Fans of the NBC comedy show Community will be familiar with the phrase “The Darkest Timeline.”
It was the alternative timeline in the show’s universe where everything that could go wrong did — nice people were evil, things didn’t make any sense, and it was every person for themselves. They did several episodes in that timeline: silly (because it was a comedy show) but many of the characters also found the world insane. Things could change with an actual role of dice.
Soon after the election I was going to write a post about how we have traveled into The Darkest Timeline.
We are beyond that now.
I knew it could be bad. I just didn’t image it this bad this fast.
Sometimes it seems bizarre. Sometimes it seems insane.
I realized today that I feel sick to my stomach all the time, the same way I felt for about a week after 9/11. The no amount of milk, antacid, bread, or calm music can fix it.
My father, who is retired ex-military (NCO), says “I just hope Trump doesn’t get us into a war.” My father says this pretty much every day.
I’m doing everything I can: writing and calling our Representatives and Senators. Due to lack of mobility issues, I can’t go to protests. I can just barely physically handle work. I have joined the ACLU (and renewed my membership in the NAACP.) But I don’t have much extra money.
I am an adjunct at two local colleges. Students I’ve had in previous semesters know I am a friendly ear. Many of my students (of all backgrounds) say they are scared or worried. I’d say my office is a safe space, but I have no office [oh I can write about issues of being a permanent part-time employee with no benefits at several institutions — but there are more important things happening right now.] As this semester continues new students will hopefully know that I am one of many with an empathetic ear. [I never discuss my politics IN class — it only comes up if students discuss it with me in non-instruction time.]
I’m keeping up to date with news, being aware of gas lighting, working on getting the word out (although my few non-Dem leaning friends no longer follow me on social media.)
I feel like I’m barely hanging on. We have friends and family in both Belarus and Ukraine. This is getting seriously f***ed up. We are not to Belarus level yet — except for strange tweets by the Belarus leader. [note: Lukashenko’s most strange tweets seem to have been deleted. I will try to save them when they float by.]
We are hosting people who come into town for protests. I continue to be active in local Dem politics, as well as my union.
If you are reading Kos, you are already familiar with the insanity that is happening, so I don’t need to relist it all here.
But I’m not sure how we can, in the words of the poet Ozzy Osbourne stop “goin' off the rails on a crazy train.”