Feeling pretty out of sorts and intolerant these days, and it’s showing up in strange ways. Like this blog post. So be forewarned–and if you’re not up for it, close the window. Because this is a ‘get off my lawn’ kind of post.
And it’s also showing up in other ways:
I’m pissed off at the way some of my friends are parenting their children.
I’m angry because I see through to the self-centeredness of some people I know.
I’m frustrated that people I thought had half a brain don’t even have that.
I’m not yet resigned to the fact that racism is still rampant in this country of ours. I have had to reluctantly admit that it is. How did that happen?
It didn’t happen, it just never changed. Not really.
I’m getting crabbier and more intolerant, lately, and I finally figured out why.
What’s going on in this country is sending me over the edge.
The last thing this child of the 60s expected was that battles she thought were over and done with, or at least mostly won, are now back in play. Up for grabs. Reversed.
Abortion foes worked for decades to flip the Supreme Court, and thanks to some big freakin’ mistakes, they succeeded. RBG is partly responsible. Oh, I’ve had the battles online already, so don’t tell me that RBG deserves sainthood. Yes, she did a lot of good on the court and off, but she pretty much ensured the overturn of Roe by refusing to retire when it was clear she was dying and could very well die before the next election.
That unwillingness to give up her seat was a fatal blow to abortion rights, and while it doesn’t negate all the good she did, it certainly colors the view of any thinking person today. It was a mistake. She should have retired. Let that be a lesson. So yes, I’m crabby over it.
Then, there’s the fact that the people elected Trump. Yes, including some I know who voted for him as a ‘joke” or because they “wanted something different.” Yeah, well, that election turned over a rock, exposed the vermin and we can’t seem to rid the country of them. They’ve been empowered. So…are they stupid? Well….here’s something:
A friend who works in neuro tells me
that people with a constant diet of “Faux News” channel are being preyed on by experts in fear-mongering. That the threats they present cause a rush of cortisol in a fight or flight response, which turns off the brain. The brain has been hijacked by fear. And the intensity of feeling causes us to believe it’s true. It’s the way we are wired to respond when we sense a threat and that channel is very good at presenting threats.
Well, that could explain it. How so many people seem to be unable to think logically. Are they stupid? No. Their brains have been hijacked by a steady diet of Faux News.
Apathy continues to reign supreme on the left and that outrages me. Oh, we sit back and post memes or outraged commentary on line. Would it kill us to donate $5 to a Blue campaign? How about giving up expensive coffee for a week and donating more? How about really putting our money where our mouth is? How about showing up for candidates who share our values? Supporting them? Volunteering?
The self-centeredness of so many Americans has never been clearer than in their response to the pandemic. “You can’t force me to…” fill in the blank: “get vaccinated!” “wear a mask to protect myself!” or even “wear a mask to protect others!” Yeah, that last one really gets me. If it’s not a mandate, so many won’t do it and if it IS a mandate some will fight to the death for their right to kill themselves and others.
WHEN did we get so self centered?
So illogical? So…willful? What happened to the Golden Rule?
The thin veneer of civilization was ripped off when that awful man got elected to the oval and now? Anything goes.
I really struggle with what I am seeing around me.
The people I know are just regular people. Not bad people. But some of them? Frustrate me. They’re just ignorant. Or self-centered. Or willful.
Welcome to my world for the past 50 years. Roe v Wade was passed the year I was born making abortion (aka murder of babies) a legal choice (not a constitutional right). They got it wrong then and we’ve been paying the price for almost 50 years. I can’t believe I live in a country that accepted abortion/murder as a legal practice for almost 50 years. Read Diary of an Unborn Child and imagine that is you. You put it out on the internet so it’s fair game and a public place so you can stick with your get off my lawn! Typical Baby Boomer thinks you own the world.
What an angry person. Most of us do not see abortion as murder. That may be your personal belief but it doesn’t make it fact. And if you really knew Baby Boomers you’d see that our roots are the belief we can change the world. Whining about us or attempting to insult us doesn’t do anything, or mean anything, BTW. Like brushing a fly away. I hope you consider doing something about your anger issue and also realize that being reduced to slinging insults simply means you have no basis for your argument.I could have deleted your comment in moderation, and I still may go back and delete it–but for now,I’ll just drop this response here in the (futile, I’m sure) hope you’ll see your anger on the screen for what it is and do something about it.
A number of those among us have always been this way, but they’ve been tamped down. About 6 years ago they were given a voice and many of us (with a heart and a brain) are devastated at the fallout.
I understand the frustration, especially when it comes to that horrible orange man. Okay, vote for him once (although still shocking), but you’d vote for him again?? I see Trump signs all over our part of the world and they always shock and sadden me, especially knowing what we know now.
I totally agree with it all including RGB. She unwittingly screwed us in the end. My husband has made comments about how much I have changed. I’m much angrier. I’m angry that even an uneducated, housewife in a deep red state could see it like the solar eclipse but these supposedly intelligent know-it-alls couldn’t see it until it showed up in their book ratings. It’s disgusting. It’s not ignorance at this point it’s complicity and I cannot respect these people. I deal with some daily and I’ve lost clients over my political views but that’s just the way it is today. I cannot suffer fools and crooks any longer. You are either for democracy or you are not there is no gray for me.
And we are right behind you in Canada. Hatred. Fear mongering. Stupidity. I found I was spending my days angry and I’m NEVER angry. One day during a period of prayer and mediation, a thought struck me. I’m not going to be angry any more. I’m going to be sad for them. Sadness, I can handle. It changed nothing. But I feel better…
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I’m frustrated that people I thought had half a brain don’t even have that.
Abortion foes worked for decades to flip the Supreme Court, and thanks to some big freakin’ mistakes, they succeeded. RBG is partly responsible. Oh, I’ve had the battles online already, so don’t tell me that RBG deserves sainthood. Yes, she did a lot of good on the court and off, but she pretty much ensured the overturn of Roe by refusing to retire when it was clear she was dying and could very well die before the next election.
Well, that could explain it. How so many people seem to be unable to think logically. Are they stupid? No. Their brains have been hijacked by a steady diet of Faux News.
I feel all of this every day.
I went to get a the Omnicron booster shot in Mill Valley, CA two weeks ago.
The pharmacy clerk was a nice young man, age 22.
We chatted while I waited for the shot.
He told me he does not vote, and he will not vote no matter how many times his Marin County Mom implores him to.
“The world is too screwed up!”
he said.
He’s already resigned.
I left the pharmacy deeply alarmed.
Heaven help us if there are more 22 year olds as deeply disillusioned as this young man us.
Meeting and talking with him shook me to my core.
Those of us who feel things down to every cell can’t help but being shook. I feel you, LB.
Welcome to my world for the past 50 years. Roe v Wade was passed the year I was born making abortion (aka murder of babies) a legal choice (not a constitutional right). They got it wrong then and we’ve been paying the price for almost 50 years. I can’t believe I live in a country that accepted abortion/murder as a legal practice for almost 50 years. Read Diary of an Unborn Child and imagine that is you. You put it out on the internet so it’s fair game and a public place so you can stick with your get off my lawn! Typical Baby Boomer thinks you own the world.
What an angry person. Most of us do not see abortion as murder. That may be your personal belief but it doesn’t make it fact. And if you really knew Baby Boomers you’d see that our roots are the belief we can change the world. Whining about us or attempting to insult us doesn’t do anything, or mean anything, BTW. Like brushing a fly away. I hope you consider doing something about your anger issue and also realize that being reduced to slinging insults simply means you have no basis for your argument.I could have deleted your comment in moderation, and I still may go back and delete it–but for now,I’ll just drop this response here in the (futile, I’m sure) hope you’ll see your anger on the screen for what it is and do something about it.
A number of those among us have always been this way, but they’ve been tamped down. About 6 years ago they were given a voice and many of us (with a heart and a brain) are devastated at the fallout.
and we are so siloed it is like preaching to the choir.
I understand the frustration, especially when it comes to that horrible orange man. Okay, vote for him once (although still shocking), but you’d vote for him again?? I see Trump signs all over our part of the world and they always shock and sadden me, especially knowing what we know now.
I can only see it as a level of willful stupidity.
I totally agree with it all including RGB. She unwittingly screwed us in the end. My husband has made comments about how much I have changed. I’m much angrier. I’m angry that even an uneducated, housewife in a deep red state could see it like the solar eclipse but these supposedly intelligent know-it-alls couldn’t see it until it showed up in their book ratings. It’s disgusting. It’s not ignorance at this point it’s complicity and I cannot respect these people. I deal with some daily and I’ve lost clients over my political views but that’s just the way it is today. I cannot suffer fools and crooks any longer. You are either for democracy or you are not there is no gray for me.
I am with you, sister. So with you.
And we are right behind you in Canada. Hatred. Fear mongering. Stupidity. I found I was spending my days angry and I’m NEVER angry. One day during a period of prayer and mediation, a thought struck me. I’m not going to be angry any more. I’m going to be sad for them. Sadness, I can handle. It changed nothing. But I feel better…
I think that’s why I’m so depressed. I am sad. And angry. both.
I think most of America is pissed off and it’s alarming how we are treating each other now. Breaks my heart.
and mine, too, Lauren. Mine, too.