Thursday, December 8, 2016

It's the End of the World as I Knew It... and I DON'T Feel Fine

Once upon another lifetime (March 2013), I started this blog.  Now that I think of it, it really WAS another lifetime, before any of the crazy stuff with my mom and grandmother began.  I'm definitely not the same person now that I was back then.  Are you?  Probably not, no matter what has or hasn't been going on in your life.

2016 has been a year of way too many endings and beginnings, at least for me: losing my mother, losing a beloved cat, buying a car, starting my online museum certificate program, finding out that we will probably have to move soon as our apartment complex is being sold to people who want to renovate it and raise the rents through the roof, and now that travesty of a presidential election.  Even though two of those events are good things, it's still too much change all at once, especially after the previous two years of mostly loss.  It's enough to want to make one want to just give up and crawl in a hole for at least the next four years, when hopefully all those nasty problems will have gone away.

Except they won't have, of course.  That's the problem with cowering in a corner, in a hole, or under the desk.  Those nasty problems just wait quietly until you poke your head out to see if they are gone, and then POW... right between the eyes.

But we can we do?  We're just average people, right?  Wrong; we're GOTHS, and if we were average, we wouldn't be wearing killer boots and lots of black, wandering around in cemeteries, and listening to The Sisters of Mercy, London After Midnight, and Siouxsie Sioux.  Some of us have had to deal with hate and prejudice more than others, but at some point ALL of us have felt (and may still feel) that we were 'different' from the sheep in the local flock.  We have all worked for, and earned, the right to think outside the box.

Unfortunately, the election seems to have given some people the idea that it's now okay to voice hatred to anyone they don't like or who is different from them, and to promote physical and verbal violence even more than usual.  We don't need this, and we definitely don't need the US government to support it!  

If ever there was a time for Goths to show solidarity and support for what we believe in, 
THIS IS IT.

While I'm trying to think outside that box and find a constructive and useful way to confront these problems, I've been signing every petition to support ballot recounts, disband the Electoral College, defend Standing Rock, and stop the new government from messing with Medicare that I've been able to click a mouse on.  I've sent money to some of them, too, which I never used to do.  I'm THAT worried...  But we can all do more, and I'd like to, if I could figure out what needs to be done.  Share your thoughts and ideas here, please!!  

And if anyone reading this actually voted for Chump and thinks he will be just what this country needs to become 'great' again, I give you this quote from British author Evelyn Beatrice Hall:

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

May we never lose that right, especially by our own hands.


15 comments:

  1. I'm totally with you, Lucretia! I have not recovered from this election--not in the least. I can honestly say that for the first time in my life, I'm honestly frightened. That's not so much because I'm a goth, but rather, I'm concerned about them destroying Social Security, Medicare, and all our freedoms. That said, a transgender person in our local goth s w was harassed by Trump supporters this past election
    I know this: the election of Donald Trump has seriously hurt my creativity. I've become fearful of the future and simply can't shake it. As with you, my life has changed a lot also. My father has died and I'm helping with the care of my mother. This has changed me in many ways too. All in all, 2016 has been a terrible year.

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    1. It has been a real eye-opener in SO many ways! I just hope we can rally around what really DOES make this country the best place in the world to live, and not just dissolve into a lot of splinter groups that are "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".

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  2. I'm really hoping this idiot doesn't make it into office. Considering the fact that he announced on live television that he doesn't pay taxes, his ass should be in jail. Not in the Oval Office.

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    1. Hey, I would be okay with him being in the Oval Office, so long as he's behind bars while he's there! You know, like a freak in a freak show... ::evil fangy grin::

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  3. It's a scary time! Let's hope 2017 is better and keep doing our best to help!

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    1. Yes!! So, what things can you think of that might help? I was totally serious about that, I'd really like to know what people are doing or would like to do.

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    2. I wish I knew more things! Like you I've been signing petitions for our domestic issues. Lack of money means I can't donate to any causes. I also saw a video on defending people from racial harassment by talking to them and making them feel safe instead of arguing with the racist which is apparently safer for everyone. Educating friends and family what is right and wrong... if they will listen.

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    3. That sounds like a good idea! And that video sounds good as well. There's no point in arguing with anyone who has already made up their mind and closed it; better to get the person being harassed away from them and let them know you're on their side.

      Thanks for the ideas! :-)

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  4. You know something? This whole Trump being elected has even caused waves over here in Canada. We read on the news this morning that at one of our Universities here in Montreal, someone (or a group of people) put up signs promoting racism and homophobia all over the Mcgill campus. It even read "Make Canada Great Again" Sigh! We need to stand up for this hate. I hate to say it, I was watching WWII documentaries the other day and some of the events that happened back then are eerily similar to today. I just want to cry

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    1. Sylvie, that is beyond seriously disturbing. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." How many people alive today remember the incredible atrocities committed by the Nazis and others in WWII? NOT enough, obviously. Maybe we need to remind them that someday, when the people THEY discriminate against now are gone, someone will decide to come for THEM.

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    2. You know something, Lucretia? You inspired me today and I wrote an opinion piece of my own. I hope you dont mind me sharing the URL here. Thank you very much for writing this. It got me thinking. http://littlecorpgothgirl.blogspot.ca/2016/12/hate-speech-and-politics.html

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    3. Thank YOU, Sylvie! I LOVE your post, and I'm glad you included the URL. If we keep it up, maybe we will actually get more Goths to stand up and speak out, and maybe even some non-Goths will stand with us as well. It never hurts to try!

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  5. The newspapers in the UK are calling this year's political events such as Brexit and Trump a 'wave of populism'. Not in this household it ain't. If 48% are against Brexit it hardly gives the other 52% a huge mandate for change - yet all things must is the seemingly immovable mantra. I'm not even going to attempt to rationalise what happened with old Cheeto fingers.

    It's difficult to know what to do to effect change or - in my case - ensure a moderate liberal voice is heard. For the first time I've joined a political party - a centre ground, pro- European party. There is a quiet little swing to them that is being drowned out by the catastrophic in-fighting in her Majesty's so called Government Opposition that is too busy having a year of the long knives stabbing one another and not actually standing up to some pretty horrible stuff that's happening. Unfortunately, under our voting system (first past the post) I'm probably pissing in the wind, but you've got to try to stand up for what you believe.

    What can we do? We can read and learn, we can be educated - and crucial - not believe everything we read. If that seems like an oxymoron, so be it - but there are many good free reads out there (NY Times, the Guardian - if you don't read below the line), the I (in the UK). We can quietly stand our ground and stand up for what we believe. There's a lot of hateful rhetoric out there, and TBH some of it has gotten to me this year (hence a much more subdued online profile recently). I need to grow myself a pair of balls and stand firm in my beliefs. I need to write more for my peeps at Den of Geek, for Geeks versus Loneliness where we extend a hand of friendship and bad film advice to people going through bad times, without judgement (written 8 articles for them so far and they are brill).

    We need to be true to we are - which I think we here in the bloggy gothsphere tend to do in our own way anyway. And enjoy and embrace our spooky sides!

    And I can do metaphysical hugs for a truly crappy year. It's nearly over. Let's just pray to whichever deity we identify with that 2017 is a whole lot better.

    Jane x

    (PS if this comes through twice it's blinking Blogger being a complete pain!)

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    1. "Old Cheetoh fingers"??? OMG, that's priceless!! Jane, you are a JEWEL!! :-)

      I'm sorry you are having all that trouble with Brexit over there; another friend of mine across The Pond has been explaining it all to me, and I truly sympathize.

      I really like your comments about what we can do. Sometimes the little things make the biggest impact in the end, especially if EVERYONE does them all at once, and then stands their ground when push comes to shove.

      And thank you for the hugs! Sending some to you as well. :-)

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