When world news is on the edge and getting edgier, there are two obvious ways to respond.
The first one is EVERYBODY FREAK OUT which is very tempting at times like this.
Missiles raining down on an airfield in Syria? Massive Ordnance Air Blast (aka the Mother Of All Bombs) dropped in Afghanistan? DJT floating the idea of a pre-emptive strike on North Korea with nuclear weapons, tactical or otherwise? Diplomatic dinner with the president of China last week, warnings from China that political tension may be on an “irreversible” course” this week? North Korea making an official statement actually using the words “thermo-nuclear war may break out any moment”?
And the worst of it is not really knowing who is in charge. When asked directly whether he himself authorized the MOAB strike, DJT did not say yes, leaving the whole world to wonder whether Donnie is playing with war toys on his own or someone else whose identity and agenda is unknown to us is pulling strings behind the scenes.
We are all walking around this morning carrying the stress of worrying whether we will be at war with one or two new countries tonight. Wondering whether DJT realizes that it is only the reasonableness of other world leaders that has prevented retaliation against us already. Imagine for a second that some other country was behaving this way. The whole world would rise up against such a leader to make sure he did not do anything rash that could destroy us all.
Freaking out is a perfectly reasonable response and I will not hold it against anyone.
The second response is to go into a shell and pretend it isn’t happening.
Stop watching the news. Stop reading news websites. Stop listening to news radio.
When DJT is on every channel, when I feel the fear level rising and I have to pull back, I have to stop flipping between CNN and MSNBC and put something innocuous in front of my eyes.
Check BBC America—maybe Doctor Who or Star Trek is on. AAugh—war with Daleks or war with the Borg. What’s on the Science Channel? Oops they are talking about creative bomb building. Gotta go hard core separation—all the way to Game Show Network. No whammies no whammies no whammies! Hm, even that is too close for comfort. Get in the wayback machine then and look for BUZZR, game show nostalgia from decades ago. Grainy black and white episodes of What’s My Line and I’ve Got A Secret and To Tell the Truth. Dorothy Kilgallen and Henry Morgan and Bud Collyer. Memories of sitting on a low stool in between my grandmother and the 19 inch cabinet TV while she combed and braided my hair. Nutritious meals made for me that someone else cooked and cleaned up after. So thoroughly cherished and cared for that I didn’t even know there was such as thing as doing without or not having enough. Those experiences would come soon after, but that is the safest emotional space I have to go back to.
Turning off the TV altogether doesn’t work because reading a book or doing some other activity without alternative noise being generated means my own thoughts don’t have any counterprogramming, and the fear builds again.
And I guess I have to mention that escape is the point of addiction. Sure, getting out of yourself via alcohol or other chemicals or food or indiscriminate sex or gambling or shopping will work in the short run.
But I implore you to take a different route.
They are trying to destroy us. Let’s not help them.
If we destroy ourselves we are doing their work for them, reducing the numbers in the resistance army.
And even if we merely sedate ourselves into oblivion, they have silenced us.
Don’t silence yourself by giving in to addictive “comforts”.
There is another option besides freaking out and blotting out.
And it is the heart of resistance.
Don’t deny the tension. It is real.
Acknowledge the tension.
Then redirect it outward in a way that will have a beneficial effect on yourself or someone else. Transform negative energy into positive energy.
Channel the boiling blood into a steam engine of power.
I got back in the gym for the first time in I don’t know how long. Slightly higher than usual tension on the rowing machine gives a very satisfying stretch and release. Pedaling furiously on the bike expends energy in a productive way. Even the treadmill with great music on my headphones takes me out of that OMGONOZ place and releases tension.
I even thought about going to The Ring, a (relatively) female-friendly boxing club down the street for the free one day trial class. Can I tape pictures of Rcon pundits to the top of the heavy bag and just pound on it for a while?
Another kind of physical activity that has helped me since I was in elementary school is just putting on loud music in a dark room and dancing around wildly. Darkness helps eliminate visual distractions, or you can dance with your eyes closed and just concentrate on the music and the beat. I used to do this for as much as an hour until dripping with sweat I collapsed breathless on my bed. Even putting together a playlist of favorite songs that you could dance to in that way might be good therapy for someone today.
Engage with people who are actually doing stuff. Somewhere near you somebody is doing really good work and needs your help. Someone is running for office, or building a house, or planting a garden or doing some other work where an extra pair of hands would be a blessing.
If the world actually does come to an end tomorrow, what do you want to do with today? Who do you want to talk to? Who do you want to communicate with? Would it be meaningful for you to spend your final day creating a beautiful piece of art, or baking delicious pies? I am one of those people who has to be have careful about consoling myself with food, but if you are not, that would be a nice offering for you to make to your family or your friends or co-workers or neighbors.
If you have no family or friends and are feeling isolated and alone, there is some other lonely person near you who would love to have your company. There is a nursing home near you where someone has not had a visitor in months. Go to the nurses desk with a small stuffed animal and ask if there is someone you can visit. That person would just welcome seeing a friendly face and hearing a friendly voice. Even if you just read the paper to them. Or ask them questions and let them talk. Or hold their hand while they cry. If you think you have no one, you are not alone. There is someone nearby who has no one, who needs you.
Obviously writing helps me. If it helps you then you are in the right place for it. This daily diary since the inauguration has been the best stress reliever I ever tried. Knowing I have a space to vent, where people may actually see it and respond, helps me get through many a day. “Boy when I get home I am definitely going to add that to my diary” helps me set aside a lot of stuff to be handled later that I would otherwise cogitate over until my entire day was distracted. Just being here and interacting with other people can be a positive release. Talking to people in person is better but we don’t all have access to that. There are some toxic people here but the whole community has a way of identifying and ignoring them.
Write about what these days were like so that if we do come out on the other side we will have a voluminous record of what happened so that we will never find ourselves here again.
Last but not least there is the spiritual part. I guess the only way I can describe it in non-religious terms is to say that even when you cannot calm the storm, you can calm yourself. In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet. For just a moment. A yellow sky. And I know my reactions to the storm will make more sense if I myself am not part of the storm.
If you have a way of going to that undisturbable place within yourself, you know what I am talking about. If you don’t, researching that would be a good project for you today. There is lots of good information about secular self-calming techniques on line.
And if you are a praying person, pray for the world. Pray for your fellow travelers to be at peace. Pray for reasonable people to step up and take control of the current situation.
Pray even for that fool in the White House that somehow he will be pulled back from the path he is on without killing any more people.
They want us to be paralyzed by fear. That is part of their game. DJT wants his enemies to be afraid of him but he wants us to be afraid also. Frightened people are easier to control. Scared people are more likely to throw up their hands and hide behind the nearest “strongman” they can find. This is part of their domination tactic.
Let that be your primary motivation to avoid getting sucked in to the vortex of despair. Resistance is accomplished even when you sit with your needlework or crossword puzzle or and refuse to let anyone disturb your joy.
Deciding you will remain calm is a critical element of resistance. It is the one thing that everyone can do regardless of mobility, age, location, or how busy you are.
Self-care under these conditions is a countercultural political act.
put this on loop at top volume, punch at the air, kick up your heels, and dance til you drop
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 12: Republicons--the party of cruelty
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense