The president elect in one telling anecdote. Need I say more? #DarkTimesAreUponUs #WeHoldTheLine
LuLeeBelle Ugh, I hate him so damn much. But I live in the middle of Trump-Lover-Landia so I have to keep it on the dl 8y
melbeautyandbooks It's only been 4 weeks or so and we still have 4 years to go. I'm thankful for the fabulous Litsy folks for making it a little easier. 8y
BookishMarginalia @LuLeeBelle That must be like living in The Twilight Zone! At least PR is decidedly not Trump Nation. (Doesn't make it any easier to bear to read --every day-- appointment after appointment of cronies of his who are against whatever it is they will now be in charge of.) 8y
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MicheleinPhilly I can't think of any book I want to read less. 😩 You're a BRAVE woman! 8y
OrangeMooseReads He is so disgusting! Makes me sick to my stomach. I too am glad for this wonderful environment of Litsy to retreat to 8y
Jenshootsweddings @melbeautyandbooks I'm Canadian and very anti-trump but was just visiting Naples FL and realized I better keep my mouth shut while there 8y
Bklover So glad you all are here. Love you Littens! 8y
BookishMarginalia @melbeautyandbooks I know! It's important to have support, especially since there will need to be strong opposition and resistance to policies and actions against human rights... (for women, workers, LGBT, immigrants, minorities -- ethnic, racial, cultural, religious, the press, scientists... OMG) 8y
BookishMarginalia @MicheleinPhilly I used to avoid books related to politics --and in particular, to anything right wing-- like the plague. But in the wake of the election I know that #WeHoldTheLine and that I have to know as much as possible, even if it makes me ill. Being an ostrich is no longer a viable or safe choice. 8y
dariazeoli It still leaves me speechless that my two nearest neighbors are Trump supporters. 😱 8y
Notafraidofwords Shivers. 8y
BookishMarginalia @Jenshootsweddings My sister-in-law lives in Naples. It is a scary place. Affluent. White. Protestant. Looks like a place the Stepford wives would come home to roost. It's a place of privilege that is seething with resentment against the Other with no possible reason other than prejudice, frankly. 8y
DivineDiana Very revealing! 8y
BookishMarginalia @dariazeoli That's why I think comparisons with Germany in the 1930s are not that far off. Otherwise sane, rational, lovely people embracing irrational, reactionary beliefs leads nowhere good, fast. 8y
BookishMarginalia @OrangeMooseReads @Bklover 💜💜💜 8y
AWahle I visited friends in TX the week after the election. Avoided all talk of politics with the ones who are conservative and commiserated with the one who isn't. I'm a govt employee and scared. 8y
BookishMarginalia @AWahle Hug. That's why I believe we can't hide from reality. That's what the opposition in Germany did --before being pitted against each other and decimated. We need to stand strong, face the facts, and resist (sometimes actively, sometimes passively, sometimes vocally, sometimes under the radar, but always with the lessons of history firmly in mind.) 8y
MicheleinPhilly @BookishMarginalia I know, I'm just not there yet. It has been a wickedly tough year on so many fronts so I'm going to continue being an ostrich until year end at least. Just give me my books and my wine and mental equilibrium and I'll start raging in 2017. 😉 8y
BookishMarginalia @AWahle I really think it will be the strength and knowledge of the government workers with the experience and technical know-how that will keep the (woefully underprepared, willfully ignorant) appointed leaders from being able to wreck the country. 8y
BookishMarginalia @MicheleinPhilly I support that 💯 %! Self-care is first and foremost! Big hug 💜 8y
melbeautyandbooks @Jenshootsweddings- You are smart! 8y
AWahle @BookishMarginalia Thank you. We survived 3 years of pay freezes and a furlough. We'll get through this. And it was an easy decision to add Planned Parenthood as one of my charity donations right out of my paycheck... 8y
BookInMyHands In my teen years I was especially fascinated with WWII. I wondered how people could have let that happen. I truly believe we are at a pivotal point in US history where we decide as a nation what we will allow and what we stand against. I'm terrified, and I'm not sitting this one out. Every time we find even small ways to combat hate we are winning. Together we are strong. 8y
Readerann I still wake up in the middle of the night and think, "Did this really happen?" It's a comfort to know there are a whole lot of us who aren't going to just sit back and "take it". Love you people! 8y
suvata Well, I voted for him and I like him so I guess I'm a pariah. 8y
Nebklvr @BookishMarginalia 👍 8y
Nebklvr @BookishMarginalia does this mean i have to read bill o'reilly? Say it isn't so! 8y
BookishMarginalia @suvata You shouldn't; half the country did, and does. That's the great thing about a healthy democracy: freedom of speech, and thought, and vote. It is also what gives me hope, even though I am scared: that there are thoughtful, caring people on his side who will work to make sure that America's greatness doesn't mean everyone else's suffering. 💜 (I have two beloved students who are Trump supporters, and that helps me keep perspective) 8y
BookishMarginalia @Nebklvr Well, right now I'm only choosing to read about the far right, not actually reading stuff aimed at that audience. I'm working up to that but don't know if I'll get there. As a first step, I asked and received a #NetGalley copy of an ultra conservative book detailing what President Trump's agenda should be in his first 100 days. 😳 That's diving off the deep end right there. Even the chapter titles make me squirm. 8y
LauraBeth @LuLeeBelle I live in GA so I feel like I am the one and only single person in this state who loathes him (other than my hubby) so I can't talk about it with anyone here - it's frustrating living in a place where not only did people vote for him but they LOVE him and speak of him like he's God and is going to save the world. Honestly, I'm scared to see how much my neighbors love him 8y
BookishMarginalia @LauraBeth @LuLeeBelle I think we are living through the predictable (inevitable?) conclusion of our society's love of wealth and celebrity, its mistrust of intellectuals, and a rampant cult of personality that divorces people's feelings and beliefs about a celebrity from his or her actual words and actions. As an educator, it's disheartening, to say the least. 8y
Suet624 My one and only consolation is that only 25% of the U.S. voted for him. The downside is that almost 50% of those eligible to vote did not. You are brave to tackle this book. Braver still, check out Fox News sometime. Truly frightening and yet I feel I have to see what they're saying. Then I smudge the house and myself to remove the hatred and fear they project. We have never experienced the likes of this. 8y
Leelee.reads @BookishMarginalia An articulate and insightful way to sum it up. @Suet624 I visited Fox News online a week or two ago for the first time ever and was shocked. I had trouble processing that people use it as a news source. 8y
suvata @BookishMarginalia A very thoughtful post, might I add, a healthy perspective. Thank you. Our country will survive. It always does. 8y
Nebklvr @LauraBeth I feel your pain. Although I have found a few people who are liberal, they are very few 8y
BookishMarginalia @suvata @laurabeth @LuLeeBelle And for the record, I did like Trump when he was merely a celebrity -- I enjoyed what I saw of The Apprentice and had no major issues with his choices about his life and business, since it was just HIS life and HIS business. My issue is with him as a politician, a diplomat, commander in chief, and generally, as an example to emulate, given his OWN words and actions. Basically, I do take him at his word. (edited) 8y
minkyb @Suet624 My husband also insists on watching Fox to hear their perspective. I just sit there and grind my teeth. I am not sure which of us will crack up first or whose head will fall off first from all the shaking side to side. 8y
Suet624 @Leelee.reads yup, it's shocking. I consider it the propaganda machine for the new regime. 8y
Suet624 @minkyb 😂😩😡 8y
LauraBrook God, it's so disgusting and horrifying. 8y
melbeautyandbooks @BookishMarginalia- You are an inspiration! 8y
Dolly I too am so disheartened & when I'm not in the fetal position I'm adding to the 10 lbs I put on. I'm always looking for escape or comfort hoping to wake from a bad dream. Glad I don't do drugs or alcohol. The daily frustration I feel can't be healthy. On the bright side I along with many others R knitting #pussyhats to be sent then worn by women during the #womansmarchonwashington . If you can't March think about knitting or supply UR fav knitter 8y
BookishMarginalia @Suet624 we have had dark times before, as recently as McCarthyism and the hunt for communists, and the civil rights era, with the defense of segregation and prosecution of mixed marriages... I guess I had expectations that our society would do better than that. 8y
Hooked_on_books Ug! 🙄 8y
Suet624 @BookishMarginalia true, but .... this feels a bit like a take over from the top. 8y
Suet624 And as I wrote that a brilliant red cardinal flew a circle around me as I sat in a snow bank with my phone in hand. No kidding. So maybe things really will be okay eventually. 8y
LauraBeth @Nebklvr not many liberals down south ? @BookishMarginalia want to hear something scary? My friend's niece is a senior in high school and looking at colleges. I mentioned my alma mater as a suggestion. Her parents said, "oh NEVER! That's a liberal arts school - we don't want them teaching her how to be a liberal..." so I tried as best as I could to explain that isn't what liberal arts means. I said, "at least go tour the school." (edited) 8y
LauraBeth @BookishMarginalia so they actually went and toured it and said that the president of the college had to discuss for about two hours what a liberal arts school is because apparently, everyone's biggest fear is the word liberal in the name. I couldn't believe this is how dumbed down our society has become (edited) 8y
Nebklvr @LauraBeth they ate worried she might be exposed to a widened world view and choose something other than conservatism? Good on you to take the time to explain 8y
Nebklvr Are not ate 8y
LauraBeth @Nebklvr they force this poor young girl to read Bill O'Reilly's books 😔 I can't wait for her to go off to college and have her views expanded and for her to meet people from other cultures. May that kid never have to read another Bill O'Reilly book ever again 8y
Nebklvr @LauraBeth Those are really popular here. I keep thinking I should pick one up so I can see where they are coming from but I detest Bill O'Reilly. He is a loud, arrogant, vindictive little ass. Irish people should strip him of his name. Hmmm... so maybe not ready yet?! 8y
LauraBeth @Nebklvr ??#litsyconfession: I used to work in the office building next to Fox News. The Fox bldg and my bldg were connected with an underground walkway with restaurants and once I saw Bill O'Reilly at Wendy's. The next day my friend wanted to go to Wendy's and despite me having just gone the day before I said ok. And there was Bill again - eating alone at Wendy's. And I thought, "good - he eats Wendy's everyday - he's not long for this world" 8y
LauraBeth @Nebklvr I am not proud that I was kinda glad Bill seemed on course to have a Wendy's heart attack 8y
LuLeeBelle @laurabeth @BookishMarginalia I'm in Louisiana (we had our runoffs today, and though I voted my liberal agenda, I don't have much hope) and I'm so... Confused as to how, forgive me, oblivious and stupid people around me are. It's exhausting. And I'm not good at arguing, but I wish I had the guts to tear into some of my neighbors and give them a good education on how hateful, petty, and dumb they are. 8y
Nebklvr @LauraBeth understandable. 8y
Nebklvr @LuLeeBelle Truly a lot of people wanted change and just grasped at straws without taking a good look at who they were choosing...or that's what i'm hoping 8y
Zelma @LuLeeBelle not trying to pick a fight but I live in south Louisiana and am pretty sure I am voting differently than you today. I don't think I or my neighbors are oblivious and stupid due to having different desires for the future. We're in an awful recession here and a lot of people voted for who was more likely to have a positive effect on the local oil industry. Just a different perspective is all. 8y
BookishMarginalia @zelma That I can actually understand. What I have trouble wrapping my head around --and what truly scares me-- is when affluent communities such as Naples embrace what Trump promises, not because they are disadvantaged or have been left behind economically, but because of other motivations that may be a reflection of prejudice or intolerance. As a gay Hispanic woman married to a woman I am truly terrified of facing state-sanctioned discrimination 8y
BookishMarginalia @LuLeeBelle I'm not sure confrontation is effective anyway. It just seems to entrench either side deeper into its own positions. It just makes me sad that my bedrock values -- respectful disagreement, respect for facts and evidence, embracing of difference, thoughtful reflection, and the desire to learn and grow-- were woefully absent from the campaign, and voters didn't care about fake news, insults, outright lies. It breaks my heart, really. 😢 8y
LuLeeBelle @BookishMarginalia indeed, and it only frustrates me more! It's a vicious cycle, but this is what they seem to want - to cause discord 8y
BookishMarginalia @LuLeeBelle That's very true. That's why places like Litsy are important. As @Zelma and @suvata (rather courageously 💜) reminded us, we don't all think --or vote-- the same, but we all love books and nerdy things. This is a good thing, as well as a very effective way of keeping from falling into that dreaded abyss of discord. 8y
BookishMarginalia @LauraBeth @Nebklvr I guess (no, I KNOW) I take for granted that everyone knows (or should know) what "liberal arts" means, which just goes to show my own bias. And yes, there are much worse things than being liberal, or conservative for that matter. Apathetic, for one. Extremist (to either side), for another. There is much work to be done, my friends, to rebuild the center borderlands of ideology away from the dangerous extremes. 8y
BookishMarginalia @LuLeeBelle @melbeautyandbooks @MicheleinPhilly @OrangeMooseReads @Jenshootsweddings @Bklover @dariazeoli @Notafraidofwords @DivineDiana @AWahle @BookInMyHands @Readerann @suvata @Suet624 @LauraBrook @minkyb @dolly @Hooked_on_books @Zelma Thank you so much for all the comments, dear Littens. You make me feel heard and understood. You rock! 💜💕💜🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 8y
Nebklvr @BookishMarginalia count me in. 8y
BookishMarginalia @Nebklvr 👍🏼💜 8y
Zelma @BookishMarginalia I completely agree on all accounts of what a terrible cluster the campaign was. It was awful all the way, though Mr. Z and I really into the conventions and the rules and procedures. And thank you so much. I rarely get political online so I appreciate the love and support. 😘 8y
Notafraidofwords @Readerann this thread makes me feel so much better. I truly thought I was the only one at night waking up in shivers. 8y
Nebklvr @Zelma Is there a book fiction or nonfiction that explains what the situation is like economically, etc. in your area? I haven't been traveling lately and probably won't get to for awhile... Is there something you would recommend to shine a light on the issues you all are facing? 8y
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