I had a therapist many years ago who said that underneath sadness is anger, and underneath anger is fear. People get stuck in sadness sometimes, or anger, like they are now. But there's a softening that happens when we get that we are afraid, and especially when we get that others are afraid, too. Then there's connection, and a vision for change. I can't wait until this period of second-guessing and yelling at each other is finished.
Thank you for this. I'm figuring out what to say and where to say it, but I'm realizing quickly that the anger and disillusionment I feel right now are not going to land with anyone who isn't already on my side. If we have any chance of winning in the future, we have to win some more people over. So I'm taking about a million deep breaths and rephrasing a few more times before I hit send.
PS - thanks for the links at the end! The actual hyperlinks all go to the same site, thought you'd want to know.
Even in my household, the 'socially left, economically right' types have agreed when I casually mentioned "we can't make progress because it steps on someone's profits." The impetus is there! But they don't believe they can fight it, or they think they're limited to voting to fight it.
We're sharing our hope for a better world when we talk to them and try to "radicalize" them. If it's safe for you, try it. They may surprise you :)
You're absolutely right that language matters. Our words have power. If people start speaking about common issues in a calm and kind way they will attract many people.
Our society of blaming, accusing, backbiting, and viciousness is running out of space and time. Average people are exhausted. They just want peace and quiet and to live like a human being ( something I feel is being denied to us) Our humanity is what binds us together... we are all the same no matter what indignant a**holes say.
The average Jane and John Doe all agree with each other on the substantive issues. Fair livable wages, decent affordable housing, healthcare, quality of life, sane peaceful existence. It's the factions that break us into crazed factions! Let's cut out the noise and get down to the business of humanizing this country.
Your writing is helping a lot. Please try to add some resources for community organizing, especially for urban areas which are difficult to navigate. Thanks and keep going 👍
Thomas Jefferson said, “Compliance can’t beat tyranny.” I so agree. But, additionally, I say. “Not every ill is solved with a fight.”
We have to know when what behavior is called for. Correctly identifying facism, tyranny, truthifying, etc. is vital. But knowing when to choose a mollifying herb from the pantry is just as vital.
Judging by a lot a nasty liberal takes I've encountered many liberals just don't care about the working class, the poor, the Palestinians, the Muslims, the Arabs or seemingly anyone but themselves😞
Joining organizations movements is absolutely necessary now. It's going to be hugely challenging. After the new regime goes after its top enemies, it will start silencing the smaller ones. Words in cyberspace are forever, and those of us speaking out on platforms like this could become targets. These platforms could go away entirely, which makes a real, physical community even more important. Joshua, check your links, the first four all went to the same page.
Thank you for sharing this perspective! When I discuss politics with my coworkers and acquaintances who don’t share my views, it’s often so much easier to come to a more shared viewpoint about typical leftist policy, and I am always shocked by how different our tones our IRL in comparison to the haranguing and berating tones online political conversations take. We need to start looking at what tactics give us the outcomes we need rather than the tactics that give the emotional catharsis people are seeking at times.
Hello Joshua and all, thank you for the invite to add org suggestions. I want to encourage readers, especially white readers, to look into SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). SURJ was founded in 2009 in the Appalachian South following the racist backlash to the Obama presidency. Inspired by Anne Braden, and a long history of white southern organizers, and called into action by multiracial movement leaders, we made 2.5M calls for Harris this election, while also pushing for a ceasefire, to stop CopCity and other actions farther to the left of Harris’s campaign. There are chapters all over the country. SURJ is the only organization explicitly organizing white ppl because we understand that it’s going to take a lot of white ppl to build an irresistible alternative like you’re describing, one where we all have enough and we all feel safe. Finally, Movement Labs and others have great data on how many of those brief conversations, like the one who had at the MA fair, it takes to really move someone. You didn’t get her moved that day, but you may have moved the needle. Who will pick up the conversation next and move the needle a little more? Let’s go, see you out there!
I went on Twitter, because I was angry at Rashida Tlaib for failing to endorse Harris and explain to her constituents why they should support her. I ended up having a thoughtful conversation with someone who described the rage of the community there. She that Tlaib wanted to endorse Harris, but that her family urged her not to due to the strong emotions of the community.
There were lots of comments from others which were full of vitriol at Palestinian supporters.
We can be disappointed by the failures of others to act in the way we would like them to and yet still sympathetic towards their condition. I went onto Twitter to express my anger at Rashida Tlaib and ended up having a thoughtful and sobering discussion.
Biden should not have continued to send arms to Israel, when Israel was conducting an immoral and criminal war against the civilian populace of Gaza.
Thank you for this thoughtful essay. I would push-back a bit:
Where I've come to land is that the divided left, that has failed so spectacularly the past 30 years, needs to unite. That means not that the entirety of everybody needs to tack one way or the other; but, rather that *both* the Moderates need to tack left, and the Leftists need to tack right.
Moderates BOTH need to take firmer stands and start to promote progressive goals (aka Universal Healthcare) AND the far left needs to abandon the most extreme positions—like abolishing police or rent or saying there's no such thing as human biological sex—which do nothing but feed into a sense of moral superiority while alienating mainstream voters, regardless of tone.
To convert this into a generic statement of "Poli Sci": Asking the rest of the population to move towards your specific point isn't political organizing, it's wish-casting.
I think the institutions need to be reformed. It's too easy to always say the systems are corrupt when it is more historically accurate to say that there are corrupt people within the system (Even during FDR's reign, there was an active Chisto-fascist/Nazi movement within Congress, for example). We need the institutions more than ever and, agreeing with you here, we need super-respectful, nuanced discussions and solutions presented.
This is one of your best essays. I’m already sick of the schadenfreude memes, some of them unverified or false, going around among my liberal friends. There’s one about a company cutting Christmas bonuses because it has to stock up on imported parts before the tariffs kick in. The latter part is true generally but so far there’s no confirmation about that specific company or its bonuses. Likely a made-up story, which I think comes from OccupyDems, or at least they spread it around.
Then there’s an analysis from NPR that the Latino shift toward Trump is not out of conservatism but because they want more economic populism. Feeling schadenfreude toward those voters isn’t going to win them over.
Thanks for this. I've been biting my tongue a lot but the desire to rage at liberals is very tempting right now. I think many on the left who campaigned for Bernie and put up with nasty attacks from liberals who were peers, friends, family, etc. have some deep scars. I know I do and it's tempting to want to lash out and hurt others as much as they've hurt you (and the world frankly for giving us all 4 years of Trump & 4 years of Biden - FUCK!!!) but anger just pushes people away. We need to start finding ways to bring more people together because the government and corporate media is doing everything in their power to keep us fighting amongst ourselves, so we don't fight them.
Even though I know I could be virtually beaten up for this comment, I will just say that when the conservative movement became prominent on Twitter and I said that I belong to the conservative sector of my country and that I am in favour of the traditional family, I immediately received comments calling me a ‘parasite’, and private messages threatening me. Just for saying that. Immediately I was cancelled from the astrological community and my astrological practice did not have one more client, since 2022 I do not have any, which led me to an extreme financial situation. Currently my posts barely get two or three likes, and only one friend is a paying subscriber. On my blog I have a post called ‘reality’. That's all I will say here.
Norsan, if that's your name? It's beautiful! I'm so sorry you experienced that kind of treatment. Absolutely no reason for it. Nothing wrong with preferring a traditional family, just as there is nothing wrong with other people's preferred family formations. I find a lot of political debates a bit hypocritical toward each other, to be honest.
Have you tried expanding to other networks and platforms? Substack is a tough place to monetize in general if you don't have a large email list...
Sorry for the late reply, I hadn't seen your kind response. Norsan is the union of my first and last name.
And I think the same as you, there is no reason to attack each other for our preferences, I never did it before, but when those people put my safety at risk, which was the 5, 10 dollars that I charged for a reading (I live in the third world) I realized that I could not be gentle. The hatred and cruelty that they had for me had a forceful and fierce response from me. I belong to the center-right sector of my country, I am a single and poor woman, not religious. I do not like Trump at all, and if I had been an American citizen I would never have voted for him (I did not vote in my country either because I did not like the candidates) but I have very personal reasons to be happy about the Republican victory (I have 2 years without clients, without income, and the same on Substack). As my post "Reality" suggests, my dream is to study for a degree, my dream is to earn 400 dollars A MONTH to cover basic needs, and it seems like a dream... while I read radical liberals saying that they spent 2000 on weed for a party. I have a post for free (https://norsan.substack.com/p/american-people-a-bitter-reality?r=2oxwnv) I invite you to read it. For two years I have been dealing with unemployment, full of problems, and angry, I have resentment. I am very sorry.
I'm guessing there might be a security issue in naming your country in public so I won't ask. Without knowing the full socioeconomic/cultural context, I'm not sure any advice I could offer would be meaningful, and I imagine this is nothing new... but I would explore other skills and talents you have, in addition to/outside of astrology. If you are at all able.
I am always willing to talk, to share my knowledge, experience and learn from others, about astrology or anything else. I could not put into words how I love to study, -I don't like superficiality or absolutes, I understand chiaroscuro.-studying for me has been everything since I was a child, unfortunately circumstances have only allowed me to learn in a self taught way, doing a degree would give me a job, but I have already lost hope of that or of having safe soup on my table without having to beg among neighbors. Life at least guaranteed me a borrowed wi-fi connection.
Just wanted to say that I'm sorry you've had your financial situation hurt by sharing a different opinion online. It's ugly out there and so many are hurting while looking for easy scapegoats while our government and corporate media encourages division. As a radical Bernie Bro working in a very liberal/Russiagate obsessed industry I've had to deal with being ostracized as well and it's not fun. Take care!
I'd just stick with the "do you think it will rain tomorrow"? But even that's a stretch,due to Global Warming. Then there's always my go to, Don't say Anything unless you are asked,as Fox channel blares loudly in background on the flat screen TV. Great article this morning, Robin, and will reStack ASAP 💯👍💔
I had a therapist many years ago who said that underneath sadness is anger, and underneath anger is fear. People get stuck in sadness sometimes, or anger, like they are now. But there's a softening that happens when we get that we are afraid, and especially when we get that others are afraid, too. Then there's connection, and a vision for change. I can't wait until this period of second-guessing and yelling at each other is finished.
Thank you for this. I'm figuring out what to say and where to say it, but I'm realizing quickly that the anger and disillusionment I feel right now are not going to land with anyone who isn't already on my side. If we have any chance of winning in the future, we have to win some more people over. So I'm taking about a million deep breaths and rephrasing a few more times before I hit send.
PS - thanks for the links at the end! The actual hyperlinks all go to the same site, thought you'd want to know.
Not on your side, wondering what anger? At who/what?
Based on your own posts, it's clear you know what I'm referring to, but you're fishing for a fight. Not inclined to engage in that today.
You're free to assume that about me. I am rather belligerent at times!
You did seem open to a discussion. Maybe in small bites, at a later date.
Excited to dig into the orgs and books towards the end. Thank you for writing this!
Even in my household, the 'socially left, economically right' types have agreed when I casually mentioned "we can't make progress because it steps on someone's profits." The impetus is there! But they don't believe they can fight it, or they think they're limited to voting to fight it.
We're sharing our hope for a better world when we talk to them and try to "radicalize" them. If it's safe for you, try it. They may surprise you :)
You're absolutely right that language matters. Our words have power. If people start speaking about common issues in a calm and kind way they will attract many people.
Our society of blaming, accusing, backbiting, and viciousness is running out of space and time. Average people are exhausted. They just want peace and quiet and to live like a human being ( something I feel is being denied to us) Our humanity is what binds us together... we are all the same no matter what indignant a**holes say.
The average Jane and John Doe all agree with each other on the substantive issues. Fair livable wages, decent affordable housing, healthcare, quality of life, sane peaceful existence. It's the factions that break us into crazed factions! Let's cut out the noise and get down to the business of humanizing this country.
Your writing is helping a lot. Please try to add some resources for community organizing, especially for urban areas which are difficult to navigate. Thanks and keep going 👍
Thomas Jefferson said, “Compliance can’t beat tyranny.” I so agree. But, additionally, I say. “Not every ill is solved with a fight.”
We have to know when what behavior is called for. Correctly identifying facism, tyranny, truthifying, etc. is vital. But knowing when to choose a mollifying herb from the pantry is just as vital.
Judging by a lot a nasty liberal takes I've encountered many liberals just don't care about the working class, the poor, the Palestinians, the Muslims, the Arabs or seemingly anyone but themselves😞
Joining organizations movements is absolutely necessary now. It's going to be hugely challenging. After the new regime goes after its top enemies, it will start silencing the smaller ones. Words in cyberspace are forever, and those of us speaking out on platforms like this could become targets. These platforms could go away entirely, which makes a real, physical community even more important. Joshua, check your links, the first four all went to the same page.
Thank you for sharing this perspective! When I discuss politics with my coworkers and acquaintances who don’t share my views, it’s often so much easier to come to a more shared viewpoint about typical leftist policy, and I am always shocked by how different our tones our IRL in comparison to the haranguing and berating tones online political conversations take. We need to start looking at what tactics give us the outcomes we need rather than the tactics that give the emotional catharsis people are seeking at times.
What if I'm not interested in helping enablers? As an abuse survivor, these excuses hit too close to home.
You absolutely do not need to do that work Tiffany. I'd say focus on the work that energizes you, not exhausts you.
Hello Joshua and all, thank you for the invite to add org suggestions. I want to encourage readers, especially white readers, to look into SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice). SURJ was founded in 2009 in the Appalachian South following the racist backlash to the Obama presidency. Inspired by Anne Braden, and a long history of white southern organizers, and called into action by multiracial movement leaders, we made 2.5M calls for Harris this election, while also pushing for a ceasefire, to stop CopCity and other actions farther to the left of Harris’s campaign. There are chapters all over the country. SURJ is the only organization explicitly organizing white ppl because we understand that it’s going to take a lot of white ppl to build an irresistible alternative like you’re describing, one where we all have enough and we all feel safe. Finally, Movement Labs and others have great data on how many of those brief conversations, like the one who had at the MA fair, it takes to really move someone. You didn’t get her moved that day, but you may have moved the needle. Who will pick up the conversation next and move the needle a little more? Let’s go, see you out there!
I went on Twitter, because I was angry at Rashida Tlaib for failing to endorse Harris and explain to her constituents why they should support her. I ended up having a thoughtful conversation with someone who described the rage of the community there. She that Tlaib wanted to endorse Harris, but that her family urged her not to due to the strong emotions of the community.
There were lots of comments from others which were full of vitriol at Palestinian supporters.
We can be disappointed by the failures of others to act in the way we would like them to and yet still sympathetic towards their condition. I went onto Twitter to express my anger at Rashida Tlaib and ended up having a thoughtful and sobering discussion.
Biden should not have continued to send arms to Israel, when Israel was conducting an immoral and criminal war against the civilian populace of Gaza.
Thank you for this thoughtful essay. I would push-back a bit:
Where I've come to land is that the divided left, that has failed so spectacularly the past 30 years, needs to unite. That means not that the entirety of everybody needs to tack one way or the other; but, rather that *both* the Moderates need to tack left, and the Leftists need to tack right.
Moderates BOTH need to take firmer stands and start to promote progressive goals (aka Universal Healthcare) AND the far left needs to abandon the most extreme positions—like abolishing police or rent or saying there's no such thing as human biological sex—which do nothing but feed into a sense of moral superiority while alienating mainstream voters, regardless of tone.
To convert this into a generic statement of "Poli Sci": Asking the rest of the population to move towards your specific point isn't political organizing, it's wish-casting.
I think the institutions need to be reformed. It's too easy to always say the systems are corrupt when it is more historically accurate to say that there are corrupt people within the system (Even during FDR's reign, there was an active Chisto-fascist/Nazi movement within Congress, for example). We need the institutions more than ever and, agreeing with you here, we need super-respectful, nuanced discussions and solutions presented.
This is one of your best essays. I’m already sick of the schadenfreude memes, some of them unverified or false, going around among my liberal friends. There’s one about a company cutting Christmas bonuses because it has to stock up on imported parts before the tariffs kick in. The latter part is true generally but so far there’s no confirmation about that specific company or its bonuses. Likely a made-up story, which I think comes from OccupyDems, or at least they spread it around.
Then there’s an analysis from NPR that the Latino shift toward Trump is not out of conservatism but because they want more economic populism. Feeling schadenfreude toward those voters isn’t going to win them over.
Thanks for this. I've been biting my tongue a lot but the desire to rage at liberals is very tempting right now. I think many on the left who campaigned for Bernie and put up with nasty attacks from liberals who were peers, friends, family, etc. have some deep scars. I know I do and it's tempting to want to lash out and hurt others as much as they've hurt you (and the world frankly for giving us all 4 years of Trump & 4 years of Biden - FUCK!!!) but anger just pushes people away. We need to start finding ways to bring more people together because the government and corporate media is doing everything in their power to keep us fighting amongst ourselves, so we don't fight them.
Precisely. Divide and Conquer is the time-honored strategy
Even though I know I could be virtually beaten up for this comment, I will just say that when the conservative movement became prominent on Twitter and I said that I belong to the conservative sector of my country and that I am in favour of the traditional family, I immediately received comments calling me a ‘parasite’, and private messages threatening me. Just for saying that. Immediately I was cancelled from the astrological community and my astrological practice did not have one more client, since 2022 I do not have any, which led me to an extreme financial situation. Currently my posts barely get two or three likes, and only one friend is a paying subscriber. On my blog I have a post called ‘reality’. That's all I will say here.
Norsan, if that's your name? It's beautiful! I'm so sorry you experienced that kind of treatment. Absolutely no reason for it. Nothing wrong with preferring a traditional family, just as there is nothing wrong with other people's preferred family formations. I find a lot of political debates a bit hypocritical toward each other, to be honest.
Have you tried expanding to other networks and platforms? Substack is a tough place to monetize in general if you don't have a large email list...
Sorry for the late reply, I hadn't seen your kind response. Norsan is the union of my first and last name.
And I think the same as you, there is no reason to attack each other for our preferences, I never did it before, but when those people put my safety at risk, which was the 5, 10 dollars that I charged for a reading (I live in the third world) I realized that I could not be gentle. The hatred and cruelty that they had for me had a forceful and fierce response from me. I belong to the center-right sector of my country, I am a single and poor woman, not religious. I do not like Trump at all, and if I had been an American citizen I would never have voted for him (I did not vote in my country either because I did not like the candidates) but I have very personal reasons to be happy about the Republican victory (I have 2 years without clients, without income, and the same on Substack). As my post "Reality" suggests, my dream is to study for a degree, my dream is to earn 400 dollars A MONTH to cover basic needs, and it seems like a dream... while I read radical liberals saying that they spent 2000 on weed for a party. I have a post for free (https://norsan.substack.com/p/american-people-a-bitter-reality?r=2oxwnv) I invite you to read it. For two years I have been dealing with unemployment, full of problems, and angry, I have resentment. I am very sorry.
I'm guessing there might be a security issue in naming your country in public so I won't ask. Without knowing the full socioeconomic/cultural context, I'm not sure any advice I could offer would be meaningful, and I imagine this is nothing new... but I would explore other skills and talents you have, in addition to/outside of astrology. If you are at all able.
I am always willing to talk, to share my knowledge, experience and learn from others, about astrology or anything else. I could not put into words how I love to study, -I don't like superficiality or absolutes, I understand chiaroscuro.-studying for me has been everything since I was a child, unfortunately circumstances have only allowed me to learn in a self taught way, doing a degree would give me a job, but I have already lost hope of that or of having safe soup on my table without having to beg among neighbors. Life at least guaranteed me a borrowed wi-fi connection.
Just wanted to say that I'm sorry you've had your financial situation hurt by sharing a different opinion online. It's ugly out there and so many are hurting while looking for easy scapegoats while our government and corporate media encourages division. As a radical Bernie Bro working in a very liberal/Russiagate obsessed industry I've had to deal with being ostracized as well and it's not fun. Take care!
I'd just stick with the "do you think it will rain tomorrow"? But even that's a stretch,due to Global Warming. Then there's always my go to, Don't say Anything unless you are asked,as Fox channel blares loudly in background on the flat screen TV. Great article this morning, Robin, and will reStack ASAP 💯👍💔