..... or you will become engulfed, entrapped, and over run, with no viable exits. Once Democracy is fully stripped from the political landscapes it is nearly possible to repair or restore.

Right now is the time to become an overwhelming power of good for the nation and everyone in it.

The future is ours to mold.

If a person did need the mental health forum I doubt that your post would send them there. Easy to skip over something you aren’t interested in. Keep on scrolling if it bothers you or…check out the mental health forum………

Assume much? I mention it in my profile. May I suggest before making personal remarks against a user, check their profile?

If you are not trapped here. If your votes haven’t been stolen, if your daughter can go to the hospital and not be afraid that she will be left to bleed to death, if your partner isn’t in danger of losing her birth control…then I say there is more than a good chance that you might not understand.

Edited to say you certainly should not be calling out ‘doom’ posters! That is too rich!

And I read all of the books about the surgery and even know someone who had one…….it doesn’t mean that I know your pain or the depth of despair that you are in or have felt. It just isn’t possible. I do consider your response to me rude.

As if Americans can never feel or understand any of the pain of Gazans and Israelis because they aren't Israeli or Gazan so they should never say anything about them or send a penny to them.

As if people in other countries can't have any feeling for California fire victims and send water bombers. We don't want your stinking water bombers because you can't feel our pain like a real Californian!

As if Americans are above criticism and doing so is rude! As if Americans are so self-contained and strong and wonderful and completely self-healing that nobody elsewhere has any right to comment on their situations or post in THEIR forums. Regardless of their experience. Doesn't count because only Americans can feel American pain! 100%! USA! USA! USA!

I would never bust into a post about Israel, Gaza, California or any post for that matter and tell them to suck it up, don’t be a downer here. It is repulsive for you to insinuate that. People are hurting. It doesn’t cost anything to be a little understanding. To be supportive or at least ignore the comment that is grating on you.and by the way, it’s human pain………

You seem not to know, and that is reasonable (nobody is expected to know all threads on DU), but the Original Post of this thread was a post in a deep doomer thread that I also posted on. The post (not the thread) was recommended and the poster urged by others to post as an original post.

You have a very strange definition of "suck it up" but that makes it easy for you to demolish.

I basically have said that doomer talk is a mental health issue and for the appropriate places and if the doom expressed is really bad, seek help. That is the opposite of "suck it up".

There are many ways for people to express their feelings without being doomers and hurtfully doom posting on huge forums like GD. They can let us know, without absolutism or nihilism or total defeatism or complete breakdown. If those are really the feelings, as in not just a little, but overwhelming, then get help or hotline or post in Mental Health. There are a thousand ways to express sadness, hurt, upset, disappointment, ill feelings, dread, fear, unhappiness, disphoria, and gloom without dropping a doom bomb in the middle of the forum.

But people make cries for help or mistakes or inappropriate posts. When they do, we help them by directing them to resources. That's being understanding.

"People are hurting". It is not only the doomers who are hurting. The nihilism of doom posting deepens sadness and hopeless feelings, Hope22. Doom posting hurts people who are on the edge of something very serious. It does not help people heal. It makes no attempt at helping people.

Doomers are hurting, and talking about hurt helps, but not this way. To the extent that it might help the poster it hurts others in sum more.

Dooming has its place but not GD, just like many things are appropriate in some places but not others in GD. It's not a rule, so go ahead and doom away, Hope22. But it would "be a little understanding" to think before posting threads (not yours) like



That is the entire OP. No trigger warning. Just thoughtlessly blurted out. "What's the fucking point? After this, I don't see one."

And it is insensitive to tell people to not read because it is too late. The title draws people in to see what the real topic is. Then the fuse explodes when they read the doom bomb.

That's doom posting, and it alarms me. It could indicate suicidal intentions. Hence direction to professional help if needed or hotlines.

You have a strange definition of "be supportive" when you lambaste people directing people to a good forum for expressing their hurt in non-damaging ways, where raw feelings can be stated in context. Your strange definition of "be supportive" seems to exclude caring for people by suggesting appropriate professional help or direct personal talk help, as I suggested and you attack me for it.

Doom posting is hurtful to others and damaging.

DU can do better.

There certainly is enough going on in the US today to be discouraged and anxious about. It is perfectly legitimate and understandable to feel that way. But giving in to those feelings and feeding them with doom scrolling is self destructive. It paralyzes people from helping each other get through the bad times. It prevents people from networking with others to develop solutions for protecting themselves and fighting back.

I don’t think it helps for others to call out people in that manner at this moment. Maybe a little patience would help.Just saying.

Just sayin'.....

I don’t try to say how grief and fear works for others. The abuse that we all have been fielding from T has been dealt from a professional abuser. It has been years. It looks as though for many of us it will be until our last breath. It’s a thing and going to take a while. Take care. I’m glad you have a plan. Hope is great but never pick it for a name. People think you have to be invincible with that. Funny how that works. Wish I could convince EarlG to let me change it. My best to you in the future. 💗🙏🏼

with someone who spoke from his own survival experience in Nazi concentration camps.

Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, said that he avoided people in the camps who had given in to hopelessness. They were too paralyzed emotionally to act on their own behalf or to work with others on survival.

He networked with people who did whatever they could to get even a little more food or some medicine into the camp. They covered for each other on work details if one of them got sick so the sick person could rest. If they were sent to another part of the camp or out of the camp on a work assignment, they connected with people who could give them news of the outside world and friends or relatives.

They gave each other moral support to get through one day at a time. By putting their heads together on problems, they developed creative ways of dealing with them.

They were in a worse, more demoralizing situation than we are in today in the US. They were just surviving day to day. If we put our heads together and work together, we can find ways to stop some of the worst parts of the MAGA agenda from being carried out. We can expose what they are doing behind the phony stories that they give to the public. We can help
people who are most hurt by higher costs from tariffs.

But we can't accomplish anything by giving in to hopelessness.

Some of these posters sound like they're seconds from slitting their wrists and that makes for very depressing reading. I'll never give up.

I have a son and Grandkids I'm fighting for.

If we all come together, we can leave a pretty good legacy.

Thanks for your post.

I do a lot of public speaking. Someone told me once that "Speaking the truth to power was insignificant, they already know the truth."

I told her that I was not speaking to power, I was speaking to those who had gathered to listen, hoping to inspire them to do what was in their capacity to change things. Phoning congresscritters is but a small item on the scale of things. We all excel at certain things and fall short on others. The one thing I do not want is violence.

What will you do to alleviate the problem?

I am open to anything this side of violent behavior, the exception being protecting yourself or others if the occasion arises.

People get to have their feelings.

Most people who repeat the same emotions are not "working through" them.

They are our comrades and may be uplifted by reading the encouraging posts.
Skip over them if they seem negative and you are not in a mood to read them.

But the election is over, to be sure, I'm not happy about the outcome, but I'm not going to point fingers or criticize what went wrong.

That is not the objective. When there is a failure, the only thing that matters is to find a solution(s). We can't do that if we are sitting in a pool of tears (which after just a few days after the election should have dried up).

I'm hurt, but that is not going to stop me from trying my damnedest to stop the oncoming storm without a fight. To be honest, my pain pushes me all the further to do any and everything, this side of violence to partake in exposing these miscreants and assholes from invoking their will upon the nation.

It is fine, and normal, to be depressed, but it is exceptionally unhealthy to dwell on the situation without exacting a price the MAGAts will have to pay for their stupidity and arrogance. I want the current GOP washed from existence, their Project 2025 can not be allowed to be a part of the nation.

We either fight this moron on the ground, or sit back and wait for our turn to go into the arena. Educate, Organize, and use what you can to pressure those who have integrity into working against this horror.

I'd rather wipe sweat from my brow, than tears from my eyes.

Sorry if I don't take this:

that way.

and what I found was "despair" in some of them.

I am a combat vet, despair, over a period of time will get you killed.
I mourned those who were lost, I still feel the pain, I got busted up three times, the last damn near killed me, but I never gave up on the future, and did everything I could to keep those with me alive, they were doing the same for me.

I'm no one special, I simply call it like I see it. I know this community, I was a Moderator for seven years. I know the resilience that flows through these posts. Some names are new to me, but there are some I've worked with that have held out during my 12 year hiatus from DU.
EarlG put two of them in the Memorium when I informed him of their demise. One is my brother, Treasonous Bastard, the other, the best friend I ever had unhappycamper.

This is not a "pep talk", it's a reminder of why we are a part of this site, to encourage debate, and protect that which we believe is the very essence of the nation, democracy. There are people here who have done remarkable things.

I encourage everyone to do their best to fight what we are facing. I don't have all of the answers, but the more ideas we get, the better prepared we are to crush the MAGA movement, and put a stake, perhaps a twig, into its minuscule heart.

No more of this.

The last two sentences,

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled,
appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and
by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united
colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states: that they are absolved from all
allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of
Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have
full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other
acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of his declaration,
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives,
our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Write down exactly the House/Senate bill you're calling about, and exactly the position you want them to take. Give facts and sources. They listen. Each call will take 10 minutes of your day.

https://directory.house.gov/#!/

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

the right thing. They either do the right thing or they don't. I'll be paying attention.

And I see our governor is going to choose Vance’s replacement……this should be good!

Dems from other states won’t take the call. In the old days I could call every senator in an afternoon! During the Iraq War they still took everyone’s call. It seems that committee chairs should take out of state calls as they work for all of us but I have not had any luck with that!

I tried to send a message and as soon as I put in my zip code, they told who my rep was and how
contact them. What a load.

The need to hear your voice,
No matter how you look at it, staying silent will achieve nothing. Ensuring they know that people are angry at them scares the hell out of them.
It could have an impact if those in your orbit call as well. I've been to Town Hall Meetings where Rep's went white as a sheet when I asked a pertinent question. When they attempted to distract, I'd interrupt and demand an answer. Everyone in the room could feel his discomfort, none more than him. The next half-hour was uncomfortable for him. He did not leave with a "politician's grin".

After the Meet and Greet, I stayed around for a cup of coffee. 27 people walked up to me and each one congratulated me for questioning him.

No guarantee this will work every time, or for everyone, but just holding their feet the fire, in public, with valid questions or statements, can get results.

and get others in your area to do so as well.

Speak your mind, forcefully (but not angrily).

Incredible as it seems, these people hear us. They do gauge their constituents. If 90 negative calls come in, and five congratualy calls come in, they will take serious notice.

One of my favorite responses was ‘sucks to be you’ from the kid on the line. Two years latter that little trolls boss got fired by the people so I took that opportunity to call him back and say the same to him. I could have used my higher self there but no. I will write an email or leave a message before I will waste my time on talking to them.

As for the little eunuch who came up with that "sucks to be you", I find it hard to believe he'll ever find a job where tact is necessary,
which is virtually all of them.

They work for YOU.

Yeah, Big Business gives them cash. But YOU have the power to get those in your sphere into action, this creates a "snowball effect"

When I was in Boston, I stopped my State Rep and asked him why he was voting the way he was.
We were just outside of the State House, he slowed down at my question, then asked me, "Who represents you in the Commonwealth?", my answer was blood-curdling to him, "YOU Mr. Holmes, and we need to talk." I did not shout, but he could tell by my tone he could not get out of this situation. He handed me his card and asked if I was free the next day at 2 pm. I said I was and would be looking forward to our discussion. We met the next day. It was a good conversation, I needed to know why he voting the way he was on a Bill. We heard each other out, a few weeks later the Bill died.

I don't beg for anything. I do my research, make sure everything is in line, then go for it.
These days I am in Nebraska, which is even more interesting when it comes to dealing with elected officials, it is a Unicameral. The Governor, Jim Pillen made a big deal out of refusing Federal "Lunch Funds" for the past Summer to ensure kids of lesser means got a lunch they would get in school during the year. We created a firestorm of protest (he had said Nebraska did not accept "welfare" from the Feds). In 72 hours, he was flat on his back and accepted the funds. He had nothing to stand on considering the agriculture of this state depends on Federal Subsidies (read: welfare) particularly when Soy was crushed under T****'s first tariffs.

You don't beg, you fight. With the truth on our side, we cannot lose. I discuss politics with Republicans around here all of the time. Most are good honest people. Education is the key, I direct them to the source, and then they can make up their own minds. Most, have at least taken my points seriously, and a few have thanked me for being honest.

Coordinate with others, educate, find common bonds, therein lies the power of the people.

Don’t know why there isn’t a rec button under this post, but I could do it times 1,000

Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.

I am NOT giving up.

I'm trying to hold on to hope.

You won't need hope.

Thanks for your understanding.

And I'm angry again. We can't bow down to the horror that will soon befall the nation. Damn you to hell, drumpf.

He's far more sordid than any Satan.

80+ years ago.
Lord, I am only one.
I can do only what one can do.
There is only so much good that one can do.
But if there is any good that I can do,
Help me do what good I can.

even we atheists believe in the goodness we can do.

I only wish I could do more.