I get what the OP is talking about and I have a lot of friends in the same position. I had expected a Trump win and have had an easier time with it. I’m saddened that America is as bad as I thought it was, but I’m glad that the day has come and we can figure out what comes next, if that makes sense.
And yet, the votes don’t lie. For whatever reason, a significant plurality if not an outright majority of people who bothered to vote have seen the last eight years if incompetence, malfeasance, corruption; have seen his bellicose ramblings and threats to imprison, harm, or encourage the execution of political opponents; have doubtless heard of his attempts at election interference, ‘quid pro quo’ to get foreign powers to dig up dirt on opponents, and incite insurrection; and know that he’s been convicted on thirty-four counts of felony fraud and under investigation and indictment for other crimes; et cetera, ad nauseam, and said to themselves, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”
It wasn’t an accident, nobody had the wool pulled over their eyes, the evidence of Trump’s character and intentions is plain for all to see, and even if you think Harris was a terminally incompetent mannequin who couldn’t govern her way out of a wet paper bag, or just don’t like the idea of some woman running things because she might have a PMS rage-out at her staff every month, she still isn’t dedicated to vengefully punishing her political opponents, pundits, and celebrities who have ‘wronged’ her; attacking the fundamental institutions and long-standing norms of democratic governance; or cozying up with autocratic ‘strongmen’ and religious nutters with apocalyptic fantasies and a literal plan for government and society that has every appearance of being Handmail’s Tale fanfic. Even if you are down to picking the least of two evils and believe every paranoid conspiracy that Fox News is trying to shove into voter’s eyeballs, Harris was still the more stable and reliable candidate.
And yet these fucking mopes fell in line behind an avowed wanna-be dictator (“Only on Day One,” as if autocrats voluntarily give up power on cue) after seeing everything anyone would ever need to see about Trump’s character, integrity, motivations, and style of governance. “The majority of American voters” are sufficiently all-in on Trump to either embrace all of that, or ignore the danger is presents. There is no rationalizing that away; either they’re ‘brainwashed’ or actively enthused by an explicitly fascist movement with overt racist overtones and a leader who spews hatred and conspiranoia, and who has surrounded himself with debased, lying, scheming nutters. who are literally dedicated to dismantling the government.
However much you want to believe that they stand for something else, this is who they have shown themselves to be; enablers of a clownish, ignorant, bigoted demagogue, and they’re good enough with that to not even just abstain from voting for anyone.
Stranger
You actually believe “they”, which I assume you mean most of those who voted Trump, fantasize about killing people that don’t vote the same way you do ?
So it’s more likely that you’re projecting your hate to 74+ million other people.
Well said, Stranger. Well said.
They won the popular vote. I no longer understand the majority culture of the United States.
What part of “they”, by which the poster means millions of voters, and what part of “none of us will be spared”, as in every Democrat voter, do you not understand ?
I think that you don’t seem to understand that violence is an inherent element of fascism and if Trump and people supporting Trump are frequently using violent rhetoric, it is fair to assume that the people who voted for him are voting for this violence.
What part of Trump campaigned on violence and retribution don’t you understand?
I think you’re trying to spin away from his comments, which imo are ludicrous.
Sometimes people get so sick and tired that they actually try to get into politics, however that seldom (I do not want to say never) goes well when they have zero experience and connections and do not know what they are getting into.
No, I just refuse to allow fascism to be hand waved away. I refuse to normalize it and I refuse to be complicit in it.
What defense do you suggest against a heavily armed, completely misunderstood, majority culture.
“When someone tells you who they are, believe them.”
Trump has encouraged supporters to attack protesters, has threaten to jail political opponents, and incited an insurrection. Trump has literally embraced and encouraged political violence, and many of his supporters embrace and celebrate it up as evidence of how ‘strong’ he is. It’s a core feature of the character that he displays and that his voters at least accept, and as Heraclitus observed, “Character is destiny,” even if it is embracing the character of others.
Stranger
I’m enraged, scared, and literally sickened by all of this. Since March I’ve been rushed to the hospital twice with suspected heart attacks that, after exhaustive testing were actually found to be panic attacks. In case you’ve never experienced a for-real panic attack (not just the momentary figurative variety), it feels like you’re dying. Heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline, and respiration all redine. You can’t breathe or think, pressure crushes your chest and your brain goes haywire. It’s terrifying. Medication and the apparent rise of Harris and unraveling of trump pretty much kept them at bay for the past several months, but here we are again. I’ve actively avoided the news and the board all week, but it didn’t really help. I’ve had a couple of bleed-through episodes every day. I can’t live my life like this for the next four years! So, yeah, rage, hate, hopelessness, panic, depression… I’m right there.
(The only thing in my life that causes me mental anguish is politics, which is why I’m blaming my panic attacks on trump. Happily married, financially stable, low stress daily life, and medically healthy except for the panic attacks.)
I agree with all of the above.
And Wesley Clark wrote
I don’t know if I feel fear, hatred or rage. For me its more contempt.
I will spare you my own specific emotions. Fear, hatred, rage and contempt are all involved – but I would go with “Gloom and Fear.”
We don’t reside in the USA, so the fear is for humanity rather than my own family’s safety.
I think my mental health and happiness would improve if I stopped pondering this horror show. Would some mind-altering chemical help? Any other advice?
I’ve never been a particularly angry person, and as I get older I feel it even less. I feel disappointment much more strongly.
So I’m not angry, though I almost wish I were. Disappointment makes me sad and tired. Here we are, still dealing with many conflicts that at some point go back to belief in magical sky beings. But even if those issues went away we would have many people who are fundamentally unkind and selfish. Add to it that there are societal incentives to behave selfishly and unkindly, that many people are swept up in popular opinion and not terribly thoughtful or analytical, and that the average attention span in terms of world events and politics is about a week.
Like the guy on Futurama said, I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. We could do better, but we choose not to. We’re going to get exactly what most of us asked for, and some will deserve the consequences. But we’ll all have to live with it. Disappointing.
For me what is disappointing isn’t only that 70-75 million Americans are fine with Trumpism and MAGA, but also the fact that the ceiling for the number of Americans who are willing to protect democracy and minority rights has a ceiling of around 75-80 million Americans.
After all the California ballots are counted, I’m guessing Harris will have gotten about 75 million votes. Biden got 81 million votes.
That is about the ceiling of the number of Americans who care about protecting democracy, human rights, womens rights, decency, etc because another 70-75 million Americans are opposed to these things (because they support Trumpism), and another 120 million American adults don’t give a shit either way (since they don’t vote).
I feel like no matter what we try to do, in a nation of 260 million adults (and about 75 million non-voting Children), the number of adults who will vote to protect democracy and marginalized groups peaks at about 80 million adults.
Disappointing is a good word for it. What also is very disappointing is watching younger people become more misogynistic. Teachers have been ringing the alarm bell for years but I think this is the first election where we’ve seen the political consequences for the growing misogyny among some people in Gen Z.
They didn’t vote for “people that don’t vote the same way you do”; they voted for fascists who want to kill and enslave everyone but them. So yes, I do think Trump voters want what thy voted for. They want murder, and rape, and misogyny, and torture, and slavery. They want genocide, secret police, religious persecution and race war. They want a world where most of humanity has been exterminated for not being copies of them.
That’s what they voted for, because they want it.
Add me to the list. My family is looking into leaving the country but not really considering it. Just half-heartedly seeing what the deal is.
I am genuinely scared about what is to come. I fear it is the end of American democracy. I have no doubt Trump and his people will try and with the whole government in hand they very well might manage it. Even if we do get out of it I seriously doubt I will live long enough (due to old age) to see it fixed hence the thinking to go somewhere else.
It is definitely taking up too many brain cycles right now.
I feel getting upset won’t help so now, I am just assuming things will somehow be okay and nothing bad will happen.
I go to my church on Sundays.
On Wednesdays, I go to a different one for bible atudy.
Some from my church have posted statue of liberty memes ( with a beer and a cig) so I know what side they’re on.
The wednesday one, a couple from the traditional churchdrive me there and back.
She says maganut, who attends there on Sundays, is right about everything! Meaning they pretty much believe anything infowars says.
The racial demographics are totally different for each church.