Is anyone else feeling depressed tonight?

[Poiuyt]

It really seems like we are descending down into fascism. The republicans have their charismatic leader, Congress is following him blindly, and corporations and the 1% are controlling the legislative agenda. Trump is able to manipulate the media better a than any president I've know (and I'm old), so he's able to control virtually every news cycle. He's become a cult leader like Bob Jones or David Koresh. Now that he's going to get another Supreme Court justice, America will be affected for decades. Personally, I feel that Trumpism, with all its bigotry, racism, xenophobia, and just plain cruelty, will be with us for years to come, even after Trump is gone. Trump has made it "acceptable" for racists to come out from beneath their slimy rocks. Now I see that Trump's polling numbers are creeping upward. Are you fucking kidding me?

I would be more optimistic if Democrats around the country would be more willing to stand up and fight. Republicans look at politics as if it were an all out war. They'll use every dirty trick they can think of. When Democrats eventually get back in power, they'll insist on "playing nice." I've been hearing some Dems calling for the Senate to not confirm trump's SC nominee to get back at McConnell stealing Obama's pick, but I don't see how anything will come of it.

Yes, I'll keep fighting. I'm just really disappointed in my fellow Americans. Trump is just the symptom. Republican Deplorables are the disease.

Anyway, thank you for letting me rant. You people are the best!

[renate]

1. It really does feel as though Trump is the leader of the largest cult of all time

And it really sucks that we’re all along for their delusional ride.

[OliverQ]

2. Yup, it's my Birthday (well was 2 hours ago)

and my Birthday sucked. I'm terrified we're never going to recover from this mess and I have no where else to go. I don't have the money or qualifications to move to another country and I don't feel safe/stable in the US anymore.

[smirkymonkey]

7. Happy Birthday!

Sorry it sucked. Mine is in a month and I think it will probably suck too. I know exactly how you feel. However, we have each other. At least we have a place to go. I remember how it was before I found this place during the Bush years. It was hellish until I found other like minded people.

Anyway, pretend tomorrow is your birthday and treat yourself to something nice and for god's sake, stay away from politics for a day!

[calimary]

10. Happy Birthday, OliverQ.

I wish we could give you a new President for your birthday.

[Bluepinky]

14. Happy Birthday!

Like Calimary said, I wish we could get you a new President for your birthday (as well as Democratic majorities in the House and Senate and several left-leaning judges on the US Supreme Court, after Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Sam Allitto retire simultaneously).

[pazzyanne]

25. Happy belated birthday, OliverQ. Yesterday was my birthday too.

I spent the whole day in and out of a crying jag. I have a rare medical condition that will not allow me to pick up and move, so I feel stuck. The only choice I have is to become catatonic or fight like hell. So I guess I will fight like hell. I was so looking forward to relaxing and enjoying my last years of life, but guess that is nothing but a dream now.

[shraby]

3. Think of it this way. As people peel away from him because of his affinity

for the KKK, white supremecists, and peel away because of the babies and children separated and disappeared from their parents, the percentage of republicans who like him HAS to go up because of the smaller number.

[Garrett78]

9. We can hope that happens, but it hasn't yet. Political affiliation is holding steady.

Link: https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx

And even if Republican-affiliation was declining, it wouldn't explain why Trump's overall approval rating had been going up until just recently. Even now, 538's poll aggregate has him at 41.6%...words fail me.

[Tumbulu]

4. It seems that way to me as well

And I am down in the dumps! Plus wild pigs destroyed my small seven acre crop of Heirloom wheat that was looking really good. In just this last week they came in and partied and trampled all the crop down!

Now isn't that symbolic?

[Bluepinky]

5. I'm feeling depressed and discouraged.

I too feel like our country is sinking quickly into fascism. I’m angry and astounded that so many people have embraced Trump and his awful rhetoric, many of them in my own family. I don’t know if our country can ever recover from the damage done by this President and Congress (as well as the Presidencies of Reagan and Bush Junior). No one seems to care about the common good, it’s all about “me me me”. The US Constitution was a noble concept, but the founders didn’t account for massive greed, corruption of an entire political party and treason.

[smirkymonkey]

11. Sometimes I think that the only thing that can relieve that feeling is action.

It's' so hard when you are feeling powerless, but I am going to drag myself out of my despair and march this weekend and also get people to sign up to vote. This is how they plan to defeat us.

By beating us down so that we don't have the energy to fight back, but I think their strength is an illusion. I really don't think they are nearly as powerful as they appear to be, and with a bit of effort we can defeat them.

Take care!

[Bluepinky]

16. Thank you for your inspirational words, we can't give up.

I really hope the Senate Democrats (and a couple of Republicans) band together and refuse to vote on Trump’s Supreme Court nomination until after the elections later this year. It would get more people out to vote because so much is at stake. Rachel had a good segment on this earlier tonight.

It really is therapeutic to communicate with other like-minded people on this site. I feel better already, thanks!

[smirkymonkey]

20. That is why we are all here. To keep each other going!

Some of us get down and others encourage us, and at other times those who encourage us are down and we encourage them. That's how it works. We give each other strength.

I am in a very blue area of a very blue state, but I am going to write my people again to let them know that they have to do more and be more fearless. Every little act we take makes a difference! Have a good night!

[Bluepinky]

23. Someone just posted comments by Dan Rather, which are very uplifting.

He’s saying that, as time goes on and Trump continues on his destructive path, more people are realizing he’s a threat to our country and democracy, and are speaking out.
Yes, have a good night! Zzzzzzzzzz......

[ecstatic]

43. Great idea! 💡 nt

[demtenjeep]

6. I was there last night. Today I put on my big girl panties and volunteered to work the D tent at

our local county fair and donated to the man I pray will be KS next senator

[calimary]

8. Here.

My "lovely" week started at the crack o' dawn Monday morning, when I lost my favorite cat after an approximately 20-year love affair. And it's gone straight downhill since.

At least you know you're among friends and fellow sympathizers here.

Aren't things supposed to be picking up at some point? Where's that mythical pendulum that everyone talks about - that's inevitably going to swing back the other way? Things just look really grim right now. And yes, I'll keep fighting, too. But at the moment I'm pretty dispirited.

[mr_lebowski]

30. Huh ... right around the time I was signing divorce papers from the love of my life ...

Who left me ...

Yeah, this week has SUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKED.

I think we need a

[calimary]

38. I think you're right, mr_lebowski.

SUCKS. SUCKS. SUCKS.







And this morning (Thursday the 28th) I'm hiding with one o those home improvement shows on HGTV. Can't bear to watch any news. It's all gonna be bad. Probably for awhile. I don't see ANYTHING to be optimistic about unless Robert Mueller has a rabbit or two to pull out of his hat. Hopefully.

[Lint Head]

12. yes

[frogmarch]

13. For the first time ever

I couldn't bear to watch Chris, Rachel and Lawrence.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. I'm getting like that, too - I can only take so much.

I started watching old Murder, She Wrote or M*A*S*H episodes during the campaign whenever they showed Trump and I'm changing the channel often again. I do watch the late night comedians, though, the humor helps. That's why I started posting them here, I figured we needed a little humor, these days.

[Bluepinky]

18. Thank you for posting them.

I’m still laughing about the Seth Rogen interview by Stephen Colbert, so funny. Humor does help to bring the spirits up.

[Rhiannon12866]

21. I used to watch depending on which guests were on, now I tune in for the monologues

And they have been doing a great job! So I figured others here would feel the same way.

[dem4decades]

19. Conan to me is the best. Especially if you're trying to avoid politics.

[Rhiannon12866]

22. He did make a brief appearance on Stephen Colbert last night:

[calimary]

39. Neither could I, frogmarch. For the first time ever, also.

Let's see. BBC was running a "Star Trek Voyager" marathon for awhile. When that finished I found a whole bunch of "Whose Line Is It Anyway," on something called UP-HD (?) to take me through the rest of the evening. And then for overnight, the E channel had some "Sex in the City" back-to-backs - which I've gotta admit I've kinda gotten hooked on. Yeah, 20 years late, but I finally discovered it and it's a VERY guilty pleasure.

I CANNOT bring myself to watch any news right now. Just can't do it. There's NO good news. NO even potentially good news. We've just lost the Supreme Court for at least a generation. Which means a woman's right to choose WILL be done away with. Also, whatever's left of union rights. Voting rights. Gay rights. Civil rights! All that's gonna be gone. This is something the CONS have been wet-dreaming about for decades (ESPECIALLY that great liberation that came with the women's right to choose that they've hated from its outset), so they're NOT gonna be in any mood to compromise or accommodate. Not even Rachel and Lawrence, which are ordinarily must-see shows. Or at least Rachel Maddow's show by itself (if I have to budget viewing time). Not this week.

We will be a wholly different country than we knew and loved, by the time this demolition derby has ended. Shit - husband and I just moved up north, earlier this year - mainly to be closer to daughter and new son-in-law. Now I'm thinking we didn't go far enough. Like maybe - all the way up into Canada.

This "new" America is NOT "new and improved." We're actually going BACKWARDS.

Just a SHITTY week.

[honest.abe]

17. Ive been depressed since the evening of Nov 8 2016.

I knew horrific things would eventually come to pass.

[BlueSea]

24. It really seems like we are descending down into fascism...because we are

We not descending down into fascism, we are there. If we were just descending there wouldn't be camps set up, Trump wouldn't have called for ICE to be free from due process, and so many more things I can't even list.

As a middle-aged, married gay man I see the writing on the wall. The camps are already moving down the news cycle, which means that the desensitization is working. What group is next to go? I know they want me and my husband there - just look at what hate group leader Tony Perkins says, or Brian Brown or the Liberty Counsel, or Scott Lively...and the list goes on and on. Plus, Bill Shine (disgraced former Fox exec) is going to be the WH Communications Director. I could write ten more paragraphs of hellish news, but we all know what's happening.

We are there, this is what fascism looks like, this is what it feels like....and we are only a year and a half in. We must stop pretending like "it's coming" or "we are descending". We are not - it's here, and we have descended. It's no longer creeping up on us, it is here - fascism is here, now, in America and every one of us must realize that. It's not approaching, folks, it's here and it's settling in for a long stay. That is the reality we need to start dealing with.

Do I have hope? Fuck no. They won. We have lost the Democracy, we have lost our country. Will I still fight? To the death, to the death, but will is make a difference? No, it won't. It's time to realize they won, they own America (along with Putin) and their machine is built of evil. Their machine is built of lies, propaganda, fear, gerrymandering, bribes, brutality, cruelty, bigotry, anger, organization, allegiance to their cause, profit and of course...treason.

We are the good guys, I believe that. This is what it looks like when the bad guys win. This is America's darkest hour and there is no way out. We need to stick together, we still need to fight like hell and some of us need to fight dirty - we can't win a street fight wearing white gloves and saying "Sorry! Did I hurt you?" which is the honorable way, but we are fighting pure evil and they have won.

Where do we go from here?

[mr_lebowski]

31. Well said, and I feel ya ... welcome to DU ...

Such a fun time to join our little group, isn't it?

[calimary]

40. Welcome to DU, BlueSea.

Yeah, mr_lebowski's correct. Kinda feels like we're all participating in a wake around here.

I don't know what to be optimistic about. Even if we take back the House in November, that won't have any impact on what a GOP-dominated Senate can still do - especially in situations as potentially long-term horrifying as approving the next rounds of (so-called) "pResidential" nominees.

We ARE the good guys, BlueSea. Don't you ever forget it. We have so much ground to make up, and so we have to find strength and fortitude. And we CANNOT afford to skip or shrug off a SINGLE opportunity to VOTE!!! Just remember, that would delight the bad guys, who are counting on crucial numbers of us becoming discouraged and dispirited. So let's vow NOT to give them what they want. NEVER give them what they want.

[montana_hazeleyes]

26. It's like we've been

struck in the guts by non stop Randy Johnson 100mpr fastballs.

But we gotta keep on pushing back!

[shenmue]

27. Oh yeah

[blue-wave]

28. There is absolutely no time for depression

I'm sorry, but now is the time to pick ourselves up and fight like heck. We must keep moving forward even in, to quote Churchill for the second time tonight, "our darkest hour."

This guy also knew about that: "This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.......the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

[SergeStorms]

29. I don't get depressed.

I get pissed off. Republicans don't like me when I'm pissed off. Some Democrats don't like me either, because I tend to ruffle some "feelings" feathers. Oh well. This ain't no popularity contest. This is political survival.

[Freddie]

32. I just started a diet

Fuck it. I need chocolate and carbs.

[dem4decades]

35. The good news, it's hard to keep anything down.

[Pachamama]

36. +1000

The only way I will survive what is happening....

[MFM008]

33. We found out my mom

Is pretty much terminal today.
Bad day from the start.

[Exotica]

34. Oh no

Huge hugz

[MFM008]

45. Back at you

[a kennedy]

41. Oh, I'm so sorry.......

like you need bad family news.....

[MFM008]

44. Thank you

At least we have gotten to talk of a lot of things.

[Demsrule86]

37. I am depressed that it will take a while to get the courts in our favor...but there is

no fight we can win with the courts by 'standing up and fighting'...the winning must come at the ballot box in 18 and 20...And that is how we stand up and fight. There is no way to stop the SCOTUS nomination without the Senate. I think it is unlikely Republican women will side with us in order to save Roe V Wade.That is their moderate fake shitick. But they are Republicans through and though. Thus we are going to have to fight this at the state level. The fight moves to the states.

I get the 'Democrats' just won't fight meme in your post...the criticism and the refusal to vote for Hillary Clinton by some is why we are here today. The Democratic leaders were knee capped in 16 and somehow they are supposed to 'save' us. We took away the tools that would have allowed this to happen by not supporting the Democratic nominee...not you specifically. This is a general comment. My suggestion is vote Democratic always...never falter. And look at how our system works and what is really possible at this moment before rushing out to condemn our leaders.

Asking Democratic leaders to do the impossible and then viciously attacking them when they can't comply will only make things worse and drive voters we need away...not saying you. This a general statement. If we want to regain power, and we desperately need to do so, the fight will be at the ballot box...sure we can demonstrations and that can help..helped with the jailed babies but it won't work for everything. The power we need will be found in voting in every election...even midterms particularly this midterm...get involved work to elect Democrats-give money, make phone calls and knock on doors. That will be how we save ourselves.

[TomCADem]

42. Then Connect This Saturday on June 30th Day of Action - Families Belong Together!

I understand how depressing the recent news has been. It is easy to feel depress and isolated. However, typing at computer or reading and sending tweets is not real. Get out and go to a protest and connect with people. Take some friends along. Part of it is to express your outrage at what has happened to our country. However, the other party is to gain support in knowing that you are not alone.

There are actually real people who support what you stand for. So, go out and connect. Vote. Resist. March.

https://www.familiesbelongtogether.org/