General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI have mentioned before that I live in a DEEP red district. Confrontations with MAGAts are
frequent. In a crowd, I often remind myself that more than 3 of every 4 of the people around me voted against Obama twice, voted for Trump in 2016 and wish all people with my views could be "gotten rid of".
I have managed to survive emotionally primarily because I have believed that, nationally, I was a part of the majority---"the good guys". Today, I have watched maybe 30 minutes of TV and have heard that the impeachment investigation hearing failed entirely to "move the needle" of public opinion and that at least one Democrat FROM A BLUE DISTRICT has changed her mind and now opposes impeachment.
For today, I just fucking give up! I'll be back, but right now I am having a hard time seeing why I should give a shit ! It would be a hell of a lot easier for me if I just replaced my anti-Trump stickers with "Keep America Great---Trump 2020!" and maybe a Dixie swastika flag. I'd fit right in to my community!
ANYONE in Congress who does not vote to impeach this SOB need not waste their time with "'splainin'"; they are complicit in his crimes.
Let it ride.
stopbush
(24,393 posts)worked on you.
Got it.
Arthur_Frain
(1,846 posts)nt
stopbush
(24,393 posts)Thats how tRump got elected in the first place (with help from the Russians).
Sorry, but Ive been active in Dem politics since 1972. Been through Nixon, Reagan, the Bush boys and now tRump, and I have never felt the need or the PRIVILEGE of taking time off from what is happening politically in our country. Lord knows at my age Id love to be able to take some time off (or to just fucking give up), but thats really not possible when others are busy disengaging from things. SOMEONE has to stay engaged if we expect to save this nation.
wnylib
(21,417 posts)It is difficult.and discouraging to be swimming.upstream with friends and neighbors going in the other direction. Someone asks for a hand in keeping afloat and you offer him/her a sinking.stone instead.
I live in a blue state, near a solidly blue city, but my immediate community and surrounding area is very red. It can get very discouraging being surrounded day in and day out by Magats. Fortunately I have a group of friends who share my views but I still have to interact with the rest of the community.
I,too, have been through Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, and now Trump. Real strength is in alliowing yourself to vent and feel the difficulty, take some R & R, and get back in the fight refreshed and stronger. Weakness is in plowing ahead until you burn out completely and collapse.
Accusing people of weakness and posturing with bravado is Trump's.game, not ours.
Edit to correct typo.
stopbush
(24,393 posts)when Ds captured every single Congressional seat. Katie Porter is my rep.
Ive lived here 11 years. There was little thought that the OC would ever go blue. But it did, because no one gave up on the dream or the possibilities.
Rs here still act as snotty and entitled as they did when they controlled everything, but now I can laugh at them. My favorite line to the Rs I know: it must be difficult to be a R right now when youre part of an ever-shrinking minority.
wnylib
(21,417 posts)your area around. I'm sure it was not easy. Kudos for sticking it out.
My point is that it is human snd normal to be discouraged sometimes. At those times, it is good to reach out to others for.encouragement and support. It is also wise to take a break when you need to.
If we"re going to succeed as a party and a nation, we need to be supportive of each other when the going gets tough.
pnwest
(3,266 posts)had a moment or two of feeling defeated? We always rally, but who hasnt stopped for a moment and thought fuck, I give up when faced with so much unrelenting opposition?
stopbush
(24,393 posts)How does one live with ones self after giving up on our nation and letting the fucking Rs and the Christianistas turn our country into an autocratic Christian theocracy?
pnwest
(3,266 posts)saint. But we mortals occasionally falter and doubt our ability to remain strong. Once in a while we all stumble, pause, and need a breath before rallying and carrying on. Except you, Judgy McJudgerson.
Coventina
(27,084 posts)Atticus said he was taking a break, not giving up. He won't give up.
Get it?
Ferrets are Cool
(21,105 posts)Rules here prevent me from say what I really want to say.
coti
(4,612 posts)This is going to take work, sacrifice and will. Get used to it.
whathehell
(29,050 posts)You get used to it.
magicarpet
(14,143 posts)dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)DanieRains
(4,619 posts)There is hope.
It seems dudes seem to support rapists more than girls.
Whoda Thunkit.
fierywoman
(7,679 posts)impeachment hearings every few weeks!
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)LakeArenal
(28,809 posts)I promise.
Please give a few more shits. Thanks.
kag
(4,079 posts)I ran out of fucks a while back, but I'm sure I have some shits around here to give. I'll bet Atticus can find some too.
maxsolomon
(33,265 posts)You're not in the minority. His ass is getting impeached.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)I too get very distressed with each DAILY outrage from Republican criminals and traitors. But I know in the long run that Trump, at the very least, will not be re-elected. I don't care what the polls say. The only poll that counts is the one held on election day.
So here's a thought to cheer you up. When our new Dem president gets sworn in come Jan 2021, he will put in place a cabinet of decent, honorable, virtuous, law-abiding men and women. All the self-dealing criminal Trump appointees will be sacked. Justice will indict some of the Trump criminals for perjury and obstruction. Science will be back in vogue. Climate change will be addressed. and much much more.
badhair77
(4,214 posts)deplorables. It definitely gets me down at times but I step away from news and the internet and regain my footing to fight another day. Ignore posters who think this is a time for a reprimand. Please take a break to save your sanity. We need your voice, Atticus.
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)If I don't take a break now and then I get very depressed. This has happened a few times already: crying for no reason, bleak outlook, worried for the sake of my country and humanity. Thinking about the children in cages.
I spoke with a crisis counselor at work and she said this is happening to lots of people. Her advice: Take a break from the news. Spend time with people you love and value. Find support groups of like-minded people so you won't feel so alone.
badhair77
(4,214 posts)We cant let him get to us.
Maeve
(42,279 posts)Take a little time off, eat too much turkey (or ice cream or whatever your comfort food might be) and realize that they want you to give up, so you DAMN WILL NOT!! But now and then, ya gotta take a break.
Me, I've been doing some deep house-cleaning so I can see SOMETHING getting better. Back to the fight after the weekend.
True Blue American
(17,982 posts)What I have been doing. Windows, blinds, deep cleaning. I even ordered new swags from Penneys. They are so nice and new. On sale, too.
But today means a 50 minute drive each way. I make the dressing, gravy and today, Peanut Butter pie!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
H2O Man
(73,524 posts)of boxing, I learned the importance of the minute's rest between rounds of a fight.
redstatebluegirl
(12,265 posts)I can't even put stickers on my car without worrying something will happen to it. They steal the signs out of our yard, they leave nasty notes on our cars. The weird thing is there is a higher percentage of people in this state on disability and "relief" than most any other state. They hate socialism though.
Fox news is to blame, totally.
Take a break I have to in order to keep fighting ignorance.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,105 posts)dustyscamp
(2,223 posts)If they didn't exist Americans would have a better life and the country wouldn't be as divided as it is now
certainot
(9,090 posts)and it's reinforced with fox, and the kremlin's been using talk radio since at least 2008
it's propaganda and not just racism and ignorance, whether directly or secondarily through the people around them
and according to new research authoritarian acceptance/embrace of that propaganda is related to sex on the the wrong brain - the result of a genetic predisposition that evolved in homo sapiens over millions of years but particularly the last thousands of years in the 'old world' 'civilizations' that have been repressing sex - resulting in some populations with brain structure that makes them more susceptible to propaganda that's presented with CERTITUDE - that's why limbaguh and trump are so successful -
sex on the wrong brain is caused by masturbation with the hand connected to the left side of the brain
humans need to switch hands
ellie
(6,929 posts)and beat up some MAGATs or point out that they are obvious bots. It will make you feel better. It always works for me!
C_U_L8R
(44,996 posts)they planted their flag on bullshit mountain. It will ultimately collapse under the weight of their own idiocy and corruption.
maryellen99
(3,788 posts)Enoki33
(1,587 posts)New @CNN poll: More than 60% of women now back impeaching Trump and removing him from office.
May: 51% for impeachment and removal.
October: 56% for impeachment and removal.
November: 61% for impeachment and removal.
Botany
(70,480 posts)global warming isn't real, God hates gays (even though he or she keeps making 'em), republicans
are good for jobs and businesses, real Americans stand for the flag, and so on don't try to change
them because only death or a life crisis will stop them for think the way they do. They live in the
Fox Bubble and they are part of the 25% who will never leave Trump.
Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,562 posts)where did the information come from? I know some co-workers who worry he won't be impeached and win the next election but I don't think that. This whole mess id designed to make us give up. I'm not gonna... ...
wryter2000
(46,025 posts)Actually, it sounds like she didn't know the difference between impeachment and conviction. What she meant to say was she didn't support removal. Of course, that's pretty dumb, too.
rainin
(3,010 posts)It wears on my mental health, though. 4 years I've opened my house to her out of duty. Hearing Fox News going on in her room, knowing she drinking from the well of hate, amplifies the pain I feel. Knowing she goes to her white repub church where the magats congregate to reassure themselves they are god's chosen... well, that makes me sick, too.
The Animator
(1,138 posts)Put a block on Fox and OAN.
When she complains, play dumb and say youll call the cable company.
Hey, your house, your rules. If she has to get her news from somewhere, far better for it to come from literally any of the countless other channels.
aggiesal
(8,909 posts)I'll even ask to have the channel changed Faux Snooze on a public TV.
Lock out the channel.
rainin
(3,010 posts)"This channel has been blocked by Parental Lock. To view this content, remove the parental lock" Something like that. I haven't done it yet, because I'll have a steady stream of her church friends and deacons streaming through her concerned for her, believing (not thinking, but believing) that she's being mistreated by angry liberals. I'm not ready to take on her and her church friends yet.
LittleGirl
(8,282 posts)But many of us would not stand for that nonsense in their home and neither should you.
Block Fox for her health as much as yours.
That stuff will rot your brain.
Save yourself. Then save her.
Life will be good.
dustyscamp
(2,223 posts)Just say that you blocked all the news channels so that everyone could have a peaceful Thanksgiving for once
The Animator
(1,138 posts)Maybe they can do you a solid and block the signal on their end. you are the one paying for the service after all.
rainin
(3,010 posts)offered me a a la carte service for about 75$ - $100 more a month. I said 'no thanks". The next remedy they offered was parental controls.
As much as I hate it, it keeps her in her suite and reduces our contact. It's sad, but I don't want to be around her. She parrots everything she hears -- her thing now is how the whistleblower should be identified. Predictable.
DeminPennswoods
(15,273 posts)If you don't want to hear Fox News, block it on your cable box or whatever service you have.
Kaiserguy
(740 posts)and there are days I hate to go out and deal with these right-wing nuts I live with. Every new person I meet I have to wonder if they are a MAGA or a decent person. It's not fun but the good thing is at least I now know that many of the people I once believed to be decent aren't and I have put them out of my life, who needs racist idiots as friends. Maybe some day the hateful Trump fever will break and at least some of them might regret what they did and what they became or maybe they won't as for me I will never waste my time on them again. Take a break from them and rest up because we are in for a long fight to stop America from becoming Nazi Germany.
bluedye33139
(1,474 posts)I live in the inland rural Pacific Northwest, and I've seen possibly one Trump hat in the past three years.
These things must be regional. I've literally never seen any kind of public confrontation about politics in the past few years. Maybe we're more withdrawn and reserved up here.
politicaljunkie41910
(3,335 posts)My husband and I chose this area because the housing was affordable, (new home on a large lot in California) and it was close to our new jobs!!! No more long commutes. Since it was a new community, with 9 homes on our cul-de-sac, we moved in about the same time all our neighbors did. We were, and still are the only black family on our block and there are few if any other black families in our subdivision. But this has been the case in the two homes we lived in previously. But we were tired of commuting long distances to our jobs and Los Angeles County is an expensive place to live. In the 26 years we have lived here only one of the nine families have moved, so we've had the same neighbors. We have a good relationship with all of them, and I don't know what their politics are since we've never really discussed it much.
In the past I have worked only once on election day as, one of the homes in our subdivision was used as an polling place. Also, I worked for the federal government for 26 years and we weren't allowed to work elections back then. Since my husband wasn't a federal employee, he volunteered at the phone banks since he retired earlier than I did. Since then, for the most part of the 26 years we've been here, the polling place has been at a mobile home park's recreation center, about two miles away from our home. All of the people who work there on election day are white, elderly people and they are always friendly and ultra-helpful. I've made it a lifetime habit to not discuss politics with a stranger, or a neighbor unless they bring up the subject first. Their opening is usually a signal whether or not we are going to discuss it much further though. To be honest, we've had some of the most volatile discussions with fellow Democratic family and friends, even though my guess is that most of the people in my neighborhood are Repubs. I guess we've just been lucky that the red part of my county is civilized, or else hides it very well.
aeromanKC
(3,322 posts)And those Senators who vote not to remove will be vilified in the history books. That is a fact. Hopefully we will get to see immediate retribution on those Senators by their loss of their seats. BUT regardless, their tombstone will read what they did NOT do instead of what things they had done in life.
jdanield
(16 posts)wouldn't give up quite yet...............
Should be impeached and removed via
@CNN
polling:
Clinton, 1998:
29% impeach
67% don't impeach
Bush, 2006:
30% impeach
69% don't impeach
Obama, 2014:
29% impeach
70% don't impeach
Trump, 2019:
50% impeach
43% don't impeach
BumRushDaShow
(128,715 posts)(although you'd need a star membership or another post before being able to do one )
I think it is moving to around Nixon territory right when they were about to formally start the impeachment hearings.
NIXON (as of July 1974 - "forced out" question, first column is "should" ) - https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/2018-07/93025.pdf
Gallup - 46% - 38%
Harris - 53% - 34%
(from the CNN article here - https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/12/politics/trump-impeachment-polling/index.html)
Traildogbob
(8,705 posts)I have been a Cowboy fan for 50+ years. The last 20, with the oligarch takeover, has taken a toll. Every second there seems to be hope, it gets crushed from inept, egotistical leadership, (Dictitirship). Put in lackeys and ass kissers, (every coach since Johnson), and tell your followers we are the best in football, because me and my cash.
Tired of soul crushing let downs. The DOJ stay today on the judges rulings yesterday after a stunning 200+ page explanation of the rule of law, the constitution and 3 equal branches of Gov. Makes me, again, sick and ashamed. Time and again, a strong glimmer of hope to end this hell, and the executive, Judicial and legislative GOP senate, show just how lost we are. For gods sake, Fox host cheering on Putin, no laws apply to anything trump, what the hell did I serve for. But, as I have remained loyal to the Cowboys through all the heartbreak, I remain loyal to the oath I took. I will not stand down over frustration, I will fight until the end. For my daughters future. What the hell else we gonna do. We need a little Kurdish, Hong Kong and other citizen's courage to end brutal regime takeover. If we could get in the streets like we get in line on Black Friday to buy China shit we can not afford, we may create a little noise. Any bets on stabbing someone and shootings on Friday over a slightly newer TV, to see Fox bigger and clearer?
mountain grammy
(26,608 posts)Eliot Rosewater
(31,109 posts)are the people who BASH democratic candidates but allege they are liberal or democrats or progressives.
They dont UNDERSTAND there is a HUGE contingent of people who dont vote BECAUSE they think both sides are the same, wrong as they may be, that is what they think.
Just HEARING another person BASH any REAL democratic candidate plants that seed of "dont vote."
And yes, approximately 45 million Americans want you and me and the rest of us gone and they do NOT care how. While most wont participate in our executions or deportations or imprisonment, they will support it.
We are in DEEP trouble, KGB is hacking our voting system as we speak.
soldierant
(6,836 posts)bluedye33139
(1,474 posts)I myself believed that censure was a possible outcome until October.
When I hear an elected officials say that they favor censure over impeachment, I must point out that that is distinct from that politician promising they will vote against the articles of impeachment. They are simply saying that they favor censure over impeachment. There are valid arguments for this.
I think the important thing to look for will be: The votes.
mountain grammy
(26,608 posts)Went out for cocktails with two friends both Democrats. A local we all know came over and we start chatting. Then he say Im sick of this impeachment bullshit and nobody says anything. Then I say. Im sick of all HIS bullshit. The fucking criminal can drop dead right now. One of my friends nods in agreement. The other says.Tell us how you really feel.
ARE YOU KIDDING!!! Thats how anyone with any sense feels.
Yeah I need a break too. Happy Thanksgiving.
Initech
(100,054 posts)But we're still deep red. Just Sunday while at Costco I saw a shirt that said "I Stand For The Flag, I Kneel For The Cross", another shirt that had a cross super-imposed on an American flag, and then my personal, um, favorite was a shirt that said "Drunk Wives Matter". I mean what doesn't ooze class than that?
Ponietz
(2,956 posts)and anyone who refuses to acknowledge this consents to evil.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)will quietly vote democratic, and not tell their magat husbands what they did. Keep on, but you can take down those anti Trump stickers. Don't want you to have people throw rocks at you. That is why votes are secret. To allow people to oppose their neighbors without consequences.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)2020, another bigger blue wave is possible.
Good luck. It must be difficult living in a Trump area.
captain queeg
(10,131 posts)Nothing wrong with that. Come back when you are ready.
deurbano
(2,894 posts)(Hillary's estimate was WAY too low.) I mean, they'll buy ANYthing (Obama not a citizen???!! Trump sent by God??!!!) that their loon snake oil dealers try to sell them. They're so absurdly aggrieved about fabricated bogeyman while ignoring daily overwhelming travesties that are glaringly obvious to anyone with two brain cells to rub together... or any facsimile of a soul. And that's before we even contemplate how they've so thoroughly infested the Executive branch, Congress and the Supreme Court with NO real resistance from any Republican officials. The White House-occupying dirt bag is never so unintentionally revealing as when attempting to project onto innocent others his own depraved characteristics and those of his fellow travelers on this road to Perdition: "SCUM."
Luckily for me, I live in San Francisco, but I was born in the Mississippi Delta and raised in Kremlin Kev's district in the Central Valley, so I've (unfortunately) encountered plenty of deplorables in my life (especially in the family I was born into). Unlike you, though, I have the great privilege of being able to entirely avoid them in these shocking times... or in the case of my rightwing, widowed mother, to set very strict boundaries regarding our interactions (she still lives in Kremlin Kev's district), since I feel compelled to continue to be the dutiful daughter, even though she has always been quite difficult even without the deplorable political views.
So... I feel your pain, and I have no idea how I'd be surviving all this if I had to also endure being surrounded by actual enemies in this struggle. My MAGAt sister has now been liberated by her MAGAt king's ascent to publicly spew whatever lame and vile thoughts have been stewing in her thick and spiteful head....and it turns out she not only RESENTS us, she HATES us. In my sister's case, I think she actually suspects we are "better" as human beings, and a lot of the resentment is really envy. She seems to have an inferiority complex, as I've suspected of all of those who mock San Francisco and other habitats of the "coastal elite"... like they're paranoid we're looking down on them, so they're going to trash us first. (Thankfully, my sister lives 3,000 miles away, and it's very easy to avoid her.)
I didn't know that congresswoman is from a BLUE district! WTF?!! We've got enough to deal with from the deplorables and the I-can't-be-bothereds without mutiny from our actual allies. (Especially AFTER every f*ckin revelation in the last few weeks... not only during the hearings, but in the daily, hourly, increasingly heinous shit-show that is 45's "administration." )
When I need inspiration, I think of those who kept struggling for their whole lifetimes, often with little progress they could experience for themselves, but who heroically advanced the situation for those of us who followed.
And I also turn to music:
kimbutgar
(21,103 posts)One was a teachers aide who was African American and the other an older white guy who didnt surprise me. Both expressed how great MF45 was and was great for the economy. The man was on struggling on social security, drove a car falling apart and the home he inherited needed a lot of work . The woman liked the apprentice show and thats the main reason she supported him.
Those MAGAts I know who live elsewhere are struggling while Im doing ok because I manage my money and force myself to save every month. I pay my credit card off every month. But because I am a liberal I am un-American in their eyes,
Gothmog
(145,046 posts)I run into a good number of MAGA types. Several of my neighbors are or were trump supporters. I do not put bumper stickers on my car for a host of reasons including concerns about the idiots who are out there
I take comfort in that Texas is turning blue. My county flipped and we have hopes for the state will turn blue
Hang in there
BlueTsunami2018
(3,490 posts)When youre mixed in with these people and theres nothing overtly political going on, how are you treated? Are they nice? Are they casually racist? Do they do things that make you uncomfortable?
I find that in my everyday life, none of this partisan stuff matters much.
NCLefty
(3,678 posts)jimlup
(7,968 posts)and the rat fucker republicans have no clue. We need you. All hands on deck. This is not a drill. We have been attacked and the enemy is winning. We may have a worse situation than we realize but remember that you are not alone.
The majority of your fellow patriots are with you. We may prevail but we are essentially in a state of war.
MRDAWG
(501 posts)*
UpInArms
(51,280 posts)Remember that everyone in the choir takes a breath, and the music stays strong and true
We will keep singing while you rest
blakstoneranger
(333 posts)The polls will never tell the real story and if you think conservatives are going to change their mind simply because their "boy" is a criminal, think again. They voraciously supported bush and his iraq invasion even though most of the country thought it was wrong. They continued to support bush when it was proven that iraq had NO weapons of mass destruction. You see it's not the president, it what the president represents. The republican POTUS represents a line between them and the democrats. Trump is simply playing us against each other for his own personal gain. He and his conspiratorial ilk are profiting from pitting the two parties against each other. Like bush said, "you're either with us...or agin us". It's all about winning and not letting the other side win. this is what we are caught up in. I live in a deeply red state of alabama. Trump treats alabama like a disabled step child and everybody in this state knows it. But you will never hear a bad word about the orange menace! They love him. Why because they think it pisses off the democrats. THEY DON'T REALIZE IT YET BUT THE DEMOCRATS DON'T GIVE A FART ABOUT TRUMP, WE CARE ABOUT OUR COUNTRY. TRUMP, WE ARE HAPPY TO SAY, THANKS TO HIS DUMB ASS SUPPORTERS, IS THE RETARDED CHILD OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NOW AND FOREVER. THAT "R" WILL ALWAYS BE STUCK TO THE TRUMP NAME AND EACH AND EVERY REPUBLICAN WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT. THE REPUBLICANS ARE NOT STICKING IT TO THE DEMOCRATS, THE DEMOCRATS ARE LAUGHING HILARIOUSLY AT REPUBLICANS EVERY TIME THAT IDIOT OPENS HIS MOUTH. A SECOND TERM WILL BRING TRUE DISASTER FOR TRUMP JUST LIKE IT DID FOR BUSH. HE HAD BETTER HOPE HE'S NOT REELECTED.
struggle4progress
(118,269 posts)Response to Atticus (Original post)
Chin music This message was self-deleted by its author.