I needed this today. You literally are what is keeping me sane, considering how unbelievable that anyone voted for this hateful person. I have had to break my relationship with my two brothers, who are extreme MAGA's, and these relationships are not reparable. I spent my whole career as a high school choir director teaching students, many who identified as LGBTQ. It was heart wrenching observing their struggles in being accepted, and a few resorted to suicide. I hope we will get through the next 4 years, but I have a sinking feeling. Thank you again for your help.
Thank you, Evelyn Rupert, for helping your then students. With LGBTQ family, friends & colleagues, with immigrant friends (and me only 1 gen away from my grandparent immigrants from Eastern Europe), I can’t manage those who intentionally hurt others.
EVELYN RUPERT: If you consider it "unbelievable" that anyone could vote for Donald Trump, your sanity is questionable. You proudly tout your estrangement from your two brothers, as though it is a badge of honor for you. The victory by Donald Trump over the uninspired candidacy of Kamala Harris was thoroughly predictable. Just so you know, I am not homophobic, nor an opponent of same-sex marriage. Your views are far removed from the mainstream, namely your demonization of Trump and your apparent decision to sever ties with your own brothers. It is sad to me that you turn to the snake oil offered by John Pavlovitz and his vitriolic anti-Trump screeds. Since you admit that you are struggling to retain your sanity, you ought to seek professional help. I wish that the DSM would recognize Trump Derangement Syndrome as a genuine mental-emotional disorder. I am sorry that you had to endure the suicide of a few of your students, but the sociological forces that led to that are beyond the scope of my reply. Let it suffice to say that our troubled society and the complex dynamics of peer pressure, personal identity, and a cluster of other forces collectively subject those who are perceived as "different" to horrific pressures at just the point in their lives when they are least able to navigate the angst that results, and most vulnerable to suicide as a way of easing their pain. In various blogs I have written, I have lamented the tragic saga of lyricist Lorenz Hart, the composing partner of Richard Rodgers from the early 1920s until the early 1940s. Hart was painfully short at just 5 feet tall; he was an alcoholic and was gay at a time when the stigma associated with that was many times greater than it is today. He committed a slow-motion suicide by literally drinking himself to death, robbing the world of one of best lyricists who ever lived, which I consider to be a monumental tragedy. Hart viewed himself as a freak due to his extremely short stature, but in terms of his talent and creation of a musicalcanon that few have approached, let alone equaled, he stood very tall. As a music instructor, you probably share my dismay that his genius was cut off when Hart was only 48 years old; be that as it may, I am proud to have a formal photographic portrait of Hart and Rodgers on my wall. Paradoxically, Hart's own angst may have helped him create the beautiful lyrics for such songs as "My Funny Valentine" and "My Heart Stood Still," just to name a couple.
Mr. Pavlovitz has put Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on a pedestal, but they were both deeply flawed as leaders who failed to inspire the electorate. People like Mr. Pavlovitz do not increase the quality of the give-and-take associated with partisan politics; all they do is to foment hatred, resentment and divisiveness. There were legitimate reasons why informed voters declined to give Harris a renewed lease on the White House, reasons that are not vitiated by all of the turgid, overblown rhetoric that is Pavlovitz's stock in trade. I know that Biden considered his 2020 defeat of Trump to be his greatest accomplishment, but his controversial policies as president (mainly his open borders) and 1,001 other failures and shortcomings only succeeded in paving the way for Trump's return to power. We will get through the next 40 months of Trump's term, and after that, very possibly 8 years more of Republican leadership under JD Vance, Ron DeSantis, or Marco Rubio. Trump and his ilk do not threaten our survival, nor do they threaten Democracy.
While you have made some valid points, you showed a decisive lack of critical thinking when u wholeheartedly support Vance, Trump and the GOP!
You are showing your lack of morality and humanity when you support the most immoral leaders who lie constantly, devoid of empathy, caring and integrity!
The current leaders are incredibly greedy and corrupt! Care only about the elite wealthy classes, while abandoning the most vulnerable and lower classes, slashing the social safety nets even for the elderly and medical research of children with cancer! How low can one get to not care about the children and the sick!?
He is a known fraudster and a scammer!
You have shown your own extremism and serious bias by using the derogatory, meaningless labels!
Trump is very vindictive, showing favouritism only to the Republicans and anyone who strokes his ego! Look how vindictive he is towards his critics and political opponents! He has been wanting and working hard to overturn the laws, so he can arrest and imprison them! Executing his critics and political opponents would please him!
He is a diagnosed Malignant Narcissist and a Sociopath, incapable of caring about anyone!
He is a blatant racist, fear and war monger! The extreme racist White Nationalists, neo-Nazi groups adore Trump!
Trump is a pathological liar, documented thousands of his lies!
He removed the environmental protections, giving industries full reign to pollute and poison all of us!
You are in a serious denial! Or just prefer the authoritarian, racist, vindictive, violent , punitive Regime leaders!
Yesterday I had an opportunity to preach on White Christian Nationalism. Yes, really. In Florida, too. And it was liberating. And no one walked out. Small steps.
Although I feel exactly as you described, I realize that today is the day I make my stand to carry out what I've been dreading. I think I've been waiting for some miracle to happen that would keep all of this from coming true. I already "unfollowed" many people with whom I share genetic and familial ties, as well as former friends, but today is the day when I have to finally deal with what I'm going to do with the ten years or so I have left on this planet, it could be even less.
I know nothing is going to be the same; the country I have loved and served is radically different now, taken over by hatred and a desire for complete control by one faction, supported in part by religious zealots. As a seventy-year-old married gay man who lived through so much anti-LGBTQ sentiment from childhood on, I yet again fear for my life and my right to exist. I fear even more for the younger generation and all the transgender people I know. I've never once considered leaving the country for any reason other than pleasure, but it's now on our minds every day. My husband and I recently celebrated our fortieth anniversary together, ten years legally married. What's going to happen to that? We live in a state where, if they had a chance to do so, would negate our rights in a heartbeat.
I appreciate everything you say, and for giving me and others a forum for safely sharing our views. By design, social media is becoming less and less safe. I know we'll need you even more in the future. Today, I feel a deep emptiness in my soul. I hope to fill it with some hope once I develop my plans, but just for today, I rest. Tomorrow, I can start anew and begin sharing with my friends how I plan to survive and help them survive, as well.
I cannot begin to understand how you are feeling at this moment but I wanted to perk up and say that there are many allies out there who are still feeling a sense of shock and looking for direction. Hopefully they'll get their bearings and can start helping members of the LGBTQ+ community and envelop you with comfort. I've been trying my best to let the handful of LGBTQ+ folks in my life know that I am there for them and I will use my voice as a cis white male to push back against the people who wish them harm. It's all we can do but it's far better than doing nothing.
Take time to collect yourself and heal as it appears you are still grieving. You cannot fill from an empty cup.
Several gay and lesbian couples I know and love are leaving the country. Like you, they are older and want to spend the latter part of their lives in peace. Do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself and your beloved husband. And congratulations on 40 years of love!
Tho it is not a day to celebrate, it is to say mazel tov to you on 40 years with your husband. To have waited so long to have a legal marriage took strength.
OMG Michael, sending so much love your way. I can't even imagine the fear you feel, but just know there are so many of us that are here for you and your partner. There will be a better time, just sadly not in the near future!
I just spent the last half hour culling my Facebook friends list. Anyone who was pro-Trump, anti-Biden/Harris, disparaging towards the LGBTQ+ community, or anything else anti-humanitarian got the boot. I'm 50 years old and I'm tired of and do not have time to deal with that shit.
Petty? Sure. Fuck if I care, though. But as John so eloquently wrote (as he always does) your choices define your morals and principles. I'm definitely not perfect and don't claim to be, however, even if Trump were in my best financial interests, and to a degree he is, I could not, nor would not with good conscience pick an amoral disgusting sack of shit who is an adjudicated rapist and convicted felon to the highest office in the USA.
But I will hold the people who did elect him both accountable and in contempt, and that includes some family members.
Wow!!! The thoughts I have been holding for 8 years, the silence I have kept out of misplaced respect, the anger I have transmuted into forgiveness, the fantasies I have had about confronting my siblings! You said it all John and it felt like a release for me. I would just like to add one more element - the 19 million Democrats who stayed home on election day and voted for Trump by proxy. Thank you for voicing my sentiments.
I unfortunately just watched a bit of after-inauguration rambling and heard some of the inauguration speech, and as appalling as the man is himself, what created a massive cognitive dissonance for me is how many many recognizable, decent-looking people are applauding him and making him out to be the "greatest President in the history of our country!" It's not just the deplorables, the uneducated, the ignorant. I am 86. I cannot even tell you how depressing it is to realize that this man will probably be president for the rest of my life! An uncouth, classless, rude, unempathic, evil, misogynistic criminal. Thank you for this. It is comforting at this time. Fortunately I do not have to cut many people out of my life. I have the good luck to live in a very blue bubble and choose my friends according to our shared values.
I get it, Fran. I'm in the same boat. I'm in a very MAGA, Evangelical area and people are constantly babbling about how great he is. Even total strangers feel free to bother us in public. We have very few friends partly as a consequence. We stay in a lot (seniors) because we're tired of it.
Fran, one of my two sons voted for him all three times. We’ve already argued about it, regrettably. He and his older brother are now estranged. I split Christmas Day between their two households. I cannot, and will not, avoid my children. This feels a lot like heartbreak. ❤️🩹
lost a son to cancer 3 years ago- A beautiful, strong man at 27yrs ole. One thing that could have been worse is that he could have been MAGA. I am so proud that I raised a son who had brains and empathy. I pity so much those with MAGA children
It’s more my sisters in law, their children and husbands, and my mother in law. They’ve been there for me since my husband and I were engaged and married 44 years ago. My sons are thankfully not MAGAts, but one has a serious mental illness, and I’m terrified about his medical bills if he loses Medicare.
Franklin Graham was called out in an intelligence document published in 2018 before Trump met with Putin in Helsinki. Franklin Graham had been visiting Putin in Russia and our intelligence community was following him. Franklin Graham supports Putin and his agenda. The intelligence document was critical of Trump’s lack of support for democracy. Franklin Graham is a Putin tool.
I strongly suspect that it’s all about the benjamins, as it is with Joel Osteen. You don’t keep up that kind of lifestyle by giving away more than you take in. Franklin may not be the only one.
Yes - he is a stooge for the Trump right. I watch his commercials at Christmas time and think of him recruiting Americans at their most vulnerable. Franklin is one the Christian Nationalist’s representatives
He actually said that Trump had had 4 dark years, but "look what God had made now". Yeah, I'm looking, Franklin, but it ain't "God" who made it. At least the Dems did not clap or stand. Personally, I think they should have boycotted it.
Thank you for putting it out there in public exactly how I feel. Most of the people around me mercifully believe in the values that I cherish. But there are a few here and there whom I might never identify as one of those individuals. But you've expressed exactly going forward what the rest of us have to do to maintain our sanity and to protect democracy as best we can in all of our actions for the next 4 years.
I also include those who didn’t bother to vote at all (I know of at least three, and I’m in a blue state). You said what difference does it make, you hated them both, etc. That to me says you were too lazy to ask questions, do research, give a damn about the future of your children, never mind the country.
Some of those people genuinely believe that the system is too broken and the only way forward it for it to fall apart. (To me that is a privileged position to take because it is the marginalized groups who will be most hurt), but to them it is the only way. I don't agree with it, but I do understand where they are coming from. The people I know like that are all younger--30s--and they feel that the climate crisis must be address radically and that no one on either side is really doing that. Biden has done a lot in that direction, IMHO, but much of it misunderstood and unreported.
Yeah, those are the ignorant, lazy, privileged, resentful bigots who can't or won't put effort into being the change and cling to the idea of some "tough" guy doing it in one sweep of the hand- AS IF!
But they aren’t. They are very left progressive, not all white (as I referred to in my post). They are completely disillusioned. Some LGBTQ+, etc. They’ve given up on the whole system. They fly under the radar. My point was that the non-voting eligible voters are not monolithic. There are plenty of people there who want what most of us want.
They are people who I very much resent as well, as much as the MAGAts. Ask them if they're happy now. Ask them if it makes a difference who is president. Ask them if it's fine that we become like Russia because the Constitution and the system isn't perfect.
Many, many folks in my area voted for him, including blood relations. I guess they will continue to be CINOs (Christians in name only), not true Christians.
The grief is real, for the death of what could have been a very different day today.
The fear is real, for the least of these among us. Our beloved friends and family who are now being threatened. And yes, also grief for some relationships that must be paused and muted now.
It feels like a mountain of work to try and stop this giddy power trip led by a psychopathic narcissist. But the only way to stop the flood of hate and retribution is for enough people of God's loving goodwill to place sandbag after sandbag of calm, rational disagreement. To continually speak truth to power. To not comply in advance. To practice non-violent resistance to injustice. To encourage our representatives in government to keep working to hold the line of the law and ethical behavior. And to slowly, ever so slowly keep bailing our leaking boat of democracy until we can get to a time and place where we can safely begin to repair the damage. Together with God's help, we can weather this storm.
It is my fervent wish that everyone who reads this piece vows to stay engaged in the resistance, however and whenever you can. Donate to candidates to flip congress, share posts that call out his crimes. March, spend, wear clothing that shows you’re paying attention. Show compassion to those who will soon suffer, and pressure those currently in Congress to actually do their jobs. My list for today includes supporting the Bulwark, Country First, the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. I am luckier than many, I live in a blue state. But I also live in a purple county and have family in red states. This won’t be easy. For anyone but those who sold out, but at least we can fight together. God Bless you all.
My heart hurts for you. I'm honestly glad my parents passed long before any of this began to happen. They would have been horrified by him. Loving your parent is in your nature, and you will continue to love them, no matter what. As you said, the rest of them? Sure, I can envision dramatically altering my relationships.
The same. I can hear my mother (z”l) scream “SOB” (the worst she’d say) about the first or second time. I miss my parents horribly. They who took little me to civil rights events, didn’t tho live to see Obama’s election. I had the same kind of hope this time.
I lost a son to cancer 3 years ago- A beautiful, strong man at 27yrs ole. One thing that could have been worse is that he could have been MAGA. I am so proud that I raised a son who had brains and empathy. I pity so much those with MAGA children
To the people who cast their ballot for Trump….i am sorry for you….i am sorry that you didn’t take the time to understand who DT is. For the wealthy was it the promise that he would give you more wealth…when is enough…enough? For the MAGA’s…did you really vote for him because you couldn’t really understand that he was just a barker and really doesn’t care about you or anyone else? For the Evangelicals…do you really believe he is a Christian…when he lies more times than I count….when can you tell me one good deed he has done…given money to the poor, etc.? He is a grifter….who is only out to make money off of the American people…a Bible…gold tennis shoes…now coins. Watch what he is doing…it was right in the Project 2025 handbook….did you not believe it….but you probably won’t care until it is too late. But I care and I will fight for the rights of people…of women..of the right to vote. I will join you John. Keep up the good work…we are out there listening for your words.
I needed this today. You literally are what is keeping me sane, considering how unbelievable that anyone voted for this hateful person. I have had to break my relationship with my two brothers, who are extreme MAGA's, and these relationships are not reparable. I spent my whole career as a high school choir director teaching students, many who identified as LGBTQ. It was heart wrenching observing their struggles in being accepted, and a few resorted to suicide. I hope we will get through the next 4 years, but I have a sinking feeling. Thank you again for your help.
Thank you, Evelyn Rupert, for helping your then students. With LGBTQ family, friends & colleagues, with immigrant friends (and me only 1 gen away from my grandparent immigrants from Eastern Europe), I can’t manage those who intentionally hurt others.
EVELYN RUPERT: If you consider it "unbelievable" that anyone could vote for Donald Trump, your sanity is questionable. You proudly tout your estrangement from your two brothers, as though it is a badge of honor for you. The victory by Donald Trump over the uninspired candidacy of Kamala Harris was thoroughly predictable. Just so you know, I am not homophobic, nor an opponent of same-sex marriage. Your views are far removed from the mainstream, namely your demonization of Trump and your apparent decision to sever ties with your own brothers. It is sad to me that you turn to the snake oil offered by John Pavlovitz and his vitriolic anti-Trump screeds. Since you admit that you are struggling to retain your sanity, you ought to seek professional help. I wish that the DSM would recognize Trump Derangement Syndrome as a genuine mental-emotional disorder. I am sorry that you had to endure the suicide of a few of your students, but the sociological forces that led to that are beyond the scope of my reply. Let it suffice to say that our troubled society and the complex dynamics of peer pressure, personal identity, and a cluster of other forces collectively subject those who are perceived as "different" to horrific pressures at just the point in their lives when they are least able to navigate the angst that results, and most vulnerable to suicide as a way of easing their pain. In various blogs I have written, I have lamented the tragic saga of lyricist Lorenz Hart, the composing partner of Richard Rodgers from the early 1920s until the early 1940s. Hart was painfully short at just 5 feet tall; he was an alcoholic and was gay at a time when the stigma associated with that was many times greater than it is today. He committed a slow-motion suicide by literally drinking himself to death, robbing the world of one of best lyricists who ever lived, which I consider to be a monumental tragedy. Hart viewed himself as a freak due to his extremely short stature, but in terms of his talent and creation of a musicalcanon that few have approached, let alone equaled, he stood very tall. As a music instructor, you probably share my dismay that his genius was cut off when Hart was only 48 years old; be that as it may, I am proud to have a formal photographic portrait of Hart and Rodgers on my wall. Paradoxically, Hart's own angst may have helped him create the beautiful lyrics for such songs as "My Funny Valentine" and "My Heart Stood Still," just to name a couple.
Mr. Pavlovitz has put Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on a pedestal, but they were both deeply flawed as leaders who failed to inspire the electorate. People like Mr. Pavlovitz do not increase the quality of the give-and-take associated with partisan politics; all they do is to foment hatred, resentment and divisiveness. There were legitimate reasons why informed voters declined to give Harris a renewed lease on the White House, reasons that are not vitiated by all of the turgid, overblown rhetoric that is Pavlovitz's stock in trade. I know that Biden considered his 2020 defeat of Trump to be his greatest accomplishment, but his controversial policies as president (mainly his open borders) and 1,001 other failures and shortcomings only succeeded in paving the way for Trump's return to power. We will get through the next 40 months of Trump's term, and after that, very possibly 8 years more of Republican leadership under JD Vance, Ron DeSantis, or Marco Rubio. Trump and his ilk do not threaten our survival, nor do they threaten Democracy.
While you have made some valid points, you showed a decisive lack of critical thinking when u wholeheartedly support Vance, Trump and the GOP!
You are showing your lack of morality and humanity when you support the most immoral leaders who lie constantly, devoid of empathy, caring and integrity!
The current leaders are incredibly greedy and corrupt! Care only about the elite wealthy classes, while abandoning the most vulnerable and lower classes, slashing the social safety nets even for the elderly and medical research of children with cancer! How low can one get to not care about the children and the sick!?
He is a known fraudster and a scammer!
You have shown your own extremism and serious bias by using the derogatory, meaningless labels!
Trump is very vindictive, showing favouritism only to the Republicans and anyone who strokes his ego! Look how vindictive he is towards his critics and political opponents! He has been wanting and working hard to overturn the laws, so he can arrest and imprison them! Executing his critics and political opponents would please him!
He is a diagnosed Malignant Narcissist and a Sociopath, incapable of caring about anyone!
He is a blatant racist, fear and war monger! The extreme racist White Nationalists, neo-Nazi groups adore Trump!
Trump is a pathological liar, documented thousands of his lies!
He removed the environmental protections, giving industries full reign to pollute and poison all of us!
You are in a serious denial! Or just prefer the authoritarian, racist, vindictive, violent , punitive Regime leaders!
There never were any ‘open borders’! It is ludicrous to suggest such nonsense! Never gone through a border!?
Yesterday I had an opportunity to preach on White Christian Nationalism. Yes, really. In Florida, too. And it was liberating. And no one walked out. Small steps.
Although I feel exactly as you described, I realize that today is the day I make my stand to carry out what I've been dreading. I think I've been waiting for some miracle to happen that would keep all of this from coming true. I already "unfollowed" many people with whom I share genetic and familial ties, as well as former friends, but today is the day when I have to finally deal with what I'm going to do with the ten years or so I have left on this planet, it could be even less.
I know nothing is going to be the same; the country I have loved and served is radically different now, taken over by hatred and a desire for complete control by one faction, supported in part by religious zealots. As a seventy-year-old married gay man who lived through so much anti-LGBTQ sentiment from childhood on, I yet again fear for my life and my right to exist. I fear even more for the younger generation and all the transgender people I know. I've never once considered leaving the country for any reason other than pleasure, but it's now on our minds every day. My husband and I recently celebrated our fortieth anniversary together, ten years legally married. What's going to happen to that? We live in a state where, if they had a chance to do so, would negate our rights in a heartbeat.
I appreciate everything you say, and for giving me and others a forum for safely sharing our views. By design, social media is becoming less and less safe. I know we'll need you even more in the future. Today, I feel a deep emptiness in my soul. I hope to fill it with some hope once I develop my plans, but just for today, I rest. Tomorrow, I can start anew and begin sharing with my friends how I plan to survive and help them survive, as well.
I cannot begin to understand how you are feeling at this moment but I wanted to perk up and say that there are many allies out there who are still feeling a sense of shock and looking for direction. Hopefully they'll get their bearings and can start helping members of the LGBTQ+ community and envelop you with comfort. I've been trying my best to let the handful of LGBTQ+ folks in my life know that I am there for them and I will use my voice as a cis white male to push back against the people who wish them harm. It's all we can do but it's far better than doing nothing.
Take time to collect yourself and heal as it appears you are still grieving. You cannot fill from an empty cup.
Peace be with you.
Several gay and lesbian couples I know and love are leaving the country. Like you, they are older and want to spend the latter part of their lives in peace. Do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself and your beloved husband. And congratulations on 40 years of love!
Tho it is not a day to celebrate, it is to say mazel tov to you on 40 years with your husband. To have waited so long to have a legal marriage took strength.
OMG Michael, sending so much love your way. I can't even imagine the fear you feel, but just know there are so many of us that are here for you and your partner. There will be a better time, just sadly not in the near future!
I just spent the last half hour culling my Facebook friends list. Anyone who was pro-Trump, anti-Biden/Harris, disparaging towards the LGBTQ+ community, or anything else anti-humanitarian got the boot. I'm 50 years old and I'm tired of and do not have time to deal with that shit.
Petty? Sure. Fuck if I care, though. But as John so eloquently wrote (as he always does) your choices define your morals and principles. I'm definitely not perfect and don't claim to be, however, even if Trump were in my best financial interests, and to a degree he is, I could not, nor would not with good conscience pick an amoral disgusting sack of shit who is an adjudicated rapist and convicted felon to the highest office in the USA.
But I will hold the people who did elect him both accountable and in contempt, and that includes some family members.
Ditto. Sad.
Wow!!! The thoughts I have been holding for 8 years, the silence I have kept out of misplaced respect, the anger I have transmuted into forgiveness, the fantasies I have had about confronting my siblings! You said it all John and it felt like a release for me. I would just like to add one more element - the 19 million Democrats who stayed home on election day and voted for Trump by proxy. Thank you for voicing my sentiments.
I unfortunately just watched a bit of after-inauguration rambling and heard some of the inauguration speech, and as appalling as the man is himself, what created a massive cognitive dissonance for me is how many many recognizable, decent-looking people are applauding him and making him out to be the "greatest President in the history of our country!" It's not just the deplorables, the uneducated, the ignorant. I am 86. I cannot even tell you how depressing it is to realize that this man will probably be president for the rest of my life! An uncouth, classless, rude, unempathic, evil, misogynistic criminal. Thank you for this. It is comforting at this time. Fortunately I do not have to cut many people out of my life. I have the good luck to live in a very blue bubble and choose my friends according to our shared values.
I’m struggling with members of my family who likely voted for him. I’m avoiding them.
I get it, Fran. I'm in the same boat. I'm in a very MAGA, Evangelical area and people are constantly babbling about how great he is. Even total strangers feel free to bother us in public. We have very few friends partly as a consequence. We stay in a lot (seniors) because we're tired of it.
Fortunately, most of those relatives live far from us, and I’m living in a good place. But I miss the camaraderie we used to have.
Fran, one of my two sons voted for him all three times. We’ve already argued about it, regrettably. He and his older brother are now estranged. I split Christmas Day between their two households. I cannot, and will not, avoid my children. This feels a lot like heartbreak. ❤️🩹
lost a son to cancer 3 years ago- A beautiful, strong man at 27yrs ole. One thing that could have been worse is that he could have been MAGA. I am so proud that I raised a son who had brains and empathy. I pity so much those with MAGA children
It’s more my sisters in law, their children and husbands, and my mother in law. They’ve been there for me since my husband and I were engaged and married 44 years ago. My sons are thankfully not MAGAts, but one has a serious mental illness, and I’m terrified about his medical bills if he loses Medicare.
Franklin Graham thanked shithead for rescuing 'us' from the darkness of the last 4 years. WTF?
That tells us a whole lot more about Franklin Graham than about anything that happened over the last four years. Not a good look, Frankie Boy!
Franklin Graham was called out in an intelligence document published in 2018 before Trump met with Putin in Helsinki. Franklin Graham had been visiting Putin in Russia and our intelligence community was following him. Franklin Graham supports Putin and his agenda. The intelligence document was critical of Trump’s lack of support for democracy. Franklin Graham is a Putin tool.
I strongly suspect that it’s all about the benjamins, as it is with Joel Osteen. You don’t keep up that kind of lifestyle by giving away more than you take in. Franklin may not be the only one.
Exactly. It is all about the Graham empire.
Wow, I didn't know that. Tells us even more about Frankie Boy, doesn't it?
Yes - he is a stooge for the Trump right. I watch his commercials at Christmas time and think of him recruiting Americans at their most vulnerable. Franklin is one the Christian Nationalist’s representatives
He actually said that Trump had had 4 dark years, but "look what God had made now". Yeah, I'm looking, Franklin, but it ain't "God" who made it. At least the Dems did not clap or stand. Personally, I think they should have boycotted it.
Well, we know that he had no character and is one of the most racist “Christians” on the planet.
Thank you for putting it out there in public exactly how I feel. Most of the people around me mercifully believe in the values that I cherish. But there are a few here and there whom I might never identify as one of those individuals. But you've expressed exactly going forward what the rest of us have to do to maintain our sanity and to protect democracy as best we can in all of our actions for the next 4 years.
I also include those who didn’t bother to vote at all (I know of at least three, and I’m in a blue state). You said what difference does it make, you hated them both, etc. That to me says you were too lazy to ask questions, do research, give a damn about the future of your children, never mind the country.
Some of those people genuinely believe that the system is too broken and the only way forward it for it to fall apart. (To me that is a privileged position to take because it is the marginalized groups who will be most hurt), but to them it is the only way. I don't agree with it, but I do understand where they are coming from. The people I know like that are all younger--30s--and they feel that the climate crisis must be address radically and that no one on either side is really doing that. Biden has done a lot in that direction, IMHO, but much of it misunderstood and unreported.
Yeah, those are the ignorant, lazy, privileged, resentful bigots who can't or won't put effort into being the change and cling to the idea of some "tough" guy doing it in one sweep of the hand- AS IF!
But they aren’t. They are very left progressive, not all white (as I referred to in my post). They are completely disillusioned. Some LGBTQ+, etc. They’ve given up on the whole system. They fly under the radar. My point was that the non-voting eligible voters are not monolithic. There are plenty of people there who want what most of us want.
They are people who I very much resent as well, as much as the MAGAts. Ask them if they're happy now. Ask them if it makes a difference who is president. Ask them if it's fine that we become like Russia because the Constitution and the system isn't perfect.
And will be immediately undone where possible.
Strongly concur.
Many, many folks in my area voted for him, including blood relations. I guess they will continue to be CINOs (Christians in name only), not true Christians.
"CINOs (Christians in name only)"
I like that. May borrow it, if you don't mind. Really says it all, doesn't it?
You're welcome to it.
I have been encouraging a similar term CHRINO for Christians In Name Only. We think alike!
The grief is real, for the death of what could have been a very different day today.
The fear is real, for the least of these among us. Our beloved friends and family who are now being threatened. And yes, also grief for some relationships that must be paused and muted now.
It feels like a mountain of work to try and stop this giddy power trip led by a psychopathic narcissist. But the only way to stop the flood of hate and retribution is for enough people of God's loving goodwill to place sandbag after sandbag of calm, rational disagreement. To continually speak truth to power. To not comply in advance. To practice non-violent resistance to injustice. To encourage our representatives in government to keep working to hold the line of the law and ethical behavior. And to slowly, ever so slowly keep bailing our leaking boat of democracy until we can get to a time and place where we can safely begin to repair the damage. Together with God's help, we can weather this storm.
It is my fervent wish that everyone who reads this piece vows to stay engaged in the resistance, however and whenever you can. Donate to candidates to flip congress, share posts that call out his crimes. March, spend, wear clothing that shows you’re paying attention. Show compassion to those who will soon suffer, and pressure those currently in Congress to actually do their jobs. My list for today includes supporting the Bulwark, Country First, the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. I am luckier than many, I live in a blue state. But I also live in a purple county and have family in red states. This won’t be easy. For anyone but those who sold out, but at least we can fight together. God Bless you all.
I committed to the Resistance long ago. At almost 78, I’m not leaving without helping fix it with education and donations. Promise.
I move we give them the name they earned by their actions. They are psychopathic neo-fascists by definition. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/more-names-than-carter-has-little?r=3m1bs
Wow. This was dark. I feel the same way but have a very hard time turning my back on my elderly parent. The rest of them though? Sure.
My heart hurts for you. I'm honestly glad my parents passed long before any of this began to happen. They would have been horrified by him. Loving your parent is in your nature, and you will continue to love them, no matter what. As you said, the rest of them? Sure, I can envision dramatically altering my relationships.
The same. I can hear my mother (z”l) scream “SOB” (the worst she’d say) about the first or second time. I miss my parents horribly. They who took little me to civil rights events, didn’t tho live to see Obama’s election. I had the same kind of hope this time.
I lost a son to cancer 3 years ago- A beautiful, strong man at 27yrs ole. One thing that could have been worse is that he could have been MAGA. I am so proud that I raised a son who had brains and empathy. I pity so much those with MAGA children
To the people who cast their ballot for Trump….i am sorry for you….i am sorry that you didn’t take the time to understand who DT is. For the wealthy was it the promise that he would give you more wealth…when is enough…enough? For the MAGA’s…did you really vote for him because you couldn’t really understand that he was just a barker and really doesn’t care about you or anyone else? For the Evangelicals…do you really believe he is a Christian…when he lies more times than I count….when can you tell me one good deed he has done…given money to the poor, etc.? He is a grifter….who is only out to make money off of the American people…a Bible…gold tennis shoes…now coins. Watch what he is doing…it was right in the Project 2025 handbook….did you not believe it….but you probably won’t care until it is too late. But I care and I will fight for the rights of people…of women..of the right to vote. I will join you John. Keep up the good work…we are out there listening for your words.
Frankly, it didn't take much time to find evidence of DT's despicableness, such numerous statements, actions and facts were/are readily available.