One of the things that always impressed me about humanity in general, and, (as a Brit), America in particular, is their ability to bounce back.
And bounce back you will, because that's what you do.
All dictators ultimately fall, and this current plonker is no exception. There will be a reckoning, both for him and for his toadies, cronies and sycophants. Even if he croaks before that reckoning, there will still be plenty of them left to still give that reckoning.
Every morning at 0600, in my car, I listen to the News on BBC Radio 4. And every morning I prepare myself to be disappointed that there is nothing in the news about the Orange One's demise. And every morning, I have indeed been disappointed. But every morning I keep my appointment with the BBC News, because I mean the clock carries on ticking, and he's 79, ffs... and that means that, one morning hopefully in the not-too-distant future, there will be some good news from that side of the Pond for me at 0600 in my car.
Thank you, Tony, for thinking of us. We are fighting like hell and need all the uplift. The damage of this regime is more than I can take sometimes and I know it will get worse. But there is a rise ... believe it. I read it in the comments to the awesome Substackers who share their time, talent, wisdom and insights with us. And I see it in the weekly protests and meetings I attend. People (like me) who NEVER thought she would lead ANYTHING are attending leadership, organizing and de-escalation trainings by Indivisible, Pramila Jayapal and others. This nightmare attempt to destroy this country that I love, with all her imperfections and aspirations, is so much bigger than my insecurities.
And thank goodness for BBC ... it's always been a go to for reliable information. More important than ever in these days.
And a BIG THANK YOU, John -- boy howdy, did we need that reminder!
And a vast, all-encompassing hug for all of you out there who are hanging in there, hanging on, holding steady and determined, and not letting the bastards grind you down! WE SHALL OVERCOME! And we will keep our humanity while doing so!
Allow me to recommend this below: **Please read Dano Pierce's beautifully written comment**
Yes, I feel it too, the daily exhaustion with every report and commentary I read and each segment of the daily news. Sometimes it feels like we are losing. I am not sure sometimes I have the power to keep going, I am 72 and have had a history of activism and doing the right thing regardless of the crowd-think or blowback. I remain yet undaunted. I am attending a protest today, my partner (77) is a de-escalator and is going early for more training. Most of the activist locally are seniors, almost seniors. Where are the young people? I have seen only a few. Have they given up? I belong to a faith community, we are mostly seniors, the church is struggling but very involved in good works of kindness and politically. They all express worry, concern, and fear. I hear this is their voices and prayer concerns. We are doing the best we can. I am doing the very best I spend 2 to 4 hours a day reading commentaries, news and viewing live videos all politically oriented: sometimes longer. I try to digest, take notes, comment and share. I have neglected other areas of of my life as a result. Even with health issues we are trying to maintain a level of activism but we are worried when we will be labeled evil by the powers in charger? We actually already have by certain preachers, and politicians. We are queer. We have been together going on 30 years. We sometimes get depressed by the slander and accusations thrown at us or hearing we should be lined up against a wall and shot in the back of the head. Yes, a few preachers proudly spew such horrible words and their congregations cheer. We feel vulnerable in many ways because we are queer, liberal and outspoken. (In our younger years we were activists protesting for AIDS awareness and more funding for medical research as we watched out friend die around us.)
A word to those like us. As you endeavor to resist and speak truth to power, please take time to take care of yourself, do things you love, keep close to supportive family and friends and don't isolate. If you are feeling bad, depressed, or defeated, reach out to someone you trust who will listen to you without judgement. Make sure you eat healthy, get exercise and not overdo alcohol or other things you might become addicted to. I know how depression can lead to addiction when your life and the world around you seems careening toward destruction.
We may be in for a very rough ride but all this will pass. The demagogues will come and go and the mighty will fall by the very power they seek to yield and control. Their arrogance and conceit will be their downfall. Meanwhile down here in the trenches, we have work to do and remember it is not all on your shoulders alone. Find others of like mind who are mutually supportive and work together. I have realized that I cannot fix all this alone but I can fix myself and keep focused. I can change things around me through kindness and keeping an open mind and heart. I try to listen to people respectfully even they don't make sense or I do not agree with their views. The present rulers in control want us to hate each other, suspect each other and accuse each other, divide and conquer, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and constant doubt. They are trying to constantly "fu*k with our minds and exhaust our spirits into submission and passivity. Don't let them steal your thunder. Hang in there, empathy, kindness and decency are your superpowers. Sometimes activism is slow and steady, and quietly done behind closed doors, sometimes it is loud and in the streets. I think we need both right now in order to make good trouble. May light shine forth!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Dano!!! Your beautifully written words here are a tonic for our souls and words to live by and resist by! I want to be more like you when I grow up! (I'm 75)
Between what you've written here and John's words today, I'm refortified and refreshed. Again, thank you kindly, and God bless you.
Thanks to all who wrote here with encouragement to give energy that rejects despair.
As someone who is retirement age but still working, it is difficult to find the hours to stay well-informed and communicate with others snd go to protests on top of working, commuting, managing a household and caregiving for family or neighbors. (That’s where some of the younger people are.) The fact that we must pick up these extra responsibilities because elected officials we pay to do this work are neglecting their duties to follow a conman criminal adds to the anger.
I myself frequently that we can be thankful that we are not in Ukraine or Myanmar or Sudan, where the demands to stay hopeful and keep fighting are even tougher. We can draw from the spirit our ancestors embraced in other dark times. A medallion my grandfather received in 1914 has N.D engraved on it…Latin for
“No Despair.” He was in the US Army in France near the end of WWI and served as a chaplain in WWII. If we stay focused, we can turn this around.
Thank you, Becky ~~ beautifully said and so much appreciated! I'm tucking away what you wrote about your grandfather's medallion with N.D. engraved on it... “No Despair.” Well worth keeping in mind.
It's that rapid carpet bombing that makes it so difficult. In my 84 years, I've never seen a president do so much so quickly, then change his mind, then change it back again. He's running at full speed 24/7 and getting crazier/more demented every day. We need to recognize his pattern, take a deep breath and regain the center that we keep getting pushed off. Find like-minded people with whom you can vent, the figure out what you personally can do to bring some sanity back to the country.
“On television, Quaid Parker told all who would listen that, “ 'Those who seek to profit from the unfair and unjustified suffering of others may sense many of those others now finding their legs and their hearts. They may fear that these vast, scattered, faceless 'others' may soon be standing up against them.
“ 'Some might see this writing on the wall and seek to paint over it with words of anger, and racism. Spread foul rumors, write cruel laws, try to strike these do-gooders down.
“ 'Those driven by selfishness may fear these changes-in-process; any movement toward greater compassion and a community of sharing. Fearing anything that challenges their greed, they try to beat it back with orchestrated hatred and legislated abuse.
“ 'There are great minds and hearts who are festering and rotting on our streets while our halls of alleged justice, and puerile government leaders are ruling over the people with minds and hearts having room only for themselves.
“ 'We can almost feel their souls shriveling even as they take on ever more unyielding and unscrupulous power.
“ 'Compromise might not always be called for when dealing with such as these. In fact, it might often be naïve.
“ 'Even dangerous.
“ 'We have seen this all too clearly. We have each of us suffered from the radical, uncaring selfishness of our leadership. We yield a little more, and a little more, only to watch them take more than we can spare.
“ 'But we dare not give in any longer. We must yield no more ground.
“ 'We must stand strong.
“ 'Those of greater heart; invigorated and encouraged by this radical new blossoming; must step into it. Take it on. Let it empower us individually by empowering us all.' ”
The nihilists are making me foulmouthed and incredibly angry but they WILL NOT break me. I try to keep the four letter words out of my speech and only in my mind. Also, I pray every morning that God will let my anger only be righteous. I put all my trust in God who controls my life and my future. Thank you for your encouragement.
in my Los Angeles community, we are still cleaning up the physical and psychological damage of Eaton fire and now dealing with DAILY attacks from roving squads of masked, armed men who are dragging our neighbors into unmarked cars and taking them away. Is it ICE? Traffickers? Vigilantes? They won't show ID and we honestly don't always know who they are. Some of this makes the news but like the fires, it is so much worse than you can imagine until you see it in person. Even those of us who have years of experience with harsh law enforcement tactics are rattled by these abductions.
The people who are disappearing are not criminals, they aren't even necessarily migrants, they are being targeted for being brown or for speaking Spanish. It is a campaign of terror that we are facing night and day here.
I'm committed to non-violent but very active resistance and every morning before I leave the house, I read your article "the bullies are every where right now". It helps. I share them with others and it helps them too. And yes, these f*ckers really are trying to break us.
Please don't stop writing articles like this. We need the encouragement.
Please know that we hear you and share your horror re what's happening with ICE or whoever the fuck they are: grabbing and kidnapping people is a nightmare to all with any humanity -- my daughter and I are terrified for my grandson, who is indigenous, and his partner, whose family is from Central America and has lived here for many decades and she was born here. They are at risk for being violently manhandled and dragged into those unmarked vans by masked thugs for walking while brown. Note: Yes, some indigenous have been swept up in this dragnet. The Orange Malignance's agenda is to make this an all-white nation, which is vile and egregious and against everything we are and stand for as a people. Very very very scary times.
Yes, "It is a campaign of terror that we are facing night and day" and not just in the LA area (where my grandkid and his partner live, too), though that is a big hot spot for the ICE terrorists. "And yes, these f*ckers really are trying to break us."
Keep standing tough and fierce but kind, Lori -- sounds like you're hanging in there okay and keeping a good head on your shoulders. Love and hugs sent your way from me, Floof.
Just remember what your proctologist says: this too shall pass. Meaning this shit show.
Thanks, John, for your words of encouragement. I am in this fight for as long as it takes to restore the true spirit of our beloved democracy and then afterwards to keep it alive and expanding. In the words of Justice Ginsburg, “ When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
I’ve got this tagged to read later today. But I just want to tell you that the word ‘fuck’ and all its derivatives - Fuckery, fucktard, what the fuck, etc. is very present and a regular part of this seminary trained chaplain’s conversation. It’s a very handy and necessary word these days.
Hey, Mona, just so you know: the etymology of the word "fuck" traces it back about 1500 years when it originally meant bludgeon or rape. Viking in origin, if I remember correctly. "I'm gonna fuck you up" comes very close to applying the original meaning.
Today's abundant usage of the word and its derivatives absolutely applies to the violence this vile administration is committing on the people of this country, and equally applies to our outraged reactions. Couldn't be more apt.
Amen John! Yes, there are days when I want to hide and cry and never go out again. However, the God of indescribable love holds onto me, strengthens me and picks me back up to keep the fight going. I will never give in to the bastards! With God on my side, I will continue on spreading his love and hope! Thank you for this message. It was definitely what I needed today!
One of the things that always impressed me about humanity in general, and, (as a Brit), America in particular, is their ability to bounce back.
And bounce back you will, because that's what you do.
All dictators ultimately fall, and this current plonker is no exception. There will be a reckoning, both for him and for his toadies, cronies and sycophants. Even if he croaks before that reckoning, there will still be plenty of them left to still give that reckoning.
Every morning at 0600, in my car, I listen to the News on BBC Radio 4. And every morning I prepare myself to be disappointed that there is nothing in the news about the Orange One's demise. And every morning, I have indeed been disappointed. But every morning I keep my appointment with the BBC News, because I mean the clock carries on ticking, and he's 79, ffs... and that means that, one morning hopefully in the not-too-distant future, there will be some good news from that side of the Pond for me at 0600 in my car.
And great will be my rejoicing.
Thank you, Tony, for thinking of us. We are fighting like hell and need all the uplift. The damage of this regime is more than I can take sometimes and I know it will get worse. But there is a rise ... believe it. I read it in the comments to the awesome Substackers who share their time, talent, wisdom and insights with us. And I see it in the weekly protests and meetings I attend. People (like me) who NEVER thought she would lead ANYTHING are attending leadership, organizing and de-escalation trainings by Indivisible, Pramila Jayapal and others. This nightmare attempt to destroy this country that I love, with all her imperfections and aspirations, is so much bigger than my insecurities.
And thank goodness for BBC ... it's always been a go to for reliable information. More important than ever in these days.
I hope for that good news every day as well, Tony!
Thank you! I do the same at 5 am. In the Midwest. I'm disappointed daily, but I won't give up that hope, either..
God, I needed this today. Thank you for reminding me what this fight is all about and, most importantly, that it is not fucking over.
Exactly my thoughts! Thank you, Carla!
And a BIG THANK YOU, John -- boy howdy, did we need that reminder!
And a vast, all-encompassing hug for all of you out there who are hanging in there, hanging on, holding steady and determined, and not letting the bastards grind you down! WE SHALL OVERCOME! And we will keep our humanity while doing so!
Allow me to recommend this below: **Please read Dano Pierce's beautifully written comment**
Yes, I feel it too, the daily exhaustion with every report and commentary I read and each segment of the daily news. Sometimes it feels like we are losing. I am not sure sometimes I have the power to keep going, I am 72 and have had a history of activism and doing the right thing regardless of the crowd-think or blowback. I remain yet undaunted. I am attending a protest today, my partner (77) is a de-escalator and is going early for more training. Most of the activist locally are seniors, almost seniors. Where are the young people? I have seen only a few. Have they given up? I belong to a faith community, we are mostly seniors, the church is struggling but very involved in good works of kindness and politically. They all express worry, concern, and fear. I hear this is their voices and prayer concerns. We are doing the best we can. I am doing the very best I spend 2 to 4 hours a day reading commentaries, news and viewing live videos all politically oriented: sometimes longer. I try to digest, take notes, comment and share. I have neglected other areas of of my life as a result. Even with health issues we are trying to maintain a level of activism but we are worried when we will be labeled evil by the powers in charger? We actually already have by certain preachers, and politicians. We are queer. We have been together going on 30 years. We sometimes get depressed by the slander and accusations thrown at us or hearing we should be lined up against a wall and shot in the back of the head. Yes, a few preachers proudly spew such horrible words and their congregations cheer. We feel vulnerable in many ways because we are queer, liberal and outspoken. (In our younger years we were activists protesting for AIDS awareness and more funding for medical research as we watched out friend die around us.)
A word to those like us. As you endeavor to resist and speak truth to power, please take time to take care of yourself, do things you love, keep close to supportive family and friends and don't isolate. If you are feeling bad, depressed, or defeated, reach out to someone you trust who will listen to you without judgement. Make sure you eat healthy, get exercise and not overdo alcohol or other things you might become addicted to. I know how depression can lead to addiction when your life and the world around you seems careening toward destruction.
We may be in for a very rough ride but all this will pass. The demagogues will come and go and the mighty will fall by the very power they seek to yield and control. Their arrogance and conceit will be their downfall. Meanwhile down here in the trenches, we have work to do and remember it is not all on your shoulders alone. Find others of like mind who are mutually supportive and work together. I have realized that I cannot fix all this alone but I can fix myself and keep focused. I can change things around me through kindness and keeping an open mind and heart. I try to listen to people respectfully even they don't make sense or I do not agree with their views. The present rulers in control want us to hate each other, suspect each other and accuse each other, divide and conquer, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and constant doubt. They are trying to constantly "fu*k with our minds and exhaust our spirits into submission and passivity. Don't let them steal your thunder. Hang in there, empathy, kindness and decency are your superpowers. Sometimes activism is slow and steady, and quietly done behind closed doors, sometimes it is loud and in the streets. I think we need both right now in order to make good trouble. May light shine forth!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Dano!!! Your beautifully written words here are a tonic for our souls and words to live by and resist by! I want to be more like you when I grow up! (I'm 75)
Between what you've written here and John's words today, I'm refortified and refreshed. Again, thank you kindly, and God bless you.
Thank so much, blessings upon your life journey!
Thanks to all who wrote here with encouragement to give energy that rejects despair.
As someone who is retirement age but still working, it is difficult to find the hours to stay well-informed and communicate with others snd go to protests on top of working, commuting, managing a household and caregiving for family or neighbors. (That’s where some of the younger people are.) The fact that we must pick up these extra responsibilities because elected officials we pay to do this work are neglecting their duties to follow a conman criminal adds to the anger.
I myself frequently that we can be thankful that we are not in Ukraine or Myanmar or Sudan, where the demands to stay hopeful and keep fighting are even tougher. We can draw from the spirit our ancestors embraced in other dark times. A medallion my grandfather received in 1914 has N.D engraved on it…Latin for
“No Despair.” He was in the US Army in France near the end of WWI and served as a chaplain in WWII. If we stay focused, we can turn this around.
Thank you, Becky ~~ beautifully said and so much appreciated! I'm tucking away what you wrote about your grandfather's medallion with N.D. engraved on it... “No Despair.” Well worth keeping in mind.
It's that rapid carpet bombing that makes it so difficult. In my 84 years, I've never seen a president do so much so quickly, then change his mind, then change it back again. He's running at full speed 24/7 and getting crazier/more demented every day. We need to recognize his pattern, take a deep breath and regain the center that we keep getting pushed off. Find like-minded people with whom you can vent, the figure out what you personally can do to bring some sanity back to the country.
HEAR, HEAR!!! Well said!!!
"First they came for..."
Don't you know how the poem ends?
"Never Again" applies to all people.
Weren't your ancestors immigrants?
You can look away, but you can't say you didn't know.
NO ICE, Death Camps, Deportations
Some of our signs for today's protests.
Yep
Fuck them. I can do this all day.
“On television, Quaid Parker told all who would listen that, “ 'Those who seek to profit from the unfair and unjustified suffering of others may sense many of those others now finding their legs and their hearts. They may fear that these vast, scattered, faceless 'others' may soon be standing up against them.
“ 'Some might see this writing on the wall and seek to paint over it with words of anger, and racism. Spread foul rumors, write cruel laws, try to strike these do-gooders down.
“ 'Those driven by selfishness may fear these changes-in-process; any movement toward greater compassion and a community of sharing. Fearing anything that challenges their greed, they try to beat it back with orchestrated hatred and legislated abuse.
“ 'There are great minds and hearts who are festering and rotting on our streets while our halls of alleged justice, and puerile government leaders are ruling over the people with minds and hearts having room only for themselves.
“ 'We can almost feel their souls shriveling even as they take on ever more unyielding and unscrupulous power.
“ 'Compromise might not always be called for when dealing with such as these. In fact, it might often be naïve.
“ 'Even dangerous.
“ 'We have seen this all too clearly. We have each of us suffered from the radical, uncaring selfishness of our leadership. We yield a little more, and a little more, only to watch them take more than we can spare.
“ 'But we dare not give in any longer. We must yield no more ground.
“ 'We must stand strong.
“ 'Those of greater heart; invigorated and encouraged by this radical new blossoming; must step into it. Take it on. Let it empower us individually by empowering us all.' ”
- From “The Soul Hides in Shadows.”
Nationwide protest today. Good trouble. Be there or be square
The nihilists are making me foulmouthed and incredibly angry but they WILL NOT break me. I try to keep the four letter words out of my speech and only in my mind. Also, I pray every morning that God will let my anger only be righteous. I put all my trust in God who controls my life and my future. Thank you for your encouragement.
“Let my anger be righteous” I’m not religious but that is an excellent mantra that I will incorporate in my personal coping toolkit
John -Thank you for this.
in my Los Angeles community, we are still cleaning up the physical and psychological damage of Eaton fire and now dealing with DAILY attacks from roving squads of masked, armed men who are dragging our neighbors into unmarked cars and taking them away. Is it ICE? Traffickers? Vigilantes? They won't show ID and we honestly don't always know who they are. Some of this makes the news but like the fires, it is so much worse than you can imagine until you see it in person. Even those of us who have years of experience with harsh law enforcement tactics are rattled by these abductions.
The people who are disappearing are not criminals, they aren't even necessarily migrants, they are being targeted for being brown or for speaking Spanish. It is a campaign of terror that we are facing night and day here.
I'm committed to non-violent but very active resistance and every morning before I leave the house, I read your article "the bullies are every where right now". It helps. I share them with others and it helps them too. And yes, these f*ckers really are trying to break us.
Please don't stop writing articles like this. We need the encouragement.
VERY WELL SAID! Thank you, Lori --
Please know that we hear you and share your horror re what's happening with ICE or whoever the fuck they are: grabbing and kidnapping people is a nightmare to all with any humanity -- my daughter and I are terrified for my grandson, who is indigenous, and his partner, whose family is from Central America and has lived here for many decades and she was born here. They are at risk for being violently manhandled and dragged into those unmarked vans by masked thugs for walking while brown. Note: Yes, some indigenous have been swept up in this dragnet. The Orange Malignance's agenda is to make this an all-white nation, which is vile and egregious and against everything we are and stand for as a people. Very very very scary times.
Yes, "It is a campaign of terror that we are facing night and day" and not just in the LA area (where my grandkid and his partner live, too), though that is a big hot spot for the ICE terrorists. "And yes, these f*ckers really are trying to break us."
Keep standing tough and fierce but kind, Lori -- sounds like you're hanging in there okay and keeping a good head on your shoulders. Love and hugs sent your way from me, Floof.
Just remember what your proctologist says: this too shall pass. Meaning this shit show.
I'm not going to give in. I'm being defiantly happy, loving and fierce
Not Possible. I’m dug in. Immovable in my conviction that their atrocities are an affront to ALL things Jesus Christ. Period.
Thanks, John, for your words of encouragement. I am in this fight for as long as it takes to restore the true spirit of our beloved democracy and then afterwards to keep it alive and expanding. In the words of Justice Ginsburg, “ When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
Thank you, Linda, for that quote from Justice Ginsburg (and thank you, RBG!),
"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
RESIST & PERSIST!!!
Never forget. Never forgive. Never surrender.
K'plagh!
I’ve got this tagged to read later today. But I just want to tell you that the word ‘fuck’ and all its derivatives - Fuckery, fucktard, what the fuck, etc. is very present and a regular part of this seminary trained chaplain’s conversation. It’s a very handy and necessary word these days.
Hey, Mona, just so you know: the etymology of the word "fuck" traces it back about 1500 years when it originally meant bludgeon or rape. Viking in origin, if I remember correctly. "I'm gonna fuck you up" comes very close to applying the original meaning.
Today's abundant usage of the word and its derivatives absolutely applies to the violence this vile administration is committing on the people of this country, and equally applies to our outraged reactions. Couldn't be more apt.
Amen John! Yes, there are days when I want to hide and cry and never go out again. However, the God of indescribable love holds onto me, strengthens me and picks me back up to keep the fight going. I will never give in to the bastards! With God on my side, I will continue on spreading his love and hope! Thank you for this message. It was definitely what I needed today!