is extremely dependent on the US’ stability for our own national stability (defence-wise we’re riding on your coat-tails, I’m embarrassed to say). So if you go, we’ll probably go shortly thereafter.

6

Absolutely. And not just recently, and not just about Trump, it’s about everything. Conspiracy theories, gun control, health care, stagnant wages, you name it. We’ve spent years, in some cases decades, trying to get across to some people that there are problems, and they just refuse to see it. In a lot of cases, it isn’t even them disagreeing with the proposed solutions - they don’t even agree that a problem even exists.

Many years ago, I heard a phrase; “Not responsible for advice not taken.” As I get closer to retirement, I’m starting to embrace that even more. I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that the people who can’t see the problems will not see the problems until US society actually, functionally undergoes an actual collapse. And even then they might not get it.

At this point, I’m largely in the mode of just keep your head down, keep voting for the sane candidates, and be ready to defend yourself and those you care about when the idiots drive us all off a cliff.

7

I absolutely relate to outrage fatigue. Unfortunately, that syndrome is dangerously close to defeatism, which mean “they won!”

However, I also consider that getting older I have less capacity for the stress of conflict, less resilience. The result being, I retreat into comfort, and accommodate others as a coping strategy, which is not really a good thing! One risks becoming a doormat, yah?

I also try to focus on the good. By any objective measure, as a white male American with some money in the bank, I am on the crest of the privilege wave. But I can’t help thinking that, until recently, there were people feeling pretty good about life in places like Kyiv and we see where that changed pretty dramatically. So, nothing is assured, yah?

What to do about it? Try not to go around sighing heavily too much. Try not to crank too much at the young’ns about what was or could have been. Of course Vote, and try to be engaged.

8

Folks sometimes say, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” My response–usually nonverbalized–has been, “If you’re still outraged, you haven’t been paying attention very long.”

That’s been my response for a quarter century now.

It’s exhausting, and the only way I’ve been able to stay active is to compartmentalize my rage.

9

Yep, big time outrage fatigue. As well as just fatigue fatigue. It’s exhausting enough dealing with everyday issues with myself, my family and friends.

That’s compounded with a feeling of 'how can I even make a difference anyway?" As discussed ad nauseum, people who you know are wrong about how to improve the country, such as MAGA-heads, cannot be convinced otherwise. So much is broken in this once-great nation of ours due to politico-corporate greed and lobbying, such as the over-proliferation of guns and gun violence, and the health insurance industry. Then an administration comes in and says “we’re going to drain the swamp” when in fact they are the swampiest swamp monsters who ever swamped. But a large number of people believe them against all evidence to the contrary! It’s like the Fox party coming into power and saying “the hen house has been mismanaged, but we’re going to fix it. Pay no mind to the chickens that are going missing-- that’s the fault of (fill in imaginary enemy here).” And a large majority of the other farm animals cheer them on.

10

Thanks, y’all, for these replies. I didn’t think it could just be me… but I wasn’t sure.

11

I think ‘outrage fatigue’ is inevitable when being exposed to media these days. It’s like being in the sun without sunscreen. We have to have a filter to intake it in a more healthy way.

I’m trying to focus more on things I can change. Which isn’t everything, but it is some things. I can’t change the greater culture war, but I can connect to many individuals and have positive interactions with them. That is enough.

12

Agree with this. I was out of the country for three weeks in December with no access to American news, (or any news for that matter since the local news was in Spanish). It was quite refreshing! When I got back it was the same sh!t happening but in a different week, and I cared less about things compared to before, and was able to fully enjoy the new House speaker’s troubles getting to that seat. I suggest everyone here go on a “news cleanse” occasionally, to reset things. Your outrage meter will go back to normal levels after getting a chance to cool down.

13

I like the old adage, “Don’t get mad, get even.” Not specifically the “getting even” part, because this isn’t about revenge. But it is about choosing actions that make a difference. Outrage is not something that makes a difference, to anyone but you.

The problem with outrage, when all you have is outrage, is the kind of fatigue being talked about here. Too many people (I have no-one specific in mind, to be clear) think that going on a message board and jumping up and down to relieve their feelings is a worthwhile activity. What use is outrage anyway? All it does is wear you down.

I’ve said this before, what is needed is to take a leaf from the Republican playbook (sorry for the sports cliché) and get to work at your local and, if possible, state level to get responsible people elected. This is the level where democracy is defended and strengthened, where things like gerrymandering are defeated. It’s exhausting work, but there will be victories that will keep you going, and it’s a great remedy for hopelessness. Get the local and state elections right, and the national elections will follow.

There is never a time when you can sit back and say “That’s it, then, we’ve won,” just like there is never a time to say “That’s it, then, it’s over and we lost.” The only thing that should be over is the pity party.

14

I haven’t watched TV news at all in about 23 years. I only read online publications (and here, of course). I don’t see how people who constantly watch TV news can hope to keep sane.

15

Yeah, I just don’t care anymore. I’m still gonna vote but I really don’t give a fuck who wins. Bc I’m thoroughly convinced we are screwed as a human race.

16

I think so much of what has gone so badly wrong recently is attributable to the fact that information technology has turned out to have unforeseen consequences. The theoretical availability of more and better information has been overwhelmed by
(a) the ease with which deliberate lies and propaganda can be pushed;
(b) social media algorithms that by optimizing clicks have taken people down rabbit holes of confirmation bias.

Although I have no idea what the answer is to fix this, it does give me hope that underneath all this the human race that built all the good things in our civilization has not fundamentally changed. So if we can find a solution, recovery is possible.

17

I’ve noticed that I don’t talk about it as much with some of my closest friends. There is ALWAYS a ‘what did they do now’. It’s impossible to keep up.

But we cannot give up. If they where smarter, I would think this is part of the plan. But they are morons. There is no plan other than continue to screw the country.

Vote and don’t give up.

18

Yup. Of course lots of people have it; and, of course, that’s what the people committing the outrageous things are counting on. They figure we’ll get tired, and give up, and they’ll be able to keep on unopposed.

Thing is: any individual person may well need to take a break, or limit the areas they’re working in, or whichever. The hope is that others, whether younger people or people who’ve had enough of a break and are ready to wade in again, will step in.

And – none of this is new; and none of it will ever be over for good, at least until we either die out or evolve into some other sort of creature. The arc of history may or may not trend towards justice – I think that overall it does – but it doesn’t do so on anything remotely resembling a steady curve. Sometimes it goes the other way for a while. – as @Roderick_Femm put it:

Take a break, as much as you can, when you need to. And then pick a particular corner, and work on that corner.

19

Yeah, that’s what we need.

No one person built a cathedral. It takes lots of people, spread over lots of years. When one person takes a break, another picks up the tools and does some work.

20

Yeah, I’ve felt this way for a couple of years. I have an activism-oriented job. I just decided to focus on that work, and address what I can control. I’ve started noticing more reasons not to panic, for example the people in my state collectively telling the legislature to stick their abortion restrictions up their asshole.

But in general I’ve become pretty disconnected from what’s going on. I’m happier as a result. There’s a direct relationship between my exposure to news media and my depression. I do think neither “side” is getting a full picture of reality right now, so I’ve become distrustful of news media overall. I wouldn’t say I have become less progressive, but I have become less reactionary and less likely to believe anything I see reported anywhere.