Where do we go From Here?

12/27/2024

Avoidance. That’s how I can explain my attitude the past few weeks after the election. Avoiding my feelings, avoiding my fears, avoiding what I believe will become the state of our country. I can say that I don’t understand how millions of people fell for Trump once again. I can read articles from Psychology Today that may give me solace as to why people will continue to elect politicians who do not have the best of their constituents in mind. I can try to deconstruct the mind of the people who thought that this man’s lies would become truths after he took the oath of office. I could even rationalize that some people aren’t smart enough to debunk his claims, research the state of our current economy and stop putting in so much stock into these culture wars that the Right Wing keeps hammering away at. But the truth is the truth, 49.97% of the American people thought it would be a good idea to put this mad man back in office. This 49.97% believed that Trump could get the price of gas and groceries down. This 49.97% believed that tariffs would be the best thing for America. This 49.97% hated undocumented immigrants so badly, they were able to believe that they’re not only murderers, rapists, and thieves but they were cat and dog eaters. Most sadly, while the rest of the world is decades ahead of us, 49.97% couldn’t bring themselves to elect the very first female president.

Avoidance. It’s been six weeks and I’ve been reliving Trump’s first term when he Tweeted 24/7. Whether it was childish nicknames for anyone who dared cross him, or crazy thoughts about buying Greenland or talking about shit-hole countries. I remembered my phone going off many, many times a day and the anxiety I felt wondering what he was saying next. Finally, for my own sanity, I turned off notifications from Twitter because I knew I’d hear about his Tweets later. When that wasn’t enough, I just stopped following him. I often wonder what kind of trouble he would get our great hegemony while he was “leading” it. From 2017 to 2021 there were periodic butterflies in my stomach from the nervousness of pending government shutdowns, muddy Executive Orders that kept immigrants stuck in airports and writing love letters to Kim Jong Un.

Avoidance. It’s how I get by not being able to discuss the fresh hell that will be Trump 2.0. There are very few people who really, really understand the ultimate danger that this term will bring. Who can I discuss it with? I have a good friend who lives in Michigan, and we talked for hours over the course of many days, and she gets it, like I get it. I have a cousin in Florida, she and her husband get it. I’ve got Facebook friends who truly get it. My family and co-workers, they don’t fully get it. Yeah, he’s bad but we’ll get by, is their attitude. But will we? I had to take that side of me, the side that understands the intricacies of government, understands the bullshit of propaganda and appreciates the damages that Trump’s new term will do to this country, pack it up in a box and put it in a compartment in my brain when I’m around my family. They’ll never understand the dangers fully. Like most of America, including many liberals.

Avoidance. K-dramas and K-pop, my newest addictions. I started watching K-dramas in the summer. After the first debate with Biden failing miserably, and the Right acting so emboldened, I had zero faith that Biden would be re-elected. I couldn’t watch the condescending cockiness of people like Nick Fuentes and Don Jr. pushing their weight around so I immersed myself in K-dramas, thanks to my granddaughter that got me started on one when I visited my son and daughter in June. I had to check out from politics for a little while and recharge. There was just something about Korean culture, their stories, their history, and their innocence to some degree that appealed to me. I started watching one series after another. I soon picked up on some K-pop and that turned into my Calgon moment. It literally took me away.  I took solace being a 60-year-old fan girl. Whether it was SHINee, BTS or Stray Kids, their upbeat music made me forget about the dystopia, which was happening in US news, especially after the election. How else can I cope without tearing my hair out? Turn on Stray Kids.

Avoidance. For now, which means until the inauguration, which I have no desire to see. After the inauguration? Slowly, pick up the baton. I’ll continue writing on this website because I know that there will be plenty to write about. I’ll do letter writing campaigns and I take part in peaceful protests. I’ll slowly get my feet wet again. They will be baby steps, but they will be steps to the left. I’ll stop and listen to K-pop when I need to and get swept away in a romantic K-drama to recharge. But I will be here.