I’ve already mailed in my ballot, and I volunteered to be a poll worker (though they haven’t gotten in touch). With a week (maybe two) to go before we get the result, I feel caught in a limbo. It feels more important to me to be copying my important documents and organizing go-bags to be ready for a crisis than it does to do anything at work. I also recognize that that is probably a reaction to stress and anxiety and isn’t helping me. That said, I’m part of many groups that the right-wing hates and is openly threatening, so feeling unsafe doesn’t feel unreasonable either.
How are you all holding up out there? And tips for me to deal with this better?
Not great… I’m not a US citizen yet so voting isn’t possible. Only thing I could do is vote with my feet… so I moved out of Texas for good earlier this year. I think my current location is as safe as it gets in regards to avoiding political violence (since I’m not exactly in a group that the right isn’t threatening) so there’s that
Other than that? Nothing… If the worst happens I’ll just hole-up in the building and ask my boss for permission to work from home
I feel you on voting with your feet. I left beet-red Indiana for a Democratic-leaning swing state a few years ago. And yet, once you get outside the city by just a few minutes, it’s Trump signs everywhere. Doesn’t feel very reassuring.
It’s cliche to talk about moving to Canada after a US election, but I have started to collect my passport and papers and look at multiple countries for ease of entry, in case shit hits the fan.
If you don’t have a valuable skill/trade or family to sponsor you, moving to another country is not typically an option for most people. Also probably the worst time to move to Canada as there is a growing anti immigrant sentiment.
Fortunately, I have advanced degrees and an internationally recognized professional certification, and my partner is a doctor. I don’t imagine emigrating would be easy by any stretch, but I think we’d have better odds than if we didn’t have those credentials.
Good point on Canada. I’ve also been looking at Panama or Costa Rica. Europe may be an option (I work in clean energy and remember Macron’s outreach to climate scientists after Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement), but may be harder.
Honestly, other than voting and trying to get those around me to actually give a shit, I’m not. Like in the past two elections, I’m having trouble grasping the fact that half of the (voting) country wants to elect a fascist. My mother told me over the phone that one of our neighbors is voting for Trump because “his wife is absolutely gorgeous”. Like, how do you even respond to that, especially in any calm way?
Oh, and someone here reminded me: cannabis. Lots and lots of it.
Oh, and someone here reminded me: cannabis. Lots and lots of it.
I shudder to think about how poorly I’d be handling things if I didn’t have cannabis lol
If you vote for someone because you think their wife is hot I don’t think you should be allowed to vote.
Reminds me of some French women who voted for Macron because he married a woman 25 years older than him (formerly his highschool literature teacher).
I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that a) my candidates of choice likely won’t win, and b) the results will be contested with complaints, nit-picking, tantrums, and probably violence across at least several states, and a final decision won’t be known for a few weeks.
I’m trying to avoid political topics and articles a bit not than usual. I also have a lot of things going on in my personal life (not necessarily bad things, but lots of responsibilities) that are keeping me busy right now.
I had also saved up a couple of TV shows that I’ve been wanting to watch to fill in some of the little free time I have right now.
You gotta get to the point where you worry about the things you can control, and let go of the things that you can’t.
There would be far fewer anxiety disorders diagnosed if people did this.
there are more than a million less people alive today from a mismanaged federal global pandemic response because trump was in the big chair the last time, i’m sure the hundreds of millions effected by their loss, share your same karmic acceptance, that their lives were meaningless because they couldn’t control who was making (or purposefully not making) the decisions their fates depended upon. all very zen.
And what does me having ulcer from worrying about it do?
Very true. And more easily said than done, unfortunately.
A combination of this and avoiding political news and discussion altogether (as much as I can anyway).
What’s the point of reading, discussing and/or arguing when in the end the only thing that matters is your vote (and money/time if you’re able and so inclined).
The news tries to rile you up, and all I really need to know is who won once the election happens, until then I’m avoiding it.
I have blocked every news and political centered community i see here; it helps with the stress and my mental health a lot. Particularly since I have particular views that compels me to ruffle feathers, get nasty comments and be ignored on every political community across the whole spectrum.
It’s easier to just don’t try to post until tempers cool down, if ever. If I don’t see news then I don’t have to reply and share, and probably lowers the stress a notch
But isn’t that like over half the communities? Is there anything left besides meme reposts?
Less than 10, after that I get the occasional reference but deep in the list
This is the way.
This is actually a big message in the dharma of the Buddha.
And classical Stoicism. (Not the “don’t talk much” kind, but the roman philosopher kind.)
Letting go of things you can’t control like death also was a big tenet of the Jedi order, which I guess isn’t that surprising considering where Lucas was pulling sources from
If I could move stuff with my mind, I would convert to Jedism today.
Pretty sure I’d go full Sith. I’m not super big on hate, but if I could move things and influence people with my mind I’m under no illusions that I would use that power for good.
I don’t know if I would trust myself with that power. I hope my worldview is correct because if I ever got it I would try to reshape the world into how I wish it could be. Probably not the best idea but honestly beating our currect system is a low bar so I’d give myself a good chance.
I used to be much more into meditation and reading Buddhist literature. I reflect on that time in my life as being happier and more peaceful (I was also exercising a lot more then too). I’ve started going to a yoga class a few times a month, but I wish I had an easier time getting back into the rest of it.
Every moment can be done in meditation. Making time would be great but if it doesn’t happen you can still give presence into whatever moment you find yourself in.
But the fact that it’s not easy is a good thing. The hard thing to do is usually the right thing to do. Dealing with the negative hardship is a positive experience in the end, and avoiding the negative hardship is worse than the hardship itself.
Not Jesus? That ain’t my lord and savior! Round this one up bois
I figured out who to vote for and mostly lost faith in the American people. I deeply understand that the system is broken but electing a fascist is not the way to fix it unless you want it completely broken. Honestly pretty depressed about the whole thing because prospects are grim and I have little hope for the future after the past 10 years.
I do think Harris will win, but the fact that it’s this close is disconcerting.
I’m playing a lot of pinball, but that really hasn’t changed.
Woo, pinball!
Doomscrolling, exercise, and looking up firing ranges near me. Been a few decades since last I went
I don’t need to look up the closest firing range because it was recently all over the news when one of the members went up on a roof and tried to shoot this guy who was running for President.
Not the most recent would be shooter, the one before that.
Hell of a fall for the leaves, though.
That it is
What exercise plan, if any, are you following? I let my fitness slip pretty hard during COVID, and haven’t had good luck getting back into the groove with anything I’ve tried so far
Honestly, me too and I don’t have much of a plan. I tried doing some pushups the other day and was shocked how much capacity I’ve lost. Following the wisdom that the hardest part of a run is lacing up your shoes, i’m just telling myself to do something every day. 3 sets of pushups. Squats during ad breaks. Walk to the store for a snack. That kind of thing A little bit of physical activity is a great distraction from the anxiety in my head
Alcohol, cannabis, and limiting my exposure to news/politics. It’s working wonders, TBH.
That actually sounds like you’re not doing well at all.
This is what we do outside of election season as well. We, as a people, are not doing well… But at the same time, i think we’re doing the best we can considering the state of things.
Our society is sick.
Yes. Substance abuse is not healthy. Source: child of an alcoholic.
There’s abuse, and then there’s taking the edge off
Someone using substances to avoid reality is, by my definition, abusing them.
Source: child of an alcoholic.
I respect the struggle you went thru and your choices for yourself. As someone who dealt with alcoholism you were exposed to the worst of it. However, some of us like to enjoy life and get a buzz on without hurting anyone and I don’t think that’s abusive.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant.
The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Neither of these statements make it impossible for someone to regularly enjoy alcohol or cannabis without hurting people.
Yes, but we’re not talking about taking the edge off, we’re talking about substance abuse here…
I’ve already voted. I don’t have the ability to volunteer for anything, so I’m working on removing all the doomer posting and adding blocks on my feeds. No point in stressing about something I have no more ability to help with.
I’ve been writing postcards and letters to voters. It’s a little too late to jump on the postcard wagon but letters can be written until 10/29. It’s super easy, you’re provided templates, instructions and addresses, you just need paper, envelopes and stamps.
I wrote a ton of both and it did wonders to distract me and give me something of purpose to do at the same time.
I’m pretty sure text banking and phone banking is still going on too.
“Loosen your shoes
Don’t listen to news
That keeps you up at night.”- Chris Smither
You just get an upvote for Chris Smither. Leave the Light On, Time Stands Still, his cover of Visions of Johanna, plus a dozen others… all brilliant.
Leave the Light on, for my money, is a perfect song. But I have a new favorite on his new album:
People outside of US have the right to worry about this election as well imo. It’s one of many currently on-going battles of autocracy vs democracy and this election will heavily shape the battlefield.
I wish all of the luck to my American friends and really that’s all non-americans can do so I’ll just grab a joint and catch up on the new season of What We Do In The Shadows until this blows over.
People outside of US have the right to worry about this election as well imo
this is just american exceptionalism, i don’t really care, nothing would really change, just more wars, rapes and destruction from the US empire
ah you’re from
.ml, feel free to ignore my comment entirely. Didn’t want to ruin your day with non-extremist world views sorry.nicked you right in the balls, 😅😅
Shit, man, I dunno. I already voted. I fly my blue-team flag in a red town. I hope that most of the people voting for him are just insensitive clods who aren’t as personally hateful as the jokes they’ll laugh at, or that they’re somehow stupid enough to have been genuinely convinced that our creaky business-friendly center-left coalition is some sort of economy-dooming experiment in socialism. So yeah, I’m reduced to hoping that a large percentage of my fellow citizens are idiots and/or assholes, rather than actual fascists.
It’s too close to know who will win, so things could turn out kinda okay if the Democrats pull it off. If Trump wins, maybe they don’t manage the Senate and little of longstanding legislative harm gets passed. Sotomayor should be okay for the next four years, so for SCOTUS itself the damage is likely already done. Finally, I still mostly think that Trump will be content to line his pockets for four years and then pardon himself on the way out. He’s too old to inspire any energy to repeal the 22nd amendment, and I don’t see anyone behind him ready to slot in as an heir apparent, so maybe the less intensely awful republicans will reclaim some measure of control, or a gaggle of pretenders fragments their base and they can’t really get organized to win nationally. A second Trump term is going to fucking suck, though, and a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt all across the world, many more than in a Harris administration, IMHO.
Shit’s grim, and the Christian Nationalists see this as their time, possibly their last good chance in their current form, to really seize the reins of power.
They don’t need to organize anymore they just need a pulse and an ® next to their name to have a real chance of winning nationally at this point.
If Harris does win, the rest of the world would really like it if you invested in education America. Specifically a robust history curriculum. Especially around 1935-1945.
We all know about WWII. Even Germany is having trouble keeping the Nazis at bay though. I think it might be part of human nature for some of us to be literally evil. To properly resist this requires not only for the majority to be good, but for them to actively oppose evil in their personal lives. Most are unwilling to do this.
It feels like something in the genre of the paradox of tolerance, where the most empathetic and pacifistic people are the people best positioned to remove shitters from the gene pool responsibly
Until the election happens I’m going about my life as normal, because I’m not about to self destruct while she still has a chance. If she wins I’m going to celebrate that I can keep living as I am.
In the meantime, I’m also making my exit plans in case Trump wins. I’m an openly leftist, transgender, neurodivergent, latina immigrant and an artist. I’m going to be in the first wave of people rounded up.
Is trump planning to round up artists?
He’s openly talked of rounding up illegal immigrants, and changing the laws about what makes immigrants legal. If he acts on even half the threats he has made, a lot of people are in danger.
Yeah, I know. I asked about artists though.
Erm ackshually can you stop being concerned for your mortal safety? You made a minor error in your statement and I insist that you verify my counterargument is correct 🤓
What the hell are you talking about‽
I just wanted to know if trump has made some more stupid statements. I had just not heard of any attacks on artists and wanted to know more.
My apologies then. I assumed bad faith.
While I’m not a drag performer, I don’t trust these troglodytes to be able to tell the difference between other kinds of performance art and drag. I also expect them to define any performance art created by a trans person as drag, and we’ve all seen how they treat any form of drag
I’m going to go drop off my ballot and sit back and wait for the results. There is nothing more I can do so there’s no sense in worrying about it. Focus on things you can actually change.
