Laying low

Has Trump been laying low this week? I don't feel like I've been outraged on a daily basis and I'm not sure how to feel about that. It's like when a toddler is quiet for too long. Something's up.

Or have I just gotten so used to his antics that I'm becoming numb to them?

Or maybe he just set the bar really high for crazy and now when he does something moderately crazy, we just can't get worked up about it.

Either way, we have to be on guard until November. 

Us in November if we're not careful

Pumpkin spice and everything nice

This morning when I stopped at the local farm stop (indoor, year-round farmers market), I saw something that made me smile. There, tucked between the zucchinis, watermelon, and onions was a sure sign of fall; a reminder that it's just around the corner.

I smiled as soon as I saw them. I thought about all my fall-loving friends and decided I should post the picture on Facebook to get them as pumped as I am. Then immediately I felt self conscious - why? Because getting excited about fall is such a "basic white girl" thing.

The last few years there have been a ton of memes and jokes about white girls loving fall. Here's an example of some that get heavily circulated every fall:

The trend of teasing white women about loving fall doesn't offend me - in fact, many of these make me laugh! But I find myself more confused than anything. Some questions I have:

• Why just white girls? Don't other races like crisp weather, colorful leaves, caramel apples, and cozy sweaters?
• Does it have something to do with white privilege?
• Does it have something to do with wealth?
• Is it because we use too much pumpkin spice? 
• What is "white" about liking apple cider, the smell of smoke coming from a distant chimney, sleeping in a cozy, cool bedroom, carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin bread, making pumpkin pie, etc...? Many of those seem more American to me than white. 
• Is it because other countries don't celebrate Halloween (to the extent that we do) or Thanksgiving?

I truly don't know. 

Like I said, I'm not offended by it. There are far worse racial stereotypes out there and being made fun of for loving fall is about as inoffensive as they come. No one gets shot for loving fall, or falsely accused of committing a crime for eating too much pumpkin spice. No one discriminates against someone for wearing a cable knit sweater with leggings. Parents don't worry about sending their children out in Uggs and scarves.

Just know that every time I post about loving fall (which I will - A LOT), I realize I'm a stereotype. I'm just not sure why.

Immature behavior

Sometimes I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Trump is actually the Republican candidate. How did this happen?? There are a lot of theories around that question and most of the answers I've heard are unsettling.

Just a reminder that THIS is the man who could be the US president:

Immature and shocking behavior unbefitting a presidential candidate. Or any adult.

I was recently talking to a friend who is much younger than I. She's 24, to be precise. She told me that one of the most interesting things she's learning as she grows up is how immature some adults can be. She always thought that all adults at some point became mature or at least pretended to be mature and well behaved. But now she is realizing that some people never mature and she's finding it unsettling.

I remember making that same realization when I was her age and being just as unsettled. There's something comforting in the thought that older people are using their wisdom and experience to help, to lead, to teach. Yet others never learn, but remain in the emotional state of a petulant child. But they can rise to such a high level of leadership? Unsettling, for sure.

When a political article looks real but turns out to be satire

I'm MAD!!! Oh... wait. Ok, cool.

News overload

I'm getting exhausted with the daily debates over what Trump meant or didn't mean.

"He was JOKING when he said people could/should kill Hilary."

Um... ok......

It's draining.

Slap fighting

There's little more depressing than reading the comment section on political posts. Friends turn against each other, strangers attack each other, and readers lose hope in humanity. And in the end, the comments simply look like this:

(Sigh.)

He who must not be named

I'm sorry this blog has turned into an outlet for me to express my fear over Trump. I'll try to blog about something else eventually but oh my goodness, I need an outlet during this election period and this is a safe space.

I almost hate to waste any energy on him but at the same time, anyone paying attention should be terrified. (My opinion.)

I've always tried to understand where people with different opinions than my own are coming from. I don't assume they're stupid or incapable of critical thinking. With Trump supporters, I try to understand what appeals to them about his "message" (which I think is something vague about making America great again though it seems his actual plans for that involve racism, fear, finger-pointing, war, condescending speeches, painting/accusing with a broad brush, and childish reactionary behavior).

A friend of mine who is not a Trump supporter herself described to me what some of her Trump supporting family members see in him. It's a bit complicated to get into here, but it did help me understand a bit. Not agree - oh no, not agree in the slightest - but understand. And I'm sure Trump supporters have varying reasons to support him, many of which I simply don't know about or understand.

But I can't in the tiniest bit get on board. From kicking babies out of rallies to much more upsetting behavior, I can't get on board.

We are at an extremely interesting place in history. We just had (have) our first black president (who I adore) who, by simply being who he is brought many things to the surface of our culture. Racism, for one thing (I do not believe he is racist, nor is it his fault that his presence brought this out so much - it's simply an observation). The civil rights movement was not too long ago, and boy do we still have a long way to go. Feminism still has a long way to go. We have an increasingly diverse society which makes many people uncomfortable. We're still not comfortable talking about race.

We have a nonstop news cycle. We have so many "news" websites - some more reliable than others. We have one website that cites "facts" that another website denounces. Who is right?

We have social media which tells us exactly where our friends alliances fall - something we could have been blissfully unaware of before. It's a unique and difficult time we're trying to navigate.

So, what's the solution? Listening would be a good start. Trying to understand. Giving people the benefit of the doubt. Treating each other with respect. Having patience.

I'm talking to myself here. I should work on those things.

I'm sorry if this is a bit disjointed. Oh no... have I started using my blog as a journal? I guess not because I do want to engage with others who may be feeling similar things or just want to get through this political cycle with me.

Can something be called a cycle if it never ends?

Just in case

I read an opinion today which warned that people railing against Trump so much may actually be strengthening his base.

I don't want to be a part of that at all. So, just in case, I'll post this.

Trump is great.

Likable guy.
Strong vocabulary.
Morally superior.
Not a loser.
Other people are losers.
He's strong.
Makes things great again.
Cool dancer.
Women love him.
Mexicans love him.

Political discourse on social media

More political frustration

I TRY to not post political things on FB but I have been failing miserably. I can't help it - I find Trump terrifying. (Terrifying doesn't seem like a strong enough word.)

But when I voice this the first thing my Trump supporting friends say is something bad about Hillary Clinton. Well guess what, I'm not really on board the H. Clinton train either! So if I post something about Trump, that doesn't mean I'm ready to defend Clinton. ALSO, if you can't answer to the criticism of Trump without redirecting the criticism at someone else... maybe that should tell you something?

The candidate I liked the best is not one of the nominees.

So.... how does one navigate social media these days?

I don't have any answers.

Besides maybe avoiding it.