How not to freak out about the US election
October 31, 2024 9:45 AM Subscribe
Some readers may recognize ... the Stoic idea of the “dichotomy of control” – the notion that you ought to confine your concerns to things you can influence, while cultivating detachment from everything you can’t. But to be honest, and perhaps unfairly to Stoicism, I’ve always found this slightly bloodless and intellectual. Hard as I’ve tried, I apparently can’t just divide the world up into these two categories, then use my reason and willpower to decide not to care about one of them. I find it more effective to feel my way into the reality of my finitude. It’s like I’m standing here, on a tiny island of time and space, a miniscule outcrop in the middle of the ocean; and yet for all sorts of reasons, I find myself constantly leaning out over the water, attempting to fiddle with things that are outside my reach – and losing my balance in the process. From The Imperfectionist: How not to freak out about the US election by Oliver Burkeman.
Apparently a bunch of us have the jitters over next week's US elections. A few days ago, Vox published a guide to managing so-called election anxiety. Judy Hao, PhD, Senior Staff Psychologist at the University of California, Irvine Counseling Center offers 7 Tips for Coping with Election Stress (scroll down). NPR has weighed in on the topic, and so has the Los Angeles Times, Brown University, and, yes, J.P. Morgan Private Bank (posted under Goals-Based Planning).
Good luck to us all, American and not, next week and the following weeks. For more advice, if not necessarily about election anxiety, consider turning to MeFi's own Oliver Burkeman as seen previously on the blue:
In 2012, on happiness through negative thinking (plus other links).
In January 2022, how self-improvement attempts may make you feel worse.
In June 2022, it's worse than you think. This post also includes a much more complete list of previous Burkeman-related posts.
Apparently a bunch of us have the jitters over next week's US elections. A few days ago, Vox published a guide to managing so-called election anxiety. Judy Hao, PhD, Senior Staff Psychologist at the University of California, Irvine Counseling Center offers 7 Tips for Coping with Election Stress (scroll down). NPR has weighed in on the topic, and so has the Los Angeles Times, Brown University, and, yes, J.P. Morgan Private Bank (posted under Goals-Based Planning).
Good luck to us all, American and not, next week and the following weeks. For more advice, if not necessarily about election anxiety, consider turning to MeFi's own Oliver Burkeman as seen previously on the blue:
In 2012, on happiness through negative thinking (plus other links).
In January 2022, how self-improvement attempts may make you feel worse.
In June 2022, it's worse than you think. This post also includes a much more complete list of previous Burkeman-related posts.
I’m planning to take a sledgehammer to my router on Tuesday morning and watch MST3K DVDs in the basement for three days straight.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:58 AM on October 31 [37 favorites]
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:58 AM on October 31 [37 favorites]
(Ignore any social media addicts who tell you that, in a time of crisis, this constitutes escapism. Is this what we’ve come to – that paying more attention to the reality around you, and less to frenzied online fantasies, gets condemned as taking your eye off the ball?)
I vibe with this so hard. I am aware of the broad strokes of both election campaigns, my vote was a swing state vote, but I refuse to live my life constantly online, doomscrolling and gnashing my teeth because that is no way to live. I already know the world is a hot mess (in a climate sense and political sense) so constantly reading about how awful people are does not help me in my everyday life, which still needs to be lived. I have a sick parent, I have a sick father in law, I have a niece who is being bullied because she is gay. These are my immediate in my life priorities.
I think having constant access and addiction to the never-ending news cycle does us a disservice. Since I sent in my absentee ballot in mid-September, I will not be engaging with Election Day live-watching because I just can't be in that state of absolute anxiety over something I cannot ultimately control. All I can do is vote, encourage other Americans in Canada to vote, and hope for the best.
posted by Kitteh at 10:01 AM on October 31 [36 favorites]
I vibe with this so hard. I am aware of the broad strokes of both election campaigns, my vote was a swing state vote, but I refuse to live my life constantly online, doomscrolling and gnashing my teeth because that is no way to live. I already know the world is a hot mess (in a climate sense and political sense) so constantly reading about how awful people are does not help me in my everyday life, which still needs to be lived. I have a sick parent, I have a sick father in law, I have a niece who is being bullied because she is gay. These are my immediate in my life priorities.
I think having constant access and addiction to the never-ending news cycle does us a disservice. Since I sent in my absentee ballot in mid-September, I will not be engaging with Election Day live-watching because I just can't be in that state of absolute anxiety over something I cannot ultimately control. All I can do is vote, encourage other Americans in Canada to vote, and hope for the best.
posted by Kitteh at 10:01 AM on October 31 [36 favorites]
I have embraced stress eating.
posted by mazola at 10:12 AM on October 31 [14 favorites]
posted by mazola at 10:12 AM on October 31 [14 favorites]
I love the first link, and find it to be one of the only things (or approaches) that really feels both honest and achievably calming in this very stressful week. What will be isn't yet, right?
posted by peppercorn at 10:15 AM on October 31 [1 favorite]
posted by peppercorn at 10:15 AM on October 31 [1 favorite]
I highly recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques to anyone willing to give them a try.
posted by kyrademon at 10:19 AM on October 31 [3 favorites]
posted by kyrademon at 10:19 AM on October 31 [3 favorites]
The idea that constantly refreshing the news is a meaningful way to engage with the world is trash. The best thing I've done for peace of mind this week was doing phone banking for swing state voters. It was easy to sign up for a shift on kamalaharris.com and once you are trained you can do it anytime you want from 9am to 9pm. The dialer app means you can't really multitask, you just have to wait for the next person to be connected to you. They are only doing base turn out calls now so you are talking to likely Democratic voters only. It is very reassuring to talk to one person after another(in between hangups) who is excited to vote or has already voted.
posted by being_quiet at 10:20 AM on October 31 [18 favorites]
posted by being_quiet at 10:20 AM on October 31 [18 favorites]
HERE IS MY SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM I HOPE YOU FIND IT USEFUL
posted by lalochezia at 10:20 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 10:20 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
I'm not even trying.
Somewhere yesterday I saw an image of those godforsaken NYT dials from 2016. You know the ones. My blood pressure has not recovered since.
Sorry, guess I'm not positively contributing here.
posted by Dashy at 10:23 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
Somewhere yesterday I saw an image of those godforsaken NYT dials from 2016. You know the ones. My blood pressure has not recovered since.
Sorry, guess I'm not positively contributing here.
posted by Dashy at 10:23 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
I plan on drinking heavily on Tuesday and passing out on the couch.
posted by grumpybear69 at 10:24 AM on October 31 [15 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 10:24 AM on October 31 [15 favorites]
Over on TikTok I've been enjoy "asmr cooking no talking" videos! They're a delightful and so soothing, while giving me plenty of ideas of things to cook!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:28 AM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:28 AM on October 31 [2 favorites]
I already voted. Despite myself I have been checking and rechecking the "Election Forecast" on 538 repeatedly.
I head out of town for the weekend tomorrow, straight from work, to a vacation rental I chose specifically because it has a very deep soaking tub; I will spend two solid days in and around that tub and playing soothing music before heading back to work on Monday. Tuesday I will be too busy at work, and Tuesday night I'm taking myself to a movie right after - and by the time I get out they will be just about to announce the election forecasts for each state and I'll be in "okay, at least now we will finally know" mode.
I work at a facility that performs first-term abortions. I can't disassociate entirely.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:29 AM on October 31 [21 favorites]
I head out of town for the weekend tomorrow, straight from work, to a vacation rental I chose specifically because it has a very deep soaking tub; I will spend two solid days in and around that tub and playing soothing music before heading back to work on Monday. Tuesday I will be too busy at work, and Tuesday night I'm taking myself to a movie right after - and by the time I get out they will be just about to announce the election forecasts for each state and I'll be in "okay, at least now we will finally know" mode.
I work at a facility that performs first-term abortions. I can't disassociate entirely.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:29 AM on October 31 [21 favorites]
I'm reminding myself that no matter what, we have at least until january before it gets really chaotic, and that although the violent thugs who already stalk our streets, assaulting and murdering without consequences (the police) will happily line up behind Trump, we do still have a lot of institutional resistance to him, and the military is also more likely to remove him in a coup than it is to let him do truly insane shit on the international stage.
posted by dis_integration at 10:31 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 10:31 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
The US political cycle is going to be a form of emotional terrorism for the rest of our lives, I'm guessing - we're going to be screamed at endlessly to either embrace the rule of the corporatist technocrat servants of the rich or a murderous cartoon dictator. To make that a deep part of our personal identity, while the biosphere dies.
Staying sane while remaining engaged seems impossible to me now, TBH. It's like being forced to listen to an agitated, deeply insane person in a locked room.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:33 AM on October 31 [34 favorites]
Staying sane while remaining engaged seems impossible to me now, TBH. It's like being forced to listen to an agitated, deeply insane person in a locked room.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:33 AM on October 31 [34 favorites]
I'm with grumpybear69. I invited a few people over but told them to only come if they are willing and able to not talk about the election at all. We're going to get drunk and watch Netflix and fall asleep in a puppy pile and deal with whatever reality is on Wednesday instead of letting our tension build the night before.
posted by metasarah at 10:41 AM on October 31 [6 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 10:41 AM on October 31 [6 favorites]
Personally I find it helps to be old.
Having had lots of practice waiting for things to happen makes it easier to wait for things to happen, if you let the practice have that effect. Of course not learning from experience is always an option.
I once heard a teacher discussing the effects of Buddhist meditation practice, undertaken systematically for long enough, call it "artificial aging" partly for this reason.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:41 AM on October 31 [14 favorites]
Having had lots of practice waiting for things to happen makes it easier to wait for things to happen, if you let the practice have that effect. Of course not learning from experience is always an option.
I once heard a teacher discussing the effects of Buddhist meditation practice, undertaken systematically for long enough, call it "artificial aging" partly for this reason.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:41 AM on October 31 [14 favorites]
aaaahhhhhhhhAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAZAHHHHHHHaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
posted by supermedusa at 10:42 AM on October 31 [9 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 10:42 AM on October 31 [9 favorites]
I hate how non-partisan this advice always is. It's all good advice, but there are some pretty big reasons why everyone's stressed out, and it seems a bit disingenuous to be talking about ways each of us can individually cope when there's a fascist elephant in the room.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:42 AM on October 31 [50 favorites]
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:42 AM on October 31 [50 favorites]
*meme of john belushi guzzling whiskey from animal house but with the words "this article" pointing to the whiskey*
Thanks, I needed that.
posted by heyitsgogi at 10:43 AM on October 31 [1 favorite]
Thanks, I needed that.
posted by heyitsgogi at 10:43 AM on October 31 [1 favorite]
The idea that constantly refreshing the news is a meaningful way to engage with the world is trash.
OK. And. So. But. Counterpoint: NOT constantly refreshing the news is not really an option.
I keep coming back to murphy slaw's summary of this phenomenon, nigh eight years ago:
OK. And. So. But. Counterpoint: NOT constantly refreshing the news is not really an option.
I keep coming back to murphy slaw's summary of this phenomenon, nigh eight years ago:
my conundrum right now is that reading the news is clearly having a terrible impact on my mental health, and yet the anxiety that it intensifies latches on to narratives like "if i look away for even a minute, the stampede of miscreants assailing the federal government will get away with it".posted by Mayor West at 10:46 AM on October 31 [16 favorites]
ever since the election i have been struggling with constantly being bombarded by imminent disaster outside of my locus of control. i don't want to look away but trying to take it all in is like staring at the sun.
i keep asking myself, "what could i have done differently to prevent this?", like a pebble at the bottom of a mudslide thinking that if it had just gripped the cliffside harder none of this would have happened.
the news is intersecting with my particular brand of crazy very badly right now.
> I hate how non-partisan this advice always is.
We would not be waiting with so much tension, were it not for the fact that the other side is utterly convinced that if they do not win this, America is finished, done, kaput.
They are delusional about that, but that does not make their suffering over the prospect any less real for them.
Alas they are where they are because they seem to have some handicaps when it comes to looking at the world around them without using their views and opinions. If they could learn that, they would not be so easily led into delusions like the ones they labor under.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:48 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
We would not be waiting with so much tension, were it not for the fact that the other side is utterly convinced that if they do not win this, America is finished, done, kaput.
They are delusional about that, but that does not make their suffering over the prospect any less real for them.
Alas they are where they are because they seem to have some handicaps when it comes to looking at the world around them without using their views and opinions. If they could learn that, they would not be so easily led into delusions like the ones they labor under.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 10:48 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
I find that having a routine helps.
My routine is running around like Beaker from the Muppet Show, hair on fire and screaming.
posted by zippy at 10:49 AM on October 31 [52 favorites]
My routine is running around like Beaker from the Muppet Show, hair on fire and screaming.
posted by zippy at 10:49 AM on October 31 [52 favorites]
I think Stoicism was probably a lot easier for ancient Greeks that thought that it was appropriate to defer to the gods that made basically everything happen. These days, it's not the gods, it's those jerks right over there.
posted by a faded photo of their beloved at 10:59 AM on October 31 [17 favorites]
posted by a faded photo of their beloved at 10:59 AM on October 31 [17 favorites]
I envy and admire those of you planning to do other things next tuesday. my husband is a news junkie and glutton for punishment and we watch all the debates, the elections etc., I suppose I could hide in another room for hours, but I won't. its like looking at a car crash, you know you shouldn't, but you do. I will be drinking, on that you can rely.
I'm currently doing a couple of online class/wellness/therapy things (one for grief/depression and one for sleep issues, a pretty tight venn diagram there). I have a slightly bad attitude about it all but I'm trying to just fake it til I make it. but it gets me into some weird thought spaces: we are so bombarded (in the west, first world culture whatever) with toxic wellness messaging on social media etc., and I'm definitely dipping a toe in that stream, if I am trying to find some yoga poses or recipes whatever, right? on the one hand you're like "omg am I hitting my protein goals, broheim?" "am I being a clean eating girlie?" "shouldn't I have better muscle definition even tho I am 56?" and then I have a full 180 flip because omfg!!! these thoughts are coming from a place of such toxic privilege. Like, I highly doubt people in Gaza are worried about getting their steps in today, or that their food is fucking organic. ugh. why must I be positive and healthy and omg never drink its poison!? the world has some truly awful things going on and although it is certainly unhealthy and unhelpful to wallow, I cannot just ignore it all, pretend that everything is fine and the most important thing is my abs or my skincare routine.
so I guess I don't really know what I am saying except yeah this is massively stressful FOR REASONS and do what you need to do to stay sane, or to lose your mind or rage against the dying of the light.
posted by supermedusa at 11:00 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
I'm currently doing a couple of online class/wellness/therapy things (one for grief/depression and one for sleep issues, a pretty tight venn diagram there). I have a slightly bad attitude about it all but I'm trying to just fake it til I make it. but it gets me into some weird thought spaces: we are so bombarded (in the west, first world culture whatever) with toxic wellness messaging on social media etc., and I'm definitely dipping a toe in that stream, if I am trying to find some yoga poses or recipes whatever, right? on the one hand you're like "omg am I hitting my protein goals, broheim?" "am I being a clean eating girlie?" "shouldn't I have better muscle definition even tho I am 56?" and then I have a full 180 flip because omfg!!! these thoughts are coming from a place of such toxic privilege. Like, I highly doubt people in Gaza are worried about getting their steps in today, or that their food is fucking organic. ugh. why must I be positive and healthy and omg never drink its poison!? the world has some truly awful things going on and although it is certainly unhealthy and unhelpful to wallow, I cannot just ignore it all, pretend that everything is fine and the most important thing is my abs or my skincare routine.
so I guess I don't really know what I am saying except yeah this is massively stressful FOR REASONS and do what you need to do to stay sane, or to lose your mind or rage against the dying of the light.
posted by supermedusa at 11:00 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
O/T: I looked at the various "previouslies" and just glancing at that one about accepting negative emotions... I have on my bathroom mirror some post-its with things I want to remind myself of. One of them is the guts of the Upajjhatthana sutta (five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, householder or monk) in list form:
1. Old age
2. Sickness
3. Death
4. Loss
5. Karma
If you wonder what #5 is doing on there I encourage you to go listen to a dharma talk on the sutta. Anyway, I wanted to note what kind of endorsement can be found for Burkeman's views on "positivity."
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 11:05 AM on October 31 [5 favorites]
1. Old age
2. Sickness
3. Death
4. Loss
5. Karma
If you wonder what #5 is doing on there I encourage you to go listen to a dharma talk on the sutta. Anyway, I wanted to note what kind of endorsement can be found for Burkeman's views on "positivity."
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 11:05 AM on October 31 [5 favorites]
I find that having a routine helps.
I do find dog walks are good for me. Once again, doggos are an outsize source of goodness.
posted by mazola at 11:09 AM on October 31 [15 favorites]
I do find dog walks are good for me. Once again, doggos are an outsize source of goodness.
posted by mazola at 11:09 AM on October 31 [15 favorites]
music helps
posted by eustatic at 11:11 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
posted by eustatic at 11:11 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
...and watch MST3K DVDs in the basement for three days straight.
Y'know, if you want to be conked on the noggin, shot into space and not told who won until four years from now we might be able to find you a mad scientist and a supply of cheezy movies. Assuming you've already voted early.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:13 AM on October 31 [13 favorites]
Y'know, if you want to be conked on the noggin, shot into space and not told who won until four years from now we might be able to find you a mad scientist and a supply of cheezy movies. Assuming you've already voted early.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:13 AM on October 31 [13 favorites]
I work as an election judge the day of, so I will be too busy during the day to freak out, and since the shift is 5am-8pm or so, I will then be too tired to freak out. So that has twenty four hours covered for me. It's a crapshoot after that. I take Wednesday after election day off from my day job because judging is so draining, but maybe I'd be better off if I had to work. Oh well.
posted by obfuscation at 11:17 AM on October 31 [18 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 11:17 AM on October 31 [18 favorites]
Y'know, if you want to be conked on the noggin, shot into space and not told who won until four years from now we might be able to find you a mad scientist and a supply of cheezy movies.
But how will I eat and breathe? And other science facts?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 11:17 AM on October 31 [20 favorites]
But how will I eat and breathe? And other science facts?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 11:17 AM on October 31 [20 favorites]
OK. And. So. But. Counterpoint: NOT constantly refreshing the news is not really an option.
It is, though? I haven't watched the news in like 6 years now. I don't have a twitter/X. I don't really go on social media apart from instagram, where my feed is basically dogs and Chef Reactions. The main way I hear about things that happen is by talking to people, like, people who are in a room with me. And sometimes popping over here to Metafilter, though not always. And my partner gets an actual print newspaper every day, which sometimes I'll grab to read when I am lying around with a cup of coffee.
I nonetheless know as much as I, a pathetic tiny broke-ass pissant nothing whose opinions are meaningless and have less than zero impact on anything, need to know. Knowing about every single terrible thing some fucking asshole in fucking Russia says to some other person every minute of every day actually does not accomplish anything. Nothing I have ever accomplished in my entire coming on 5 decades on this earth has ever, EVER, had anything to do with the news.
You're not the pebble. You're not the wall. You're the ground. You were always either going to be under the mudslide or not and it was absolutely never, ever, for a single second, up to you.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:18 AM on October 31 [21 favorites]
It is, though? I haven't watched the news in like 6 years now. I don't have a twitter/X. I don't really go on social media apart from instagram, where my feed is basically dogs and Chef Reactions. The main way I hear about things that happen is by talking to people, like, people who are in a room with me. And sometimes popping over here to Metafilter, though not always. And my partner gets an actual print newspaper every day, which sometimes I'll grab to read when I am lying around with a cup of coffee.
I nonetheless know as much as I, a pathetic tiny broke-ass pissant nothing whose opinions are meaningless and have less than zero impact on anything, need to know. Knowing about every single terrible thing some fucking asshole in fucking Russia says to some other person every minute of every day actually does not accomplish anything. Nothing I have ever accomplished in my entire coming on 5 decades on this earth has ever, EVER, had anything to do with the news.
You're not the pebble. You're not the wall. You're the ground. You were always either going to be under the mudslide or not and it was absolutely never, ever, for a single second, up to you.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:18 AM on October 31 [21 favorites]
Also, I'll be a poll worker for the election, so that'll take my mind of refreshing the news every 3 minutes, while being of service to others.
It's definitely too late to be a poll worker, but I encourage anyone with time to volunteer doing something that day if you're supper anxious. You may not have control of the election, but you can have control of helping others exercise their civil rights.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:19 AM on October 31 [17 favorites]
It's definitely too late to be a poll worker, but I encourage anyone with time to volunteer doing something that day if you're supper anxious. You may not have control of the election, but you can have control of helping others exercise their civil rights.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:19 AM on October 31 [17 favorites]
I'm paying way too much attention to this race. I'm glad it's almost over. I know if Trump wins I'll have to go on a serious news diet: I really can't take 4 years of "the president truthed this shocking thing at 4 AM" and it's kind of dumb to try because there's no point in knowing something you can't control.
posted by netowl at 11:23 AM on October 31 [6 favorites]
posted by netowl at 11:23 AM on October 31 [6 favorites]
I know it's a somewhat privileged take, but I have almost completely unplugged from just about any political news this election cycle (actually for nearly two years now) and it's done a lot of good for my mental health. I get most of my news from non-US outlets and my socials now are largely limited to cat videos, furniture swaps, and various hobbyist photography/astronomy groups.
I used to be a news and politics junkie, but having someone in my extended social circle who has always been prone to anxiety and is an obsessive doomscroller kind of scared me straight. Not downplaying the current situation at all, but the media companies play this stuff up more than a bit, boring politics don't glue eyeballs to screens or keep that sweet ad revenue flowing in. It's kind of sad seeing what it's doing to people's mental well-being in the name of profit.
I'm 6+ hours ahead of the US right now, so my plan is to go to bed and find out results (or whatever awaits) in the morning. I mailed my ballot weeks ago (and confirmed it was counted), not much else I can do at this point.
The US political cycle is going to be a form of emotional terrorism for the rest of our lives, I'm guessing - we're going to be screamed at endlessly to either embrace the rule of the corporatist technocrat servants of the rich or a murderous cartoon dictator. To make that a deep part of our personal identity, while the biosphere dies.
Staying sane while remaining engaged seems impossible to me now, TBH.
Absolutely, you summed it up perfectly. It's a fucked up system and it will never change on a national level, at least not in our lifetimes. Minor upshot I guess is being a massive introvert who has always struggled with social engagement and would rather be doing anything except interact with other people and would MUCH rather be out in nature or traveling than staring at a screen might be an advantage for once.
posted by photo guy at 11:24 AM on October 31 [2 favorites]
I used to be a news and politics junkie, but having someone in my extended social circle who has always been prone to anxiety and is an obsessive doomscroller kind of scared me straight. Not downplaying the current situation at all, but the media companies play this stuff up more than a bit, boring politics don't glue eyeballs to screens or keep that sweet ad revenue flowing in. It's kind of sad seeing what it's doing to people's mental well-being in the name of profit.
I'm 6+ hours ahead of the US right now, so my plan is to go to bed and find out results (or whatever awaits) in the morning. I mailed my ballot weeks ago (and confirmed it was counted), not much else I can do at this point.
The US political cycle is going to be a form of emotional terrorism for the rest of our lives, I'm guessing - we're going to be screamed at endlessly to either embrace the rule of the corporatist technocrat servants of the rich or a murderous cartoon dictator. To make that a deep part of our personal identity, while the biosphere dies.
Staying sane while remaining engaged seems impossible to me now, TBH.
Absolutely, you summed it up perfectly. It's a fucked up system and it will never change on a national level, at least not in our lifetimes. Minor upshot I guess is being a massive introvert who has always struggled with social engagement and would rather be doing anything except interact with other people and would MUCH rather be out in nature or traveling than staring at a screen might be an advantage for once.
posted by photo guy at 11:24 AM on October 31 [2 favorites]
It's definitely too late to be a poll worker
It may not be, depending on the desperation of your local election commission! I did my first shift exactly one day after being recruited from a harried facebook post in March 2020 from the mass exodus of planned judges.
posted by obfuscation at 11:25 AM on October 31 [3 favorites]
It may not be, depending on the desperation of your local election commission! I did my first shift exactly one day after being recruited from a harried facebook post in March 2020 from the mass exodus of planned judges.
posted by obfuscation at 11:25 AM on October 31 [3 favorites]
I don't care who wins. We have a checks and balances system in place Neither candidate is ideal. Both have major flaws.
My dude, the "major flaw" one of the candidates has is that he will try to remove those checks and balances that would prevent him from doing whatever he wants, so I think it might make some sense to start caring who wins.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:26 AM on October 31 [71 favorites]
My dude, the "major flaw" one of the candidates has is that he will try to remove those checks and balances that would prevent him from doing whatever he wants, so I think it might make some sense to start caring who wins.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:26 AM on October 31 [71 favorites]
It's probably not too late to door-knock, or drive people to the polls, or text people reminding them to vote. Doing something feels a lot better than sitting at home and watching the bar charts.
posted by eraserbones at 11:27 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
posted by eraserbones at 11:27 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
Thanks to folks who are doing community service on election day. I had no idea election judge was a thing. obfuscation, might you be willing to explain what that job entails? No worries, if not.
I posted this because just today I started getting election anxiety and thought, hmm, bet it is not just me. Also, in terms of managing election anxiety, consider planning for results much longer than the next day.
From The Conversation: In early October 2024, Arizona’s secretary of state told a group at Harvard the results would take “thirteen days and we’re not doing it any sooner because we’re going to get it right.”
posted by Bella Donna at 11:28 AM on October 31 [5 favorites]
I posted this because just today I started getting election anxiety and thought, hmm, bet it is not just me. Also, in terms of managing election anxiety, consider planning for results much longer than the next day.
From The Conversation: In early October 2024, Arizona’s secretary of state told a group at Harvard the results would take “thirteen days and we’re not doing it any sooner because we’re going to get it right.”
posted by Bella Donna at 11:28 AM on October 31 [5 favorites]
I think Stoicism was probably a lot easier for ancient Greeks that thought that it was appropriate to defer to the gods that made basically everything happen. These days, it's not the gods, it's those jerks right over there.
By the time Stoicism really got going, belief in routine divine intervention on Earth along these lines was potentially rarer per capita than it is in the United States today. An argument that's been made pretty commonly over the years is that a host of the philosophies (Stoicism, e.g.) and religions (early Christianity, e.g.) that sprang up for a few centuries around that time were popular because they helped individuals cope with the rise of strongmen and decreases in personal freedom, which had not exactly been robust to start with, depending on your nationality, citizenship, sex, etc. Draw such conclusions from that as you will.
I expect that I'll probably spend the day reading and/or writing. I will not be following the news, given the accompanying stress and prossibility that we won't have a real answer for days, weeks, or longer.
posted by cupcakeninja at 11:28 AM on October 31 [9 favorites]
By the time Stoicism really got going, belief in routine divine intervention on Earth along these lines was potentially rarer per capita than it is in the United States today. An argument that's been made pretty commonly over the years is that a host of the philosophies (Stoicism, e.g.) and religions (early Christianity, e.g.) that sprang up for a few centuries around that time were popular because they helped individuals cope with the rise of strongmen and decreases in personal freedom, which had not exactly been robust to start with, depending on your nationality, citizenship, sex, etc. Draw such conclusions from that as you will.
I expect that I'll probably spend the day reading and/or writing. I will not be following the news, given the accompanying stress and prossibility that we won't have a real answer for days, weeks, or longer.
posted by cupcakeninja at 11:28 AM on October 31 [9 favorites]
I know it's a somewhat privileged take, but I have almost completely unplugged from just about any political news this election cycle (actually for nearly two years now)
Here's the thing: it is, and I won't argue that I'm not privileged as well. I am privileged along a couple of different axes for sure. But if Trump wins I actually become super vulnerable along the axes where I'm not as privileged. People I care about will be even more vulnerable. They are already more vulnerable than I am.
Nonetheless, I cannot protect myself, or them, from that by reading the internet! I can only protect myself, and them, by being there for them in person with my resources and with my wits about me. Which I can't do if I'm arguing with/getting all fucking ruined mentally about some fuckface on X who is probably LITERALLY TWELVE YEARS OLD and just doing fashy shitposting in order to feel something.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:33 AM on October 31 [14 favorites]
Here's the thing: it is, and I won't argue that I'm not privileged as well. I am privileged along a couple of different axes for sure. But if Trump wins I actually become super vulnerable along the axes where I'm not as privileged. People I care about will be even more vulnerable. They are already more vulnerable than I am.
Nonetheless, I cannot protect myself, or them, from that by reading the internet! I can only protect myself, and them, by being there for them in person with my resources and with my wits about me. Which I can't do if I'm arguing with/getting all fucking ruined mentally about some fuckface on X who is probably LITERALLY TWELVE YEARS OLD and just doing fashy shitposting in order to feel something.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:33 AM on October 31 [14 favorites]
It's late to post to the "vibes" thread, so I'll copy and past here something I put on social last weekend, to reflect how things are where I am:
Yesterday I passed an early voting station, screaming partisans lining both sides of the street on either side for half a block. 90-95% Trump supporters. Then I got stuck behind a "Trump train" out in the countryside, people screaming and waving Trump flags and cheering and honking the loudest at a huge sign in favor of Democratic and immigrant votes going in the toilet (there was more, but I didn't catch the whole thing). A deeply unnerving day in advance of elections.
...all of which is as good an excuse as any for not engaging more than necessary on Tuesday, at least for me. My own experience voting was actually fine, but... hmm.
posted by cupcakeninja at 11:36 AM on October 31 [7 favorites]
Yesterday I passed an early voting station, screaming partisans lining both sides of the street on either side for half a block. 90-95% Trump supporters. Then I got stuck behind a "Trump train" out in the countryside, people screaming and waving Trump flags and cheering and honking the loudest at a huge sign in favor of Democratic and immigrant votes going in the toilet (there was more, but I didn't catch the whole thing). A deeply unnerving day in advance of elections.
...all of which is as good an excuse as any for not engaging more than necessary on Tuesday, at least for me. My own experience voting was actually fine, but... hmm.
posted by cupcakeninja at 11:36 AM on October 31 [7 favorites]
So one thing to clarify is that "election judge" is just what Illinois calls its poll workers. It makes us sound much more powerful than we are! I mean, we do start the day with an oath, so that's cool I guess.
But yeah, we just finish setting up the equipment and run all the morning reports that verify we have no votes on files and write down a lot of seal numbers on bits of locked equipment to keep track of chain of command. Then we spend the day checking in voters and helping them as needed. We do a fair number of same-day registrations, which I loooove (seriously, it makes me so happy!). Then at the end of the day we print our final reports and make sure all the numbers match (ballots printed = ballots processed, seal & serial numbers match, etc). Once that's done, two VERY LUCKY JUDGES (one R and one D who must ride together) get to carry some critical election materials back to the commission... and then drive back to the polling place to let the other person get their care and finally go home. The person who drives to the commission gets an extra $5lololol.
posted by obfuscation at 11:36 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
But yeah, we just finish setting up the equipment and run all the morning reports that verify we have no votes on files and write down a lot of seal numbers on bits of locked equipment to keep track of chain of command. Then we spend the day checking in voters and helping them as needed. We do a fair number of same-day registrations, which I loooove (seriously, it makes me so happy!). Then at the end of the day we print our final reports and make sure all the numbers match (ballots printed = ballots processed, seal & serial numbers match, etc). Once that's done, two VERY LUCKY JUDGES (one R and one D who must ride together) get to carry some critical election materials back to the commission... and then drive back to the polling place to let the other person get their care and finally go home. The person who drives to the commission gets an extra $5lololol.
posted by obfuscation at 11:36 AM on October 31 [10 favorites]
I bought a new (cooperative) board game and invited a friend over; a bunch of people I know and like are going out to a bar to be terrified together and I get that but I am already extremely emotionally brittle and I cannot handle watching the coverage (also I don't want to try to get home from a bar in DC on election night which I suspect would take six hours and cost one million dollars). I'm doing what I can to cope but the closer we get to next Tuesday the harder it is to focus.
posted by an octopus IRL at 11:39 AM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by an octopus IRL at 11:39 AM on October 31 [2 favorites]
Thanks, obfuscation! Since I live in a time zone that is between 6 and 9 hours ahead of the continental United States, it is pointless for me to look at any media reports on Tuesday. Also, I have work to do and I need to do it. During my free time, however, I think I will follow cupcakeninja's suggestion. Well, half of it, and read lots of escapist novels throughout the week. Because escape, especially next week, seems like a fine idea.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:46 AM on October 31 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 11:46 AM on October 31 [1 favorite]
I am also a poll worker on Tuesday, and I plan to ensure that my phone is switched to no notifications. Like other people, I've found that phone banking has been a GREAT antidote for anxiety. On Mastodon I've muted a lot of terms related to politics. I only read the Boston Globe and a couple of little local news publications. About a week ago I stopped reading Apple News and it has done WONDERS for my anxiety and has not actually decreased how informed I am about actual stuff (rather than just outrageous things that are said in order to grab headlines). The month before that I had really started to notice how many things in my feed were meant to trigger outrage and/or fear in order to get me to click. It wasn't healthy for me. I can be aware without having my eyeballs held open like in A Clockwork Orange.
posted by rednikki at 11:49 AM on October 31 [7 favorites]
posted by rednikki at 11:49 AM on October 31 [7 favorites]
It's like waiting for a biopsy to see if the cancer is back.
posted by gottabefunky at 11:50 AM on October 31 [25 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 11:50 AM on October 31 [25 favorites]
In early October 2024, Arizona’s secretary of state told a group at Harvard the results would take “thirteen days and we’re not doing it any sooner because we’re going to get it right.”
In an ideal world, the blue wall states get called for Harris on Tuesday night and she gets past 270 before AZ comes in. However, I will say that the reason the count takes so long in AZ is that so many people drop their early ballots off at polling places. That means their signature has to be verified before the ballot is counted. I think they said around a third of early votes get dropped off at polling places. The upshot of this is they go to great lengths to make sure every single ballot gets counted. I think it changes in 2026 where you can’t drop off early ballots on Election Day which will drastically speed up the count.
posted by azpenguin at 11:55 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
In an ideal world, the blue wall states get called for Harris on Tuesday night and she gets past 270 before AZ comes in. However, I will say that the reason the count takes so long in AZ is that so many people drop their early ballots off at polling places. That means their signature has to be verified before the ballot is counted. I think they said around a third of early votes get dropped off at polling places. The upshot of this is they go to great lengths to make sure every single ballot gets counted. I think it changes in 2026 where you can’t drop off early ballots on Election Day which will drastically speed up the count.
posted by azpenguin at 11:55 AM on October 31 [4 favorites]
I think it's probably good that my therapy session is on Tuesday. Although depending on how it goes maybe it should be Wednesday.
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:00 PM on October 31 [3 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:00 PM on October 31 [3 favorites]
Get yourself outside if possible.
posted by bluesky43 at 12:31 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by bluesky43 at 12:31 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
I don't stress over politics. I don't care who wins. We have a checks and balances system in place
The problem is: that checks and balances system was designed with the assumption that the fight for power would be between Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court. That's not what's actually happened, though. The fight for power is between two political parties. If Trump wins and the House and Senate are in Republican control, there will be no checks at all. They'll happily enable whatever he wants to do. And the 6-3 conservative SCOTUS isn't going to step in to stop things either. If he gets a few loyal generals at the top of the various branches of the military--something he desperately wants--we can get to the end of the Republic faster than you can imagine. A second Trump term, when he can't be legally re-elected, isn't going to look like the first one.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 12:31 PM on October 31 [33 favorites]
The problem is: that checks and balances system was designed with the assumption that the fight for power would be between Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court. That's not what's actually happened, though. The fight for power is between two political parties. If Trump wins and the House and Senate are in Republican control, there will be no checks at all. They'll happily enable whatever he wants to do. And the 6-3 conservative SCOTUS isn't going to step in to stop things either. If he gets a few loyal generals at the top of the various branches of the military--something he desperately wants--we can get to the end of the Republic faster than you can imagine. A second Trump term, when he can't be legally re-elected, isn't going to look like the first one.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 12:31 PM on October 31 [33 favorites]
It's like waiting for a biopsy to see if the cancer is back.
Its exactly like that but with the election being close at all you know the cancer is back, you are just waiting to find out if its terminal this time.
posted by being_quiet at 12:31 PM on October 31 [9 favorites]
Its exactly like that but with the election being close at all you know the cancer is back, you are just waiting to find out if its terminal this time.
posted by being_quiet at 12:31 PM on October 31 [9 favorites]
I just went out to drop off my mail-in vote at the early voting site. Coming back, I found myself wading through crowds of tiny people dressed like fairies and princesses and vampires and the like, demanding tribute from shopkeepers. Air, light, and tiny cute beings: recommended for what ails you. I feel better than I have in a few weeks, though I don't expect it'll go all the way til Tuesday!
posted by praemunire at 12:39 PM on October 31 [9 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 12:39 PM on October 31 [9 favorites]
> I don't stress over politics. I don't care who wins. We have a checks and balances system in place
If this was ever true, it no longer is. The courts won't save us, congress won't save us, institutions won't save us, the military might do something, but it would be a struggle to call it saving us. The future is a yawning abyss of unpredictability.
posted by dis_integration at 12:41 PM on October 31 [13 favorites]
If this was ever true, it no longer is. The courts won't save us, congress won't save us, institutions won't save us, the military might do something, but it would be a struggle to call it saving us. The future is a yawning abyss of unpredictability.
posted by dis_integration at 12:41 PM on October 31 [13 favorites]
going to try really hard not to stress eat 500 metric tons of halloween candy tonight :D
posted by supermedusa at 12:42 PM on October 31 [4 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 12:42 PM on October 31 [4 favorites]
I don't stress over politics. I don't care who wins. We have a checks and balances system in place
I am extremely happy for you that you don't feel like you're in danger based on the results of the election. In fairness, I believe I am in danger whoever wins (both because I don't trust Republicans to respect the election results and because I don't trust Democrats to protect trans people) but I feel like I am in grave and immediate danger if Donald Trump wins. This is the staying calm thread so I'm staying calm but the stakes really are very high for many of us and, while I agree that we should care for ourselves and not give in to panic, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to be scared.
posted by an octopus IRL at 12:57 PM on October 31 [19 favorites]
I am extremely happy for you that you don't feel like you're in danger based on the results of the election. In fairness, I believe I am in danger whoever wins (both because I don't trust Republicans to respect the election results and because I don't trust Democrats to protect trans people) but I feel like I am in grave and immediate danger if Donald Trump wins. This is the staying calm thread so I'm staying calm but the stakes really are very high for many of us and, while I agree that we should care for ourselves and not give in to panic, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to be scared.
posted by an octopus IRL at 12:57 PM on October 31 [19 favorites]
Mod note: One comment deleted. Making an association between migrants and 'barbarians at the gates' is dehumanizing and goes against our Content Policy. Plea do not do this.
posted by loup (staff) at 1:00 PM on October 31 [23 favorites]
posted by loup (staff) at 1:00 PM on October 31 [23 favorites]
thank you, loup.
posted by supermedusa at 1:07 PM on October 31 [3 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 1:07 PM on October 31 [3 favorites]
I think it's probably good that my therapy session is on Tuesday. Although depending on how it goes maybe it should be Wednesday.
Same for me, and thought same.
From what I've read, we're not going to know Tuesday night, as the most crucial states deciding our lives won't even start counting till day of, blah blah blah. So the real nervewracking shit will be Wednesday, probably.
I have rehearsal Tuesday, which is irritating for wanting to follow shit, but on the other hand, may be distracting.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:08 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
Same for me, and thought same.
From what I've read, we're not going to know Tuesday night, as the most crucial states deciding our lives won't even start counting till day of, blah blah blah. So the real nervewracking shit will be Wednesday, probably.
I have rehearsal Tuesday, which is irritating for wanting to follow shit, but on the other hand, may be distracting.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:08 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
my therapy sessions are also on tuesday!
posted by supermedusa at 1:15 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 1:15 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
It's definitely too late to be a poll worker, but I encourage anyone with time to volunteer doing something that day if you're supper anxious. You may not have control of the election, but you can have control of helping others exercise their civil rights.another vital volunteer opportunity is to call voters who need their ballots cured. If this election is going to be as close as the polls say it is, then successful ballot curing can be difference between winning a state like Pennsylvania or losing it. You're following up with voters who are having their ballots challenged, so often the calls are non-confrontational and people are genuinely grateful to hear from you. You can almost think of this as every person you call is one more voter adding to the margin of a state.
I worked on DNC tech during the 2020 campaign, so put all of my efforts into ensuring that IWillVote was returning fast and accurate results, and our databases were able to support the army of voter protection attorneys and hotline workers logging incidents and helping voters with issues at election locations. I got up at 4 in the morning to be online at 5 when the first polling places opened to watch data center graphs and keep an eye on systems.
When the polls closed and my shift ended, I did not turn on the TV or look at the NYT needle. I watched a youtube video of a houseboat floating down a canal in Oxford, England; then went to bed early since I got up at 4.
We all knew that the election would be close and it wouldn't be decided on Tuesday night. We were preparing for ballot curing and mail-in voter support for Wednesday and Thursday and Friday. I was still doing data entry for mail-in ballot issues on Saturday when the election was finally called for him.
The results aren't going to change based on whether you're watching TV or refreshing The Needle or not.
They might change if you volunteer to ensure that every vote is counted.
So go do that.
posted by bl1nk at 1:16 PM on October 31 [24 favorites]
Remembering how bad I felt the day after the 2016 election has me really concerned for what feels like an inevitable bad result next week. Especially so because now I am a dad, and my 14-month-old needs me to be at operating capacity, not a dissociated, weeping wreck. Being a parent has made me a lot stronger as a person, and maybe I can keep myself pulled together, but Trump even having a chance at winning has also really forced me to confront my choice to bring him into this world. He deserves a better world.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 1:16 PM on October 31 [13 favorites]
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 1:16 PM on October 31 [13 favorites]
I'm not joking or being a doomsayer when I say that I'm having some luck by giving up hope.
Anticipation of something bad is often at least as bad as the bad thing itself, there's neuroscience to back that up.
So I've been trying to convince my subconscious that he's already won and there's no need to anticipate the worst becuase it's already happened. It doesn't work all that well, but it does work a little bit.
posted by sotonohito at 2:01 PM on October 31 [7 favorites]
Anticipation of something bad is often at least as bad as the bad thing itself, there's neuroscience to back that up.
So I've been trying to convince my subconscious that he's already won and there's no need to anticipate the worst becuase it's already happened. It doesn't work all that well, but it does work a little bit.
posted by sotonohito at 2:01 PM on October 31 [7 favorites]
I am hoping against hope that all the polls are wrong (again) and that it's actually a delightful and whoosing landslide for Harris. I can only indulge in that fantasy for about one min tops at a time but it's a lovely minute.
posted by tiny frying pan at 2:10 PM on October 31 [13 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 2:10 PM on October 31 [13 favorites]
> I'm not joking or being a doomsayer when I say that I'm having some luck by giving up hope.
I don't think that's necessary, or even desirable. This is a topic where there is often semantic confusion in English.
I suggest that what you want to give up is not hope but optimism, the belief that things will work out all right. This is a sound instinct but hope is not optimism. Optimism is an epistemic position that you know what the future will be like. Hope is also an epistemic position, but a much more modest and defensible one: you don't know what the future will be like, and also your modeling of it is based on incomplete information and performed with limited time. Unless you have just seen the ICBMs get salvoed or something, you do not have grounds to predict catastrophe.
I work to maintain hope, though it is hard sometimes: I look at the demographics that say when 30% of Americans will pick 70% of the Senators, and think that will not plausibly be survivable for the Republic. But a lot can happen in 6-8 years.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 2:15 PM on October 31 [5 favorites]
I don't think that's necessary, or even desirable. This is a topic where there is often semantic confusion in English.
I suggest that what you want to give up is not hope but optimism, the belief that things will work out all right. This is a sound instinct but hope is not optimism. Optimism is an epistemic position that you know what the future will be like. Hope is also an epistemic position, but a much more modest and defensible one: you don't know what the future will be like, and also your modeling of it is based on incomplete information and performed with limited time. Unless you have just seen the ICBMs get salvoed or something, you do not have grounds to predict catastrophe.
I work to maintain hope, though it is hard sometimes: I look at the demographics that say when 30% of Americans will pick 70% of the Senators, and think that will not plausibly be survivable for the Republic. But a lot can happen in 6-8 years.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 2:15 PM on October 31 [5 favorites]
Maybe we'll all just wake up Wednesday morning next to Suzanne Pleshette.
posted by credulous at 2:34 PM on October 31 [27 favorites]
posted by credulous at 2:34 PM on October 31 [27 favorites]
I'm hanging out with a friend tonight. He and his sister are going off tomorrow to spend the next two weeks camping in the most remote part of Joshua Tree, as far from human contact as they can possibly be. I can't blame them.
Me, I just hope that I managed to do enough. I was a Bernie Bro in 2016 who spent all his energy helping downballot Democrats in congressional races, but I didn't lift a finger for Hilary because 'she didn't need my help or want my help'- in that way, the arrogance of her campaign really hurt her as much as her centrism.
I guess a childhood of HP Lovecraft and Howard and other 'doomed denizens of doomed cities awaiting their nightmarish end' fantasy writing has helped me to have a stiff upper lip to the onrushing doom.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 2:52 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
Me, I just hope that I managed to do enough. I was a Bernie Bro in 2016 who spent all his energy helping downballot Democrats in congressional races, but I didn't lift a finger for Hilary because 'she didn't need my help or want my help'- in that way, the arrogance of her campaign really hurt her as much as her centrism.
I guess a childhood of HP Lovecraft and Howard and other 'doomed denizens of doomed cities awaiting their nightmarish end' fantasy writing has helped me to have a stiff upper lip to the onrushing doom.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 2:52 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
I'm a simple man. Plans are to be smoking a ridiculous amount of weed (while it's still legal where I live) and watching hockey Tuesday evening. I already took a vacation day for Wednesday because, Jesus H Roller-skating Christ, I do NOT want to hear it from the blessedly small handful of dumbfucks at work...either way this goes.
I'll know if there's a war starting Wednesday morning, so might as well have a mostly enjoyable evening.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:02 PM on October 31 [9 favorites]
I'll know if there's a war starting Wednesday morning, so might as well have a mostly enjoyable evening.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:02 PM on October 31 [9 favorites]
If Chucklefuck loses (please) does he immediately file to run again in 28 to keep his grift going, or is this hopefully his final go due to some sort of prohibition on it (please)?
posted by maxwelton at 3:14 PM on October 31 [3 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 3:14 PM on October 31 [3 favorites]
Alas, I think if he loses, yes he does file for '28 right away.
He's clearly losing power and endurance though. I'm hoping this is not one of those elections where people look back in a few years and say "if the campaign had gone on another 2 weeks the election would have gone the other way." I feel like he's almost a spent force, and if he does finally have legal punishment inflicted upon him after all this time, I think it might take his mind off of '28. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be allowed to run his grifts from prison?
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 3:39 PM on October 31 [6 favorites]
He's clearly losing power and endurance though. I'm hoping this is not one of those elections where people look back in a few years and say "if the campaign had gone on another 2 weeks the election would have gone the other way." I feel like he's almost a spent force, and if he does finally have legal punishment inflicted upon him after all this time, I think it might take his mind off of '28. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be allowed to run his grifts from prison?
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 3:39 PM on October 31 [6 favorites]
Then at the end of the day we print our final reports and make sure all the numbers match (ballots printed = ballots processed, seal & serial numbers match, etc). Once that's done, two VERY LUCKY JUDGES (one R and one D who must ride together) get to carry some critical election materials back to the commission... and then drive back to the polling place to let the other person get their care and finally go home.
Having two judges bring the materials back to a central office makes sense, I guess, given how party identification is so difficult to untangle from the process. When Elections Canada hired me as a deputy returning officer, I was expected to return all the ballots from my poll, allong with other critical material, on my own. (On the back of my bike, as it happened.) But who knows how our elections will evolve over the next decade, as we get weirder and angrier with each cycle.
posted by maudlin at 4:58 PM on October 31 [5 favorites]
Having two judges bring the materials back to a central office makes sense, I guess, given how party identification is so difficult to untangle from the process. When Elections Canada hired me as a deputy returning officer, I was expected to return all the ballots from my poll, allong with other critical material, on my own. (On the back of my bike, as it happened.) But who knows how our elections will evolve over the next decade, as we get weirder and angrier with each cycle.
posted by maudlin at 4:58 PM on October 31 [5 favorites]
I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be allowed to run his grifts from prison?
From an international perspective, it’s bewildering that he isn’t in prison already! The coup! All the fraud! He’s even been convicted! Why wasn’t all that done sooner? I’m a lawyer, I get that litigation is slow, but it’s not this slow. The institutions dropped the ball.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:14 PM on October 31 [18 favorites]
From an international perspective, it’s bewildering that he isn’t in prison already! The coup! All the fraud! He’s even been convicted! Why wasn’t all that done sooner? I’m a lawyer, I get that litigation is slow, but it’s not this slow. The institutions dropped the ball.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:14 PM on October 31 [18 favorites]
From an international perspective, it’s bewildering that he isn’t in prison already!
Not just from an international perspective.
Thanks a heap, Merrick Garland.
posted by Gadarene at 8:40 PM on October 31 [10 favorites]
Not just from an international perspective.
Thanks a heap, Merrick Garland.
posted by Gadarene at 8:40 PM on October 31 [10 favorites]
does he immediately file to run again in 28 to keep his grift going
120% yes. There is no question that he'll announce that he's running in '28 so as to avoid having to shut off all the very many automatic monthly campaign contributions so very many people have surely forgotten about.
posted by VTX at 9:12 PM on October 31 [8 favorites]
120% yes. There is no question that he'll announce that he's running in '28 so as to avoid having to shut off all the very many automatic monthly campaign contributions so very many people have surely forgotten about.
posted by VTX at 9:12 PM on October 31 [8 favorites]
Get yourself outside if possible
thank you for this reminder & all the good thoughts in this thread. i voted & am going to try to go offline for a week or so
posted by HearHere at 12:51 AM on November 1 [6 favorites]
thank you for this reminder & all the good thoughts in this thread. i voted & am going to try to go offline for a week or so
posted by HearHere at 12:51 AM on November 1 [6 favorites]
> If Chucklefuck loses (please) does he immediately file to run again in 28 to keep his grift going, or is this hopefully his final go due to some sort of prohibition on it (please)?
Alas, I think if he loses, yes he does file for '28 right away.
I think he's already said himself that "this is it if I don't win". Granted, I wouldn't put it past him to change his mind....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:17 AM on November 1 [1 favorite]
Alas, I think if he loses, yes he does file for '28 right away.
I think he's already said himself that "this is it if I don't win". Granted, I wouldn't put it past him to change his mind....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:17 AM on November 1 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Thanks for all the advice about this, we've added this post to the sidebar and Best Of blog!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:46 AM on November 1 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:46 AM on November 1 [2 favorites]
I'm going to my office to pretend to work while obsessively checking election news, same as the last couple of weeks. Then the drinking at home begins. I live in California so hopefully I won't have to be up as late. I'll be looking out for Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Then I took the rest of the week off. If we take the unhappy path I won't be mentally able to work. If we take the happy path, a few days of relaxation and decompression.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:18 AM on November 1 [4 favorites]
Then I took the rest of the week off. If we take the unhappy path I won't be mentally able to work. If we take the happy path, a few days of relaxation and decompression.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:18 AM on November 1 [4 favorites]
the other side is utterly convinced that if they do not win this, America is finished, done, kaput
Aren't both sides pretty convinced of this?
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 10:18 AM on November 1 [3 favorites]
Aren't both sides pretty convinced of this?
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 10:18 AM on November 1 [3 favorites]
Yes. Both sides are convinced of this, but only one side is evidence-based. IMHO.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:24 AM on November 1 [19 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 10:24 AM on November 1 [19 favorites]
Both sides are convinced of this but one side defines “finished” as rich people paying slightly more in taxes and not being able to force their religious beliefs on unwilling people.
posted by adamsc at 10:56 AM on November 1 [15 favorites]
posted by adamsc at 10:56 AM on November 1 [15 favorites]
If Chucklefuck loses (please) does he immediately file to run again in 28 to keep his grift going, or is this hopefully his final go due to some sort of prohibition on it (please)?
TFG can barely campaign now, and he's clearly declining very rapidly. He can file all he likes, and he may, but there's absolutely no way he's going to be physically and mentally capable of running for political office in four years, even assuming he's neither dead nor incarcerated by then, both of which are distinct possibilities.
If he suffers a definitive loss on November 5th, he may try to incite another attempted coup, he may hold more of his stupid rallies and fundraise and throw tantrums on Twitter and continue to poison the political discourse and all that other crap, but he's done as a viable political candidate.
posted by orange swan at 10:57 AM on November 1 [2 favorites]
TFG can barely campaign now, and he's clearly declining very rapidly. He can file all he likes, and he may, but there's absolutely no way he's going to be physically and mentally capable of running for political office in four years, even assuming he's neither dead nor incarcerated by then, both of which are distinct possibilities.
If he suffers a definitive loss on November 5th, he may try to incite another attempted coup, he may hold more of his stupid rallies and fundraise and throw tantrums on Twitter and continue to poison the political discourse and all that other crap, but he's done as a viable political candidate.
posted by orange swan at 10:57 AM on November 1 [2 favorites]
Maybe we'll all just wake up Wednesday morning next to Suzanne Pleshette.
As long as I can bring my wife, that sounds just peachy.
All I can add is that I'm trying to stop listening to music that will at this moment in time reduce me to rubble. The last few days I've been driving up and down the coast doing various ordinary life stuff and listening to Did You Know There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard and sobbing, sobbing, and unable to stop. It's happening again right now, just typing out the album title! I love you, Lana, but there's more than that going on here. So Mozart it is until... what, I'm not sure, but please God let it be the Harris inauguration.
My sister's first-born child
I'm gonna take that too with me
My grandmother's last smile
I'm gonna take that too with me
Godammit where are the tissues Okay the point here was to make helpful suggestions, so bring on Figaro and skip over Contessa, perdono! in Act 4. That will do it. 30s swing. Music with joy in it. That's what I've got.
posted by jokeefe at 3:09 PM on November 1 [4 favorites]
As long as I can bring my wife, that sounds just peachy.
All I can add is that I'm trying to stop listening to music that will at this moment in time reduce me to rubble. The last few days I've been driving up and down the coast doing various ordinary life stuff and listening to Did You Know There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard and sobbing, sobbing, and unable to stop. It's happening again right now, just typing out the album title! I love you, Lana, but there's more than that going on here. So Mozart it is until... what, I'm not sure, but please God let it be the Harris inauguration.
My sister's first-born child
I'm gonna take that too with me
My grandmother's last smile
I'm gonna take that too with me
Godammit where are the tissues Okay the point here was to make helpful suggestions, so bring on Figaro and skip over Contessa, perdono! in Act 4. That will do it. 30s swing. Music with joy in it. That's what I've got.
posted by jokeefe at 3:09 PM on November 1 [4 favorites]
I can't find the original comment that contained these sentences:
I don't stress over politics. I don't care who wins. We have a checks and balances system in place
...only quotes and rebuttals, so perhaps it was deleted? But I highly suspect, am indeed almost certain, that a man wrote this. I can't imagine any woman on Mefi doing so. You know, the women who had their rights to bodily autonomy removed by the past Republican administration? I had a couple of American friends in 2016 who argued the same thing, but they are long past believing it as it turned out that those checks and balances were often just a matter of manners and custom and were enshrined nowhere in law that made them inviolable. Such an attitude today is a grave insult to every one of those women, numbers of whom are now dying from lack of health care in states with abortion bans. Catastrophizing in this situation is a reasonable reaction. That's why you should care, FFS.
Godspeed, America. When I next tune into the news, sometime at the end of next week, may there be a clear electoral college majority for Harris and may we all be able to feel that there might be a little bit of hope for the future.
posted by jokeefe at 3:44 PM on November 1 [11 favorites]
I don't stress over politics. I don't care who wins. We have a checks and balances system in place
...only quotes and rebuttals, so perhaps it was deleted? But I highly suspect, am indeed almost certain, that a man wrote this. I can't imagine any woman on Mefi doing so. You know, the women who had their rights to bodily autonomy removed by the past Republican administration? I had a couple of American friends in 2016 who argued the same thing, but they are long past believing it as it turned out that those checks and balances were often just a matter of manners and custom and were enshrined nowhere in law that made them inviolable. Such an attitude today is a grave insult to every one of those women, numbers of whom are now dying from lack of health care in states with abortion bans. Catastrophizing in this situation is a reasonable reaction. That's why you should care, FFS.
Godspeed, America. When I next tune into the news, sometime at the end of next week, may there be a clear electoral college majority for Harris and may we all be able to feel that there might be a little bit of hope for the future.
posted by jokeefe at 3:44 PM on November 1 [11 favorites]
There's a last minute ad campaign that Matthew Cortland, a disability advocate, is running. It's very, very targeted to important swing states in the most persuadable demographics. Because it's a shoestring PAC, donations have to be $1000 or more, because Matthew is running themselves into the ground to do all the paperwork and compliance. They are almost to the target of $100k and my understanding is they can deploy up to $135k of funds effectively. If you've got a pit in your stomach about trump and a large spare chunk of money you can do without and are a citizen over the age of 18--well, donating to this made me feel like I was doing something for the election in a way that helps causes important to me. You can contact @amyhoy.bsky.social on BlueSky or DM me for links to the Act Blue page for it. (The screening is to help people not accidentally give smaller amounts of money that would have to be refunded due to the limitations of doing all the compliance paperwork.)
posted by foxfirefey at 4:41 PM on November 1 [2 favorites]
posted by foxfirefey at 4:41 PM on November 1 [2 favorites]
I had a couple of American friends in 2016 who argued the same thing, but they are long past believing it as it turned out that those checks and balances were often just a matter of manners and custom and were enshrined nowhere in law that made them inviolable.
The mere fact that the same cast of characters are within a puncher's chance of seizing power right now proves that there are no checks or balances that matter.
But "I don't care who wins" makes no sense on many levels. Because even if I didn't worry about my LGBT+ friends and family who will have open season declared upon them, or the women in my life staring down the barrel of losing far more control over their bodily autonomy and civil rights, or the non-white friends who'll suffer from federally-authorized-and-immunized police brutality, or the non-evangelical-Christian people who'll be subject to laws and rulings based explicitly on someone else's religious beliefs, there's the fact that I LIVE HERE.
That means that handing the FDA and HHS over to a fruitcake bent on shredding medicine and vaccines will succeed in multiplying health risks for ME. That means that shredding taxes and pumping up tariffs and destroying the American economy, small businesses, stability and long-term viability affects ME and my ability to keep my head above water. One of the main guys who WANTS ME TO VOTE FOR TRUMP is openly stating that "a period of hardship is inevitable" if Trump wins.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of "don't worry, we have Chuck Schumer and at least three SCOTUS judges to rein him in."
posted by delfin at 5:11 PM on November 1 [10 favorites]
The mere fact that the same cast of characters are within a puncher's chance of seizing power right now proves that there are no checks or balances that matter.
But "I don't care who wins" makes no sense on many levels. Because even if I didn't worry about my LGBT+ friends and family who will have open season declared upon them, or the women in my life staring down the barrel of losing far more control over their bodily autonomy and civil rights, or the non-white friends who'll suffer from federally-authorized-and-immunized police brutality, or the non-evangelical-Christian people who'll be subject to laws and rulings based explicitly on someone else's religious beliefs, there's the fact that I LIVE HERE.
That means that handing the FDA and HHS over to a fruitcake bent on shredding medicine and vaccines will succeed in multiplying health risks for ME. That means that shredding taxes and pumping up tariffs and destroying the American economy, small businesses, stability and long-term viability affects ME and my ability to keep my head above water. One of the main guys who WANTS ME TO VOTE FOR TRUMP is openly stating that "a period of hardship is inevitable" if Trump wins.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of "don't worry, we have Chuck Schumer and at least three SCOTUS judges to rein him in."
posted by delfin at 5:11 PM on November 1 [10 favorites]
I'm the only person in my house who wants to follow every second of the news on Tuesday (I find it interesting!) so probably I'll be right here with you all. I was invited to an election-watching party that's been held every four years since Reagan vs Carter, but I won't know most of the people... although I guess I'd get to know them all well by the end of the evening.
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:39 PM on November 1
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:39 PM on November 1
We went to an election-watching party at some friends' house in 2016 and it was so traumatic we haven't seen them since. Not them, but the association.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:32 AM on November 2 [4 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 9:32 AM on November 2 [4 favorites]
I'd like to say I'll ignore the election news, go to sleep on Tuesday and wake up Wednesday to see if I need to take the day off work to huddle in a corner and alternately cry and rage.
But I don't think I have the self control. I'll probably be right here with y'all.
posted by sotonohito at 9:49 AM on November 2 [3 favorites]
But I don't think I have the self control. I'll probably be right here with y'all.
posted by sotonohito at 9:49 AM on November 2 [3 favorites]
WaPo: The next eight days could be torture. Or you could try this.
The best strategy for managing uncertainty, she and her colleagues have found, is to cultivate optimism, on purpose, and then, at the 11th hour (or on Election Day, in this case), wallow in pessimism.
There’s a paradox behind this advice. Worry is good for us — and also a kind of poison. So, we must somehow try to find just the right dosage. Worry can motivate us to take action — to canvass or donate money or vote. And then, if the worst comes to pass, worry can be protective. People who worry tend to be less shattered by terrible news. They have braced themselves, in other words, for the worst-case scenario.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:13 AM on November 2 [3 favorites]
The best strategy for managing uncertainty, she and her colleagues have found, is to cultivate optimism, on purpose, and then, at the 11th hour (or on Election Day, in this case), wallow in pessimism.
There’s a paradox behind this advice. Worry is good for us — and also a kind of poison. So, we must somehow try to find just the right dosage. Worry can motivate us to take action — to canvass or donate money or vote. And then, if the worst comes to pass, worry can be protective. People who worry tend to be less shattered by terrible news. They have braced themselves, in other words, for the worst-case scenario.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:13 AM on November 2 [3 favorites]
Thank you for posting that information, foxfirefey. Even if you cannot donate, click on the links to watch the ads. They are really well done.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:21 AM on November 2
posted by Bella Donna at 11:21 AM on November 2
This thread is helping me with my election anxiety. Thanks, Mefites! However, I'm still very much on edge and bunged up as hell about all the horrific things that will happen if Trump wins. JFC. I voted already and changed my customary vacation-day-after-a-presidential-election from a whole day to just a couple of hours off in the morning, because I don't want to ruminate and nail bite by myself as the results become clearer on the 6th. I want to be around my friends at work, other public librarians and staff who are smart, caring, and fabulous people. We'll all be freaked out or (hopefully - c'mon, c'mon, c'mon) happy together, and will eat lots of carbs in any case. There's an agreement to wear black if the worst happens.
I'm coming into work a speck late because I will be up well into the night and will have a hard time sleeping on the 5th, either due to elation and relief, or utter, soul-scraping despair. What a time.
posted by but no cigar at 3:48 PM on November 2 [1 favorite]
I'm coming into work a speck late because I will be up well into the night and will have a hard time sleeping on the 5th, either due to elation and relief, or utter, soul-scraping despair. What a time.
posted by but no cigar at 3:48 PM on November 2 [1 favorite]
Alternatively, let Ann Selzer carry you to calm in these last few days: A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows Vice President Harris leading former President Trump 47% to 44% among likely voters just days before a high-stakes election that appears deadlocked in key battleground states.
posted by yasaman at 4:37 PM on November 2 [11 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 4:37 PM on November 2 [11 favorites]
Holy shit.
People were speculating that a mid-single digit Trump lead would be an ominous sign for him -- even if this is an outlier, it signals a potential blowout in the Midwest.
posted by Rhaomi at 5:09 PM on November 2 [1 favorite]
People were speculating that a mid-single digit Trump lead would be an ominous sign for him -- even if this is an outlier, it signals a potential blowout in the Midwest.
posted by Rhaomi at 5:09 PM on November 2 [1 favorite]
I went and early voted this afternoon, so at least I can say that I did. Won't make a lick of difference on any of the big tickets, of course, living in Chicago. But some of the downticket stuff needs support. I did my standard readthrough of Girl I Guess to get the inside baseball for Chicago politics to know which names in particular I needed to hit.
I just wanted to tell you all- Good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by notoriety public at 5:30 PM on November 2 [8 favorites]
I just wanted to tell you all- Good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by notoriety public at 5:30 PM on November 2 [8 favorites]
Even when the polls were favourable to TFG, or showing a dead heat, I simply have never believed that TFG will win the popular vote. He lost it by nearly 3M in 2016, and by over 81M in 2020, and there's no way in hell he's gained ground with voters since. My concern has always been the electoral college, and that Harris needed a definitive win that couldn't be contested, because the Supreme Court can't be trusted not to kick the election over to TFG. Aside from the polls, and the support of some asshole billionaires, every indication I have seen is that Harris is going to get that definitive win. So I hope and believe that Kamala Harris will be the next POTUS, but not having a crystal ball, and remembering how people lied in the exit polls in 2016 because they were ashamed of having voted for Trump and incredibly much is at stake here, I'm still anxious.
I've planned to treat myself to a shopping expedition on Tuesday knowing I will not be able to focus on anything too taxing, and laid in some goodies for Tuesday evening because I have every intention of stress eating.
posted by orange swan at 5:33 PM on November 2 [10 favorites]
I've planned to treat myself to a shopping expedition on Tuesday knowing I will not be able to focus on anything too taxing, and laid in some goodies for Tuesday evening because I have every intention of stress eating.
posted by orange swan at 5:33 PM on November 2 [10 favorites]
My socials have been full of people reposting the McSweeney's essay "I Will Be Away From My Desk On November 6," by Lauren Thoman. Sharing here in case anyone needs a laugh, a lolsob, or related reaction.
posted by cupcakeninja at 2:57 AM on November 3 [9 favorites]
posted by cupcakeninja at 2:57 AM on November 3 [9 favorites]
Aside from the polls, and the support of some asshole billionaires, every indication I have seen is that Harris is going to get that definitive win.
There's been a huge enthusiasm gap, there's been a huge funding gap, and there's been a huge organisation gap between Harris and Trump, in Harris' favour. Trump's barely campaigned. His VP pick has been swept out of view. The polls showing the race tied seem so weird because they aren't tracking against the things that generally win elections. But you also don't want to hang your hopes on the polls being wrong somehow, even though there's a plausible reason to think that the polls might be wrong. (It does not seem plausible that the likely voters in 2020 are going to be the same as the likely voters in 2024 given all that has happened.)
I think the most remarkable thing, for me, was the Harris campaign ad with Julia Roberts, saying that ladies, your husband doesn't need to know how you voted, which seemed like it was addressing an audience that Democrats were just sort of hoping existed - and then Republican men yelled about how deceptive it would be for a wife to keep their vote secret from their husband, which sure suggested that there probably are a lot of women who can't publicly disagree with their husband.
What I'm holding onto is that Harris has run the best campaign she reasonably could have. There are things that she could have done better, sure, certainly there are positions I would have preferred her to take, but Trump did not outplay her. If Trump wins, I don't think there was anything that she could have done that would have made it go differently.
posted by Merus at 5:48 AM on November 3 [18 favorites]
There's been a huge enthusiasm gap, there's been a huge funding gap, and there's been a huge organisation gap between Harris and Trump, in Harris' favour. Trump's barely campaigned. His VP pick has been swept out of view. The polls showing the race tied seem so weird because they aren't tracking against the things that generally win elections. But you also don't want to hang your hopes on the polls being wrong somehow, even though there's a plausible reason to think that the polls might be wrong. (It does not seem plausible that the likely voters in 2020 are going to be the same as the likely voters in 2024 given all that has happened.)
I think the most remarkable thing, for me, was the Harris campaign ad with Julia Roberts, saying that ladies, your husband doesn't need to know how you voted, which seemed like it was addressing an audience that Democrats were just sort of hoping existed - and then Republican men yelled about how deceptive it would be for a wife to keep their vote secret from their husband, which sure suggested that there probably are a lot of women who can't publicly disagree with their husband.
What I'm holding onto is that Harris has run the best campaign she reasonably could have. There are things that she could have done better, sure, certainly there are positions I would have preferred her to take, but Trump did not outplay her. If Trump wins, I don't think there was anything that she could have done that would have made it go differently.
posted by Merus at 5:48 AM on November 3 [18 favorites]
Shiv Ramdas, from BlueSky:
I know the Selzer poll feels too good to be true, but put it this way, the most accurate pollster in the USA would need to be off by 10 POINTS for Trump to lose by the margins of 4 years ago.
He's cooked.
margin of error on the selzer poll is 3.4. So she not just has to be wrong, she has to be wrong by a factor of 3X which would be double the biggest error she's ever had in order for trump to run at 2020 levels. When he lost.
Cooked
posted by delfin at 8:00 AM on November 3 [3 favorites]
I know the Selzer poll feels too good to be true, but put it this way, the most accurate pollster in the USA would need to be off by 10 POINTS for Trump to lose by the margins of 4 years ago.
He's cooked.
margin of error on the selzer poll is 3.4. So she not just has to be wrong, she has to be wrong by a factor of 3X which would be double the biggest error she's ever had in order for trump to run at 2020 levels. When he lost.
Cooked
posted by delfin at 8:00 AM on November 3 [3 favorites]
My fucking birthday is on fucking Tuesday, y'all. Last night I threw a Diwali party and somewhere near the end when I finally sat down after two days straight of party prep, exhaustion made me confess to everyone within earshot that I was absolutely dreading my birthday. There were a few moments of sympathetic silence as people tried to figure out what to say, and then one friend said with a lightbulb over his head, "Day drinking!" That was a pretty good suggestion.
posted by MiraK at 12:00 PM on November 3 [6 favorites]
posted by MiraK at 12:00 PM on November 3 [6 favorites]
I still don’t know if Harris will win - if I had to be money I would bet on her, but I don’t know and there’s a lot of anxiety there. The biggest value for me of Selzer’s
poll in Iowa was that it gave me a jolt of optimism. Will it last? I don’t know. But it’s like taking ibuprofen for a pulled muscle, it may not heal it, but it will get you through the next few hours. Trump is acting like he knows he’s cooked. We will see soon enough, though.
posted by azpenguin at 2:38 PM on November 3
poll in Iowa was that it gave me a jolt of optimism. Will it last? I don’t know. But it’s like taking ibuprofen for a pulled muscle, it may not heal it, but it will get you through the next few hours. Trump is acting like he knows he’s cooked. We will see soon enough, though.
posted by azpenguin at 2:38 PM on November 3
This 30-second clip of Trump at this rally telling people to please vote for him or else he's in trouble, and then complaining about the crowds not really giving a shit what he says, sure sounds like he knows he's cooked (cw: video of Donald Trump)
posted by Merus at 4:53 PM on November 3 [3 favorites]
posted by Merus at 4:53 PM on November 3 [3 favorites]
bl1nk, thank you for this concrete suggestion for how to do something useful. I signed up for two shifts on election day, and have reached out to several friends who might be interested. (If you missed the link in bl1nk's comment, it's Harris-Walz voter protection phone bank, and it's about "[calling] likely Democratic voters in battleground states with potential issues with their registration or ballots to ensure their votes are fairly counted"—good for those of us who don't handle confrontation well.)
I wish I could say that it's filled me with optimism. Certainly the takes in this thread that it's a sure thing in the wrong direction are downers for me, but I don’t think anyone in the world is possessed of secret knowledge, so I take those as just some people’s way of handling fear by dwelling on the worst-case outcome. But, short of optimism, I can at least now say that I’ll be spending some of my election day doing something way more useful than endlessly checking the news, and I can feed that to the voice in my head urging panic.
Best wishes to everyone, for good outcomes and sanity while we wait for them, and thank you to Bella Donna for this much-needed advice post.
posted by It is regrettable that at 6:00 PM on November 3 [4 favorites]
I wish I could say that it's filled me with optimism. Certainly the takes in this thread that it's a sure thing in the wrong direction are downers for me, but I don’t think anyone in the world is possessed of secret knowledge, so I take those as just some people’s way of handling fear by dwelling on the worst-case outcome. But, short of optimism, I can at least now say that I’ll be spending some of my election day doing something way more useful than endlessly checking the news, and I can feed that to the voice in my head urging panic.
Best wishes to everyone, for good outcomes and sanity while we wait for them, and thank you to Bella Donna for this much-needed advice post.
posted by It is regrettable that at 6:00 PM on November 3 [4 favorites]
Yes to the voter protection phone banking. Ballot cure work is going to be essential.
Greg Pak on Bluesky drew a cute unofficial NYC I Voted sticker featuring Pizza Rat.
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:24 PM on November 3 [2 favorites]
Greg Pak on Bluesky drew a cute unofficial NYC I Voted sticker featuring Pizza Rat.
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:24 PM on November 3 [2 favorites]
I’ve been having a lot of 2016 vibes with this election but when I saw Harris on SNL I realized that there is a huge difference here and it’s that Harris is a much more relatable person than Hillary Clinton was and much less stiff and practiced. And she didn’t faint in public and nobody has announced her indictment. And it seems like she stepped into the Biden campaign apparatus and just said let’s go, none of the infighting and backstabbing of her 2020 primary run. So I’m starting to believe maybe this time the fact that the other campaign is utterly shambolic, and the candidate a circus act, and this time an unenthusiastic one, will actually be reflected in the vote.
And also I’m a 40 year old white male property owner who makes a good income in one of the most important swing states in the country, I’m basically trump demographic red meat, and I have not been approached by any trump canvassers a single time or even gotten any pro trump texts while the Harris campaign and its associated PACs won’t leave me the fuck alone, doorknocking TWICE this weekend, three phone calls and 5 get out the vote texts. They are running a massive ground game here in Milwaukee and Trumps people are nowhere to be found
posted by dis_integration at 6:22 AM on November 4 [11 favorites]
And also I’m a 40 year old white male property owner who makes a good income in one of the most important swing states in the country, I’m basically trump demographic red meat, and I have not been approached by any trump canvassers a single time or even gotten any pro trump texts while the Harris campaign and its associated PACs won’t leave me the fuck alone, doorknocking TWICE this weekend, three phone calls and 5 get out the vote texts. They are running a massive ground game here in Milwaukee and Trumps people are nowhere to be found
posted by dis_integration at 6:22 AM on November 4 [11 favorites]
I see so many positive signs, except for my family, who appear set to vote for Trump. I look forward to holding this over their heads for the entire rest of my life.
posted by JHarris at 7:37 AM on November 4 [7 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 7:37 AM on November 4 [7 favorites]
I was in the Hudson Valley this weekend. The bulk of the signs I saw were pro-Harris (not surprising, as the town where I was sees a lot of NYC transplants) but there was the occasional Trump sign. And I saw one dude driving back and forth on a side street with a huge Trump flag hanging out the passenger side of his SUV.
I have had "One Day More" from Les Miz in my head all morning.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:59 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
I have had "One Day More" from Les Miz in my head all morning.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:59 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
I’ve been having a lot of 2016 vibes with this election but when I saw Harris on SNL I realized that there is a huge difference here and it’s that Harris is a much more relatable person than Hillary Clinton was and much less stiff and practiced. And she didn’t faint in public and nobody has announced her indictment. And it seems like she stepped into the Biden campaign apparatus and just said let’s go, none of the infighting and backstabbing of her 2020 primary run. So I’m starting to believe maybe this time the fact that the other campaign is utterly shambolic, and the candidate a circus act, and this time an unenthusiastic one, will actually be reflected in the vote.
No candidate ever runs a perfect campaign but the Harris campaign is as close as you can get. It has been amazing to watch. The rallies, the GOTV operation, the rapid response operation, everything has been a well-oiled machine. And watching her on SNL, she was genuinely having a blast on it. I saw on a different site someone posted that they had worked on a lot of campaigns, and you know it when you're losing as well as when you're winning. Their feeling is that Harris is winning. That is *obviously* not to be taken as gospel, but if Trump wins, it's not going to be because Harris fumbled this away at all.
posted by azpenguin at 8:31 AM on November 4 [8 favorites]
No candidate ever runs a perfect campaign but the Harris campaign is as close as you can get. It has been amazing to watch. The rallies, the GOTV operation, the rapid response operation, everything has been a well-oiled machine. And watching her on SNL, she was genuinely having a blast on it. I saw on a different site someone posted that they had worked on a lot of campaigns, and you know it when you're losing as well as when you're winning. Their feeling is that Harris is winning. That is *obviously* not to be taken as gospel, but if Trump wins, it's not going to be because Harris fumbled this away at all.
posted by azpenguin at 8:31 AM on November 4 [8 favorites]
WaPo: Hypnosis? Colonoscopy? What some people will do to avoid Election Day. Perhaps a wisdom tooth extraction would be more relaxing than waiting to hear who’ll be president.
“If you need to have a conversation about Donald Trump, if you need to watch MSNBC, if you need to doomscroll your phone,” says DuHon, “go in what we call ‘the grandpa room.’”
The grandpa room is, unlike the rest of the chicly decorated cabin in Virginia, a “tiny, stinky room,” with an ancient TV, “horrible old couch” with stains on its plaid wool, and “bad carpet” that reeks of decades-old cigarette smoke
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:42 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
“If you need to have a conversation about Donald Trump, if you need to watch MSNBC, if you need to doomscroll your phone,” says DuHon, “go in what we call ‘the grandpa room.’”
The grandpa room is, unlike the rest of the chicly decorated cabin in Virginia, a “tiny, stinky room,” with an ancient TV, “horrible old couch” with stains on its plaid wool, and “bad carpet” that reeks of decades-old cigarette smoke
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:42 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
WaPo: Make election week less stressful, without putting down your phone. Take care of yourself with cozy games, Do Not Disturb modes and information moderation.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:48 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:48 AM on November 4 [1 favorite]
I just want to note that I believe this 2024 Democratic Ticket, and especially here in Michigan, is by far one of the best slates in my lifetime. Harris at top, but Slotkin here has been doing an amazing job running for Senate too
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:18 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:18 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
Harris has 4-point lead over Trump in final PBS News/NPR/Marist election poll [PBS]
On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris holds a 4-point lead over former President Donald Trump among likely voters nationally, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. Harris has the support of 51 percent of likely voters to Trump’s 47 percent – a lead just outside the poll’s 3.5-point margin of error.posted by mazola at 10:19 AM on November 4 [2 favorites]
A little more than half of independents support the Republican nominee, a 5-point lead over Harris.
Obviously, I have no idea what is going to happen in the election. When I was at the local grocery store a couple of days ago, I said, in Swedish, something like, "Okey-dokey, as we say in the USA." The cashier asked if I was American, and I confirmed it. Then she asked if I was worried about the election. Today, a Swedish friend asked me the same thing during a phone call. My answer: I am no longer worried about the election, because it is out of my hands.
I understand TFG may be elected. That is possible. Plenty of my relatives plan to vote for him. That said, I feel like so many women have lost so much thanks to TFG (and his accomplices/overlords) that our deep rage will eventually destroy him and a bunch of other Republican candidates. It could happen this week, even. I certainly hope so.
My personal plan, as a working person in a different time zone, is to attempt to avoid election coverage until Thursday. In the meantime, Louise Penny has a new book out. Just bought a copy for my tablet to help distract me for a few days. The Grey Wolf was published on October 29. Happy reading!
posted by Bella Donna at 10:22 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
I understand TFG may be elected. That is possible. Plenty of my relatives plan to vote for him. That said, I feel like so many women have lost so much thanks to TFG (and his accomplices/overlords) that our deep rage will eventually destroy him and a bunch of other Republican candidates. It could happen this week, even. I certainly hope so.
My personal plan, as a working person in a different time zone, is to attempt to avoid election coverage until Thursday. In the meantime, Louise Penny has a new book out. Just bought a copy for my tablet to help distract me for a few days. The Grey Wolf was published on October 29. Happy reading!
posted by Bella Donna at 10:22 AM on November 4 [4 favorites]
A little more than half of independents support the Republican nominee, a 5-point lead over Harris.I used to think of an independent as someone who did not want to be locked into the two-party system, but nowadays many seem to use it as an excuse to be a Trump voter while avoiding some of the stigma of calling oneself Republican.
posted by It is regrettable that at 12:09 PM on November 4 [4 favorites]
Many years back on Fark (and probably still) these people were known as "Fark Independents"
posted by azpenguin at 3:06 PM on November 4
posted by azpenguin at 3:06 PM on November 4
They are running a massive ground game here in Milwaukee and Trumps people are nowhere to be found
Trump was stuffing ads in my mailbox a few months ago but I've gotten barely anything from him in a while. Guess he ran out of money to spend on our "horrible city."
posted by brook horse at 3:16 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]
Trump was stuffing ads in my mailbox a few months ago but I've gotten barely anything from him in a while. Guess he ran out of money to spend on our "horrible city."
posted by brook horse at 3:16 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]
Just passed a Harris-Walz campaign bus bopping around West Allis (a working class Milwaukee suburb where the median income is less than 40k) at 7:30pm, so they’re clearly still going strong through to the end.
posted by brook horse at 5:38 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]
posted by brook horse at 5:38 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]
how do you stay focused on work during anxiety-inducing world events?
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:06 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:06 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]
I am going to the United States this month, after the election.
I am -
- not white
- not a man
- not cis-hetero
- not a US citizen
- not a Christian
- not well-off (but not in poverty either, thankfully)
If I were just going there for a short visit I wouldn't have worried as much. But I'm going to spend at least the next few years there and I am legit worried.
posted by runcifex at 7:26 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
I am -
- not white
- not a man
- not cis-hetero
- not a US citizen
- not a Christian
- not well-off (but not in poverty either, thankfully)
If I were just going there for a short visit I wouldn't have worried as much. But I'm going to spend at least the next few years there and I am legit worried.
posted by runcifex at 7:26 PM on November 4 [3 favorites]
Election 2024: 12 science-backed must-reads to help soothe anxiety
I went out and got booze last night and I found old work T-shirts to slice and dice, so I guess I'm all prepared when I finally get home.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:39 AM on November 5 [1 favorite]
I went out and got booze last night and I found old work T-shirts to slice and dice, so I guess I'm all prepared when I finally get home.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:39 AM on November 5 [1 favorite]
WaPo:
Election anxiety is real. Here’s how to manage stress throughout the day.
Stressed? ‘Sesame Street therapy has begun’ “I’m hanging on BY A THREAD ELMO,” wrote one of the muppet’s followers.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:43 AM on November 5 [1 favorite]
Election anxiety is real. Here’s how to manage stress throughout the day.
Stressed? ‘Sesame Street therapy has begun’ “I’m hanging on BY A THREAD ELMO,” wrote one of the muppet’s followers.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:43 AM on November 5 [1 favorite]
Ungated links for the above:
Election anxiety is real. Here's how to manage stress throughout the day.
Stressed? Sesame Street Therapy has begun
NYT Five Minute Meditation
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 AM on November 5 [3 favorites]
Election anxiety is real. Here's how to manage stress throughout the day.
Stressed? Sesame Street Therapy has begun
NYT Five Minute Meditation
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 AM on November 5 [3 favorites]
This thread is much appreciated but I don't think it's going to stop my Jekyll/Hyde back and forthing between weary optimism and full on doomdoomDOOM-ing.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:40 AM on November 5 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:40 AM on November 5 [2 favorites]
Personally, my plan is to put away my phone in a few minutes and ruin my wrists trying to get good again at playing a video game involving the use of a plastic guitar shaped instrument for a few hours straight. Turns out that going 10 years without playing really wrecks your skills. I've got around 2,300 songs, so I can keep going for a few weeks if I really have to.
Avoidance, baby!
posted by wierdo at 10:40 AM on November 5 [3 favorites]
Avoidance, baby!
posted by wierdo at 10:40 AM on November 5 [3 favorites]
WaPo: The sane human’s guide to ‘panic responsibly’ on Election Day
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:18 PM on November 5 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:18 PM on November 5 [1 favorite]
A November 10, 2016 blog post entitled "Chop Wood, Carry Water" was reshared by a friend on social. I'm posting it here because it felt useful to me this morning.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:50 AM on November 6 [2 favorites]
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:50 AM on November 6 [2 favorites]
The plan didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped, but it did go well enough that my old skills at playing the plastic guitar shaped game controller are beginning to return, so at least I can enjoy some nice music and feel a sense of accomplishment at the same time.
It really works well for escaping from the sense of impending doom. Highly recommend if you have a computer and a bit of spare cash.
posted by wierdo at 2:34 PM on November 6 [1 favorite]
It really works well for escaping from the sense of impending doom. Highly recommend if you have a computer and a bit of spare cash.
posted by wierdo at 2:34 PM on November 6 [1 favorite]
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posted by gottabefunky at 9:58 AM on October 31 [29 favorites]