Man. I am really demoralized this morning.

[mindfulNJ]

This Supreme Court abortion law non action is really hitting hard this morning. I feel hopeless and it's not a familiar feeling for me...I have always been a look for the open window when the door closes kind of person. It feels like 50 years of progress has been thrown away and I am at a loss. Add this to the raging pandemic, voter suppression laws springing up everywhere, Republicans getting away with committing treason and sedition etc etc...it's all getting to be too much.


I know you are probably all feel this way right now...grateful that I at least have some kindred spirits here

[hlthe2b]

1. Ditto. I have had to fully develop the process of "compartmentalization" in recent years just to

get through the day, but this is a tough day and it does feel as though the walls are falling in on us. There are at least a dozen very serious issues nearly overwhelming me, but I'm just going to have to focus on moving forward. I am going to spend some time today making phone calls to CA voters. Damn if they let Newsome get recalled and someone as absolutely as horrendous as Larry Elder take the governorship, we are all sunk. He (Elder) is the mentor for Stephen Miller, BTW. If that doesn't scare the living shit of us all, then nothing will.

[doc03]

4. If we lose Calififornia the country will

Last edited Wed Sep 1, 2021, 10:46 AM - Edit history (1)

be theirs.

[brooklynite]

31. You're NOT going to "Lose California"

Even if Newsom loses, you have a super-majority Democratic Legislature, and the replacement Governor will only be in office for a year.

[doc03]

32. I hope you are right. nt

[beaglelover]

37. Better hope Feinstein doesn't die during that year.

[Lonestarblue]

46. I wish Feinstein would resign today so Newsom could appoint a progressive replacement.

I suspect she’s one who wants to keep the filibuster.

[wryter2000]

42. Very true

The only way a Republican can get any power at all in CA is through trickery.

[mindfulNJ]

6. Yes...that is another scary issue

...so many of them coming at us at once.

[mindfulNJ]

18. Thank you.

I will get back on the horse. Promise.

All great suggestions above. Not familiar with Indivisible but will look into it.

[Ninga]

2. I suspect you are not alone. I hear you. My depression about our country comes in waves.

Some days I pull on my activist pants and write and call, every once in a while, I give way to feeling overwhelmed with every piece of news.

Hang in.

[mindfulNJ]

9. Thanks

I will...I have to. I will garden and do some art today re-set. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Thanks for your activism

[niyad]

3. Everything you said.

[mindfulNJ]

13. Thanks

[Walleye]

5. When Hillary lost the election she really won, I felt as if my whole life had been for nothing

[mindfulNJ]

12. I know the feeling...it sucks.

[NewHendoLib]

15. replace "Hillary" with "Gore" for the true beginning of the decline

[Walleye]

38. True, but as a born feminist, I saw it as a very frustrating step backwards

[NewHendoLib]

49. I agree completely

[Texaswitchy]

51. Jimmy Carter.

We would have cornered the market in energy independence.

Solar panels on the White House roof, remember.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Used to be two steps forward and one back. Didn't like it..

but could live with it

Now it's a tremulous half step forward and two back

[The Blue Flower]

8. They didn't rule on it

So won't it be possible to resubmit the case in the future? Texas lawmakers have no idea of the trouble they've brought on themselves. Revolting as all this is, I think reality will bury the Texas Taliban. It could light the spark that overturns their rule.

[mindfulNJ]

10. I like your optimism.

Just what I needed...thanks.

[calimary]

17. Let's hope so.

Pretty depressing these days.

[CrispyQ]

23. Agree that lack of thought is going to blow up in their face.

Wait till their snitching phone lines go down, due to the number of people making false claims to get a chance at $10K. I've seen people do amazingly stupid stuff for way, way less! The ones who will suffer will be women who need healthcare. Republican legislators are some of the meanest, nastiest assholes out there.

[WA-03 Democrat]

26. This

Fuckery is a 2 way street!

[AZSkiffyGeek]

29. I've read arguments that the suit may not have standing

Because the clinic sued the state, and the state is not enforcing the law. It sounds like one of these bounty lawsuits is needed for the clinic to have standing. At the same time, that group organizing the bounties had an injunction slapped on them preventing them from filing their lawsuits.

[treestar]

39. True, the substantive part of the case

is still in litigation. Refusing a stay suggests they think the law would survive, but it's not certain.

[jmbar2]

14. It hit me hard last nite

The news lately has been unrelentingly bleak. For some reason, the London WWII blitz came to mind. And also, all the resistance movements I could think of. People have a natural affinity to rebel against repression. We will find workarounds until we can reverse some of this mess.

I say "we", but realistically, most of us here are older. I hope the younger generations most harmed by it step up to the plate.

Let's keep our chins up. But I'm glad you wrote today. It helps to know others are in the same frame of mind.

[calimary]

19. We're going to HAVE TO find workarounds until we can reverse some of this mess!

[mindfulNJ]

20. I am sitting here alone and stewing in it

I figured there were more of you out there feeling this way!

[70sEraVet]

16. 2022 is not a year for Democrats to apathetically sit back as we normally do

on non-presidential elections. These assaults on women's rights should be the catalyst for a record showing at the voting booths around the country.

[MuseRider]

21. I am going to take a break this morning

from caring about anything. I am going to do my regular chores and do something fun, read most likely.

I am so glad I am older now. Went through the illegal times already on one occasion and I do not recommend it. I suppose the pills make that much better, almost anything would be better than that, but if you are young and have parents who would rather see you dead than aborting it will not matter.

We have always had freedom here but as a woman it has always been couched in one or many ways, we will go back to that now in small and large jumps as they "put us in our place" once again. It is the perfect time as we watch the women of Afghanistan talibanized again and many will point out how lucky we are. Why maybe we will not have to "worry our pretty little heads" about things like voting. Leave it up to us, we have always taken good care of you.

[Ninga]

25. It took our foremothers 71 years to secure voting rights. Only 101 years ago. The founders of the

right to vote movement didn’t live to see it come to fruition. I think about that a lot, more today then I did years ago.

It is the only thing that helps me stay active. I have shifted my focus to 2022 elections. Fight like our lives depend on it.

Women have always had to be tougher and stronger and smarter.

[MuseRider]

30. You are absolutely right.

I worry about things like how it was right before we got the right to abort. There was still a very large segment of our female society willing to be "cared for" by men. I actually could not believe they were absolutely for staying home, having no real life but a bridge club and doing every GD chore involved in a household and still considered less than any man, ANY man and allowing them to talk to them like they did, like they were completely stupid, childlike and needed the man to care for everything that the women actually did. It galled me as a child, the finger under the chin telling me I would make some man a good wife one day.

I know we are stronger, MUCH stronger. Anything happens around here it is not me who panics or frets about it.

I did some work early on but got switched over to working LGBTQ issues after my brother died of AIDS and as a reaction to the Phelps family. We did great things here and we ended up creating a strong statewide organization. I felt pretty beat up after I got out of that and have stayed engaged but not really active so I guess I will live out my life fighting where I started. Before this gets much further we need to get every single woman who is on our side elected, that is where they will stop us now if we cannot keep up the momentum of electing women. Without women in office it will be 100 times harder.

[Jim G.]

22. I'm More Angry Than Demoralized

But it's not like we didn't see this coming when RGB passed.

[hay rick]

43. Good.

Be angry, get busy. We will fail if we let group hugs be a substitute for fighting back.

[Irish_Dem]

24. I think we have been in denial about how bad things are in this country. We are grieving and angry.

Recent events have been a real eye opener. We knew the GOP was bad.
But now it is to the point of social and political breakdown and upheaval.

A big chunk of America is openly aggressive and delusional, acting out like bad children.

The GOP moral rot is is deeper and more widespread than we could have imagined.
The abject ignorance and delusions of the people are profound, fueled by propaganda and white supremacy.

Reality is hitting us, we are trying to wrap our heads around what we are seeing.
And we are reacting with the stages of grief, since we are losing what we thought we had in this country.
And seeing it replaced with something very ugly.

As we work through the stages, denial, depression, anger, then acceptance, we need to come up with some solutions.
How do we deal with our new reality?

Or do we accept that we are becoming a country just like the ones we use to want to change?

[CrispyQ]

28. You are not alone. Not at all.

I've been demoralized since the early 90s when I watched my JFK-loving, democratic mother go hard right wing after getting a job where they listened to Rush Limbaugh all afternoon. Eighteen months of lies & hate & demonizing the left, & she took a 180 on her political views. Then Fox News came out & she believed everything they told her. Now the right-wing media machine is HUGE, & our side is like crickets. Republicans have more successfully—albeit inaccurately—defined our party than we have.

Sorry I don't have any comforting words. Take a walk & maybe do some kind of activist thing in your own little corner of the world. The first poster said she's going to make calls to people in CA. I think I will look into that, as well. Yesterday there was an excellent video of Gov. Newsom explaining exactly what is at stake with that election.

Hang in there!

on edit: I found this site for people who want to call CA voters to get their ballots in!
https://www.mobilize.us/cadems/event/406197/

And here's an excellent video of Gov Newsom explaining exactly what's at stake. It's kind of long, but he has some great talking points for those who want to make calls.

https://democraticunderground.com/1017678169

[samnsara]

33. women have the ultimate power over this by refusing sex with un neutered males

[musette_sf]

41. But criminalizing safe and legal pregnancy termination

effectively decriminalizes rape. They will violently take what they want because they will suffer no consequences.

[johnthewoodworker]

34. We are a fascist country. We have a brief period of democracy for maybe 1 to 3 years. Nazis

have begun to compromise voting but I think climate change issues might terminate things early. So, enjoy your fall.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

35. yes, I hate that I feel so *tired* of everything...then THIS.

I'm running out of energy.

Which is part of their gameplan, I recognize that...


Thank goodness for fellow travellers here.

[BradAllison]

36. Unfortunately we have to sacrifice the stupid states.

They're coming to ban it in every state next. EVERY STATE.

[Kid Berwyn]

40. THIS'LL cheer you up, my Friend...

[Lady Freedom Returns]

44. Were can I get one?

That would look great in my livingroom!

[Kid Berwyn]

47. It's beautiful. And on sale...

https://www.amazon.com/SOULBUTY-Trump-Lost-Flag-3x5/dp/B08PBQXDJ6

[Lady Freedom Returns]

48. Thank you!

Going now. I want, I want, I want!

[seta1950]

45. Boy are you right

I feel completely demoralized

[Vinca]

50. You said exactly what I'm feeling. I can't believe this is happening to our country. The idiots

who claim the right to their own bodies and refuse vaccines somehow, at the same time, take control over the bodies of women. I've really fucking had it. Fucking Joe Manchin needs to drop his kumbayah bi-partisan bullshit (and so does Joe Biden, for that matter) because this is reaching the end of the line for action. They've pretty much taken over voting laws and gerrymandered districts to guarantee the minority is in control of the majority forever and the abortion rights eradication is just an early salvo. It's going to get worse. Democrats have got to act strongly and get to the heart of the matter before it's too late.