Thursday, November 10, 2016

Coping


While we each work our way through the five stages of grief at the reality of the Loathsome Rump and his likely administration of deplorables, we're starting to find comfort? companionship? solidarity? in what we're seeing and reading in the aftermath of November 8.

First and foremost, it's healthy to remind ourselves (especially in the face of smarmy, arrogant talk of "mandates" by the likes of Squeaker of the House Paul "Lyin'" Ryan) that Hillary Clinton Won. The. Popular. Vote. * Democrats gained seats in the Senate and the House. Don't let anyone get away with saying the Loathsome Rump was swept into office on a popular wave; he groped his way in thanks to an arcane mechanism that has delivered the White House in two of the last five elections to a Republican who lost the popular vote to a Democrat.  Don't let these basic facts be lost in finger- pointing or in Republican triumphalism.

Our own Kubler- Ross journey in the past 36 hours moved fairly quickly through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (though we still find it impossible to watch the Loathsome Rump on television or see his face in the newspapers).  We know we can't change what has happened, but we sure as hell can fight for what's right.

In that spirit, we'd like to share some of what we're finding today:

Catherine Rampell on giving the Stormtrumpers what they asked for (anger/ bargaining stage?):
One reason we got things wrong is that we assumed most Americans had come around to realizing just how dangerous Donald Trump and his bad ideas were. After all, hadn’t we convinced our audiences of this many times over? Like many other “elites,” I’ve spent the better part of the past 17 months warning the public about Trump’s bigotry, misogyny, magical thinking and authoritarian impulses. 
Unfortunately, also like many other “elites,” I have since learned that those I wanted most to heed these warnings did not. And in an increasingly siloed media environment, reaching — let alone persuading — those undisposed to listen to and agree with us appears increasingly impossible. [snip] 
Fortunately, I retain faith in another powerful tool: democracy. By which I mean democracy as defined by H.L. Mencken: “the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” 
Maybe the only way for Americans to really, truly understand how toxic, wrong-headed and futile Trump’s policies are is to let him provide proof of concept. 
That is, to give us Trumpism, good and hard.  (our emphasis)
Rampell is quick to point out, as we would, that in instituting our Loathsome President- elect's policies, a lot of people would get hurt or worse.  That's never a good thing, regardless of the political implications. Also, blame- shifting is an art in the Republican Party which, even though it will control all branches of the government (Supreme Court to come), will find ways through Fox "News" and the rest of the right- wing media bullhorn to somehow blame the "libruls" and Democrats for any resulting pain.  Still, we're getting some fleeting gratification in imagining the possibilities.

Next, Garrison Keillor is also foreseeing that the Stormtrumpers didn't bargain for what's coming:
The Trumpers never expected their guy to actually win the thing, and that’s their problem now. They wanted only to whoop and yell, boo at the H-word, wear profane T-shirts, maybe grab a crotch or two, jump in the RV with a couple of six-packs and go out and shoot some spotted owls. It was pleasure enough for them just to know that they were driving us wild with dismay — by “us,” I mean librarians, children’s authors, yoga practitioners, Unitarians, bird-watchers, people who make their own pasta, opera-goers, the grammar police, people who keep books on their shelves, that bunch. The Trumpers exulted in knowing we were tearing our hair out. They had our number, like a bratty kid who knows exactly how to make you grit your teeth and froth at the mouth. 
Alas for the Trump voters, the disasters he will bring on this country will fall more heavily on them than anyone else. The uneducated white males who elected him are the vulnerable ones, and they will not like what happens next.  [snip] 
We liberal elitists are now completely in the clear. The government is in Republican hands. Let them deal with him. Democrats can spend four years raising heirloom tomatoes, meditating, reading Jane Austen, traveling around the country, tasting artisan beers, and let the Republicans build the wall and carry on the trade war with China and deport the undocumented and deal with opioids, and we Democrats can go for a long, brisk walk and smell the roses. 
Somehow, that helps us today, in this time.  But the reality to come may be very hard to escape, not just for the Stormtrumpers but for millions of others in America and around the globe.  Best we fight it as much as we can, however we can, every day.

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