Somebody cheer me up. I just finished episode 6 of "The 1619 Project" and I'm

[sinkingfeeling]

devastated. I'm crying. As a 75 year-old, white woman, I feel like I've failed to change the injustices of the world. The hope I felt throughout the late 1960s until around the mid-90s disappeared. All the progress I thought we'd made is being trampled to death. I'm just so sad to see what's happening in this country and heartsick about Ukraine.

It's hard to continue fighting.

[multigraincracker]

1. Back in the. 60s I read

Black Like Me. Changed my whole life, for the better.

[nevergiveup]

22. I saw John Griffin

at a lecture at Western Illinois University in the 1960's and then read his book "Black Like Me". It also totally changed my life, for the better.

[multigraincracker]

23. Would you love to some of

those wingers try that experiment?

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Sorry, no can do. I'm the same age nd recently went...

into a deep depression thinking of all the wrong turns I've taken over the years.

Now I keep wondering how much time I have left to deal with at least one of them.

Life is not supposed to be easy--once we deal with all of our personal demons, Yellowstone will blow.

[bhikkhu]

3. It just makes you realize - this is what the right doesn't want you to know

If they had their way (and they do have their way in plenty of areas), knowing the truth would be illegal, speaking the truth would be illegal, teaching the truth would be illegal. That's the gist of what we are up against. Our constitution guarantees equality, and they'll do anything they can to prevent that.

[JoeOtterbein]

4. I still feel the pain of finding out that not only did some of my ancestors...

...owned slaves, they raped them.

I know that because I'm related by blood to them.

(tears)

[WarGamer]

6. Where do you stop?

Using Ancestry I've tracked my origins back to the 10th Century in England.

Judging by the status of my ancestors, they probably were involved in executing Catholics... or depending on the century, maybe executing Protestants.

Go back far enough and some ancestor of yours and mine bashed someone over the head with a club that was 100% innocent.

[Ron Green]

48. 10th Century malfeasance in England is completely different

from slavery, Jim Crow and segregation in this country and within our own lifetimes.

So that’s where you stop.

[BannonsLiver]

29. That's heavy.

I don't know how you go on, tbh.

[WarGamer]

5. You're being too hard on yourself...

I understand the emotional investment... but maybe you... or I... never had the power to change it... maybe because it was centuries before we were born?

I mean, do you share guilt for what the Romans did to Carthage in 146BCE?? It was wholesale massacre... they razed the greatest city on the planet simply out of revenge.

You had no more power to stop Scipio from destroying Carthage than you had to stop the capture and exploitation of African slaves.

You can do ONE thing today.

Be a good and kind person, make life better for someone every day even if it's just with a kind word. Be politically active, vote and encourage others to vote.

Other than that... don't get mired in the mess of humanity.

Trust me... after 50 years of studying history I can tell you more blood curdling stories than you'd care to process.

Humans are vicious, cruel animals.

[electric_blue68]

16. Some humans can be vicious, cruel, and drumphf gave many permission. There are many kind,

caring people who do from small acts of kindness, to big endeavors of generosity, plus everything in between.

I will not give up on Humanity, and the good people out there all over.

[BaronChocula]

7. The problems of the world are not all on your shoulders

I hope on some level you are at least grateful and/or satisfied that you are an empathetic person, which it sounds like you are. That goes a long way on its own. That's not to stop you from any further engagement, but there is great value just in you being you.

[Bobespy]

8. Don't fall into despair

Despite everything that has happened, Blacks are doing very well even as they are still targeted by some. We cannot undo what has occurred in this country so all that we can do is to persevere and continue on the journey. I am 81 years old and I still look foreard to every day, to enjoy life and to not get swayed by the negativity that exists. I am 25% Native American and I could become very sad and dejected as a result of what has been to the Indians. Yet, we are still here, thriving in many ways and working to make our country a batter place. Keep your spirit high and forget about the past. Look forward to the future and marvel at our quest for knowing—such as the James Webb Soace Telescope. Isn’t it amazing what is being discovered in the Universe? Plus look at all the technology such as TVs, cell phones, computers, etc. we live in a wonderful place in spite of all the guns and killings. You just have to rise above all of it and shine with a zest for life and an enduring aliveness.

[Hekate]

9. I'm the same age, and felt the same hope for most of my life...

Among other unpaid activities in my life, I served on my County’s Affirmative Action Commission for 13 years, and only left it when two things happened: the citizens of California voted to abolish AA and I could see the end of the Commission coming within the next year; and as I told my colleagues, I could no longer be their chair (after 7 of those years) because I needed to focus on writing a dissertation.

I did that, got my degree, then used up a lot of energy opposing Dubya. I still believed. I still believed all during Obama’s time — I simply had no idea of the depth or savagery of the backlash that was building.

It was Trump’s era that kicked me in the gut, repeatedly, as the naked fascism of Trump and the governmental rot that supported him were revealed.

Joe Biden is an exceptionally good man, but the rot is still there and the SCOTUS picked by Trump crony McGhan and installed by McConnell, delivered another gut-punch with Dobbs. I supported Planned Parenthood for over 50 years…

I no longer know what to do. All the things I thought were settled progress and good for the country, like the Voting Rights Act and Roe v. Wade and Affirmative Action, have been overturned. Fascism is on the rise — along with the sea level. My biggest fear is that when we pass on, the country we leave behind will be mean and shabby, even though Joe Biden provides the countercurrent.

Sorry to be such a downer, but I join you in late night deepest fears.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. You didn't cheer me up, but told me you got what I'm feeling and

why.

[KS Toronado]

19. With the 2024 election being the most important in our lifetimes

We need to hang the FASCISM label on the G卐P and all their elected officials from school board to Congress.
FASCISM has taken over the republican party, we know it as a fact and using true facts gives us the ammo
we need to attack/educate our friends/neighbors/coworkers/strangers in a cafe.

All elections are decided by the independent voters and they do tend to pay attention to politics more than
MAGAts ever will. President Biden even used the word FASCIST or FASCISM in a recent speech, we should
follow his lead and start using it every day. More people hear the words the more they will be looking to
see if they apply where we say they apply. Plus we should start now just like President Biden has done.

One question I've asked Rs "You ever hear the term "fake news" before the Тяцмp presidency?" and then
suggest they go to wikipedia and read what they say about FASCISTS always start by attacking
journalists. "You know just like Hitler did"

[KS Toronado]

12. Bye Bye

[arthritisR_US]

13. I did not know there was a tv series of 1619, what

network is it on? I would really like to see it.

[In It to Win It]

15. Hulu

[burrowowl]

14. Keep fighting! It's the only thing we can do.

I'm 76 and do what I can, but it does seem a bit hopeless.

[electric_blue68]

17. I have read that each generation of white kids are less racist ..read this more than once. Re TFG ..

He gave "permission" to what was/is already there so I think there are not an actual increase overall in racists "just" waaay more visible.

Of course that's still horrific bc we see Charlotte, Baltimore happened because of that "permission". Not to mention all the police brutality going on! That was was usually "invisible" to the larger white population till body cameras, or big cases that made the news thinking back to Yusaff Hawkings, Amadou Diallo, and more before, and since then.

I certainly worry at times for my Afro-American & Afro-Caribbean friends, and some nice former coworkers, bosses etc

On keeping keeping on got to take some serious time for yourself and take a mental, emotional vacation, so you can contribute in the future.

There's horrible stuff going on. Also beautiful, wonderful, clever, intelligence, creative, and kind and caring in action.
I'm thinking my living in a more blue city helps!
.
I won't give up on Humanity.

[Initech]

18. Something got drastically fucked up during Obama's second term.

And people just started unleashing their inner asshole, which allowed Orange Asshole to take control of the republican party and become president. I feel like Gamergate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_(harassment_campaign) ) was the start of the hate, and it just kept escalating from there. People I knew IRL who voted for Obama just flipped and flipped out and never went back to reality, and the propaganda is mostly to blame for that.

I get it, it does feel like it's getting harder to fight the hate. But we have to keep fighting because I know I don't want to live in a religious fascist authoritarian country. That would suck. It's like Yoda says - "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." It feels like we're definitely at the hate stage. But we have to stand up and fight the hate. We cannot let them win.

[vercetti2021]

21. I remember this

God what an absolute shit show. But I always wondered what the hell happened. Around that time in the mid 2010s. People became more hateful and angry. Like some started to see progression in LGBTQ rights, acceptance and such. Then people especially males gamers saw a huge threat to the olden days.

Gaming especially online gaming are huge grounds for right wing recruiters. I've seen them target teens and myself included.

[Initech]

31. I honestly think that Gamergate is where things took a turn for the worst.

We were just beginning get over the stink of the Bush administration, and things were going good. But then it was like we woke up one day and people just started unleashing their inner asshole. I think that if I could pinpoint one event where it started to turn towards the dark side, it would be that. Sandy Hook too. I think that we should have stopped mass shootings then. But nope, that fucking asshole Alex Jones just told people to go nuts.

[inthewind21]

37. It was

the election of Obama period. And we can thank Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and the birthers for making it ok to be out in the open with their racial hatred, anger and general stupidity. After her, the flood gates opened wide and the flood has continued and got worse and worse ever since.

[Warpy]

20. Have you ever gone out of your way to make it worse?

I don't mean something tasteless or tacky falling out of your mouth when you were hungry, tired, or too young to know which way is up, I mean anything from cutting in line because of white privilege to being outright hateful.

If your answer is no, then you've done fine. No, you didn't change the past and if you're like the rest of us, your effect on the future isn't going to be great, either. What we've all got is right now and how we treat other people around us. That's the way we need to judge that face in the mirror.

[Scrivener7]

24. Well, then whatever you do, don't read Caste.

Actually, do read it. You MUST read it. But it had the same effect on me. I had to keep putting it down and waiting a week before I picked it back up. It was absolutely devastating.

But now I'll watch The 1619 Project.

[sinkingfeeling]

26. You misunderstood. I was upset that, as a country, we

haven't done anything to atone for our treatment of blacks or Native Americans I can't force the US government to return Harris Neck, GA to the families that legally owned the land. I can't go back and give land and wealth to freed slaves.

The government gave away 160 acres of fre land to white people during the land rush years, but denied black Americans the means to the same.

I mourn our history (that some don't want taught) and the fact that all the tiny steps forward we fought for and won are being dismantled by the GQP.

[Sympthsical]

34. You're describing original sin - not penance

I'm an ex-Catholic as well.

Real, real hard pass on that whole mess. Absolutely not a concept I want mixed into my ideology.

[Stuart G]

27. Here it is: All people are better off today, then before...Say in the 60s or 70s...

............12. reasons why people are better off today, then before

1. Medical care is much better. Why? Cures for many diseases that were not cured before.
2. Education is available to many that was not available before. (including college)
3. Help for the poor is more available now then before...example: food stamps.
4. Job training is more available, now than before.
5. Communication is more available now........."Wait is this communication...on computers?" :
6. Long distance phone calls are much cheaper than before.
7. Relatively speaking many products are much cheaper than before.
8. More TV stations now than in the 50s
9. Computers are far cheaper than in the 80s or 90s.
10. In many places we have more "LIBERAL" governments than before.
11. Travel is sometimes much cheaper than before
12, Racism and Anti-Gay before far less than before

[BannonsLiver]

28. Maybe not watching it would be a good first step if it makes you hate yourself.

I find these posts to be slightly performative, tbh.

[sinkingfeeling]

44. You toss around the word 'hate' when I said I was disappointed that I couldn't achieve

more to undo the inequality that exists here.

P.S. The 1619 Project is truthful, painful history. I think everyone should watch it and that's why GQP run states have banned it from their classrooms.

[BannonsLiver]

50. Some of that is debatable.

🤷‍♂️

[Sky Jewels]

30. The "kids" are what cheer me up. The kids are all right.

The Millennial and Gen Z generations are much better (yes, in general, with many exceptions, blah blah) than the preceding generations. They're very progressive, and they're not turning more conservative with age. They're overtaking the preceding generations (of which I am a member) in terms of voting numbers. My kids and their friends are older Gen Zers, born late 90s-early 2000s. What an awesome group. I just love them.

I believe that the younger generations won't stand for a United States that makes women third-class citizens and doesn't allow Black people to vote, etc. They want gun control, they want action on climate change, they want student debt relief, they want livable wages, they want affordable universal healthcare, and they want fair taxation of billionaires and millionaires. They're not buying nonsensical propaganda, whether from Fox or religion. They're already working to change our country for the better, from the ground up. That is just about the only thing that gives me hope these days.

[sinkingfeeling]

32. But alot of us older folks were idealistic in our youth as well. I've worked on civil rights,

the ERA, anti-war, abortion rights, immigration, and LGBT issues throughout my life. And all the major achievements of the last 50 years are being overturned by GQP legislatures and SCOTUS. We've failed to change the hearts and minds of 1/3 of the country and even when the polls show a big majority supports something (like keeping Roe vs. Wade), we lose.

[Sky Jewels]

33. True, but there are fundamental differences between the generations at the same ages.

Here's a sobering statistic: Richard Nixon won 52 percent of "under 30" voters in the 1972 U.S. presidential election.

Yet, about 60 percent of under-30s voted for Biden.

Although the anti-war efforts, etc., got a lot of attention and painted a picture of a generation of hippies, the Baby Boomers as a whole were never that liberal in terms of their voting habits.

Also, the Millennials don't seem to be getting more conservative as they age, unlike preceding generations.

We are starting to see the power of Gen Z + Millennials at the ballot box. They're the reason that Trump didn't get a second term, and they're the reason there was no Red Wave. (Well, the young folks + Black women.)

We have just begun to see the effects of overturning Roe. Dobbs will have massive, lingering ramifications for years and decades to come, and these ripples won't favor the GQP.

[Texaswitchy]

36. The younger generations are not that liberal.

Many of them are Republicans.

I have not gotten more conservative with age.

If anything I have gotten more liberal.

Remember 2016, and many refusing to vote for Hillary.

Some of the younger voters are unrealistic in their votes.

I am still holding back my opinions in the younger voters.

[Sky Jewels]

38. Sorry, but you are using anecdotal impressions rather than statistical evidence.

One exception does not prove anything. Of course these are generalities about generations, and of course "not everyone" is in the same category. I swear, every time I post something about a particular generation, somebody says, "Well I'm in that generation and I'm not like that!" Yes, of course. I'd have thought that it goes without saying that these are wide-lens observations that don't apply to all, but they're based on research and statistics, and they give a big-picture overall view of generational preferences and trends, etc.

If you look at hard numbers from the last three election cycles, I believe you will get a different view of the voting habits and impact of Millennials and Gen Z. They have saved our bacon. Without them, Trump would be halfway through his second term. *shudder* and the red wave would have been a reality.

[Texaswitchy]

41. Sorry.

I interview to many young people.

Many of them are conservative.

We do not allow them into the our local Union.

Proud boys, Oath Keepers, and the young Nazi types exist

Look at the people who attacked the our Capitol.

The crowd wanted to kidnap the Governor of Michigan.
Check out their ages.
It kind of hard to forget about 2016.


We are still dealing with Trump.

A lot of people voted for President Biden, even some Republicans.

Everyone was done with Trump.

A lot of old folks voted for Biden, a lot young folks voted for Trump.

Why isn't Stacy Governor, why isn't Beto Governor.

Where was the youth vote.

I do not put a halo over any generation.

I need to see more.

Are we going see another temper tantrum in the next presidential election.

Younger doesn't always mean smarter and more progressive.

My nephews are all Republicans.

[Act_of_Reparation]

45. Statistics exist.

I would suggest you rely on them when drawing inferences, not your anecdotal experience.

[Texaswitchy]

47. Statistics don't vote.

People do.

Where is Governor Stacy in Georgia.

State wide race.

We still are stuck with the same Governor in Texas.

Youth vote, state wide

Didn't show up.

Don't expect any big difference.

[Act_of_Reparation]

49. This right here is exactly why statistics are useful.

Statisticians control for selection bias. You, however, seem entirely unacquainted with the concept.

I don't care how many people you interview. You don't interview enough of them, or as randomly, as is required to get a sample that is representative of all Americans aged 18-24.





Kiesa, A., & Levine, P. (2016). Do We Actually Want Higher Youth Voter Turnout? Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://doi.org/10.48558/5FTF-ES32


Youth turnout has been fairly consistent for the past 40 years. There is nothing to suggest this current cohort is any less reliable, or any more conservative, than 18-24 year olds were in 1972.

[Texaswitchy]

43. Who lost Roe.

The people who didn't want to vote for Hillary.

We were screaming about the supreme court.

My generation didn't take Roe for granted.

We lived the bad old days.

[SYFROYH]

35. Here you go.

We may take 2 steps back after a big leap forward, but we still leap.

[panader0]

39. Take a walk in the woods. Listen to a creek singing or the birds above.

There is so much beauty in the world that you can't see sitting behind a computer watching
the ridiculous news. Enjoy the time you have left in life. Do something kind for someone else,
that'll make you feel better.

[Hortensis]

40. Sounds like you jumped the track. Stop watching THAT and look around.

You're rather amazingly wrong that it's all disappeared.

If you live in a fairly diverse region, go to a middle to upper middle class mall and see who's shopping there. Drop by the lobby of a nice high-rise office building at lunch and see who's coming out of the elevators. Check CSPAN1 and your local government channel when legislatures are in session.

If not, how about MSNBC and CNN as less realistic but super-quick and handy touch-ins with one aspect of reality? Nonwhites who'd have only been there as employees of departments segregated from whites in the 1960s (maintenance, clerical that didn't interact with clients, etc) are in front of the cameras 24/7/365 in this era. As anchors, as true experts on every subject, as regulars subbing as "experts" on every subject.

They all must drive those who really want to return to the '50s and before crazy, proof that the arc of justice is arcing without them. Did you know that 3/4 of Americans APPROVED and sympathized with the #BLM protests?

But, itm, I definitely recommend not continuing with that show until intellectual equilibrium is restored and it's possible to evaluate it in context with reality. If that doesn't happen, find another approach to the subject.

[Samrob]

42. You and I are feeling the same emotions. I had to turn off the news and just watch Netflix and Prim

or Hulu. I was going into deep depression. Reading or watching movies is the only thing that keeps me going these days. I can't even get up enough energy to do my charity volunteer work any more. I think I need help but no one around to help.

[peggysue2]

46. But people are continuing to fight, will continue to fight

You may not be there in the moment and the history truly is daunting, depressing. Doesn't mean after a respite you won't be motivated by the anger, the injustice, the fact that the cretins among us won't own the future unless the collective, majority We stand down and let them.

It's a battle for sure, a continuous slog. That's been the story of any/all progress from time immemorial. There are always setbacks, angry detractors, frequent violence against change, unsettling plateaus, but the march forward is just that, a continuous lean into the future.

Despair is the great enemy bc it gives oppressors space and time.

Just know people are continuing to fight, will continue to fight. For everyone.