Can we please just have one thread for comforting each other right now?

This hurts. Like, this is bleak.

I've never experienced grief and fear like this. 2016 didn't even TOUCH this. Life feels impossible.

I know how MARY this sounds, but I really wish we could all be together right now. I feel so dreadfully alone.

I've cried several tears, as I said in other threads. This is the worst possible outcome.

I love you all and we, as a country should have been above this blowhards stupid shit. I hate that we live in a country that this many people could want this fucking asshole to run our country AGAIN.

This has been a difficult night and I can't believe we're dealing with this shithead again.

Well, all I can manage is that the next few years will be….interesting.

I know, I know, I’m deliberately understating it.

But I don’t have the energy and heart to say much else.

I love all you bitches. I don't blame us. I don't blame the democrats. I don't want to be angry anymore. I just want to get into bed and sleep for four years.

At least he'll be gone for good in four years time. The last four flew by.

I am proud of us. We worked our asses off. We showed up. Kamala ran a stunning campaign. We did nothing wrong and everything right. It just wasn't enough. But I think I will need to unplug from the news and social media for some time. Maybe go back to school.

My husband and I were thinking of going the surrogacy route with a friend of ours. We felt this would be the perfect time in our lives to bring a baby into this world. That is now out of the question, because the world as we knew it is over.

Colbert said last night, "I choose optimism, because I have only two other options: absolute terror or Absolut vodka."

Realize that you're not alone. Half of the country is feeling the same way right now. The way that evil has triumphed over good tonight is heartbreaking.

I'm determined not to let him ruin my life for the next 4 years. But it's going to be hard if he takes away my healthcare. We'll all have to learn how to survive. We have no other choice. We gays are survivors and we will survive this, too.

Agree, R9. I braced myself for this outcome, & plan on focusing on intentional & deliberate self care, along with self improvement.

The 2016 election was a gut punch, as I hadn’t expected it, but this time I did, & unfortunately, believed he’d win again. That was a devastating time for me because I found myself in an environment where I didn’t belong, which drastically deteriorated my mental health.

Not this time. Not again.

MARY me all you want, but I’m sending you all a virtual hug whether you like it or not.

Sorry not sorry to say this. But it’s time to cut off all people in one’s life that support this.

Rome fell tonight.

[Quote]We gays are survivors and we will survive this, too.

Yes. I think gays and women are going to have to do quite a lot of leaning on and fighting for each other in these coming years. Because no one else is going to.

"Love always bats last."

i completely agree with you r14

I can't watch his victory speech. He belongs in prison, not in the White House. Good thoughts to you all on a bad night.

R17 No, I refuse to every listen to a single word he ever says again. No more airtime, no more hits, no more brainspace. I am officially evicting him from my life.

i refuse to watch anything he says. what a fucking fascist loser and fuck all those that voted for this unabashed, hateful person.

Shocked, I really thought Texas would turn blue. Am I an idiot? I think I knew a lot of what was going on but f-me, clueless, I guess. Just still in shock....

I’ve never felt ashamed to be an American until tonight.

The civil war has begun.

There really needs to be a non-pussy cadre of Democrats. Why we continue to I turn the other cheek is ludicrous?

I am wildly grateful to live in a blue bubble city, and frankly I don't plan on leaving it in the next four years except to visit other blue bubble cities. My life depends on the safety of that bubble now.

The revolution will come from the left. They assured that tonight.

I already grieved for humanity 8 years ago. I think this time will be easier, because now I’m just bitter

I’m feeling a double punch. The punch in the guts from that evil clown winning. And a punch in the face from all the comments here saying that we as gays are “identity politics” and that Pete, and by extension gay men in general, can never run because we must only put up straight, white men now.

I’ll be 40 soon and I really thought we’d break the glass ceiling tonight, Pete would get a promotion, he’d run and win someday, maybe paired with Big Gretch. Now…..years of this fool and the very dangerous Vance. He will likely fill 2 Supreme Court seats. Gay marriage will be next. The second half of my life will be in a failed country under far right control with a moronic population.

I can’t afford to live in a blue bubble but I’ll have to find a way. Maybe go back to school and change careers.

And yes I’m bitter as fuck and quite angry. For the first time in my life I don’t care. If he mass deports Latinos, if he bans Muslims, if he tells Isreal to wipe out Gaza and build a hotel. I’m exhausted and they get what they voted for.

Everyone has a choice: embrace those that exalt a rapist, thief, felon, insurrectionist or exile all those who endorse it.

The power is in your hands.

I can't imagine what Kamala and Tim must be feeling right now. No candidate has ever worked so hard. No one has deserved it more.

I've said this on another thread but America probably needs to totally destroy itself and then start over.

R26 come to Chicago. It's the most affordable blue bubble right now.

I ask myself, "Why would God let this happen?"

I have such disdain for Christians who voted for this horrible man.

This will be marked in history as the day the USA died.

We have zero morals and can no longer lecture others with moral rectitude.

Better said than done r29. I think we've got a year to sell our holdings and then GTFO. Bye bish bye

i hate ww'ing you r32 but it's fucking true.

We elected an adjudicated rapist and felon as president.

This is officially a third-world country.

I was on the phone with my mother tonight and we were both crying, and then the anger finally hit and I just started screaming, "FUCK GOD--THERE IS NO FUCKING GOD!!" over and over. I think I scared her. But I really and truly meant it. God, if he exists, is useless. He allowed the antichrist to destroy our planet. I don't want to hear another goddamn word about God.

I'm now drinking the last 3/4 glass of chardonnay of 2 bottles of wine so i can go to sleep.

then wake up to this new, fucked reality. again.

I don’t think we’ll ever see consecutive incumbent terms again. It’s going to ping pong party to party every four years.

Nothing will get accomplished.

There is a silver lining. California and Colorado have repealed their gay marriage bans - Proposition 8 is dead. Remember 16 years ago how it felt when it passed?

R28 Yes, thanks for saying that. They must be devastated but she’s getting so much shit on other threads for her campaign and for not speaking tonight that I didn’t bring it up.

It’s one thing to lose after putting in so much effort but to lose to…..that thing..understanding fully the risk he poses. She’ll be Hillary’d now but she didn’t do a thing wrong imo. She had Obama levels of enthusiasm. Raised so much money. Had a flawless debate. Had the momentum.

I can't believe that this is how it ends for America's first female vice-president.

No more NSNBC. No more cheerleader left-wing media.

Vote Democratic every four years and never think about it.

They truly betrayed us.

I’m exhausted, but glad I can sit around here with you lot in our kaftans sipping chamomile tea.

I’m not American, and don’t want to intrude on private grief (although this election is going to have terrible repercussions here in Europe), but just wanted to say that I know that this won’t be the end of America. In four or (God help us all) eight or 12 years, the American people will decide that they want to restore normality. It may be that decorum may have been lost forever from public life, because millions prefer open vulgarity and lies, but at some point people will want coherent policy.

In the meantime, it’s up to all of us, wherever we are, not to allow ourselves to be demoralised into apathy. Let’s be angry instead: vote, write letters, demonstrate, complain, fund charities and support decent politicians. Be ready for the time when the dormant American spirit is ready to be revived. It’s still there, i don’t doubt it.

Today, I’m going to find a charity supporting poor, tortured Ukraine, and send it some cash, it won’t be much, but it will be something, and the action will hopefully make me feel less sick than I do at the moment.

The American experiment died tonight.

Time to move on to something better.

I honestly think I’m in shock.

r44 you are so much more positive than all of us in the U.S.

We don't see a way out of this unless we actually start a civil war.

And we are fucking lazy, so...will that actually happen? Don't know.

R44 I worry about the demographics tbh The Latino move to Trump. The movement of black men to Trump. The foolish Arabs in MI breaking 45% for Trump. It doesn’t make me hopeful. An abusive, vulgar strongman seems to appeal to the demographics that are growing.

Yes, I am desperately glad to have you crazy bitches tonight, of all nights.

And for the addicts in our community, desperately holding on to your recovery by the quicks of your nails, do NOT let this man take one more important thing from you. Call your sponsor. Find a meeting. Start a support thread here if you need to. We promise we won't be assholes.

How would that change the mentality of those who voted to put him back in office, R29?

We’re done. Just worry about yourself and your loved ones now. We’re now living in the Thunderdome.

r46 I am in shock too.

I went to bed around 11PM and woke up with a terrible pit in my stomach.

Just watch your investments like a hawk. That’s all it’s about now. Survival of the fittest. Fuck those social issues.

*terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach

I’m not sure what to do about my SS. I’m 63 and wanted to wait until I was 67 to take it. But now…I don’t know.

Well, the holidays are officially cancelled. I was so looking forward to a joyful holiday season this year after a Harris win, too. Now, I don't feel like celebrating anything.

R52, simpatico. I went to bed at 11:15, just woke with a start at 3:30 and lay there full of dread, brain twitching. Finally checked again now to see the news at 345am eastern. Devastating. A Trump/Vance Presidency, GOP Senate, GOP House and extremely GOP Supreme Court.

Sending comfort to you all, to us all. And seconding so hard what R49 just wrote. "Do NOT let this man take one more important thing from you." We will need to dig down hard for self-care and for care of the most vulnerable friends and loved ones among us.

I do not feel the usual sense of norms and boundaries re: what will become of this nation. And of the world. Imagine being a Ukrainian right now.

Is anyone on the verge of a panic attack?

r49 really hit a nerve. I haven't had a drink in 12.5 years, and I won't today, but I am sitting here shaking.

I feel you. I’m still kind of shell-shocked. The thought of going through another Trump presidency is daunting, horrifying. I remember moments after the first election when I just felt broken, so utterly alone. But tonight, I keep thinking about how there are MILLIONS of us who feel the same way right now. We’re not really alone and it’s not the end. We’re going to get through this. Love you all.

R58 Just get through tonight. Stay on with us. Eat a bunch of sugar if you need to. In the morning, find a meeting. Not relapsing is the very last thing you can do to spite Trump.

Thanks r60. I will be okay. I'm going to be around other people as much as possible today.

I wish it were later and people were awake.

R56 I was going to take my niece to DC to see the cherry blossoms and do a tour of the WH for her birthday. I almost bought the plane tickets on Saturday. So glad I didn’t.

R58 Yes, my chest has been heavy and I feel on the verge of one all night. I’ve been sipping water and stepping outside to cool down. I think if I could cry it would relieve the tension but I just feel stunned and angry. I’d love to bust into the NYT offices and scream at them. People in rural PA and Georgia likely never read a thing they published but they went out of their way to sane wash him and criticize Harris. And I firmly believe that they are thrilled with the win. Maggie Haberman is probably sucking him off.

[quote]I ask myself, "Why would God let this happen?"

[quote] I have such disdain for Christians who voted for this horrible man.

This is what I have struggled for almost ten years and will probably continue to struggle with. I was raised Catholic, but my parents weren't homophobic and were moderates who mostly voted Democrat. When I came out as a lesbian. They accepted me. But, I later told them that I could no longer attend Catholic masses. It was a struggle for me, but I began exploring different religious denominations and I eventually became a member of a liberal United Methodist Church. Most of my Catholic relatives loathe Trump except for a few, but they are in their 80s. Several relatives on my mom's side of the family left the Catholic Church years ago, but joined very conservative Protestant churches. Those relatives are Trump supporters, but they live several states away from me and I never see them.

It's going to be hard for me, but I'm still going to attend my church and seek comfort with the community have there. I also take some comfort in knowing that there have been Christians who have refused to support Trump. One of my closest friends is a Methodist minister who lives an hour away from me. She and her family became Methodist when she was 14. Prior to that, they attended a very conservative non-denominational church where sexism was rampant and people were opposed to women being pastors and they were also against women serving in political office. Her parents became fed up with the attitudes were going on and decided to leave. My friend says that she will always be grateful that her parents wised up and ditched that church and joined UMC.

R58 If you're feeling on the brink of a panic attack, grab something cold from your freezer and hold it ro your chest while taking deep breaths. It will instantly calm your vagus nerve. You won't feel a-ok afterwards, but it stops a panic attack in its tracks.

r61 good idea on drinking something. I'm drinking Diet Sprite.

r64 thanks, trying that now.

What is everyone's plans for Wednesday?

Sprite or 7Up is good to drink to calm nerves and queasiness.

R66, I'm supposed to wake a bright eyed 6yo now sleeping peacefully and get her ready for school and off to the bus like it's a normal day. Then I'm supposed to just work all day like it's a normal day.

No idea how. I'm half dead inside and unable to sleep.

R58 Check MeetUp.com to see if there are any online support groups that you can attend via Zoom in the next few days if there aren't AA or other meetings near you.

My partner went to bed at 8:00 PT because of a back injury, so doesn’t know the results. He is going to be devastated when he gets up.

Thanks r69

People, this was an inflation election.

Bottom line: we’re a shallow, vapid country.

People care more about paying two bucks more n for a Big Mac than the rights and freedoms of others.

[quote] Well, the holidays are officially cancelled. I was so looking forward to a joyful holiday season this year after a Harris win, too. Now, I don't feel like celebrating anything.

Don't cancel the holidays. I know it's hard, but just try to do something with your loved one for the holidays. Sometimes little things or holidays can take your mind off of shit here and there.

Stop the clocks

We’re done. Pillage the country for what you can get.

I'm going to delete twitter from my phone, cut my cable which I only had for CNN, stop my several times a year trips to Miami, and move back to Canada as soon as I can.

r73 I agree. I am going to embrace the holidays with full force this year.

I already put up some lights on Monday.

Here's a video of a Pomeranian floof swimming. I find it soothing.

[quote] Today, I’m going to find a charity supporting poor, tortured Ukraine, and send it some cash, it won’t be much, but it will be something, and the action will hopefully make me feel less sick than I do at the moment.

I will do the same.

I wish I could fall asleep for a few hours.

I'm trying to reach for some comforting thoughts about the future. All I can get to with what just happened, is this:

One-party dominance in America has a long history of overreaching, owning all its failures with no ability to cast the blame elsewhere, and then the pendulum swings back. I do believe that will, or would, happen again... IF. If we remain a democracy with our current voting system.

America died tonight.

Some tips for the next couple of months

-If you have hobbies that you haven't done in awhile start doing them again whenever you have free time.

-Check in with loved ones and if they live away from set up Discord channels or a Microsoft Teams chat and do virtual game meetups with them

- If your Congressperson or US senator is a Dem and retained their congressional or senate seat. Reach out to their offices with any concerns you have.

Thanks, white women for…nothing.

I am not doing well with this. Him being president directly impacts my career. He and his sidekicks are actively going to try to end my career because of who I married. But I guess if that happens, at least I have options to live overseas. I ...how does the country hate women so much they would do this instead?

in two hours I have to show up to work and be surrounded by people who voted for Trump and not show any emotion or disappointment. And I will do it because I have to, but inside ugh. This is insanity.

Goodbye MeidasTouch. You weren’t much better than him to begin with.

R84 So NOT the point of this thread.

It was an interesting run.

The lesson is: beware the power of white trash.

R87 They betrayed us.

Fuck off r89

Please respect the OP and those of us who are here in this thread for mutual comfort. Those who have urges to rant and vent and blame, go for it... in the 100 other threads.

I think, for the immediate future, I am going to aggressively throw myself into my work. I have two meetings today on collaborative projects. I also have lots of stuff that I've been neglecting the past few months, probably in part due to anxiety about politics.

I hate to trot out a tired aphorism, but I can still control what I can control. I refuse to let this turn of events negatively impact me anymore than it will already.

I have to admit, one of my immediate thoughts tonight was to call off Thanksgiving entirely (which is something I look forward all year to hosting and dedicate an enormous amount of care and joy into), simply because all I could think was, "what on earth could we have to be grateful for?"

But after reading through this thread I realized that everyone who will be there are people who have the most to fear these next few years (gays and lesbians, trans, undocumented immigrants, single mothers of young daughters, elders with Medicare and social security at stake, etc.) We need each other more than ever now. We're chosen family, and we need to be looking out for each other.

So Thanksgiving will stay, and we'll be grateful for the safety we've found in each other, which is more than enough.

I wish I could attend, r93!

[quote] But after reading through this thread I realized that everyone who will be there are people who have the most to fear these next few years (gays and lesbians, trans, undocumented immigrants, single mothers of young daughters, elders with Medicare and social security at stake, etc.) We need each other more than ever now. We're chosen family, and we need to be looking out for each other.

This. We can't give up on chosen families and we need to still do the things we have always been doing for other during the good times and the bad. On Friday night, I'm going to a friend's house for game night. The friend who is hosting the game night is a gay man who grew up in the Mormon church and was disowned by most of his relatives after he came out. Over the years, he's built up several chosen families (ex Mormons who have left the LDS for various reasons, gay, lesbians, trans, or people just don't have great relationships with their blood families for various reasons). On Friday, I except everyone at game night to be feeling down, but hopefully a few hours of playing movie trivia or word games will take our minds off the major shit.

I'm flying out for Thanksgiving to visit my elderly aunt who is another state. I haven't seen her in several years due to covid, work stuff, and other issues. She's in her 90s and her health has been declining . If this possibly the last time I see her in person I want have happy memories.

I’m not sure how comforting it is but it is mildly interesting (and sad) that the only female heads of state of the United States ever, continue to be those supplied by the British monarchy.

I'm starting to feel less panicky. Panic never helped anything.

R36, I understand your anger--I feel it, too. But there is a God, and He is good. But he gave us free will, without which our faith means nothing. What we do with our free will is not God's fault.

I really believe good people of faith will prevail. Just not right now.

I am enraged. I am so incredibly disappointed. This morning, I dealt with probably the first panic attack I’ve ever had while getting ready to leave for the airport. My husband and I are going to friends’ island condo and it was meant to be a relaxing time after dealing with the death of his mother. Now it is… this.

As I focus my rage, I think I will try to enjoy and seek comfort in all the Latinos and Muslims soon to be deported. I remember in 2016 a Michigan woman surprised that her husband (illegal alien) was deported… “I knew he was going to deport people, I didn’t think he’d start with us” was along the lines of what she said.

I will also keep in mind all the white trash women who can’t keep their legs closed, dying of all sorts of pregnancy complications.

Maybe after a bit of culling our country can return to a more reasonable, kinder politics.

R98 here. Let me amend and say I believe good people, both those with and without faith, will prevail. It will take more time, though.

Love all of you.

There are absolutely no guarantees in life. None. I usually framed this truth on a smaller scale -- I am not guaranteed to ever find a life partner (and that odds decrease every year), I am not guaranteed health, financial security, good mental health, any of it.

Since 2016, I have also realized how true this is on a larger scale. We, as a society, as a country, are not guaranteed stability. We are not guaranteed peace. We are not guaranteed prosperity. I suppose that people living in many other parts of the world see this truth more clearly.

I went through this grief after Biden did so poorly in the summer. It does look bleak, but focus on the one political candidate in your state who matters and motivate them if you can as their constituent

I'm starting to check in with friends. To be honest, I feel the worst for my friends with children. I can't imagine the horror they must be experiencing right now.

Right. Me too. Single gay man. I keep a low profile. Others, less so

I’m so sad. Some much will be n hard for so many people. I already live in a red state, but how much worse will it get?

R55 I’m ready to retire a d have worked my whole life. I’m applying for SS on December 1st. Get my application in and hopefully processed.

Not sure what the country will look like a year from now, but love you all and hope for the best

I am getting to the point where I am starting to cry.

On the bright side, my addiction to checking for news has completely evaporated!

r107 after the 2016 election, I didn't start checking the news regularly until January.

Agreed on the addiction to news updates. I had become too involved on reddit, as well. It was doing nothing for me but taking my time and energy away from better pursuits.

Now I have no desire to know what's next, what's new. I'm going to read a book.

I feel so sad.

R107 Right?? For my own mental health, I am checking the FUCK out first the next year at least. Being a news junkie/ a good, informed citizen/ an activist has done nothing to move the needle at all. No more news, no more politicos, pundits, and podcasts, no more social media. My head is going deep in the sand. I don't want to see, hear, or read a single word about that monster. He gets no more of my attention or anxiety or rage.

^*for

May I ask how old you are, r105?

The only bright spot I can see at the moment, my state, Missouri, repealed the abortion ban. I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie and just woke up in an alternate reality.

I just deactivated my Twitter account and deleted the app. I rarely used it anymore on principle but kept it for viewing occasional links. Now it's gone gone, which feels satisfying.

No. Piss off.

R114 Same. Felt remarkably liberating.

I might do that later today

One thought. There is one last chance to fuck Russia over. Biden and Nato have to give permission for Ukraine to use all missiles to target Russian cities immediately. If Nato and Biden could focus on Ukraine beating Russia before January that would fuck up alot of evil plans

Write your congressman.

I’m writing mine today.

Okay. Listening to Timothy Snyder’s On Freedom.

I know it’s a luxury most here will not have, but I think I will opt out of any discussion of US politics for a while after today. It seems like a good idea, even though the press in the UK are already discussing how our own politicians are going to have to bCktrack on Trump criticism and try to work with him.

I’m going to become a little myopic for a while. I don’t think I am going to bear the news from Ukraine, which has been so brave for so long now. I hope Europe can defend it, but it seems unlikely.

The world is on the road to hell, and I can do nothing about it, but I don’t need to closely watch it happen.

R112

64

R119 I will probably write an email or letter to my rep. Probably not right away. I'm going to take a few days to really process everything. This past summer, I did contact my rep's office regarding a public health issue and one of her staffers was in contact with me for awhile and passed along concerns I had.

"I feel the worst for my friends with children"

What do people- especially Deplorables- tell their children about Trump? If you lie, cheat, steal, pottymouth, attack, bully, mock... you'll be a success, too? Don't pay your bills, instigate violence and grab girl's pussies? No wonder kids are attacking their teachers and shooting into crowds.

I hope Trump signs a national abortion ban into effect. Maybe that will wake people up.

I just woke up in California. How depressing. Do you think there is election interference shenanigans? Why can't the Dems contest it like the Repubs did last election?

This blows.

It feels like a gnat’s bite on the ass of a total oligarch cunt, but I’m Cancelling my Audible membership, and won’t be renewing my Amazon Prime. These are tiny gestures, but they make me feel better. Fuck Bezos. Fuck Thiel. Fuck Musk. I hope their money makes them miserable.

If not expecting THIS, my gut told me Trump was going to win, so I’m not shellshocked like I was in ‘16. Totally depressed nonetheless. I’m not engaging in the goings-on in the world for now, as I cannot bear to see or hear from Trump anymore.

I can’t listen to Kamala’s speech today. I can’t watch the inauguration. I can’t watch cable news for several months.

I don’t think anything will get better though. I’ll be burying my head in the sand a lot for the next 4 years. I think strongmen are going to win out over the next decade and we will indeed go back. Only a third of white men voted for Harris. The excuses are all BS. Ken Harris would have lost too. A morally rancid strongman is too appealing to men and white women in this country. Only black men and women stood up to fascism. Everyone else invited it in with open arms.

r127 though the book ends (chronologically ) on a sad note, the end of Cloud Atlas says, “And for What, For What. No matter what you do it will never amount to anything but a single drop in a limitless ocean. What is an ocean but a multitude of drops.”

and though we fight underarmed and in the dark, we fight on

This isn't comforting, but ...

2016 felt terrible.

This feels much, much worse.

R131, this really feels different and hits different. In 2016 we could say that most of us had voted for Hillary and damn the Electoral College. And at the time, the Supreme Court was 5 to 4 Liberal vs Conservative.

Today we face the disturbing fact that America will be under Trump/MAGA total 1 party rule for at least the next two years. Everything: Presidency, Senate, House, and Supreme Court. And a clear majority of Americans voted for this. And they knew, because unlike 2016 we have had the Trump Presidency experience. They knew, and they voted for more of it. There's no spinning that away or rationalizing it.

"There was no solution but that usual solution which life gives to all questions, even the most complex and insoluble. The answer is: one must live in the needs of the day -- that is, forget oneself." (Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina)

Big hugs to everyone here today. BIG hugs. I feel for posters like r3 - you're not alone.

There will be time for plenty of analysis here later. I feel terrible for the Harris/Emhoff and Walz families - they gave it their absolute all and left nothing on the table. It was a fantastic campaign. They put it together in just weeks, with that in mind they couldn't have done a better job.

It's a scary time, given that all branches of government are now in the hands of the far right-wing. We all need to keep calm and carry on. I'm lucky to live in a deep blue state, so don't have to worry much re repercussions. I feel for my fellow citizens in other places though. We will continue to fight on for you, and for the country.

I'm trying to get work done, but I am tired and utterly numb.

I’m just absolutely shell shocked today.

And I’m frightened for Kamala, Tim, Hillary, Michelle and the rest. THEY were the face of the defiance and you know that cunt and his lackeys will want to “make an example “ out of them for opposing him.

I can hunker down and lay low for a few years. Others aren’t so lucky. I’m sorry, everyone. Stupid fucking white people wanted more pain and hate and it’s going to end up on THEIR doorstep.

They voted for it, let them feel the full force of the consequences.

I just feel physically ill.

Like many others, I have never felt more alone. No partner, no family on my side, and apparently, a country that lives in a completely different reality than I do.

I don't want to get too all Mary on you all, but I've never been so, well, Mary in my life. What do I do? I can't work today. I can't face the normality of life, I can't face anything right now.

I just don't know what to do. Living in a country that hates everything I believe in. I just don't know what to do.

r138 in an odd way, I feel better about being unpartnered and more or less alone. That means I have fewer people close to me to worry about. I am especially relieved that my mother, who has late-stage Alzheimer's, won't be around to witness the ensuing mess.

I feel very bad for my cousins and friends with children.

My neighborhood (which went resoundingly to Harris 86 percent or something like that) is very subdued today

Walking into my office building (an East Coast research institution) today was like the Bataan death march. So quiet, everyone with heads down, sad. The entire office is very quiet, no laughter or loud talk.

Hugs and love r138 💜🩷🩵

Yes r138, lots of love to you. It will get better after the shock wears off and some time goes by...think of it as a repeat of 2016-2020, when you just ignored the national news and tried to pretend he wasn't there.

Both the weather and the mood in Chicago feel very bleak.

Kamala, we need you!

Fuck everyone who voted for him, especially Latinos. May the destruction you all have voted for rain down upon the lot of you. May the pain you wish to foist upon others find you tenfold worse. May the face eating leopards eat not only YOUR face, but the face of everyone you love as you watch in helpless horror.

they will get theirs soon enough, you need to send them your curses

I thought I would feel even marginally better as the day went on, but I'm not. I started with panic (I posted upthread about being on the verge of a panic attack), then moved onto numbness. Now I'm at the stage of profound, indescribable sadness. Just sitting here in my office teary-eyed.

I've been posting madly here all morning and have to say, it's made me feel a bit better, to vent with others. This is why I pay for a sub, for days like there. Thanks DL and Muriel.

This feels like my one safe place on the internet today.

Yes, me too, r149. For some reason, a lot of people in my life are laying low and staying home today. It's exacerbating my loneliness. But I know I can count on the bitches of DL for support and camaraderie.

R148 Me too. Waking up this morning was the worst. Before my eyes were fully even opened I grabbed my phone and immediately jumped onto the DL to confirm that it wasn't all just a terrible nightmare.

Everything feels darker, colder, lonelier, emptier. I feel no love for my fellow American (except for you girls). I feel no drive to see this country be made a better one. I just want out as soon as humanly possible.

R150 I feel the same. This is the on site where it makes me feel better

Thank you, Muriel

Yeah, this was the first place I opened. I went in FB briefly to check for a message I was expecting and then logged off.

I’ve culled my friend’s list down to boot the MAGATS, but I just can’t deal with the tears and the fear there right now.

So I will stay here with you all until the bitter end.

r155 I have successfully avoided every other webpage except DL and Gmail today. I can't stomach anything else, and I especially can't stomach Dump's fat, ugly, treasonous visage all over my screen.

I love you all.

I love you too, r157

It's gonna be...

Magicians 🧙🏼✨🧙🏽 make this thread go to 600 and beyond

[quote]What do people- especially Deplorables- tell their children about Trump? If you lie, cheat, steal, pottymouth, attack, bully, mock... you'll be a success, too? Don't pay your bills, instigate violence and grab girl's pussies? No wonder kids are attacking their teachers and shooting into crowds.

If non-wealthy Trumpsters don't pay their bills, rent, or mortgage on time, their children will see Mommy and Daddy facing the consequences . I saw shit like this go down years ago. In 2018, an older family friend decided to spend the summer and fall in Canada with relatives. At the time, she knew I was house hunting and the lease on the apartment I was renting was up. She offered her condo to me during my house hunting. I made an agreement to pay her for utilities and moved in. The condo complex was mostly older living people live there with a mix of younger people who were renters. In the unit next to me was a woman in her late 20s at the time with a 6 year old son and 1 year old daughter. She had a Trump 2016 bumper stick still on her car. She and the little boy were always friendly and polite with me. I treated them with politeness and would have casual conversations with her. Both children had different dads and I did see the little boy's dad dropping and picking him off. I never saw the toddler's dad around.

I had started working remotely a couple of years before and when you're living in a complex you pretty hear everything during the day if you don't have music or anything on when you're working. One day, I was on my lunch break and reading a magazine when I heard shouting going on the Trump mom's unit. She had been served an eviction notice for non payment of rent . She went full on nasty Karen mode and basically telling the property managers that she shouldn't be evicted because she has kids and she and her kids "aren't illegal aliens." I thought she was home alone, until I heard her son asking if they were going to end up homeless. Two days later, they were gone. I was sad for the little boy because it was obvious his mother was trying to use white privilege and racism to avoid eviction.

Kimmy Schmidt was a delicious escape from (and perfect response to) the dawning of Trump’s America and the lunacy of his first term. I am hopeful that funny and talented people will create great stuff that will make us laugh and blow off some steam through all this.

And Fey nailed it with the Tomorrow of Gangly Orphan Jeff: They say life’s too short, but they’re wrong - it’s so long. Sometimes the only way to go is to just go on.

Yes-like reliving 9/11 tragedy everyday and in your own heart and home. Most people on left and right did not realize or even imagine the hate and greed in this country.

[quote] I went through this grief after Biden did so poorly in the summer. It does look bleak, but focus on the one political candidate in your state who matters and motivate them if you can as their constituent

I take some relief that my Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez and my US senator Martin Heinrich were re-elected. Democrats Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez were also re-relected in the other Congressional districts here in New Mexico. At least Southern New Mexico won't have a loony MAGA Yvette Harrell representing them in Congress.

Nella Domenici was the Republican candidate who ran against Heinrich. She tried to use her deceased father Pete Domenici's legacy to get a Senate seat. But, her dad retired from the US Senate in 2009 and died in 2017. New Mexicans moved on years ago from Pete's legacy. It was good to see people in New Mexico reject the name recognition that Nella tried to get elected on.

R162 I really like that show and I still to this day think that Ellie Kemper never got enough credit for that show. I

Thank you, R162. I've been trying to find something "feel-good" to fill the gaping void that will be left when I stop spending 8+ hours a day listening to/ingesting news sources. I was truly a junkie. That's all done now.

Whatever suggestions people might have, I'm open to. I'm officially ready to join the ranks of the "low-information". I need as little "information" as humanly possible about this administration. I'll still vote like my life depends on it in thee midterms and in 2028. But I don't want to hear or read a goddamn thing about Trump ever again.

I used to think that the republican party was out of step with America.

Then we elected Trump. Then we had the good sense to get rid of him. Now, NOW we elect him a SECOND time?

AND he gets a majority of the popular vote?

I went to sleep last night and woke up in a totally different country.

I’m so bitterly disappointed in myself for believing WE were better than this.

How could I have been so naive?

This song is for those who are in despair. Some reactions:

[quote]This song is about people who feel like they aren’t progressing and that the world is beating them down but it also shows that there’s a new day tomorrow and you can try better and pick yourself up since you have the next day.

[quote]I feel so hopeless depressed demotivated sad lonely lately without any specific reason then I remembered this song. Its okay one step at one time.

[quote]Literally gave myself a pat while listening to the song. May we all have better days to come.

Agree with r149 and r150. Venting here makes me feel better. I live in MAGA-land so there aren't many people I can talk to about politics in my day to day life

[quote]Speaking of Garrison Keillor, another disgraced octogenarian making a comeback, I remember when Trump won in 2016, Keillor wrote:

[quote]Democrats can spend four years raising heirloom tomatoes, meditating, reading Jane Austen, traveling around the country, tasting artisan beers, and let the Republicans build the wall and carry on the trade war with China and deport the undocumented and deal with opioids, and we Democrats can go for a long, brisk walk and smell the roses.

[quote]I remember reading those words for the first time and feeling righteous indignation at them. How dare he, I thought, When he has the privilege to go read Jane Austen and smell his damned roses. Eight years later, I take his point. The world is going to keep spinning, one way or the other, and there’s not a damned thing people like me can do about it. Not anymore.

I am suddenly utterly and absolutely exhausted.

I almost wish Biden would resign now so that we could actually have a female President, if only for a few months.

I have stumbled through the day with job 1 ok. However, I start job 2 at 4 today and I SWEAR TO GOD THE FIRST MOTHERFUCKER WHO IS SMUG WITH ME ON THE PHONE IS GOING TO GET ME FIRED because fuck them and seriously, fuck them. I am going to have to take a pill or 2 to hold back.

I got the orders from my veterinarian yesterday to 'let my dog eat whatever whenever he wants' because we're now in a countdown. She's dropping off an oxygen tank for him this week in case he goes into crisis over a weekend or at night.

Actually, apologies, none of that fits the criteria of this thread but I didn't want to start a new one.

I guess my point is, life goes on, many of us have additional shit we're dealing with and people better just keep their fucking mouths shut because some people are at their breaking point.

With MS and no family or resources, I am well and truly fucked and I know it. I can't breathe, can't concentrate, and am desperately sick to my stomach. Reading , my one escape from anxiety and thoughts of doom, is no longer working. I want out.

r175 I am truly sorry about your dog

thanks r177.

Less selfishly, I really do love you all. I don't actually know all of you but somehow you all feel like what I image family must feel like. I don't like all of you but I do love all of you. I wish we had private messages because I wish we could help each other. Like r176, I want to help, I just don't know how. But, I am thinking of you and if you can think of a way to help, I would like to.

I am gobsmacked...is half of America really that stupid? But thank you DL, for being a snarky bitch that I can't quit.

Second the sorry about your dog, r178.

It’s such a difficult thing to go through at ANY time, but more so even now.

I’m going to put in for early retirement as soon as I get back to work. I work for the federal government, and I absolutely REFUSE to bow down to these goddam Nazi cunts. So I’ll take early retirement and lock myself away from the world.

Beyond...

Some of the dumb fucks who voted for him will feel burned when polices that go against their own interests start to negatively effect them.

It happened last time.

But obviously not hard enough, r182.

They didn’t get hurt BADLY ENOUGH to make them wake up.

They're going to love paying an extra $4,000 a year because of his tariffs, r183.

That’s still not enough, r184.

They died off in droves from Covid, many lost their jobs, yet they still voted for him.

No, they need to be thrown off SSDI, lose their homes/condos, be turned away from healthcare facilities to die in the streets, have their wives and daughters or themselves bleed out in parking lots, be forced to beg on the streets, and generally hit rock bottom before they might, possibly, maybe consider they chose poorly.

Once they lose all of the government help they’ve relied on, they may wake up. But I doubt it.

Maybe all the pet eating will finally stop!

Much love to you, rescue-chick, glad you are posting here at least so we can try to be supportive. And also to you r176 - please hang in there. We'll all have to get through it together.

I told a co-worker today how surprised how personally I took this. Like, what did Harris have to do to get elected? She wasn't perfect, but she was pretty good. Trump on the other hand, is a walking disaster, with no competence or plans. And he walked right back into the WH.

The liberal black woman was -never- going to be good enough. If a carbon copy of her in white male form ran, she would've won by 8 points over Trump, easily.

I truly feel lost. How people could have voted for him a 2nd time is just incomprehensible. And this feels 10x worse than 2016 - back then I didn't know what he would do and had some optimism.

Now we know him and there's nothing to stop him.

Some people say it has to get REALLY bad for a revolution to happen - well, we're here. And I don't think it's going to be bloodless.

I can't see any upside or anything positive to take me out of this. Do we just hope that people experience enough pain and suffering so that they vote differently in mid-terms?

That's not exactly something to look forward to.

rescue-chick, I’m sorry about your dog. Don’t let any asshat get to you, no matter how they try. They’re not worth losing a job over adding stress to your life. Come back here and vent. We will be here for you.

No, r188, they will need to PERSONALLY EXPERIENCE massive loss of their comfortable lives before they may possibly think of cracking one eye open.

Even then, they will blame Democrats. It will never, ever EVER be because of the traitor or the couchfucker.

Insulate yourself from the coming economic collapse as best you can and take care of your health.

[quote] Do we just hope that people experience enough pain and suffering so that they vote differently in mid-terms?

[quote] they will need to PERSONALLY EXPERIENCE massive loss of their comfortable lives before they may possibly think of cracking one eye open.

Tragedies will likely happen. There will be more women in abortion ban states (looking at you Texas) who will die or will almost die because they can't get the care they need or they may not have the resources to go another state for care. The other issue people ignore is that states that provide abortion access end up getting strained due to influx of out of state patients coming from care (best example New Mexico).

I just came from therapy and it was a healing experience. We literally cried together. She didn't try to convince me to feel anything but awful or that the situation was anything but awful. This is the first time I've ever seen her let down her professional guard or share anything about herself. It was really bonding and real.

Yes I know others might think me naive, but he will only be president for four years. That's all I got, OP.

I don't see him lasting four years.

And Vance scares the shit out of me.

I'm comforted to know that all of the New England states voted for Kamala.

I've been posting on and off and agree with R149 -- it can feel lonely without people who see things similarly. But that doesn't stop the horrible fear of what's to come in the next four years, especially since pundits are now saying that the republicans will probably keep the house.

gays and womengays and women

I thought the suburban white women voted for trump, they are the enemy, I told you gays so

Why was this thread greyed out? You guys have kept me afloat!

I feel heartbroken and terrified, way worse than 2016. I feel panicked, and like I am ready to sell all my shit and just run somewhere. I don't understand how this happened.

Thank you for starting this thread, OP. Hugs to all of you.

[quote]since pundits are now saying that the republicans will probably keep the house.

They've managed to accomplish so much!

R175

Awww, Rescue-Chick, I’m so sorry about your pup. It’s devastating to be that close to the end; we lost one of ours in July and I felt frantic for days. Sending a hug.

Yeah. New England is looking better and better every day.

Any New Englanders have a “good state to relocate to” suggestions? I will be retiring early due to this travesty.

Random comment and FWIW, I called my financial advisor to ask if we should stay the course (we are about 10 years from retirement). He sounded awful, much like everyone else I’ve seen or spoken to here in Austin. Just wrecked.

Anyway, he said to stay the course with our fairly conservative portfolio and not to chase the market because Trump will be making all sorts of pronouncements that won’t mean anything. He said the market rise today was mostly energy and financial sectors and to keep our portfolio in balance. I share this in case anyone else was terrified about their financial future and looking to make any major shifts. Be patient and trust the market.

Yeah, I had to call out for the rest of my shift today. Too many Texas and South Carolina people spending almost celebratory amounts of money. I KNOW that is not what they're doing and that I don't know how each one voted but, I don't want to fucking talk to them today.

[quote]Why was this thread greyed out? You guys have kept me afloat!

Is it?? I honestly have no idea. You'd think the MAGA trolls around here would be happy to finally go on their merry way and just leave us in peace to mourn.

God bless us all. I'm so sorry

Since 2016, I could tell myself that Trump's election was a fluke, that too many voters didn't vote or voted for Jill Stein because they never thought it possible that Hillary could lose. The results of the successive elections only served to reinforce this belief. But now I'm forced to admit that, even after all we've seen of Trump, this is exactly who we are. That we are no longer the leaders of the free world. That we have joined the Axis countries.

I'm surprised at all the MAGA gays now making themselves known.

The Nazis could not have come to power without gay Roehm and his brownshirts. Lots of gay Nazi boys stateside too, what was it, German American Bund?

[quote] I almost wish Biden would resign now so that we could actually have a female President, if only for a few months.

Can they do that? They really should! It's the biggest FU to those who didn't vote for her. And it's funny as shit.

Most gays over 40 have lived such a long part of their lives with limited rights, discrimination and not being accepted. We're used to it.

I honestly think we'll persevere through this period easier than other groups. We got our rights last - really only the last 10 years.

But Latinos, Women, Arabs, Muslims - they're in for a big surprise. Black people also will be resilient.

The Arabs in Michigan are going to end up playing a game of fuck around and find out.

Agreed R208. Man! Datalounge has turned into the Breitbart comments section in the last 24 hours. Word for word. Who knew there were so many haters amongst us. It's really ugly and embarrassing.

I love this Twitter account. It's very witty, thoughtful and well written. The tweets regularly put a smile on my face. I highly recommend.

*Check out the 1 person God follows.

I don’t have a Twitter account, R214. Who does God follow? Snoop?

R203, similar advice for me from mine.

OMG! I keep meaning to WW posts but I am hitting FF instead. Mea Culpa, my poor lambs!!!

I’ve done the same, r217. Fat fingers FTW!

Listen, God, some of us have either disowned or been disowned by our families because of who we are and who THEY are (maggots).

Same with friends. There are numbers I blocked today because I know who they are now and I don’t need that.

I have a few friends, and my hobbies. However, I’m also a childless pet woman who owns property. How long before they try to take it from me? I guess I should try to sell it before the end of the year so I can at least have some cash.

r215 its Bieber.

Are any of you struggling with your sobriety?

R220, this isn't worth your sobriety, so please hang on to that. Hour by hour if need be, certainly day by day. Hold strong. You are more important than this. 100%.

Thanks r221

Justin Bieber R215. God says Bieber is his nephew. The God account is a parody account - it's not a serious religious account. I just thought it might bring a smile to some of you. It's very anti-Trump, GOP and Musk and very funny.

I love you bitches, I had a hard time even reading DL this morning.

Did anyone else get the invitation to the mass grieving text (not DL related, maybe the campaign) a few minutes ago?