"Losing it," is not a sane option

[Cyrano]

Controlling your temper is something you (most of us) learn when we're kids.

Getting older should increase ones tolerance. But, as I found out this morning, that's not always true.

I've been steering clear of the cable channels and sticking with reading all the best newspapers online.

I'm off today and this morning, I made a mistake. I turned on the TV, flipped through the channels looking for a good movie or whatever, and for some inexplicable reason, stopped for a moment on Fox "news." And I actually watched it for a minute or two.

This was perhaps one of the greatest moments of stupidity in my life. Anger, and the loss of control, kicked in. I barely realized that I had picked up the TV control and was in the process of throwing it at the TV as hard as possible.

Fortunately, my SO was nearby and shouted, "STOP! STOP, YOU CRAZY BASTARD. CHANGE THE DAMN CHANNEL."

I really don't know if I would have completed what I was doing. But her scream was enough to stop me.

Don't ask me what poison I was watching that set me off. Christ, Trump's face on a TV screen, or anywhere else, is enough to set off anyone who still has a grasp of reality.

Anyhow, my point is this. I'm not an aggressive or violent person. But almost throwing a remote control through a TV screen is abnormal. Put another way, I freaked out. That's something I've never done and it's going to take me a long time to grasp what I almost did.

But if nothing else, it might be an indication of where we (Americans) are at. I obviously was filled with a built up fury that was just waiting to be released. It was a moment of insanity. Is is not who I am. It is not who most of us are, or should ever be.

I'm still shaking as I type this and trying to grasp how/why I literally went off the deep end. Actually, I don't even understand why I needed to post this. Perhaps, falling off the deep end needs some kind of "confession" (and I'm an agnostic, not a Catholic). But whatever. Try to avoid that "deep end." It's unnerving and traumatic. And it's not who most of us are, or what we believe in.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Racism and ignorance, plain and simple. Fox and the other propagandists

are unable to do what they do without these two vital conditions.

LBJ said his famous quote that we all know but nothing is truer today, 50 years later almost.

Paul Ryan will take Medicare from Billy Bob with one hand while shaking his hand with the other promising him he can continue to hate black and gay people and will not be judged harshly and that is that.

They are going to take everything, Russia is going to control the government, and the GOP voters are gonna smile all the way through it.

When and what wakes them up doesnt matter anymore, it will be too late.

[cilla4progress]

2. Oh sweetheart, I am right here with you!

I have not heard myself laugh since at least Nov. 8. My husband and I have been quarreling more than usual, and he attributes it to trump. I am being very selective about my friends and who I spend time with. Their position re trump is basically a litmus test for me. I am concerned about the connections I am unmaking because of this. I am very wary and suspicious of strangers..are they trump supporters.

This is all terrible and unlike me. I am trying to find my way and it is a struggle. We have had a long winter where I live (Pacific NW). Yesterday felt like a bit of a seasonal turning. I always respond to this, and this year, I think more than ever. Need to turn the page.

Went for a nice long hike in the hills behind our house yesterday. The old (13+ years!) dog was able to join us. For me, being out in nature is the best. Sweating and working hard gets the endorphins going; appreciating and inhaling the natural environment - almost a religious, and certainly a spiritual, experience for this old atheist/pagan/humanist/UU. It gives me perspective even while I mourn for the losses that are building.

As others here have done, I encourage you to find your sustenance. Whatever it may be... Blessings and good luck to you. Thank you for sharing.



PS One last point...I have noticed that here on DU now, in general, people have been so much more gentle with one another than in previous times. As much as I am disappointed in the human race right right now, I do believe the unifying and activism that is going on among progressives is another powerful positive.

[Cyrano]

3. Thank you, cilla

Your words of encouragement are helping me to crawl out of the sewer in which I found myself this morning.

We (sane people) need to hang onto each other and encourage each other more than ever during this horrible nightmare.

I've always believed we'll win out in the end. But two more years of this before we can get to vote again? I really wish I could believe we will survive it before Bannon/Trump can totally dismantle America's government. And if so, that we'll be able to repair the horrible damage they will have done.

[lpbk2713]

4. What you were witnessing ...

was the mouthbreathers being administered their daily dose of stupid.

And they always come back for more.

[Cyrano]

5. Yep. Hovering on Fox "news" for even a second

was my mistake ... never to be made again.

Life is too short to allow yourself to be immersed in a sea of hatred and rage.