Where do you see signs of hope?
November 8, 2024 10:49 AM Subscribe
That's it. Given this terrible, horrible, no good week, I'd like to hang onto some signs of hope. They don't have to be political, anything will do.
The largest nuclear power plants in North America produce about four gigawatts of electricity, and that number tapers down quickly as they get smaller.
Globally, in 2023, the world deployed that much new wind power about every two weeks. Today, right now, the world is deploying that much new solar energy every four days.
posted by mhoye at 10:52 AM on November 8 [22 favorites]
Globally, in 2023, the world deployed that much new wind power about every two weeks. Today, right now, the world is deploying that much new solar energy every four days.
posted by mhoye at 10:52 AM on November 8 [22 favorites]
Trump’s friends end up in jail and/or political-social exile as soon as he feels slighted by them. So I’m at least hopeful that Elon Musk will get wreckt.
posted by elzpwetd at 10:56 AM on November 8 [12 favorites]
posted by elzpwetd at 10:56 AM on November 8 [12 favorites]
Two things:
1. Narrow your focus to your sphere of influence, just for now, because in this moment of helplessness and defeat, when we are feeling powerless, it behooves us to remember we do have immense power. Kamala Harris was never going to bring a casserole to your neighbor when their spouse was in the hospital, that's you. Donald Trump cannot steal the laughter from your friends' lips when you tell them a joke, that laughter is entirely in your power. You have the power to choose connection, fellowship, mutual aid, joy, hard work, love, passion, devotion, faith. To me, remembering that I have power is cause for hope.
2. When you're out there using your power to connect with your fellow human beings, look for the helpers. Take heart in their existence, their perseverance. Do everything you can to become one of them.
posted by MiraK at 10:57 AM on November 8 [49 favorites]
1. Narrow your focus to your sphere of influence, just for now, because in this moment of helplessness and defeat, when we are feeling powerless, it behooves us to remember we do have immense power. Kamala Harris was never going to bring a casserole to your neighbor when their spouse was in the hospital, that's you. Donald Trump cannot steal the laughter from your friends' lips when you tell them a joke, that laughter is entirely in your power. You have the power to choose connection, fellowship, mutual aid, joy, hard work, love, passion, devotion, faith. To me, remembering that I have power is cause for hope.
2. When you're out there using your power to connect with your fellow human beings, look for the helpers. Take heart in their existence, their perseverance. Do everything you can to become one of them.
posted by MiraK at 10:57 AM on November 8 [49 favorites]
I walk in the forest. The animals and trees don't know or care what's happening in the silly human world. My older dog likes to roll on his back in the sun, and I try to emulate that mindful joy. Not to ignore political issues, but to give me strength so that then I can do a little bit to help.
posted by toucan at 10:58 AM on November 8 [20 favorites]
posted by toucan at 10:58 AM on November 8 [20 favorites]
Best answer: Colorado passed Amendment 79, protecting abortion in state constitution, allow public spending on procedure.
Even more remarkable, in Missouri, a reactionary state, voters passed Amendment 3, legalizing abortion up to fetal viability
posted by falsedmitri at 11:05 AM on November 8 [22 favorites]
Even more remarkable, in Missouri, a reactionary state, voters passed Amendment 3, legalizing abortion up to fetal viability
posted by falsedmitri at 11:05 AM on November 8 [22 favorites]
Best answer: Alaska passed a ballot initiative that increases the minimum wage to $13 per hour in 2025, $14 per hour in 2026,
and $15 per hour in 2027. The minimum wage would increase with inflation after that. The
minimum wage would always be at least $2 above the federal minimum wage. It also requires paid sick leave for most employees, and it prohibits employers from making their employees attend meetings about reli-
gious or political issues. These issues include whether or not to join or support a religious,
political, or labor organization.
posted by leahwrenn at 11:17 AM on November 8 [15 favorites]
and $15 per hour in 2027. The minimum wage would increase with inflation after that. The
minimum wage would always be at least $2 above the federal minimum wage. It also requires paid sick leave for most employees, and it prohibits employers from making their employees attend meetings about reli-
gious or political issues. These issues include whether or not to join or support a religious,
political, or labor organization.
posted by leahwrenn at 11:17 AM on November 8 [15 favorites]
Best answer: At my public library today, a group of fifth and sixth graders were getting their first physical library cards and excitedly finding books for their big research paper for the semester. They were having so much fun finding books (both "research books" and "fun books," as they called them) that it took a good half hour for the teachers and librarians to herd them through the checkout line and back on the bus. It slowed down the check-out line to a crawl, but no one complained and most people were laughing.
It's a little corny but I love that libraries are places where we have collectively chosen to give our fellow citizens access to knowledge and creativity and art, free of cost. It's not a utopia by any means, but it's a good reminder of what we can do collectively when we choose to.
posted by lavenderhaze at 11:22 AM on November 8 [43 favorites]
It's a little corny but I love that libraries are places where we have collectively chosen to give our fellow citizens access to knowledge and creativity and art, free of cost. It's not a utopia by any means, but it's a good reminder of what we can do collectively when we choose to.
posted by lavenderhaze at 11:22 AM on November 8 [43 favorites]
COVID taught me that the arts are not a cherry on top of a sundae, they are the whole damn meal.
People have been, and continue to make phenomenal art.i can’t wait to attend a drag performance this Sunday.
posted by raccoon409 at 11:24 AM on November 8 [25 favorites]
People have been, and continue to make phenomenal art.i can’t wait to attend a drag performance this Sunday.
posted by raccoon409 at 11:24 AM on November 8 [25 favorites]
An academic historian I follow on Tiktok made the point that fascism frequently follows a pandemic. I thought it was interesting and gave me hope that resistance will prevail in time.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:34 AM on November 8 [29 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 11:34 AM on November 8 [29 favorites]
Best answer: Tomorrow I am making blueberry muffins for my neighbor who is having my kid over for a sleepover with her kid. I think I will double the recipe and drop off the other batch with the two families in my neighborhood with new babies.
I ran into a local retiree at the coffeeshop this afternoon and she told me about two or three local network things she is doing - coats and school supplies for kids and so on - so I'm emailing her this afternoon to offer my time and energy (such as it is!) going forward.
These are such small things. I definitely woke up thinking with dread about January, and all the gleeful sadism of american public life as it exists now, so the small good things feel like wins and I'll grab them with both hands.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:35 AM on November 8 [10 favorites]
I ran into a local retiree at the coffeeshop this afternoon and she told me about two or three local network things she is doing - coats and school supplies for kids and so on - so I'm emailing her this afternoon to offer my time and energy (such as it is!) going forward.
These are such small things. I definitely woke up thinking with dread about January, and all the gleeful sadism of american public life as it exists now, so the small good things feel like wins and I'll grab them with both hands.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:35 AM on November 8 [10 favorites]
Unlike most incumbent political parties facing election in the past few years, Democrats' base of support didn't completely collapse (e.g. compare to the United Kingdom, where the Tories lost 251 seats in parliament and only got 23.7% of the vote, one of its worst results in history).
posted by yaj at 11:42 AM on November 8 [8 favorites]
posted by yaj at 11:42 AM on November 8 [8 favorites]
Well, let's see.
We've almost gotten our girl's program inserted as an option in U.S. corporate matching funds programs. Shortly a passel of seriously underserved Mayan girls will have a chance to even just touch keyboards, and go beyond that to learn the skills they need to rise out of poverty.
Myself and twelve other volunteers just finished mentoring a bunch of Mexican college seniors through the process of selling themselves internationally, and introduced them to a lot of Business English on the way.
The Mérida English Library has started all of their snowbird (winter) programs, one of which is a chance for people studying English and people studying Spanish to sit down and just chat. It's very popular.
The very few Mexicans who remembered there was an American election expressed their condolences.
In short, what is a major tragedy for the U.S. is a footnote for the rest of the world. 7.7 billion people are continuing with their lives and likely about 6 billion of them will neither know or care about what's taking place in the U.S.
Life goes on.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:45 AM on November 8 [12 favorites]
We've almost gotten our girl's program inserted as an option in U.S. corporate matching funds programs. Shortly a passel of seriously underserved Mayan girls will have a chance to even just touch keyboards, and go beyond that to learn the skills they need to rise out of poverty.
Myself and twelve other volunteers just finished mentoring a bunch of Mexican college seniors through the process of selling themselves internationally, and introduced them to a lot of Business English on the way.
The Mérida English Library has started all of their snowbird (winter) programs, one of which is a chance for people studying English and people studying Spanish to sit down and just chat. It's very popular.
The very few Mexicans who remembered there was an American election expressed their condolences.
In short, what is a major tragedy for the U.S. is a footnote for the rest of the world. 7.7 billion people are continuing with their lives and likely about 6 billion of them will neither know or care about what's taking place in the U.S.
Life goes on.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:45 AM on November 8 [12 favorites]
Best answer: I started crying (for the umpteenth time this week, and I'm not generally a crier) when I read the title of your post because I was thinking of writing the exact same type of post today. So I can say that I find hope that others feel like I do, that I am not at all alone in my very dark feelings.
I find hope in that when I read articles etc about how to get through times like what we are about to face, the advice is always around the importance of community and connection – both of which I feel like are within my grasp. I am an admin for my local Buy Nothing group, and it feels good to know that I have that as a starting point.
I am heartened to hear about the abortion rights wins in some unexpected places. Today the governor of my blue state is holding a zoom call for anyone to join, outlining how he and his administration plan to prepare for this next phase. I will do my best to hold my pessimism at bay; at this point it feels like something just to at least listen in to what he has to say.
At this point, I am where you are and wanting to pull in hope like a sponge, since most of mine was completely wrung out when I finally forced myself to check my phone after waking up Wednesday morning. Finding ways to hold off how terrified I am. I will be looking for the helpers, and becoming one wherever I can.
posted by Molasses808 at 11:53 AM on November 8 [13 favorites]
I find hope in that when I read articles etc about how to get through times like what we are about to face, the advice is always around the importance of community and connection – both of which I feel like are within my grasp. I am an admin for my local Buy Nothing group, and it feels good to know that I have that as a starting point.
I am heartened to hear about the abortion rights wins in some unexpected places. Today the governor of my blue state is holding a zoom call for anyone to join, outlining how he and his administration plan to prepare for this next phase. I will do my best to hold my pessimism at bay; at this point it feels like something just to at least listen in to what he has to say.
At this point, I am where you are and wanting to pull in hope like a sponge, since most of mine was completely wrung out when I finally forced myself to check my phone after waking up Wednesday morning. Finding ways to hold off how terrified I am. I will be looking for the helpers, and becoming one wherever I can.
posted by Molasses808 at 11:53 AM on November 8 [13 favorites]
There are good people out there.
That's about all I've got right now.
Be a helper. Fight for the good, and fuck these fascists. (guess I still have some anger at the majority of Americans).
Love your people, (and your dogs, they are the best!), and let's hope we can fight this horrible shit. Not feeling hopeful, but...
posted by Windopaene at 11:56 AM on November 8 [2 favorites]
That's about all I've got right now.
Be a helper. Fight for the good, and fuck these fascists. (guess I still have some anger at the majority of Americans).
Love your people, (and your dogs, they are the best!), and let's hope we can fight this horrible shit. Not feeling hopeful, but...
posted by Windopaene at 11:56 AM on November 8 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'm usually allergic to a lot of the way "find the bright side" kind of things are framed, but this extended quotation from Great Tide Rising by Kathleen Dean Moore came across my Mastodon feed and really resonated with me.
Over the years, college students have often come to my office distraught, unable to think of what they might be able to do to stop the terrible losses caused by an industrial growth economy run amok. So much dying, so much destruction. I tell them about Mount Saint Helens, the volcano that blasted a hole in the Earth in 1980, only a decade before they were born.posted by duien at 12:00 PM on November 8 [101 favorites]
Those scientists were so wrong back in 1980, I tell my students. When they first climbed from the helicopters, holding handkerchiefs over their faces to filter ash from the Mount Saint Helens eruption, they did not think they would live long enough to see life restored to the blast zone. Every tree was stripped gray, every ridgeline buried in cinders, every stream clogged with toppled trees and ash. If anything would grow here again, they thought, its spore and seed would have to drift in from the edges of the devastation, long dry miles across a plain of cinders and ash. The scientists could imagine that– spiders on silk parachutes drifting over rubble and plain, a single samara spinning into the shade of a pumice stone. It was harder to imagine the time required for flourishing to return to the mountains – all the dusty centuries.
But here they are today: On the mountain, only thirty-five years later, these same scientists are on their knees, running their hands over beds of moss below lupine in lavish purple bloom. Tracks of mice and fox wander along a stream, and here, beside a ten-foot silver fir, a coyote’s twisted scat grows mushrooms. What the scientists know now, but didn’t understand then, is that when the mountain blasted ash and rock across the landscape, the devastation passed over some small places hidden in the lee of rocks and trees. Here, a bed of moss and deer fern under a rotting log. There under a boulder, a patch of pearly everlasting and the tunnel to a vole’s musty nest. Between stones in a buried stream, a slick of algae and clustered dragonfly larvae. Refugia, they call them: places of safety where life endures. From the refugia, mice and toads emerged blinking onto the blasted plain. Grasses spread, strawberries sent out runners. From a thousand, ten thousand, maybe countless small places of enduring life, forests and meadows returned to the mountain.
I have seen this happen. I have wandered the edge of Mount Saint Helens vernal pools with ecologists brought to unscientific tears by the song of meadowlarks in this place.
My students have been taught, as they deserve to be, that the fossil-fueled industrial growth culture has brought the world to the edge of catastrophe. They don’t have to “believe in” climate change to accept this claim. They understand the decimation of plant and animal species, the poisons, the growing deserts and spreading famine, the rising oceans and melting ice. If it’s true that we can’t destroy our habitats without destroying our lives, as Rachel Carson said, and if it’s true that we are in the process of laying waste to the planet, then our ways of living will come to an end – some way or another, sooner or later, gradually or catastrophically – and some new way of life will begin. What are we supposed to do? What is there to hope for at the end of this time? Why brother trying to patch up the world while so many others seem intent on wrecking it?
These are terrifying questions for an old professor; thank god for the volcano’s lesson. I tell them about the rotted stump that sheltered spider eggs, about a cupped cliff that saved a fern, about all the other refugia that brought life back so quickly to the mountain. If destructive forces are building under our lives, then our work in this time and place, I tell them, is to create refugia of the imagination. Refugia, places where ideas are sheltered and encouraged to grow.
Even now, we can create small pockets of flourishing, and we can make ourselves into overhanging rock ledges to protect life so that the full measure of possibility can spread and reseed the world. Doesn’t matter what it is, I tell my students; if it’s generous to life, imagine it into existence. Create a bicycle cooperative, a seed-sharing community, a wildlife sanctuary on the hill below the church. Raise butterflies with children. Sing duets to the dying. Tear out the irrigation system and plant native grass. Imagine water pumps. Imagine a community garden in the Kmart parking lot. Study ancient corn. Teach someone to sew. Learn to cook with the full power of the sun at noon.
We don’t have to start from scratch. We can restore pockets of flourishing life ways that have been damaged over time. Breach a dam. Plant a riverbank. Vote for schools. Introduce the neighbors to one another’s children. Celebrate the solstice. Slow a river course with a fallen log. Tell stories of how indigenous people live on the land. Clear the grocery carts out of the stream.
Maybe most effective of all, we can protect refugia that already exist. They are all around us. Protect the marshy ditch behind the mall. Work to ban poisons from the edges of the road. Save the hedges in your neighborhood. Boycott what you don’t believe in. Refuse to participate in what is wrong. There is hope in this: An attention that notices and celebrates thriving where it occurs; a conscience that refuses to destroy it.
From these sheltered pockets of moral imagining, and from the protected pockets of flourishing, new ways of living will spread across the land, across the salt plains and beetle killed forests. Here is how life will start anew. Not from the edges over centuries of invasion; rather from small pockets of good work, shaped by an understanding that all life is interdependent, and driven by the one gift humans have that belongs to no other: practical imagination – the ability to imagine that things can be different from what they are now.
This post by Molly White has me feeling more hopeful today.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:01 PM on November 8 [8 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:01 PM on November 8 [8 favorites]
But we are just humans.
Geology outlives us.
Could we fuck up the Earth enough to kill everything? Probably.
That would suck.
Rocks and stuff will still be doing their thing.
(Degree in Geology, just so cool)
posted by Windopaene at 12:05 PM on November 8 [4 favorites]
Geology outlives us.
Could we fuck up the Earth enough to kill everything? Probably.
That would suck.
Rocks and stuff will still be doing their thing.
(Degree in Geology, just so cool)
posted by Windopaene at 12:05 PM on November 8 [4 favorites]
I subscribe to and support the Americans of Conscience checklist. Every two weeks they publish a list of good news along with the actions they'd like us to take this week.
posted by kimberussell at 12:11 PM on November 8 [7 favorites]
posted by kimberussell at 12:11 PM on November 8 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Salmon are making a comeback in Washington
posted by TedW at 12:26 PM on November 8 [6 favorites]
posted by TedW at 12:26 PM on November 8 [6 favorites]
Something to keep in mind:
Pain is an unavoidable part of life but Suffering is optional. The material world is constantly changing, if you tie your happiness to it you'll keep getting rocked by those fluctuations. Instead develop a connection with what doesn't change, your true self, your real being. Whatever you want to call it, it is always present and you can cultivate it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:02 PM on November 8 [1 favorite]
Pain is an unavoidable part of life but Suffering is optional. The material world is constantly changing, if you tie your happiness to it you'll keep getting rocked by those fluctuations. Instead develop a connection with what doesn't change, your true self, your real being. Whatever you want to call it, it is always present and you can cultivate it.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:02 PM on November 8 [1 favorite]
My seventeen year old is busting to vote in the mid-terms.
posted by gerygone at 2:40 PM on November 8 [5 favorites]
posted by gerygone at 2:40 PM on November 8 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I find hope in recent history (and yes I sure am scouring my history resources this week).
I think about the fight for women to get the vote - when my grandmother was born, women couldn't vote in the US, and women secured the right to vote without being able to vote for it themselves.
I think about the civil rights movement, and look to the many heroes who are still with us, or were with us until recently. I think a lot about John Lewis and all the change he accomplished in his lifetime of work for change.
I think about the Rev. William Barber (I wrote a comment about him in September 2020, before Biden got elected.)
I think about the folks at Movement Voter Project, who will not give up:
Also, I try to monitor how much doom I'm taking in. The outcome of this election is very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY bad. But choosing to believe the criminals and fascists WILL accomplish everything they set out to do is, in my mind, a way of abdicating whatever power and agency we do still have. They're probably more competent this time. They're still not competent. They certainly have more fascism-accommodating judges on the bench now. But there are still lots of judges who believe in and rule in accordance with the law. As Heather Cox Richardson points out, if they actually DO do the stuff they've promised/threatened, they will really anger a lot of the people who voted for them. Trump had a trifecta before and he still failed to accomplish his pet projects - no actual Infrastructure Week, no actual cancellation of Obamacare. Will we have a McCain to save Obamacare this time around? Nobody knows. But there are a lot of people (like the ACLU, like governors like Pritzker and Newsom) who are laying the groundwork to keep fighting back.
People like Stacey Abrams have been fighting the good fight for over 30 years. Today, she said:
way way way tl;dr: I find hope in the people who have been working tirelessly for democracy and are still doing it; and in people like you, who are aching for hope because we cannot give up.
(Also, apparently, when I'm fearful and lacking hope, I build websites to urge people to donate to Democrats and stuff. I'm working on another one and will probably post it to Projects this weekend.)
posted by kristi at 2:52 PM on November 8 [26 favorites]
I think about the fight for women to get the vote - when my grandmother was born, women couldn't vote in the US, and women secured the right to vote without being able to vote for it themselves.
I think about the civil rights movement, and look to the many heroes who are still with us, or were with us until recently. I think a lot about John Lewis and all the change he accomplished in his lifetime of work for change.
I think about the Rev. William Barber (I wrote a comment about him in September 2020, before Biden got elected.)
I think about the folks at Movement Voter Project, who will not give up:
Countries have come back from authoritarianism. We can do it too. There are lots of lessons about how people have done this, and very smart folks who can help us learn them.
Also, I try to monitor how much doom I'm taking in. The outcome of this election is very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY bad. But choosing to believe the criminals and fascists WILL accomplish everything they set out to do is, in my mind, a way of abdicating whatever power and agency we do still have. They're probably more competent this time. They're still not competent. They certainly have more fascism-accommodating judges on the bench now. But there are still lots of judges who believe in and rule in accordance with the law. As Heather Cox Richardson points out, if they actually DO do the stuff they've promised/threatened, they will really anger a lot of the people who voted for them. Trump had a trifecta before and he still failed to accomplish his pet projects - no actual Infrastructure Week, no actual cancellation of Obamacare. Will we have a McCain to save Obamacare this time around? Nobody knows. But there are a lot of people (like the ACLU, like governors like Pritzker and Newsom) who are laying the groundwork to keep fighting back.
People like Stacey Abrams have been fighting the good fight for over 30 years. Today, she said:
I know we’re exhausted, disheartened, and rightly terrified. But we’ve been here before. We’ve fought, resisted, and built—together. Today, I’m reflecting on where we go from here and how we keep moving forward.Everywhere, every day, there are people fighting for the rights and lives and future of trans folks, Black folks, women, children, indigenous folks, folks with disabilities, immigrants, folks wrestling with poverty - and having successes. That news doesn't reach us as easily as the clickbait bad news, but there's a ton of it. I've found some at the weekly Extra Extra from Chop Wood, Carry Water, and Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope; this week, they wrote:
There’s no sugarcoating how bad this is. The next four years will likely be a profoundly chaotic and scary time in many ways. Bad things will happen. People will suffer. It really sucks.The US fascists will have appalling power in January - but it is not all the power. There will still be millions of people working hard to both thwart the fascists and also to make life better, and to protect those most at risk.
It’s also not the end of the world. That phrase has entered our parlance as a dismissive minimization, but it’s a simple statement of fact. The world is a very, very big and complex place, too big to be contained or even summarized by the most gigantic of events or seemingly all-consuming of trends. Many great and terrible things can be happening simultaneously on overlapping timescales. The twentieth century saw the hideous atrocities of the World Wars and Cold War, and also witnessed unprecedented technological innovation and massive improvements in public health, civil rights, and human living standards.
Most people have no idea how much human life has gotten better over the last two hundred years.
Even as American politics descend into darkness - at least for a time - many ongoing trends outside the control of voters will continue to strive to make a better world for humanity and its biosphere.
* Solar power will keep getting cheaper and keep being built more and more across the world, transitioning humanity’s energy system to run on clean electrons faster than almost anyone believed possible.
* Researchers are finding that solar farms can benefit desert ecosystems.
[several other bits of good news]
* The new malaria vaccines will save tens of thousands of children in sub-Saharan Africa from agonizing, pointless deaths, and mRNA vaccine technology writ large have the potential to vanquish many ancient diseases in our lifetimes.
[several other bits of good news]
* People all over the nation and the world will care for their loved ones. They will be kind to the humans and animals they encounter. They will shelter and protect those who are unjustly persecuted. They will work, dream, imagine, create, inspire, seek, explore, hope. They will do what they can to make their facets of the world better places to live in. In times of horror, we can still be good and true.
way way way tl;dr: I find hope in the people who have been working tirelessly for democracy and are still doing it; and in people like you, who are aching for hope because we cannot give up.
(Also, apparently, when I'm fearful and lacking hope, I build websites to urge people to donate to Democrats and stuff. I'm working on another one and will probably post it to Projects this weekend.)
posted by kristi at 2:52 PM on November 8 [26 favorites]
My good sign: today I was leading a group of 50 students and staff volunteering, as part of the university's autumn Day Of Service. We were at a place that rescues food & hygiene products, and assembles bags for distribution. Almost all of them were students, who got no benefit or extra credit from being there. Even the university's president was standing in the same line, packing toiletries into bags with the rest of us. It was fast and heavy and urgent, and everyone was cheerful and diligent and efficient. My heart soars thinking about how happy they all were at 8:3am, and still at 1:00pm.
And this perfectly illustrates how to respond: find a place in your area where you can reach across or down to offer a hand, and just ask "What needs doing?"
I think 2025 is the year of Just Showing Up, so we can rebuild relationships across class/race/location gaps. And as you work, you have conversations that naturally arise when you're side-by-side with someone, and you change their mind.
posted by wenestvedt at 2:57 PM on November 8 [5 favorites]
And this perfectly illustrates how to respond: find a place in your area where you can reach across or down to offer a hand, and just ask "What needs doing?"
I think 2025 is the year of Just Showing Up, so we can rebuild relationships across class/race/location gaps. And as you work, you have conversations that naturally arise when you're side-by-side with someone, and you change their mind.
posted by wenestvedt at 2:57 PM on November 8 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Since you said they don't have to be political...
The weather was beautiful today and I needed to clear my head so I took a walk in the sunshine to go buy a replacement for my broken waffle iron. On the way I saw many cute doggos and an extremely tall and beautiful lady with the sparkliest eye makeup and I exchanged hellos with a guy I recognized because he works at my apartment building's front desk and I saw street vendors selling freshly husked coconuts and taquitos and agua fresca and sports T-shirts and a really cute pikachu. I got my new waffle iron and threw in a menorah shaped like a dinosaur because how could you possibly not. I stopped to get coffee and the barista was really friendly and we chatted about our unpopular dessert opinions while she was making my drink. On the way back I exchanged hellos with one of the maintenance staff who also works at my building - we both took a moment to realize we knew each other - and I saw an adorable chubby toddler in a stroller. People were smiling and saying hello to their friends and jogging and the street was crowded and lively.
That right there: that's hope.
posted by capricorn at 3:52 PM on November 8 [8 favorites]
The weather was beautiful today and I needed to clear my head so I took a walk in the sunshine to go buy a replacement for my broken waffle iron. On the way I saw many cute doggos and an extremely tall and beautiful lady with the sparkliest eye makeup and I exchanged hellos with a guy I recognized because he works at my apartment building's front desk and I saw street vendors selling freshly husked coconuts and taquitos and agua fresca and sports T-shirts and a really cute pikachu. I got my new waffle iron and threw in a menorah shaped like a dinosaur because how could you possibly not. I stopped to get coffee and the barista was really friendly and we chatted about our unpopular dessert opinions while she was making my drink. On the way back I exchanged hellos with one of the maintenance staff who also works at my building - we both took a moment to realize we knew each other - and I saw an adorable chubby toddler in a stroller. People were smiling and saying hello to their friends and jogging and the street was crowded and lively.
That right there: that's hope.
posted by capricorn at 3:52 PM on November 8 [8 favorites]
Also this! (Story from my city's reddit about someone who was helped by strangers in a medical emergency)
posted by capricorn at 4:07 PM on November 8
posted by capricorn at 4:07 PM on November 8
I previously mentioned 2 good things that happened in Missouri - a very, very Red state now: Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing access to reproductive healthcare & abortion; Large increase in minimum wage. Both passed relatively handily.
However, the thing I wanted to mention today is this:
I work for a local organization that advocates for issues that have something of a left/Democratic slant. Not 100% so, but enough that a resounding drubbing of the Democrats is disappointing and likely going to set us back. All of us local organizations coordinate with a national group that advocates directly with members of Congress & federal agencies in Washington DC.
We had a conference call today with the woman who coordinates the Congressional work. First thing she said is, Look: The Republicans are going to hold everything now: The presidency, 52 or 53 seats in the Senate (looks like, several are still up in the air), and the House has a lot of open seats still but everyone is assuming the Republicans are going to have the majority there, too. So they've got all three branches.
So everyone was more or less moaning and groaning and anticipating all the terrible things that are going to happen, and so on. Here is what she said:
- #1. Republicans have a solid majority in the Senate but they don't have a filibuster proof majority. They are very, very, VERY unlikely to overturn the filibuster (R's have been its biggest supporter). Those 6-7-8 Democratic Senators it's going to take to move anything of substance in the Senate are going to put the brakes on LOTS of bad stuff.
- #2. We have been in this exact position (Rs in charge of both Chambers & Presidency) not that long ago and we survived just fine. They said they were going to do X Y & Z back then, too, powerful people vowed to do it, and yet we were able to stop it. In particular we were able to stop the very worst of the plans - and we were able to do that because we had an absolute outpouring of grass roots and local support coming from the districts of those who were leading the charge to do the "bad thing".
- #3. Let's face it: Bad things are going to happen. But then the backlash will inevitably come - and the more extreme the things they do in the next 2 years the more extreme the backlash will be in the 2026 elections. This is how politics works, this is how it has always worked, and there is no reason think it is going to stop working that way now.
So let's say Trump runs rampant until 2026, does all sorts of crazy stuff. And then loses his majorities in both the House & Senate in 2026.
(The Senate was very difficult for Democrats this year. 2026 is going to be difficult for Democrats, but not nearly as difficult as 2024. Republicans have 20 seats up for grabs & Democrats have just 13 to defend. 2024 was close to the opposite of that. It's not going to be easy to hold all 13 seats and flip 2 or 3 or 4 more. But the more mayhem Trump causes in the next couple of years the easier that job becomes. If Ds can gain even ONE seat back that will make it harder for Rs - if they can get 2 or 3 or 4, so much the better.)
The House flips much more easily & quickly than the Senate, so if we see Trump & Co. following through on their plans to destroy the economy, jail everyone, make everyone made by cracking down on this that and the other, while cutting all the programs everyone depends on to do just about everything - it will be so easy to see the House flip.
Again, the better Trump does at executing the mayhem he is planning the more likely the 2026 House flip becomes.
So the 2024 and 2026 elections are very, very likely to swing back the other way. And in 2026, Republicans won't be able to run an incumbent. That puts the election much more up in the air.
- #4. They are planning to do a lot of bad things but organizing & political action really can put the brakes on a lot of that. You're going to lose on some topline highly political issues but for every one of those there are a hundred or a thousand other lower profile issues where those calls & messages to Congress, meetings with Congressional staff, local citizens and groups and officials speaking up, and all the rest of the regular tick-tock of work groups like ours do - all makes a real difference.
- #5. This is the most control they are going to have for probably the next 20 years or so. So they are going to push, push, push but every program or policy where we can hold the line that becomes the new baseline - the furthest right we're going to go on that issue ever (or at least, for a very long time). The next 20-ish years is going to be spent moving leftward of that point.
In a sense, you almost make your most important progress when you lose - IF you don't give up, play your cards right, and play the most effective defense you can. You we have the ball, we try to move the ball left as far and as fast as we can, because we know we are not going to be on offense forever - but the progress we can make while we ARE in power then defines the baseline for that issue when the other side gets in power.
When the other side is in power, we're trying to hold the gains we made before, and limit the movement they are able to make back to the right while they are in power. Our role right now is defense. Defense is where you can win the game.
When you have a problem is if you say "We lost the election, all is lost, we give up." And you forget to show up and play defense. In that case, the Bad Guys (tm) are going to grab the ball and run Right as far and as fast as they can. They will be able to make tremendous progress in their direction.
Our job right now is to prevent that. And we can - to a very great degree.
And remember we're playing this game not just with one or two big issues - the ones that make the news - but on literally hundreds and thousands of issues across the spectrum. We're going to lose big on a few of them. But don't let that discourage and dishearten you - if we lose on 3 issues that make the national news but hold the line on like, literally, 3 thousand issues that are happening behind the scenes, we're actually winning in the long term.
We're playing defense now. It's different, it not as much fun, we're going to have some losses. But we're in it for the long term and playing great defense - when that is your role, as it inevitably is from time to time - is exactly how you win in the long term.
posted by flug at 8:08 PM on November 8 [19 favorites]
However, the thing I wanted to mention today is this:
I work for a local organization that advocates for issues that have something of a left/Democratic slant. Not 100% so, but enough that a resounding drubbing of the Democrats is disappointing and likely going to set us back. All of us local organizations coordinate with a national group that advocates directly with members of Congress & federal agencies in Washington DC.
We had a conference call today with the woman who coordinates the Congressional work. First thing she said is, Look: The Republicans are going to hold everything now: The presidency, 52 or 53 seats in the Senate (looks like, several are still up in the air), and the House has a lot of open seats still but everyone is assuming the Republicans are going to have the majority there, too. So they've got all three branches.
So everyone was more or less moaning and groaning and anticipating all the terrible things that are going to happen, and so on. Here is what she said:
- #1. Republicans have a solid majority in the Senate but they don't have a filibuster proof majority. They are very, very, VERY unlikely to overturn the filibuster (R's have been its biggest supporter). Those 6-7-8 Democratic Senators it's going to take to move anything of substance in the Senate are going to put the brakes on LOTS of bad stuff.
- #2. We have been in this exact position (Rs in charge of both Chambers & Presidency) not that long ago and we survived just fine. They said they were going to do X Y & Z back then, too, powerful people vowed to do it, and yet we were able to stop it. In particular we were able to stop the very worst of the plans - and we were able to do that because we had an absolute outpouring of grass roots and local support coming from the districts of those who were leading the charge to do the "bad thing".
- #3. Let's face it: Bad things are going to happen. But then the backlash will inevitably come - and the more extreme the things they do in the next 2 years the more extreme the backlash will be in the 2026 elections. This is how politics works, this is how it has always worked, and there is no reason think it is going to stop working that way now.
So let's say Trump runs rampant until 2026, does all sorts of crazy stuff. And then loses his majorities in both the House & Senate in 2026.
(The Senate was very difficult for Democrats this year. 2026 is going to be difficult for Democrats, but not nearly as difficult as 2024. Republicans have 20 seats up for grabs & Democrats have just 13 to defend. 2024 was close to the opposite of that. It's not going to be easy to hold all 13 seats and flip 2 or 3 or 4 more. But the more mayhem Trump causes in the next couple of years the easier that job becomes. If Ds can gain even ONE seat back that will make it harder for Rs - if they can get 2 or 3 or 4, so much the better.)
The House flips much more easily & quickly than the Senate, so if we see Trump & Co. following through on their plans to destroy the economy, jail everyone, make everyone made by cracking down on this that and the other, while cutting all the programs everyone depends on to do just about everything - it will be so easy to see the House flip.
Again, the better Trump does at executing the mayhem he is planning the more likely the 2026 House flip becomes.
So the 2024 and 2026 elections are very, very likely to swing back the other way. And in 2026, Republicans won't be able to run an incumbent. That puts the election much more up in the air.
- #4. They are planning to do a lot of bad things but organizing & political action really can put the brakes on a lot of that. You're going to lose on some topline highly political issues but for every one of those there are a hundred or a thousand other lower profile issues where those calls & messages to Congress, meetings with Congressional staff, local citizens and groups and officials speaking up, and all the rest of the regular tick-tock of work groups like ours do - all makes a real difference.
- #5. This is the most control they are going to have for probably the next 20 years or so. So they are going to push, push, push but every program or policy where we can hold the line that becomes the new baseline - the furthest right we're going to go on that issue ever (or at least, for a very long time). The next 20-ish years is going to be spent moving leftward of that point.
In a sense, you almost make your most important progress when you lose - IF you don't give up, play your cards right, and play the most effective defense you can. You we have the ball, we try to move the ball left as far and as fast as we can, because we know we are not going to be on offense forever - but the progress we can make while we ARE in power then defines the baseline for that issue when the other side gets in power.
When the other side is in power, we're trying to hold the gains we made before, and limit the movement they are able to make back to the right while they are in power. Our role right now is defense. Defense is where you can win the game.
When you have a problem is if you say "We lost the election, all is lost, we give up." And you forget to show up and play defense. In that case, the Bad Guys (tm) are going to grab the ball and run Right as far and as fast as they can. They will be able to make tremendous progress in their direction.
Our job right now is to prevent that. And we can - to a very great degree.
And remember we're playing this game not just with one or two big issues - the ones that make the news - but on literally hundreds and thousands of issues across the spectrum. We're going to lose big on a few of them. But don't let that discourage and dishearten you - if we lose on 3 issues that make the national news but hold the line on like, literally, 3 thousand issues that are happening behind the scenes, we're actually winning in the long term.
We're playing defense now. It's different, it not as much fun, we're going to have some losses. But we're in it for the long term and playing great defense - when that is your role, as it inevitably is from time to time - is exactly how you win in the long term.
posted by flug at 8:08 PM on November 8 [19 favorites]
Well, one thing that helped me was that oft-repeated story of all the people on Tuesday night googling some permutation of "did Joe Biden drop out...?" And then the Jimmy Kimmel man-on-the-street survey that confirmed, yes, tons of people were completely oblivious. I cast my mind back to my high school AP history classes and myself in them, completely unable to scare up any interest in the affairs of humanity outside of Sting and what he was up to that day and how maybe if I did enough leg lifts, I, too, could look like Victoria Principal. Or Principle. I had her exercise book, which used to be a consumption unit in the 80s: it was like a coffee table book and each page had a line drawing of how to do a camel kick or whatever and then a picture of whichever celebrity doing the move. Victoria Principal/ple had on a purple and white chevron striped leotard and white tights in hers. I remember this book and V.P. complaining in it about how her friend said something mean about her butt and that's why she learned how to do calisthenics and look at her now, it has saved her life and you, too, can experience the miracle. I remember nothing whatsoever of anything I managed to read in any book about war or politics for my entire journey through American public school.
I registered to vote the day I turned 18, but that was because it was a family tradition and my mom made me. I wasn't eager to vote or anything. I voted for Clinton, but I was just copying my mom. And I only voted in the presidential race: I left all the local races blank that year because I didn't think it was important to try to figure out who was who in our podunk town or who wanted to be governor of the seedy little backwater state of Florida since it was a dismal swamp that I was eventually going to leave to go live in Paris or New York City. I was happily, proudly oblivious. I did not see why any of it was my concern.
If I hadn't met the right people in college, wouldn't I have just gone on like that? I think so. I am not casting aspersions on my AP history and political science teacher in high school. She was, i think, a genius. I remember her even more clearly than I remember Victoria Princip??. But I only remember things that she said. I have remembered for 40 years what she told the mayor's kid when he tried out a conservative talking point on her. The miraculously effective disdain with which she dismissed the question of whether indigenous people were living in South Africa when the Dutch invaded and stole it. "Of course they were, Geoff. Oh, maybe they weren't on the beach that day."
So I remember her and things that she said and I remember her telling me that I should read books she assigned, and I did read them, but I remember nothing I read in them because I was only reading it to remember it long enough to be able to write an essay that proved that I loved her and had done as I was told. Those people on Jimmy Kimmel, none of them seemed stupid, precisely, just... wrong. None seemed cruel. They all seemed good-hearted. They just wanted to please the nice television people who had stopped them in the street on their way to get coffee or do their shift at UPS. All the "TODAY IS WEDNESDAY" hints the interviewer was throwing down weren't fair--politically oblivious people wouldn't logically have it burnt into their brains that American presidential elections are on Tuesdays. They were just trying to be politely agreeable and tell the lies the interview questions were cuing them would be most appropriate lies to tell to be as polite as possible and best accommodate the needs of their interlocutor, who, after all, must be accommodated, since he was trying to make a TV show.
On the one hand, it is desperately sad that so many people never heard what my high school teacher said about the good Germans who stayed oblivious and ignored the holocaust and by ignoring it enabled it and now we're fucked again same as it ever was world without end. On the other hand, I kinda wish I could sue the high school for ever hiring that excellent teacher, because I was oblivious once, too, and I was perfectly happy going around in a fugue state thinking about Sting. I think it's possible to toggle obliviousness on and off. I'ma toggle on oblivion for national politics, now that there is fuck all I can do about it, and focus locally. Because I didn't move to Paris, and I do care who is sheriff, now.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:26 AM on November 9 [6 favorites]
I registered to vote the day I turned 18, but that was because it was a family tradition and my mom made me. I wasn't eager to vote or anything. I voted for Clinton, but I was just copying my mom. And I only voted in the presidential race: I left all the local races blank that year because I didn't think it was important to try to figure out who was who in our podunk town or who wanted to be governor of the seedy little backwater state of Florida since it was a dismal swamp that I was eventually going to leave to go live in Paris or New York City. I was happily, proudly oblivious. I did not see why any of it was my concern.
If I hadn't met the right people in college, wouldn't I have just gone on like that? I think so. I am not casting aspersions on my AP history and political science teacher in high school. She was, i think, a genius. I remember her even more clearly than I remember Victoria Princip??. But I only remember things that she said. I have remembered for 40 years what she told the mayor's kid when he tried out a conservative talking point on her. The miraculously effective disdain with which she dismissed the question of whether indigenous people were living in South Africa when the Dutch invaded and stole it. "Of course they were, Geoff. Oh, maybe they weren't on the beach that day."
So I remember her and things that she said and I remember her telling me that I should read books she assigned, and I did read them, but I remember nothing I read in them because I was only reading it to remember it long enough to be able to write an essay that proved that I loved her and had done as I was told. Those people on Jimmy Kimmel, none of them seemed stupid, precisely, just... wrong. None seemed cruel. They all seemed good-hearted. They just wanted to please the nice television people who had stopped them in the street on their way to get coffee or do their shift at UPS. All the "TODAY IS WEDNESDAY" hints the interviewer was throwing down weren't fair--politically oblivious people wouldn't logically have it burnt into their brains that American presidential elections are on Tuesdays. They were just trying to be politely agreeable and tell the lies the interview questions were cuing them would be most appropriate lies to tell to be as polite as possible and best accommodate the needs of their interlocutor, who, after all, must be accommodated, since he was trying to make a TV show.
On the one hand, it is desperately sad that so many people never heard what my high school teacher said about the good Germans who stayed oblivious and ignored the holocaust and by ignoring it enabled it and now we're fucked again same as it ever was world without end. On the other hand, I kinda wish I could sue the high school for ever hiring that excellent teacher, because I was oblivious once, too, and I was perfectly happy going around in a fugue state thinking about Sting. I think it's possible to toggle obliviousness on and off. I'ma toggle on oblivion for national politics, now that there is fuck all I can do about it, and focus locally. Because I didn't move to Paris, and I do care who is sheriff, now.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:26 AM on November 9 [6 favorites]
An idea I literally had right now might give you hope (not necessarily the idea itself, but the thought process that led to it) -
So Hardcore Domesticity grounds me a lot, and that's what I've been doing all weekend. Yesterday I did a lot of the housecleaning or the week - scrubbing the tub and sinks, vacuuming, tidying up the crap strewn through the apartment. (Except for my office - that's today's project, it will call for its own work.)
One big thing I also started yesterday, and will finish today, is some cooking stuff. I've cooked up a pound of black beans, and after using some in a chili last night the rest went into smaller containers and will live in the freezer for future meals. I also dipped into a cookbook I got from the library that was more about "ideas for how to use up shit around your house" ("things to do with really old apples", "things to do when you have way too many peppers", etc.) The applesauce I made with the three "old apples" yesterday (that's what she recommends) will go into some applesauce muffins (also her recommendation for how to use that), and that's my breakfasts for the week. I'm also making some cookies out of the random scant amounts of "stuff" from the baking pantry, and that's a pantry tidied up AND some cookies in the house.
I try to cook this sort of "make stuff in advance to use" and "use up what you've got" stuff a lot, and have for some time. I started doing it for frugality reasons (the recession did a number on me), but I like how it's saving me money, and also letting me buy less food so someone else has a chance to get what they need. It also cuts down on food waste. And - it's also how people have been cooking for millennia, with the cooks having to make do with whatever random crap the hunters and gatherers managed to bring home or trying to use shit up before it went bad. And it occurred to me that maybe starting some kind of unofficial grass-roots "let's trade zero-waste cooking recipes" club might be a good idea to build community, help people save money in the face of whatever the economy does, and keep us all fed. The more I think about it the more excited I'm getting.
The hope I'm extending to you is - the very fact that I'm having thoughts about "hey, here's a small bit of good I can put out into the world." Because usually I don't see myself as a teacher or community leader in any way; I've been way too shy up to this point, I'd much rather support a leader. (There's a reason that I was a stage manager and I have been an executive assistant for so long.) But if even someone like that is starting to step up and think "hey, I could do this"....that's probably a sign a whole lot more formerly-shy people might be stepping up on a local level.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:06 AM on November 10 [5 favorites]
So Hardcore Domesticity grounds me a lot, and that's what I've been doing all weekend. Yesterday I did a lot of the housecleaning or the week - scrubbing the tub and sinks, vacuuming, tidying up the crap strewn through the apartment. (Except for my office - that's today's project, it will call for its own work.)
One big thing I also started yesterday, and will finish today, is some cooking stuff. I've cooked up a pound of black beans, and after using some in a chili last night the rest went into smaller containers and will live in the freezer for future meals. I also dipped into a cookbook I got from the library that was more about "ideas for how to use up shit around your house" ("things to do with really old apples", "things to do when you have way too many peppers", etc.) The applesauce I made with the three "old apples" yesterday (that's what she recommends) will go into some applesauce muffins (also her recommendation for how to use that), and that's my breakfasts for the week. I'm also making some cookies out of the random scant amounts of "stuff" from the baking pantry, and that's a pantry tidied up AND some cookies in the house.
I try to cook this sort of "make stuff in advance to use" and "use up what you've got" stuff a lot, and have for some time. I started doing it for frugality reasons (the recession did a number on me), but I like how it's saving me money, and also letting me buy less food so someone else has a chance to get what they need. It also cuts down on food waste. And - it's also how people have been cooking for millennia, with the cooks having to make do with whatever random crap the hunters and gatherers managed to bring home or trying to use shit up before it went bad. And it occurred to me that maybe starting some kind of unofficial grass-roots "let's trade zero-waste cooking recipes" club might be a good idea to build community, help people save money in the face of whatever the economy does, and keep us all fed. The more I think about it the more excited I'm getting.
The hope I'm extending to you is - the very fact that I'm having thoughts about "hey, here's a small bit of good I can put out into the world." Because usually I don't see myself as a teacher or community leader in any way; I've been way too shy up to this point, I'd much rather support a leader. (There's a reason that I was a stage manager and I have been an executive assistant for so long.) But if even someone like that is starting to step up and think "hey, I could do this"....that's probably a sign a whole lot more formerly-shy people might be stepping up on a local level.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:06 AM on November 10 [5 favorites]
To echo EmpressCallipygos, thinking locally is helping me too. To be frank, I don't think human brains were designed to be able to think and worry about issues impacting 330+ million people, much less global issues. Of course we DO have to think at that level sometimes, but focusing on your immediate community is going to feel less overwhelming and more satisfying, I think. I am planning to go to more community events, donate to local food shelves and the Little Free Pantry down the street, etc. It gives me hope that even though I can't impact what's happening on a national level, I can take care of the people right around me and make sure they have what they need -- and to build a community that can engage in mutual aid if things really get rough.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 10:53 AM on November 10
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 10:53 AM on November 10
Mod note: [All these answers are so helpful, and thank you for asking, brookeb! We've added this thread and duien's Kathleen Dean Moore quote to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 1:11 AM on November 11 [1 favorite]
posted by taz (staff) at 1:11 AM on November 11 [1 favorite]
The national race did not go my way to say the least. It’s been hard. I did not cry in front of the media. I am glad that my state elected a great team at the state level. I want to go to Canada, or even Mexico. Canada may be my best bet. I have contacts there. Mr. Roquette does not want to go.
Absolutely not. Also Canada can wind up as another rightist Hellscape real easy.
The good ne s is my state was solid blue. With a tough governor and a tough A.G.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:16 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]
Absolutely not. Also Canada can wind up as another rightist Hellscape real easy.
The good ne s is my state was solid blue. With a tough governor and a tough A.G.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:16 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]
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We have a comment form on our web site where people who want to volunteer as patient escorts can reach out. Typically, we get about one or two inquiries a week.
Yesterday alone, we got twenty-five.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:51 AM on November 8 [66 favorites]