Mourning in America - Trump Year One: November '16 to

"sorry to pick here, but what is this "not acceptable" refrain. i mean -- how precisely are you (anyone saying this) going to not accept it? people aren't asking for you to accept their views and actions. they're living lives in which you personally play no role. how does one choose not to accept it. is there a form you refuse to sign. does this mean unfriending on facebook, it feels pretty empty as a statement imho. will ppl tell their grandkids "the world went to shit, but i said it was not acceptable so..."

― the klosterman weekend (s.clover)"

i think that contemporary methods of resistance and dissent are pretty well documented by now.

"No, in the long perspective, a lot of them probably were spousal rapists, and Andrew Jackson straight up killed a guy for insulting him.

― Frederik B"

on the other hand about the favorite thing of mine andrew jackson ever did was threatening to have his vice president hanged as a traitor, so...

"P.S. I am melting down and worrying about my long-term physical health and starting to sincerely wonder whether I'm going to survive four years of this.

― i need microsoft installed on my desktop, can you help (Old Lunch)"

how much local support do you have? because we're all going to need lots of it. the internet sure as hell isn't going to do anything to keep us alive and functional.

"i think that contemporary methods of resistance and dissent are pretty well documented by now."

sorry, let me be more clear. step one is that when people say shit like that, we call them on it. i've lived in a country where people say horrible things about other people all the time and a lot of us, myself included, have let it pass because we don't want to make trouble. i, and a lot of the people i talk to, are fucking over it. i don't wear a safety pin as a feel-good gesture, but as a sworn oath.

what guvmint department do you see me in, El Tomboto?

(that's called a softball)

rushomancy, I'm keeping it together for the most part, and do have support, but there's some familiar dark existential dread creeping in. I'm doing what I can to keep it at bay.

One of the bitterest ironies that just occurred to me this morning is all the pooh-poohing of the false equivalency between the Brexit referendum and the presidential election. 'Apples and oranges!' Which is true, except that if it had been a straight referendum, Clinton would have won. Hmm.

re: Trump anxiety/depression/fear, the moment it all started to turn on tuesday night around 9:30pm EST, it really felt exactly like the gradual slipping into a nightmare that was the morning of 9/11. i've been listening to "Imagine" a lot, late at night, loud, over and over.

I remember a few months ago someone like Bill Mitchell put up a mocked-up graphic of Trump winning the presidency on CNN, and just having such a visceral reaction to it. Like it made me sick. But I was relieved to think, ha ha, no way. I mean I was hopeful for a while that the models would bear out - MSNBC was saying "Republicans always get comfortable early on before all the results from the urban cities come in" - but once I saw Trump winning all these rural counties by a 3-to-1 margin I was like...it's not going to be enough

It took a couple of days, but I did eventually come around after Tuesday night and started to feel at least okay, trying to be hopeful and constructive and to move forward and take positive action to counteract the effects of this. But every tweet about the unfairness of 1st amendment rights and news story about appointing maniacs to the cabinet and report that Trump obviously had NO FUCKING IDEA what he was getting into because he's exhibited zero curiosity about anything ever has knocked the wind out of me all over again. Every day, I wake up to the reality that we're about to have a president as unimaginable as Ernest P. Worrell, and that he's rushing to fulfill every OTT worst case scenario that's been forecast, that he's learned nothing and will learn nothing and that the very best we can hope for is that people don't piss him off and make him lash out.

And so it begins: some of our best friends, the family of my younger daughter's best friend, had been considering a move to Malaysia, for work but also just for a change of pace, and I think this election has finally helped them make up their mind. They're black, with two young kids keenly aware of the campaign, and it just broke their heart. I hope they stay, but at the same time I understand, and would probably at least consider a similar move if given the chance.

On a more symbolic level, the towering but diseased hundred-plus foot elm tree in front of our house is currently being chainsawed down to its stump.

but once I saw Trump winning all these rural counties by a 3-to-1 margin I was like...it's not going to be enough

Something useful about Facebook--you can look back at your messages and track where you started to feel queasy. Sent this to a friend at 9:20 p.m., Tuesday night:

"I know it all has to do with where the outstanding vote is, but surely Democrats are a little panicked with Trump leading in Florida, NC, Virginia, and Ohio."

not really seeing the usefulness in that tbh

you can look at your posts in the election day thread too. I remember panicking about Florida and Alfred telling me to relax.

http://67.media.tumblr.com/f3dba3fe6c4983aca7b117c836415834/tumblr_ny8y8yJXZk1trti5do1_500.jpg

It's probably useful to remember that Trump wasn't getting its info from CNN, NBC, MSNBC, or any of the other media outlets that people are now criticizing for normalizing or not shouting down Trump enough. They share some blame, for sure, because they fueled his strategy of running on social media reach, and maybe should have done more to get their own viewership concerned and active, but there's something else going on here as well.

*Trump's BASE

At least all the dank Joe Biden memes going around are giving me the few laughs I'm capable of getting right now.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxJ2uH2WgAAvfnq.jpg

My whole family, kids and all, is heading to DC for the January 21st Women's March on Washington. My mom'll be there, too, as well as my wife's parents.

Biden: Ideally I'd like to include traps from all of the Home Alone movies, but we've only got two months so the Home Alone 2 plan is fine

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxB4DGhXgAQJ6CW.jpg

In the electoral college, white votes matter more:

http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/in-the-electoral-college-white-votes-matter-more?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29

you can look at your posts in the election day thread too. I remember panicking about Florida and Alfred telling me to relax.

― frogbs, Monday, November 14, 2016 10:03 AM

:(

got this notice from the principal at my daughter's school last night:

Dear parents and guardians,
The BVHM community is uniting and participating in a “March Against Fear.” We will show our students and our families that the election of Donald Trump, who has espoused racists, sexist and anti-immigrant hatred, will not instill fear in our community. We will be stronger and more determined than ever to fight for justice for all our BVHM family.

Opening Rally: 9:30-9:50 at the yard
March: 9:50-10:45 (24th to Valencia, Valencia to 18th, 18th to Mission, Mission to 24th)
Closing Rally: 10:45-11:10 at the yard

Tomorrow we will distribute permission slips to participate in the march and you are invited to attend our planning meeting tomorrow at 4pm in room 305. Together we are stronger!

nice

guys i'm trying to keep it posi but trump's reaction to the next police shooting :o

not sure if you mean the next time a cop gets shot by a crazy white dude or the next time cops shoot an innocent black person

The thing that scares the shit out of me is that I'm p sure we'll get a recession in like the next two years. I already thought it was coming anyway. If it's just a mild recession, maybe it favors dems, allows them to clean house, but if it's really, really bad, like a financial crisis, fuck.

My whole family, kids and all, is heading to DC for the January 21st Women's March on Washington. My mom'll be there, too, as well as my wife's parents.

I had not heard of this, what are the details

I don't think trump can use a financial crisis to declare martial law or whatever. a lot of people voted him in on promises of prosperity, and that's the issue he'll be held most accountable on.

xp to Shakey

National Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2169332969958991/

California organizing page: https://www.facebook.com/events/214100499025206

has everyone signed this

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/we-people-ask-president-obama-immediately-appoint-merrick-garland-supreme-court

thx Phil

It is such incredible BS that Garland wasn't confirmed. Really resembling the GOP for this one.

This was one of the "see other popular polls" when I clicked that link:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/ban-song-meet-flockers-public-media-and-investigate-legal-responsibilities-yg

It's probably useful to remember that Trump wasn't getting its info from CNN, NBC, MSNBC, or any of the other media outlets that people are now criticizing for normalizing or not shouting down Trump enough. They share some blame, for sure, because they fueled his strategy of running on social media reach, and maybe should have done more to get their own viewership concerned and active, but there's something else going on here as well.

Yeah I'm not sure how much we should blame the "lamestream media" - after the birther stunt they got quite harsh on Trump, and rightfully so. Of course that all went out the window cuz emails, but whatever. Either way they did make it clear at a certain point that Trump was generally full of shit, and honestly I think among people who actually watched the news Trump fared pretty poorly. The proliferation of fake news on Facebook really affected this election - I was pretty surprised to find out how many people I thought of as rational just accepted that Hillary had several people killed.

stay focused here

xp

The establishment that's currently normalizing Trump, I really don't think they give a crap if there's a recession/depression because of him. It didn't do any real damage to them when the 2008 crash happened, and that's all that matters. These people are so insulated from the consequences of their actions and decisions, and so isolated from average Americans, that we aren't along for the ride with them whatever they decide, and they hold all the reins of power, from the media to the federal government. We mean nothing to these people. White, middle class, working class, black, Jewish, Muslim, women... none of us matter, our concerns don't matter, our lives don't matter at all to these people, and we have almost no power or say in how they lead us or what they do to us. The last thread holding things together is legitimacy of rule, and now that Trump is in, it's starting to unravel into something scary, and not surprisingly, the establishment doesn't really give a crap.

The New York Times preferred Trump over Sanders, if you don't remember that, and I'm sure they still do. To the media, the political establishment, and the business establishment, Trump is better news than someone like Sanders who calls them out. The only way anything decent is going to happen for people is by them acknowledging this and working outside the establishment for each other. Having a sense of learned helplessness is understandable when assuming we have a contract with the powers that be to work together, but we don't. So until people understand that this establishment is actually an adversary at the bargaining table, things aren't going to get better. /rant

ex-breitbart ben shapiro on bannon

http://www.dailywire.com/news/8441/i-know-trumps-new-campaign-chairman-steve-bannon-ben-shapiro#

http://www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2015/12/Paul-Ryan1.jpg

hi!

Andrew Breitbart was a piece of fucking shit who the world is better off without, and Ben Shapiro is also a piece of shit, and gets no brownie points from me for whatever internecine garbage has gone on between him and Bannon since the primaries. Fuck him.

yeah but Breitbart tried to integrate his frat at Tulane!

uh, so Trump said on 60M last night that the pop-vote winner should be president. In the future.

"I'm not going to change my mind just because I won. But I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. you know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. There's a reason for doing this because it brings all the states into play."

and he knows from simple votes

The other popular petitions are pretty depressing (dualing petitions to declare Pakistan or India terrorist states). It should be mentioned that there are at least three Garland appointment petitions, whether by mistake or intentional right wing signature splitting.

Appoint Garland Now (Senate Has Waived Its Rights)
We the People ask President Obama to immediately appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court
Appoint Merrick Garland to SCOTUS by asserting that the Senate's inaction waived their right to advise and consent.

fine well I'll just sign all of them

jpod blames obama for the failures of the dem party -- lots to take exception with in that article but i do wonder what ppl think - does obama bear responsibility for the epic collapse of democratic political power in the US?

Newt Gingrich: Steve Bannon Can’t Be Anti-Semitic Because He Worked In Finance And Hollywood

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gingrich-bannon-anti-semitism_us_5829d117e4b02d21bbc99315?

friend shared a long Dana Gould FB post that bpiled down to "hey guys instead of disagreeing & yelling we should take the time to talk & debate with conservatives they were cool to me & were totes reasonable & willing to exchange ideas"

on one hand i agree
also i like Dana Gould a lot

but also: if he was a POC or a muslim or a woman or all of those things i guarantee it probably wouldn't be a meeting of the minds

it's great that it went well for YOU dude but don't sit here and tell me that that's what the rest of the country should do

fuckin tired of these instructive essays already

I'm not interested in assigning blame really (although I willingly accept my own share) just manically trying to think of everything I can do moving forward.

xp

xp Indeed - look at the shit Kumail Nanjiani is taking on Twitter for sharing his thoughts and experiences.

tbh debating white liberals as a POC often isn't a meeting of the minds either
xp

the media debate is certainly more complicated when you take into account how fast (mis)information spreads on the internet and that trump is the living personification of an internet comment section

This deserves that Jackie Chan "WTF?!" meme face. I know the AP is kind of a joke of an organization these days but ffs.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CxPWBjmW8AAq42v.jpg

http://www.fostercampbell2016.com/

FYI - US senate seat still open in louisiana

Bannon will thrive quite well as one of Trump's close advisors, unless he tries to pull a Sejanus. He has the sort of deeply nasty, bullying personality to play well with Trump.

Whatever position Priebus fills after the inauguration, he'll be discarded as soon as it is convenient to do so. He's only there to teach the real uglies some of the ropes of DC inside politics, give Trump a veneer of respectability and then be tossed overboard ASAP. The day will come, and probably in 2017, when Priebus will wake up and discover he's inserted a monster into the presidency and there's not a fucking thing he can do about it.