I'm Coping Just Fine, Thank You
Let's commiserate with those who are really suffering
Trauma. Whether with a capital “T” or a small “t”, trauma needs to be addressed. I’ve read many of Dr. Gabor Maté’s books, and I appreciate the education that he has offered to the world on the topic of trauma.
While I understand the despair that many people felt upon hearing that Donald Trump won the election, I have no patience for all the hand-wringing and the sense of helplessness that is being expressed by so many of my fellow Americans.
Because, while the problems we face are extreme, they didn’t get that way in the small amount of time between Election eve and Election Day. Things have been getting steadily worse in this country for decades. And, the current administration, the Democrats, have overseen and supported a genocide.
We live in a country that still has some freedoms. Yet too many people continue to place their faith in false leaders, who, no matter what their rhetoric, have no concerns for the working class. They don’t value their freedom, they take it for granted.
Let’s have compassion for the Palestinians, who don’t have freedom. Trump and Harris both made it clear that they would continue to support Israel, and continue to supply the arms for the ongoing genocide.
Do you take time out of your day to ask yourself how the Palestinians are coping?
If you feel helpless because Donald Trump is going to have another term as President, for God’s sake, get out and organize and do something. Stop crying. We are not helpless.
Gabor Maté is Jewish. His family members suffered through the Holocaust. He has compassion for the Palestinians. They are suffering, as his family suffered. We need to end the suffering.
And, while I understand that the despair that so many are feeling over the election results can feel overwhelming, I ask that you look at the bigger picture.
Because the Palestinians, the Native Americans, the ancestors of slaves, and indigenous peoples all over the world are suffering. And a society that allows this to happen suffers, too.
As Chris Hedges has said, Donald Trump isn’t the cause of our problems, he was “vomited up” by an already disturbed society. By people who don’t confront problems, but who prefer to exist in a bubble.
Pop!