I worked so fucking hard when this lunatic was elected to reassure people we weren't all going to be put into camps.
Now I could kinda use some reassurance that we're not going to give the people who elected him exactly the big dumb polarized civil war that they want.
I see problematic tactics from our side daily, and I can't not speak up and I can't take the opprobrium that comes with speaking up, especially when I already feel like the black sheep of this family due to recent fuck-ups.
I'll bumble through this somehow, I always do. I feel like I already ask for so much from this community and don't give nearly enough back. And just like the old days, what I really need is a place to vent this stuff and get heard, so... thanks, already.
I just really don't know what to do. Today it's real hard to fend off the narrative that this is the Final Age... or at least the Final Age that *I'm* strong enough to survive through. If there's any help left for me, I could really use it.
@zebratron2084 Here's the help I can offer: be seen as a builder, not a fighter. Deconstruction and critique make wonderful saws, but terrible hammers. They're great for transformative tasks, but they're not so good for creative ones. Argue for plans that you think are better, tactically, than the one you oppose, instead of just pointing out what you see as flaws. Lead by example. Inspire. Engage and teach. Give people better options. Pull the world in the direction you think it should go.
@literorrery This is all agonizingly correct. XD Dammit, buni, why do you persist in trying to extract a better self from me? :) <3
Again, you're right, though. I need to *resolutely* pick a nice quiet river shore, find a palm tree to rest under, break out a nice fancy journal and a good pen, and just not budge until the first bodies float by. ^__^
It's not like this is humanity, or America's first bout of utter madness. And as Kara pointed out, puffing up to seem huge is their major tactic.