In just the last couple of days, I've seen a lot of gloom and doom; people saying things like, "That's it. It's over. We've lost." I've also seen a lot of people calling "bullshit," and calls to action, such as this excellent diary: ZOMG. SYFPH. (Action). But I've only heard this question in whispers: Is it possible that some of the gloom and doom being spread around here recently is being spread by newly-registered Republican infiltrators trying to dishearten and dispirit us and cause us to despair, thereby weakening the movement? Is this just another step in "Operation Chaos"?
We do a lot of hand-wringing in here over bad polls. That's nothing new. But what does seem new to me is the sudden "it's over" mentality. This does not sound like the mindset of an Obama supporter. We see the prize, and we fight. We keep fighting. It's not over until it's frickin' over, dammit. For God's sake, the election is still two months away!
There have been a lot of new registrants recently. This is, of course, a good thing. But I find it likely that some of these new registrants are not on our side. If someone registered the day of or after McCain's VP announcement, they would have been given automatic permission (if they didn't out themselves as a Republican troll during the week and get kicked out) to post diaries starting this weekend, which is exactly when the gloom-and-doom rhetoric started to ratchet up.
Now please don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not suggesting that everyone spouting gloom and doom is a Republican infiltrator. I'm not even saying for certain that any of them are. Many of us worry when a negative poll comes out. It's only human. But I do think we should maintain a healthy skepticism about people who are shouting, "It's over! We've lost!"
I remember having to run the mile when I was in middle school. I was always the last in, always clutching my side in pain. I couldn't stand it. I'm terrible at physical activities, and was always picked last for every team. I was the laughing stock of gym class. One afternoon, we were told we had to run the mile in a certain amount of time, or something to that effect. I ran my ass off as hard as I could, but when I was about a quarter of a mile away, I was in incredible pain, and slowing down rapidly. Another girl in my class shouted at me from the sideline, "You should quit right now. You know you'll never get there." I thought about that for an instant and thought, "Yeah, she's right," and I slowed down even more, feeling grateful for the opportunity to give up. Then I thought, "Hey, fuck that bitch!" And I dug something up from somewhere, started running my ass off again despite the pain, and finished in time.
The moral of the story: If someone tells you you can't do something, it's nothing more than a challenge to work extra hard to prove them wrong.
Now let's get out there and get Obama elected!!