What’s going on with my mother?

Thanks for sharing, OP!

The proper medical term for this is “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

I’m a 62 year old Mom and soon to be grandma.

And I guess you could say I’m obsessed with Trump.

I think it’s just fear. And regret. And guilt.

My generation knows how things are supposed to be.

We're the boomers who were born in the aftermath of Hitler, Mussolini and the horrors of WWII.

We grew up during the Cold War and lived to see it end. Or so we thought.

We supposedly learned the lessons we were supposed to learn and were prepared to inherit a world where fascism had been defeated and communism contained.

We were the generation that was supposed to fight for equality and against global warming.

We were supposed to leave a better healthcare system and a better standard of living for our kids.

Instead how many of us embraced the “greed is good” motto of the 80s and cast our votes for Ronnie Reagan, sending him, his harridan of a wife and his anti-union, deregulating cronies into the White House? (For the record, I voted for Carter).

We fucked up and started this ball rolling. And our one chance to stop it is to defeat Trump.

If your mom’s anything like me she’s terrified of what kind of world is being left for her kids and their kids, she regrets every choice our generation made that got us here, and she feels guilt for watching it all happen.

Because she knows what we were supposed to accomplish and how things are supposed to be.

Anyway, that’s the best way I can explain why I’m obsessed.

Old people still remember tyrants like Stalin and Hitler.

Seems perfectly normal to me. It’s like a nightmare we can’t wake up from. Invasion of the Body Snatchers level shit.

R3/R4 Those are good points, although I’m still not sure how watching cable news all day would solve anything. That would drive me mad. I just dropped my ballot in the mail with a vote for Kamala and that’s all I can do.

Sounds like she’s a lot smarter than you.

I don’t know about that R7. OP didn’t say they aren’t worried about Trump. They just said there’s no point in thinking about him all day long. And I think that’s accurate. I’ve had a lot of therapy over the years, and I’ve learned that there’s no point in worrying about things you can’t control. I voted and I hope for the best, and that’s all I can do.

Trump Derangement Syndrome can be sonsidered a good thing.

Stopping this madman is a good thing.

Taking your eyes off him can lead to acceptance of his total ineptitude to lead the United States of America ever again.

Thank goodness of your mother realizing what a terribly unfit person Donald Trump truly is.

Oh look. Another Trump thread.

R8 i tried to hit back before the comment loaded as i noticed OP was being pretty reasonable so it is what it is.

24 hour news was a mistake. Lets just have multiple national new bulletins.

Older people watch the news ALL DAY LONG. Your mother sounds completely normal. Before cable news, my father was obsessed with the news paper every day had to read the news paper, and then local TV news at the time.

Young people are out living their lives, working, dating, going out with friends, dinner, adventures, music, Youtube etc. If they catch the news it's by accident in their TikToK feed otherwise "whatever". Older people dont go out much, they care about what gowning on in the world, they see the big picture, and pondering their own mortality. They have seen with their own eyes the implications of putting judges on the Supreme court and living decades with that decision no matter how corrupt or partisan just one of those judges can be (cough, cough Clarence Thomas). Appointing 3 in one shot by a single president is a nightmare to them.

That's why seniors are the voting block with the highest turnout in every election. That's why your mom is obsess with Dump, she knows if he gets back in, it wont be just 4 years, it will be decades of damage to the American system of democracy.

Who gives a fuck? Let the old lady have her hobby. Things are tough for elder women since they cancelled their stories.

Trump is deranged and she's concerned about her county. Sounds right to me.

Beautiful post r3

There is nothing wrong with your mother, it’s the people who live in denial there’s something wrong with.

I'm surprised she's watching MSNBC and not Fox News.

I think this is simply one of those cases of logical thinking versus emotional thinking. A logical thinker would understand that thinking about Trump all day long isn’t going to change anything, and the only thing they can do is vote. But an emotional thinker, especially one who spends all day in echo chambers, is going to believe that constant worry is going to make a difference, or that in order to be a “good“ citizen, they need to “show” that they’re worried about Trump.

Yes, R17, and the ones who come into your home/car/personal space, see you watching/listening to/reading new reporting of Trump and his minions, roll their eyes, sigh and are all "I can't stand that man--but I won't/can't watch that stuff every day."

I'm like "Bitch, this is MY home, MY vehicle, MY personal space, and YOU are a low information voter who could stand watching news about Trump--because if you did you would know it's not just about "that man"; it's Congress, your state legislature, your city council, your fucking dogcatcher."

They're the same types who'll point to your checkout items, and say "What is that? You eat that? Wow, do you really need all those pastries?" Like you know me and my family well enough to ask those dunderheaded questions.

Does she post on Datalounge? How many of the elevenseventybillion Trump threads do you think she is responsible for?

Calm down R20. We know all of this. That’s why we vote.

[quote]But an emotional thinker, especially one who spends all day in echo chambers, is going to believe that constant worry is going to make a difference, or that in order to be a “good“ citizen, they need to “show” that they’re worried about Trump.

Totally disagree with that. It's not about "being a good citizen". When you have lived long enough to know how countries can change and elect dictators which lead to wars, it's not an "echo chamber" obsession, it's real concern to not return to the past like that. Its very simple minded to throw up your hands and say "all I can do is vote" and then pretend nothing bad is happening to this country and it's culture.

R23 I’m going to ask you a question. What else can you really do besides vote that’s going to make any meaningful difference?

You could worry. It won’t change anything. I think there’s a difference between being concerned for the future of the country and spending every waking moment thinking about it. Of course I’m concerned for the future of the country. That’s why I vote in every single election. At the same time, I fail to see how ranting on Facebook about Trump, watching cable news all day, etc. is going to make any meaningful impact.

You could start a 100 Trump threads a day. Lord knows that helps.

[quote]She would spend up to eight hours a day watching MSNBC

Your mother could be my mother, but add two boxes of wine a week. What REALLY bothers me, is she is watching a lot of Youtube (on the television through a Roku). I keep telling her that ANYONE can pretty much post anything on Youtube, but she keeps watching it.

I gave her an example - I could post a video on Youtube where I look straight at the camera and say "Hitler was right". Would it be monetized? No. Would it be taken down? I doubt it.

She just doesn't believe me. Youtube's algorithm feeds a person worst fears. At least MSNBC is more or less factual.

I'm tempted to password lock the app, but she is an adult.

Your mom is a total weirdo who thinks American democracy is worth preserving. 🙄

It’s sad. Older people, some of them, truly do not know what to do with themselves for the hours of a day.

Poor lady is being victimized by the powerful interests that choose what is news and what is noise. They have chosen him because he gets their networks viewer attention. He has clearly promised to Lower taxes for the richest few. He's promised to do away with workers rights. He's promised to remove regulations to prevent them from looting and poisoning the country and the minds of the people. Thats why he's going to be squarely defeated on the 5th.

[quote]Your mom is a total weirdo who thinks American democracy is worth preserving

Getting drunk by 4 PM everyday watching the View, MSNBC, and Youtube, and bitching about Trump, but doing absolutely nothing else is not preserving democracy.

If she volunteered (even by phone) I'd be happy to listen to her bitch about Trump all day, but she doesn't. It is as bad as those people who watch Fox News all day and hold their gun in their hand in case "them immigrants" storm their door any moment.

How dare you judge your mother. If she was a foaming at the mouth worshiper of orange, you would not dare to criticize.

Maybe your mom cares very deeply about keeping our Democracy and maybe you don’t know what Democracy is?

R32 or maybe OP’s mom (if she’s like my mom) just has nothing to do.

Obviously mom is bored and has nothing to do and no one to speak with, with a son like that? Obvious.

Cheer up, OP, she could have been a MAGAt, constantly oraculating the virtues of Trump and making you seriously consider euthanasia.

Your mother is obsessed and needs other interests and hobbies. She has let Trump infest her brain and is doing nothing productive. If Trump wins (God forbid], I’d sincerely worry about her mental health.

(For maybe the first time in my life) Team Mom

R36 you just described most of the people on this thread.

Do you love Trump OP?

R39 What a strange comment. OP never said they like Trump.

Good, OP. Let her keep trying to convince her friends to vote against Trump.

R41 I can’t speak for OP, but I highly doubt their mom needs to do any convincing. Anyone that pathologically obsessed with Trump isn’t going to have Trump supporting friends.

I guess it’s better than crying tears of love