POLI•RANT: Surviving Day 1

Turn off the TV. Minimize the stress. And mock the fuckers.

If you’re anything like me, you know Trump’s Inauguration is going to be rough. His win on 11/5 was hard to fathom. And all the worst-case scenarios of what would happen if he were to get back in power have been bubbling in your brain like a ticking time bomb since he did.

Hopefully, you’ve been trying to not let those thoughts consume you. I’ve been mindful of trying to change up my life in ways to minimize the mental stress of his Second Coming without giving up (literally) on our Democracy. Take a look here for some things I’ve been doing that might help you.

But, there’s no denying that Monday is a really bad watershed moment. And just as not “obeying in advance” has become a motto that’s been making the social rounds so should not “freaking the fuck out in advance” be something we all try to do.

For starters, of course, I won’t be watching a second of it. There’s no reason to put myself through the stress, hatred, anger, and despair cocktail of emotions. There’s a social movement afoot to turn off the TV and deny him the rating. But, as far as I can tell, numbers are still derived Nielsen ratings — which is still a small sampling of folks who sign up to have their TV habits monitored. He’ll lie about it no matter what. So ignore the speech itself if only for your mental well-being.

The main thing is to not let the day control your central nervous system — because that’s what he wants as much as anything. He wants a day of cruel “shock and awe” to gin up his cult and try to scare us and knock us of our game. If he can cower us, or make more of us throw in the towel before things really begin, everything is easier for him and his despicable minions.

The speech is sure to be a dark, threatening dumpster fire. And the days fully of executive orders and who the fuck knows whatever reality-show-from-Hell surprised are going to be shocking. But, just remember that how it all sounds is not necessarily how it’s going to go down, or ultimately, end up.

All the immigration stuff is going to fought tooth and nail in courts all over the country. As will any other dictatorial executive branch overreach. Yes, the Supreme Court hugging the drain doesn’t give much reassurance for long-term outcomes. But, by the time we get there we’ll have a better idea how to most effectively fight back and how to galvanize popular opinion against a true agenda that is likely going to be very unpopular when put in motion.

So, DON’T let the assholes control your emotions and don’t cower in the corner. I think the best thing we can do on Monday is brutally mock him and his core supporters. THAT is what gets under THEIR skin. To that point, I made a bunch of really mean and (some) profane memes that I encourage you to share — along with any others — to let them know we’re not scared.

And we haven’t even begun to fight.