Tuesday, January 24, 2017

How Does This Bizarro World Thing Work?


I have taken a vacation day in the country today.
The country of my-place-in-Lloyd.
I did all of the simple things I love doing and you know what they are. I walked, I did a little yard work, I cooked beans, I picked salad including those pretty little carrots, I finished Owen's Harry Potter cloak, I did laundry and hung clothes on the line.
I took a nap.

I am having a very hard time trying to figure out what it is I need to do about this whole DT thing. One thing I have decided is that I need to start calling him by name. His name is Donald Trump. He is the president. This is a reality. Although it feels as if I have woken up in Bizzaro World I am fairly certain that his is not a nightmare. In nightmares, I always end up trying to glue the tiny letters of my phone keyboard back in correct order because they have fallen off, and the last time I checked my keyboard is as virtual as it ever was and all of the letters and numbers and stupid emojis are exactly where they are supposed to be which is not helpful at all because even though in my dreams I just know that if I could get my phone to function I could call for help and rescue, in this case there is simply no one to call.
Oh sure. My congressmen.
I have so little faith in that path that I might as well trying calling god.

As I wrote a friend today, I think that the Republican lawmakers have their heads all UP in Donald Trump's pants. I really did have some faith in our system and in human beings in general until this election occurred but now I see clearly that our elected officials (or at least those of the Republican party) are the weakest and least moral of any humans I ever thought to contemplate and trust me- I did not think much of them before. But at least I thought that some of them might notice that the Emperor was wearing no clothes. I have no idea why I thought this.
I'm not stupid.
And actually, I would not be surprised to learn that many of them are quite aware that Donald Trump's ass is hanging out, his tiny junk on display for all to see and just don't care because they are finally getting the chance to do what they've been wanting to do forever which seems to involve sticking it to the black guy who was our president for eight years while at the same time, creating the world in their own wet dream of a country where they, the rich white guys, can say, "I've got mine (which would be money, status, the guarantee of a good education, fantastic health care, the ability to get and have sex with hot, smokin', much younger women, and all of the privileges which go with these things) and the rest of you can go fuck yourself."

Basically, this is how I see it.
And if you think for one moment that any of these people and the people who back them are going to let go of that dream for a millisecond now that the opportunity for success is so ripe and rich and royal and golden, then I think you're deluding yourself.

And also- I don't believe that any of these men (mostly men, let's be honest) are the brightest candle in the chandelier or the sharpest knife in the drawer or the hottest burner on the stove which means that in general, they can't see farther than their noses or their peckers, whichever one is longer, to understand that the decisions they make could absolutely mean the end of the world as we know it.
They feel fine.

You can't argue with these people. You can't educate these people. Their minds are shut, their opinions formed. Their bellies are full and their god obviously loves them.

So what do we do?

I don't know.

I have no clue.

And so I've spent a good day doing what I do know how to do which is basically the same things women have been doing for eons which is to take care of hearth and home, albeit with better tools and electricity.

What are you thinking? Are you writing your congressmen? Calling them? Are you contemplating running for office? Are you writing opinion pieces? Are you on your knees praying ceaselessly? Are you calling for refills on your Ativan? Are you trying to dialogue with people who are on the other side of the divide? Are you posting on Facebook? Are you tearing your hair out? Are you running an extra five miles a day? Are you eating chocolate and macaroni and cheese like there's no tomorrow? Are you reading escapist literature? Are you meditating? Are you trying your hardest to be the light in your own world? Are you thinking about taking in a rescue dog? Are you planning a move to Canada or Costa Rica? Are you sleeping twelve hours a day? Are you just living your life the best you know how, hoping that we survive the next four years? Are you convinced that denial is an excellent coping mechanism?
Tell me. Because I need to know what to do.

I'm lost and I'm drifting and I'm doing the best I can but it just doesn't seem to be nearly enough.

Yours In Confusion And Bafflement...Ms. Moon



48 comments:

  1. I'm sending money monthly to the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, and Planned Parenthood. I know and trust that our country has many very, very knowledgeable people with power who are working hard to undo the evil being done by DT and his henchmen. So these things are making me feel pretty good at this point. I'm feeling very grateful for smart Americans who know how to stop the craziness going on daily. Good will prevail.

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    1. I think these are very good things, Robyn. I need to do the same. Thank you.

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  2. Mary, I am exactly where you are. I don't know what to do. I feel as if the calls I have made, the postcards I have sent, have all gone into the void. I cannot believe that people are meekly following this man, whose name I too have trouble saying. It disturbs my soul to say his name. Isn't that weird? I shall have to get over that, be tougher than that, because these are rough waters we're in. My daughter is so angry at that room full of men signing executive orders to control women's bodies. I am angry too, but it manifests as tired. I'm so tired. Denial as a coping mechanism? Well, not denial exactly but looking away. In order to get anything done i have to look away for stretches of time. Denial, not so much. But there is still a measure of disbelief. I can't fully take it in.

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    2. I know exactly what you mean, Angella. Exactly. I feel like the old lady holding the sign saying, "I can't believe I still have to protest this shit."

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  3. Me too. First thing I did was donate to planned parenthood and ACLU. Black lives matter (thanks, Robyn) is next. The pipeline shit today, how dare we deny the rights of the true Americans? And "alternative facts"? Shorthand for lying sack of shit. I'll do the congressman correspondence too, but like you, 'm a Floridian so it probably won't do much. I'm going to try and see what I can volunteer for.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. These sound like excellent things to do, Barbara. Thank you. We must do all we can to block the lying sack of shit.

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  4. ohmyfukingod Ms Moon. I am doing ALL those things; every single freakin' one. And I STILL don't know what to do next. But as prodigal as it may be,
    I thank my lucky stars that when I feel like I am at a dead end I remember to come here. xoxoxo

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    1. And my heart sends out sparks when I see that you have come here. Loving you, Michelle. Hang tough.

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  5. Oh, Mary. I'm so tired and discouraged. I went from thinking "Fight! Resist!" To thinking..."What's the use?"

    Our representatives don't give a shit what I think and tonight all of a sudden it all just feels so useless. I'm heartsick and just tired, as you say. I spent the last few weeks just seething but I guess that can't go on forever. Now I just want to pop xanax and stay in bed. :(

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    1. And I think that is a completely valid response.

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  6. I respect the Office of the President, and have always called the sitting POTUS President (insert name here). But I just can't put the words President and Trump together. It makes me physically ill to think it and I damned sure can't say it. Now he wants a recount because his wittle feelings were hurt because Hillary won the popular vote. Someone said the best way to get his attention is to make fun of him....and I really DO want to get his attention!

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    1. He's such a sick man that I don't know what we should do to express our displeasure. I almost wonder if all of the negative response is going to cause him to have a stroke. And then we'd have Pence.
      It's so scary. And yes, physically ill-making.

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  7. I have a hard time believing this man is our President. I'm trying to stay away from too much news...but that's hard for me. I want to know what this moron is doing! And everything he does makes me angry. And scared. And sad.
    He's not fit to be President... and I don't know what to do about it. I'm depressed and frustrated, which does no good at all.
    The new thing...about how he lost the popular vote because of illegals voting is just beyond belief! How can anyone take him seriously? I don't know. I really don't know.

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    1. He is obviously quite mentally ill. I wish there were some way that this could be proved so that he could be removed from office. I have read an article about this, about how that process would work, and it would seem that our founding fathers really didn't have a workable plan for this situation.
      Well. After this, we may.

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  8. I think we continue to resist in any way that we can, whenever we can. You sure did a damn good job with this blog post.

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth. I feel so humbled by your efforts. I guess we all do what we can, even if what we do feels so pathetic. Which is how I feel.

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  10. In the early 1980s I spent some time in a small rural town in Northern Ireland. For many years, the local population of both denominations had been intimidated and harassed and threatened by militant organisations from both sides. Many families sent their children to boarding schools across the border to the republic of Ireland or to the UK - if they could afford it. The atmosphere was vicious and fearful. This was common place in many rural areas.
    We visited a farming family, a young couple, who had had enough of it. What they did, they started a small community centre, initially for local artists, amateur drama society, school events etc. which rapidly but quietly developed into a place where people from both sides - for the first time in decades - could figure out a way of communication with each other. When a short time later, planning permission was granted by the government to build a dam which would eventually flood most of the arable land and take away the livelihood of most farms (with compensation), the locals started to set up information meetings in that small communiuty centre and organised a campaign, in other words, they began to act as a community and successfully rejected this proposal, by burying their differences. It didn't work for everybody, threats continued, but for many of the locals, this opened their eyes and neighbourhoods developed.
    My point is, whatever awful stuff is seemingly paralysing positive action, that is your target. What prevents you from being a neighbour, a fellow citizen, a caring individual, that is your target. To concentrate on what binds us, what makes us human, that is the goal.

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    1. Sabine, this is excellent, sound advice. A heartfelt thank you to you for sharing this story.
      Angie D

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    2. Thank you, Sabine, for this wise and well-earned wisdom. This is truly something we should all think about and contemplate. Also? It is good to remember that there have been times of insanity and fear throughout history and still, here we are.

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  11. Like you, I tend to think writing to Congressmen is useless. They have their minds made up. I think the best we can do is weather the storm, keep our heads down and mind our own business as best we can, and recognize that some of the things we care about are going to disappear or be damaged. In the long run I think we'll bounce back, but I'm afraid much will be lost in the interim, and I don't think there's a thing we can do about that. I worry most about the irretrievable things -- the climate, the animals that will go extinct, the damage to ecosystems. It makes me sick to think about these losses. But what can we do? People made their choices. We as a species are saddled with an unfortunate tendency to think only in the short term.

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    1. Having said that, I just have to add that I think resistance is NOT futile. I think we continue to demonstrate and do whatever else we can to make ourselves known and visible. Our society is going down a scary road with real consequences but I want history to show that dammit, a lot of us were against this!!

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    2. Thank you, Steve. I, too, worry about the irretrievable things. I remember when I woke up after the election I said to my husband, "Well. There goes the planet."
      Short-sighted to say the least and Trump doesn't even have the excuse of being a Christian who is trying to hasten the end times. As if that's a good excuse...
      History WILL show that many of us were against all of this. I hope there are still people alive to realize that.

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  12. I'm carrying on in my own way, and writing and calling. I think we must stay in their face constantly, until the mid-term elections and beyond. It costs me only my attention and a stack of 38 cent postcards. If Washington angers me, they must hear about it.

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  13. We are supporting causes with money and labor. I work with many others to feed and clothe people, especially children. Many of those kids are undocumented.
    We have renamed the poop sacks our dogs use "trump sacs". Just a title humor in a sad situation.
    I remain sick to my stomach. There are not enuff vile words in my vocabulary to describe "that man". We all have to pull together and realize that the least favored segment of American society today could be us tomorrow. There but for the grace of god... How we went from a good, decent, smart, articulate family man of honor to this creature is beyond my ken

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    1. Bless you. You are doing the right things.
      And I don't know how we got here either which is what absolutely causes this sense of unreality.

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  14. oh Mary, you and me. I cannot call that man President. my current name for him is Crybabyman. It changes. I was calling him Trumplethinskin for a while. Like you, I don't think calling our congressmen is effective, at least for the majority of them. They are doing what they want regardless of what their constituents want. We sent money to the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, PP. I post on FB for all the good that does. I think I will get the stack of postcards that Joanne is doing. I think about showing up at one of our representatives office which is just down the road. I think about making the phone calls...all of which I have not done yet. and I think that hopefully we need to hold on only two years and perhaps by then people's eyes will be open and we will get more people in office during the mid-terms. I have read that the republicans despise Trump and are only tolerating him as long as they get what they want. When they are done with him, they will impeach him and set Pence up whom they do like. so yes, Bizarro World.

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    1. Midterm elections always swing to the other side and thank you for reminding me of that.
      Oh, Ellen. Thank you for doing all you are.

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  15. and the way he treat Melania. he is a disgusting pig. obviously an abusive man, perhaps not physically, but definitely emotionally and mentally. I almost feel sorry for her. But she stays for whatever her reasons are. money, lifestyle, who knows. I realize she doesn't have any family here but she would be an extremely wealthy woman once divorced.

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    1. Ellen, as far as the media here reported, Melania's parents are also living in the golden tower.

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    2. Don't forget Melania also championed the Birther movement, if you remember!!LN



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    3. I feel very neutral about Melania. She is an adult. She has free will. I hope she loves her son. I am sure it is very complicated.

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  16. Have silently followed and enjoyed your blog for quite awhile.
    I live in Canada but this whole thing has disturbed me more than you might believe. It is NOT an American problem. It is a global problem.
    I attended the sisters march here in Halifax and was amazed at the turn out.
    It made me a bit hopeful.
    If people continue to resist,there is some hope. If people do nothing..
    there is NO hope.
    I have trouble walking. I rested 1 day before and 3 days after. I will do it again at each rally, because crazy dump will affect US as well!

    ALSO, AFTER UTUBING MICHAEL MOORES SPEACH AT THE WASHINGTON RALLY, it seems that he had some really good ideas for making voices heard.
    Check it out and see what you think. Am I being naive?

    Sorry to butt in as a none American, just an idea that I saw and felt was worth considering.
    We do have lots of problems here too, but crazydump is leading the way for a totally unacceptable world.

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    1. NEVER apologize for commenting here as a Canadian. What happens here affects us all. I am not ignorant of that fact and I value your thoughts and your input. Thank you.

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  17. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Oh, no. This troll strikes again. I just read this very same hateful, disgusting comment on another blog. Fuck this guy and fuck his blog. Ugh.

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    3. I deleted his post. This is not the first time he has commented here. I doubt it will be the last. I don't even give a shit. Delete. Done.

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  18. I also feel that contacting my congress person is futile. I've felt for a very long time that it's impossible to really make my voice heard as a constituent. One thing that I've been considering and pondering today is if by calling Trump names and belittling him we might be making him act out in worse ways. It is obvious that he is very thin skinned and affected by public opinion. Are the insults just firing him up for more meanness? Maybe some superficial respect (maybe if only for the office if that is all I can manage) would allow for a more calm demeanor on his part? It's like not getting the playground bully all charged up with taunting, instead turning away from the name calling and disrespect and focus really intently on what we need to do to come together for goodness and justness and our futures.

    I hope that makes some sense, it's just something that occurred to me today as I was reading online and the names he's being called. I feel like he's so immature, he can't let that go, he has to react to it all and maybe he's OVERreacting in outrage and shame and anger. I'm wondering if we'd get further if we were more subtle and determined and less combative with him.

    It's so disheartening and I do feel overwhelmed with what I can see happening and the progress that we've made seems to be disappearing so quickly. So, I come here and I read your words, and the words of your commenters and I am glad that there are good, kind people such as your community here and that gives me strength to try, to send the emails and phone my representatives and do the things that I fear do no good but are at least something proactive. And then I clean my house and I make dinner for my family and I do my work and really....that is all I can do to make sure at least for this little bit in my little corner of the world, life is normal and peaceful and good.

    I think there is great sisterhood in keeping the house, making the food, caring for our loved ones and keeping on seeing what beauty and good that we can.

    Dee

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    1. I agree with you. We must do what we always do and redouble our efforts to make it all more meaningful.
      As to how Trump reacts to all of the negative response he is getting- well, he's mentally ill and I can't be too concerned with that. We offer truth. If it causes him to completely stroke out- well, so be it.

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  19. I am merely trying my darndest (sp) to be the light in my own world, as you say. Love reading comments from your blog *family* and I have no wonderful stories to share, but avoiding most news in all mediums and just carrying on, is how I am moving forward. Actually, it has been 2 months and I think I'm still shell shocked
    Susan M

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    1. We all are, Susan. We are. But we have each other.

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  20. I came over from Steve's blog and I must say, reading your post brought tears to my eyes. You have summed up quite beautifully exactly how I feel. Bewildered and helpless. The helpless part is the hardest to deal with. I used to feel like I had a voice even if it was a tiny one in my oh-so-conservative state. But, now I feel like it's useless to write to my representatives. However, I'm going to do it anyway. And, I'm going to do it often. If nothing else, it annoys them. And, I'm going to support the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood and Public Television & Radio.
    Sharon

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    1. These sound like truly good and not-helpless things to do. Thanks for coming over, Sharon. Any friend of Steve's is a friend of mine. He's the finestkind.

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  21. I have been writing my representatives, although it feels futile, like shouting into the abyss. And trying to take baths and go to lunch and the bookstore and yoga,and donating to ACLU and PP but none of it is helping. My therapist told me today that I should volunteer with my local ACLU chapter - so maybe I will. Your description of his supporters resonated - I am Charlie Brown with the football, hoping for some sort of reasonable exchange. Goddess help us all.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.