@dannyboy I've had the feeling for a long time that this is overall "intentional" although I can't begin to understand the motive. Unless the goal is for public education to totally go away. Prayers for you and I hope that gummy does it's job.
It's all intentional. The extreme right wing hates anything that builds community, because community strengthens the people and the electorate. Dividing people is how they take power, so strong movements and institutions, like public education, are threats to their power.
"Gun rights" follow along the same lines. Lax gun laws are sold under the guise of "rights" and "liberty" but they're basically just fear-mongering meant to divide people. Creating and instilling fear divides people, and flooding the country with weapons results in situations like school shootings that instill more fear (and terror) thus necessitating strongmen politicians to save us. Rinse, repeat.
I've been feeling lots of dark energy lately, and a feeling that we are closer and closer to losing our democracy. Human nature leads some less informed people to vote for the side that's actually causing the harm. I think we're seeing a lot of that. This op-ed I read this morning kind of encapsulates my feelings:
I know I sometimes sound like a broken record, and I know there are plenty of predictions on this site by really talented seers about how things will get better, but I can only report what I am feeling, which is a lot of alarm that we are rapidly moving in the wrong direction, and a suffocating sense of dread. It's been worse the past couple of weeks. I can see in my mind's eye bad actors working behind the scenes, plotting, planning, scheming. Up to no good and on the ascendant.
@dannyboy, I'm sorry about your rough couple of weeks. Educators deserve better than the reality they live every day.
@dannyboy I am so sorry you are dealing with all of this. Stressful enough with the COVID situation in Michigan (and your boss's husband...ugh...), but I thought of you when I first heard about Oxford. There were copycat threats here (we are about an hour from Oxford) that threw a wrench into our schools as well Thurs. (kids leaving early, rumors, soft lockdowns) and they canceled school Fri. because of all the chaos/threats that they had to investigate. I hope the gummy helped you, too.
@lynnventura I agree that the energy feels really dark and heavy right now. The vortex of gunk that T legitimized is swirling strong. I have to say, though, the fact that they are charging the Oxford shooter's parent's feels like a really significant move. The case is so egregious that there is no doubt that they are culpable. We can only hope that this will turn the tide in some small (or large?) way to holding these right-wing people accountable.
I definitely feel the darkness but what I keep going back to is the long term "calm" - I'm nowhere near as skilled as @Jeanne-Mayell and @baba and all the others, but everything here seems to acknowledge the bumps in the road with a positive long term outcome and that checks with my overall feelings.
I got a brief flash of Franklin this morning and his "It's a Republic if you can keep it." I feel like we keep it but it's going to look dramatically different going forward (in a good way) - and as we go down that path the darkness is going to push back against it, which many of us will pick up on handily. Acknowledge that swirling darkness' existence but stay positive my friend! We'll get there!
I was in that dark place last night - my apologies for the post. I'm breaking out of a lot of things that caused me grief and stress - Monday is my last board meeting for my community theater group. I gave my notice in September. They're not on a good path and what they do to their volunteers (myself included) is atrocious. But at the same time, many of them are my friends and I'm having a hard time reminding myself that between my deletion of Facebook and my absence from the decision making process, FOMO doesn't matter because the ones that are my true friends will stay in touch. Couple that with my bad week and I slid downward on that great spiral @Jeanne-Mayell started that great discussion on. Currently pulling myself back up. Thank you gummies, but most importantly, thank you to everyone in this community for making it such a safe place for us to grapple through all our micro and macro levels of despair sometimes :-)
@dannyboy No apologies needed! This is the place to come to share and get support. Glad today is looking better.
The spiral is indeed accelerating but maybe that's a good thing. And it's nice to know Ben is around offering guidance.
@dannyboy You help us all when you share your ups and downs. You are a giving, self aware person who inspires me and many others here. Those who are committed to helping others can get drained, so we all need to understand when we are being drained and step away from the draining activity. Your love of children, of humanity and this earth is a gift you have for this world. It's a gift many here have for this world. If we take good care of ourselves, which includes stepping away from toxicity as you are doing, then the treasure within us, the treasure so evident within YOU, can emerge and heal this world.
I will also note that as much as I always want to give the media the benefit of the doubt (A free press is fundamental to democracy) our jobs numbers are great and they're being reported as trash. This seems to be the hallmark of the Biden presidency - there are some things not going well so lets focus in on that and not champion the good. I remember far more positive press for TFG when the jobs reports came out for him with similar numbers. Or every time the stock market hit another record high. I am consuming less and less static media these days and jumping back in to multiple sites only when I need perspective and background on something new. Because the way a lot of places I used to trust spin it right now (I'm looking at you CNN - what a crazy pivot they've undertaken) democracy is already dead and the darkness has won.
But - it hasn't. There's so much good out there right now. With more on the way! (I'm looking at you reconciliation bill!)
I am not the only center left independent out there who is in this place. The midterms are going to depress us (no supermajority) but look how far we've come in 11 months, and look at where the goal post we've seen here is set. We're on the way there! But there's still a few fumbles in our future.
Regarding the recent school shooting, my guides told me it will be the turning point of US gun culture which will take 2-4 years to become history. We will eventually have stricter gun laws.
@enkasongwriter I believe the arrests of the parents as well will shake some folks awake... that this is a family issue, a community issue, as well as a national one.
That is a very good analogy. We are like a football game.
I am so sorry to hear about how this tragedy has come so close to some of you.
It feels bleak, but I still believe that love is stronger than hate and that this will usher in a different era of light. I have to believe it, so I can keep going. And I want to believe it for all of us. The pendulum always swings, and swings back.
I don't often agree with Piers but I think he has a point.
https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1467224944690049026?s=20
Piers was a big advocate for gun control after Sandy Hook. I disagreed with him on many things but appreciated that position a lot. Nice to see he still feels the same way.
@enkasongwriter So interesting that you received that from your guides. I, too, felt like the arrest and charging of the parents is a significant turning point.
In regards to Roe V Wade,
While reading Ecclesiates 11:5: "Just as you don’t understand what the life-breath does in the fetus inside a pregnant woman’s womb, so you can’t understand the work of God, who makes everything happen." People think they know more than they do. Why should a woman have to live by the beliefs of others when the others know nothing of her beliefs or situation?
Devin Nunes has announced that he is "retiring" from Congress at the end of this month to become CEO of Trump's new media company.
My immediate reaction is that Nunes is a terrible choice to run anything having to do with "media", but I am just overjoyed that Nunes will no longer be a Congressman for my state!
By the way, Trump's media company is under investigation by securities investigators, so maybe Nunes isn't such a bad choice. He's covered up and cleaned up for Trump before. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/business/trump-media-spac-investigation.html
By the way, Trump's media company is under investigation by securities investigators, so maybe Nunes isn't such a bad choice. He's covered up and cleaned up for Trump before.
When I read about all of this yesterday I could not imagine the level of dumbness required by Nunes to give up his seat and to go work for TFG in this endeavor.
And then? There is this: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/08/biden-filibuster-voting-rights-senate-523917 I get a bad feeling about all this " working behind closed doors and being wishy washy about securing voting rights now before closing down for the holidays. Makes me feel sick to my stomach...very uneasy.
@journeywithme2 Politico has become a cesspool of poor and negative reporting about Mr. Biden. They have said nothing about his successes - unless they're downplaying or undermining them - and have harped on and magnified his (perceived) "failures". At least one report has shown that they have treated him more negatively than they did TFG, but honestly it's not just Politico. CNN, MSNBC, WSJ, and several others have zoomed in on and highlighted what they see as negatives, but are actually just how gov't works and how legislation gets done (hint: it's messy) - but have said little to nothing about the BBB, even to tell us what's actually *in* it. I had to go to the WH press office site to even understand what the BBB contained, and honestly, it's damned impressive.