A Few Things | Jan 11
It’s Normal To Be Sad & Angry Right Now. 2025 has already proved to be overwhelming.
It’s Normal To Be Sad & Angry Right Now
Hey there, Friends. Happy New Year! Or maybe I should say: Happy New Year?
This week I’ve been having flashbacks to November 6th. I’m waking up so sad; feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. I know some of us have an instinct to say: Buck up litter camper! Just take a small step. Do one little thing. Make some progress — even just a little bit. Don’t be sad! Keep moving.
I’ve certainly had the same instincts at times. And if that’s what you need to hear, then I hope you are hearing it from many voices.
But I think it’s also okay to hold still be and be sad if you need to. To not take action. To sit with your feelings. To reflect on loss and what could have been. To spend some time actively mourning, before you stand up once again.
There’s a LOT happening right now, and so much of it is hard. Honestly, it would be weird if you weren’t feeling sad and angry right now.
Things That Are Overwhelming Me At This Moment
-Los Angeles Fires.
I’m far, far away and I still find it’s hard to focus on anything else, so I don’t know how anyone in California is getting any work done this week. The fires move so fast and the wind makes things so unpredictable, that nowhere in the area seems safe.
The devastation is already heartbreaking, and it also feels impossible to look forward or to assess damage, because the fires are still raging! Until the fires are 100% out, it seems like no one affected will be able to catch their breath.
Los Angeles is huge and heavily populated. The metro area population of Los Angeles in 2024 was 12,598,000. And the entire population — whether they experience personal property damage or not — is bound to be traumatized by these fires and the losses in their communities and neighborhoods. That’s a whole lot of people who will need time and resources and compassion to get well again.
-MAGA Reaction to the Fires.
The online chatter about these fires being sent by God to punish the people of Los Angeles, or the fire being caused by DEI, is so disturbing. I’m having a hard wrapping my head around it. If you’re unable to come up with compassion and kindness for entire communities who have lost everything in a hurricane of fire, that seems like a deep, deep sickness that you should seek help to overcome.
California is where I was born, it’s the state where my parents were both born and raised, and it’s and the state where I vote as an expat. So I understand my views of California will be weighted positively. But I can’t fathom the California hate. California’s economy keeps many red states functioning, California’s produce feeds most of the country, and though California is considered “blue”, over 6 million Californians voted for Trump (versus 9.2 million for Harris).
The lies about the fires — including “defunded fire department” and “no water” are harmful and untrue. They’re far-right lies.
-Trumps inability to respond appropriately to horror.
He isn’t even willing to say the governor’s name correctly. And it’s not just an issue of Trump being tacky and gross and weird, where people can shake their heads and laugh uncomfortably. No one can say: Oh, just ignore that, he doesn’t mean it, he’ll do the right thing when it comes down to it.
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT HE WON’T DO THE RIGHT THING. He doesn’t want the actual job. He doesn’t want to do the work of a president. He wants to play golf, be worshipped, punish people, and extort everyone and everything he can for money.
But a president who is unable or unwilling to respond to a national disaster appropriately is a huge problem that affects real lives. It’s not funny. It’s not a joke. And it means destruction and even death for many, many people.
Do you think the fire skipped the houses of people who voted for Trump? Climate change fueled natural disasters are coming for all of us. Climate change doesn’t care what our political affiliations are.
-Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement and swing to the far right.
This week Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta would end fact-checking, and would recommend more political content. Maybe he thought no one would notice the ban on political content happened only after the election?
Zuckerberg also ended the DEI programs at Meta and was a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he lamented that companies are too woke and feminine.
I remain baffled that billionaires don’t choose to disappear and go enjoy their lives and families instead messing with all of us.
I’m especially thinking about employees at Meta. I know several of them and can only imagine how hard this week has been for them.
-Trump’s non-sentencing.
It’s so painful to see it so plainly. There are different legal systems in America for the rich and poor. If you’re rich, there are no laws. Even if you are convicted of a crime, there are zero consequences. You can even run for president.
-Seeing leaders and organizations who resisted last time, bend their knee to Trump this time.
I really hate to see inauguration donations coming in from people and groups who wouldn’t go near him in 2016. It illustrates a drastic move to the right in our politics.
-The Gaza war death toll could be significantly higher than reported.
I don’t have anything to add. It’s just awful to be paying attention to everything happening in the U.S. this week, while also knowing awful things are continuing to happen all over the world at the same time.
Unreliable Platforms
This is nothing new, but the Meta announcements this week have me once again feeling trapped by these social media platforms. I know many people are wanting to abandon social media, but for those of us who create on these platforms to make our living, it’s unclear how to do so.
But it is something we should all keep in mind — both content creators and content consumers. Because we don’t own these platforms, and they can be taken away, or irreparably changed, on a whim.
Many of us remember Vine disappeared overnight. Tiktok may soon disappear in the US, and if it does, I can imagine there will be riots — Tiktok is THE platform of anyone under 30. Twitter, which was my favorite of the platforms, is now unrecognizable.
Meta has almost a monopoly happening and owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. Facebook once felt like almost a magical place and allowed long lost connections. These days it seem like the only reason people use it is for Groups and Marketplace. If someone could replicate those on a new platform, I think Facebook could disappear.
I was hoping Threads would replace my beloved Twitter, but sadly, it’s more focused on engagement bait than breaking news and I don’t think it will ever be what I hoped for. (I’ve also been spending time on Bluesky as a Twitter replacement, but based on my experience so far, unless you have 100k followers or more, it doesn’t seem to be a particularly useful tool.)
And then there’s Instagram. I think of Instagram as work. It is not a place I take in much content or entertainment. It’s a place I produce work. There’s no good way for me to download that work — the many years of renovation updates on IG Stories! — and transfer it to another platform that I own or control. So if I abandoned Instagram, it would be a true loss for me.
But it’s still on my mind. How can I control and gather my work so that I always have access to it, and so that readers always have access to it?
And there’s also the question of what’s next. Will Substack remain stable, or will I need to abandon it as well? If social media implodes, will people return to reading blogs? I think the days of looking up individual sites is over. Is there a replacement for the now defunct Google Reader — a tool that collected all your favorite blogs and updated you when they had new posts?
Thinking About News Management Strategies
As you may have noticed, I took 3 weeks off from writing this newsletter. I did so to focus on some very precious family time. During those 3 weeks, it wasn’t just a break from the newsletter, I was also mostly off line. I wasn’t posting on IG much, or at all. I wasn’t checking in to Threads or Bluesky. I wasn’t opening my laptop or checking my email. Except: Every fifth day or so, I would check in. I would receive the latest news in something like firehose form, and soak it in all at once. In response, I might post something or micro-blog a few thoughts. And then I’d take another multi-day break.
It ended up being a sort-of news-management-strategy for me that developed unintentionally. And I mention it in case doing the same thing might help someone reading: several days off news consumption, one day on, several days off, one day on, etc..
I’m also picturing specific things I can look forward to and focusing my mind there: I have a full bag of inexpensive votive candles to add light on dreary days. In a few short weeks, it will be light again when we send Flora June off to school in the morning. The jonquils (small, wild daffodils) will carpet the sides of the road here in Normandy — probably even before I leave for Palm Springs mid-March. Which reminds me: I will get to see so many people I love at Alt Summit.
Whatever strategy you choose, I think it’s important to think about how you want to deal with what’s coming. I know it can seem like a long time ago, and we can forget what it was like, but 2016 to 2020 was relentless. There were shocking, upsetting, major news stories multiple times a week, and smaller stories about broken or ignored political norms happening multiple times per day. And all predictions are that it will be much worse this go round, because now it’s proven that there are zero consequences for bad actors.
While we can’t and shouldn’t ignore what’s happening, I think we do need to consider how to manage. Our bodies and brains aren’t built to withstand this kind of constant assault.
If you’ve figured out strategies that are working for you, please don’t hesitate to share.
Compelled to Write
Luvvie posted this quote from Toni Morrison:
I’m going to take this advice to heart. I have no interest in, nor space, for despair or fear. I can’t do everything, but I can write and speak. And that’s where I’m going to focus my energy.
And I hope that everyone reading here finds the quote or advice or call-to-action that gives you focus in the same way this quote compels me.
Thinking of you and picturing good days ahead.
kisses,
Gabrielle
when trump won i felt deep exhaustion. like i have nothing to give. disaster upon disaster and no end in sight. so much suffering and instability. i don’t want a pep talk nor do i feel the need to “do the work.” i’m too tired for that. i decided i’m only giving 2% effort and energy in 2025. and for the love of sanity no one tell me to “stay safe” i will lose it.
Interesting that Florida and Texas seem to have no problem taking federal funding for their increasingly frequent natural disasters, while not paying income taxes I'd add, but California is 'getting what they deserve'. Like you said, the level of mental and emotional sickness and heartlessness on the right is frankly deeply scary and very, very sad. They've ushered in the era of the Immoral Majority and the rest of us are hostages. Uff