Thank you for writing this. It echoes much of what I've been feeling all week--what can be done? It seems, nothing will change this ongoing attack of groups such as Hamas. As such assassins as Putin. But I can't close it out and pretend it isn't happening. I have friends who don't want to hear it, don't want to consider it. Because it's true, what can we possibly do?
I hope we won't give up speaking out. We're all so very tired of this, yet here we are, safe, while others are having to endure yet another era of unspeakable atrocities.
I can't get them out of my mind. I hate that this has been going on for millennia. We're not alone in longing for permanent solutions.
Thank you, Melanie. Your friend is so right and that's what's most baffling. How is it we haven't figured out how to live together in peace? Wouldn't that make so much more sense?
Hi Ramona, As Susan and others have said thank you for writing this. I couldn't find the words to
express my anguish. Everything has stalled for me this week - even writing - I'm too busy trying to process the unbelievable and the world of horror we seem to be living in right now. I remember as a youngster not having to lock the front door when we left the house and taking the bus downtown by myself to go shopping. Now people get killed going to church or sleeping in their beds. How did we get to this place? Or the more important question is how do we fix the seemingly unfixable?
It took me two days and many drafts to write this, and it still doesn't say exactly what's in my heart right now. I couldn't move on until I got it out, but I can't say I feel any better. I don't. I hate that I have to end these things admitting I don't know what to do, but I know as I'm writing it I'm not alone in that.
Thanks for your thoughts. That last question haunts us all.
Thank you for writing this, Ramona. I have nothing much to add besides agreeing that we must continue to speak out, that we can't just ignore this hate. It feels like so little but it is, in fact, important. When people are silent, others assume they agree. And we most certainly do not.
Silence is a kind of cop-out when speaking out requires so little effort, compared to what others in the fight are doing. I know that feeling of despair when nothing seems to change, no matter how hard we work at it, but giving up is what the haters are hoping for.
Hate’s not the problem, it’s a symptom and a result of masse manipulation. Through leftist propaganda pumped out in sync over nearly all existing forms of media, people, who mostly think themselves among the smartest, too often don’t think at all and are easily, throughly, un-retractably convinced standing against actual effective solutions, is the solution; then vote accordingly. So now we have what we have, and its just getting started. The hyper measures of horror coming at us, in what many are calling WW3, are likely to mushroom around us all before the puppet currently in the White House gets justifiably replaced by the second coming of the mean-tweeter.
Hate, is generating that heat you’re feeling in back of your necks at that very notion, it’s a creation of manipulation skillfully crafted by the very demons most of you voted for: Democrats and RINOs.
Voting, to feel-good in the company of the herd, is like lighting a house on fire to feel warm. It’s not until the horrifying very real screams of children, trapped inside the confines of 81 million votes, burning to death, that some may stop to ponder, perhaps they made the wrong choice.
Interesting that you’re never embarrassed by the nonsense you throw out every chance you get, no matter how unrelated it is to the topic. Look around, Kerry. There’s real suffering going on here and you’re shitting on it. Now get lost.
This so much. Thank you for writing this. I have privilege to live in a safe place (for now. At some point, will no where be safe?) and the dissonance of looking out at trees and rain and knowing that this brutality is going on somewhere else is almost too much sometimes. I don't have a solution (other than the people doing the killing should just stop it?) We are on a dark path and I am trying to see the light at the end and I just can't.
I try not to look away, but still do the things that bring me joy and hopefully bring joy to others.
It is comforting to read your words and also all the comments. I have to hope and believe there are more people who feel this way than not but it is not always easy to keep that hope alive. I’ve been struggling and feeling so disheartened lately. This helped.
When I was a child, I was sure that by the time I was, say, 35, I would know everything I needed to know. This was how I saw adults at the time. Now, well past that presumed halcyon age, what I see is that there are no adults—just people of different ages. And there is no one who really, truly, knows what to do. And I see this: We fear what we don't understand. And we hate what we fear. And if there are people who are negatively affected by that hatred—well, c'est la vie. But I wish it were otherwise.
Sadly, you're right. Nobody really knows what to do. I'm not above hating but I've never taken that hate to the next step--an act of revenge, an attempt to destroy a reputation, or even do actual harm. I don't understand people who go there, so, yes, they scare me.
Still, I'm not going to hide from hate. In fact, I'm going to call it out every chance I can.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite TV shows as a kid that dealt with this issue. “A sickness known as hate; not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ - but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone - look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether.” ― Rod Serling. It’s telling that we seem to have an outbreak of this contagion after the world is shaken by upheavals in disasters. The most recent being COVID. Coincidence? Hear me out. It was just after WW II when the fear and hate of Communism led to the McCarthy Hearings leading to black listing anyone rumored to be associated with that ideology. We know hate is driven by fear and ignorance, as Arthur Miller showed us in The Crucible. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there’s a parallel rise in rigid authoritarianism in the world and doubt around the flexibility of democracy. As you say, we need to speak out. In therapy, we say that the only way out, is through.
I actually remember Rod Serling speaking those words! They made quite an impact.
There does seem to be that parallel between upheavals, fear, and then hate, but it's not enough to analyze it--we have to figure out how to combat it.
My own Kindergarten mind says let's make it so democracy always wins! Voila! But I'm old enough to get it that it's not that simple. We're assuming people will do the right thing when all of history tells us otherwise.
Trump's presidency should have been the greatest of wake-up calls. Instead, we're back to worrying about his rise again and the very real prospect of an ultimate government takeover that will send our brand of Democracy to its knees.
We don't know what to do about it. That's clear. But at some point we'll have to stop looking backward at how it happened and look forward to making the radical changes it's going to take to get us back on track.
I keep waiting for smarter minds than mine (and that would be almost everyone's) to focus and get down to business. The constant wringing of hands in place of real action is what's going to finally do us in.
Thank you for writing this. It echoes much of what I've been feeling all week--what can be done? It seems, nothing will change this ongoing attack of groups such as Hamas. As such assassins as Putin. But I can't close it out and pretend it isn't happening. I have friends who don't want to hear it, don't want to consider it. Because it's true, what can we possibly do?
I hope we won't give up speaking out. We're all so very tired of this, yet here we are, safe, while others are having to endure yet another era of unspeakable atrocities.
I can't get them out of my mind. I hate that this has been going on for millennia. We're not alone in longing for permanent solutions.
Years ago, a dear friend said to me, "If we humans learned from our battles, we'd be a super race by now."
There's a bazillion jillion reasons for the present chaos. And there's nothing we "little ones" can do about it. But vote. And write.
Keep writing, Ramona - I felt an odd solace in reading your words, discovering I am not alone.
Thank you.
Thank you, Melanie. Your friend is so right and that's what's most baffling. How is it we haven't figured out how to live together in peace? Wouldn't that make so much more sense?
I'm going to echo Melanie's comments - thank you putting into words something of how I feel. There is comfort in knowing that we are not alone.
Thank you, Wendy. We reach out, I think, to make sure we're not alone. At least there's that.
Hi Ramona, As Susan and others have said thank you for writing this. I couldn't find the words to
express my anguish. Everything has stalled for me this week - even writing - I'm too busy trying to process the unbelievable and the world of horror we seem to be living in right now. I remember as a youngster not having to lock the front door when we left the house and taking the bus downtown by myself to go shopping. Now people get killed going to church or sleeping in their beds. How did we get to this place? Or the more important question is how do we fix the seemingly unfixable?
It took me two days and many drafts to write this, and it still doesn't say exactly what's in my heart right now. I couldn't move on until I got it out, but I can't say I feel any better. I don't. I hate that I have to end these things admitting I don't know what to do, but I know as I'm writing it I'm not alone in that.
Thanks for your thoughts. That last question haunts us all.
I do know that my heart hurts in unimaginable ways and I feel like we are on a runaway train that's gonna crash and we have no say or control.
Yes. That. 😢
Thank you for writing this, Ramona. I have nothing much to add besides agreeing that we must continue to speak out, that we can't just ignore this hate. It feels like so little but it is, in fact, important. When people are silent, others assume they agree. And we most certainly do not.
Silence is a kind of cop-out when speaking out requires so little effort, compared to what others in the fight are doing. I know that feeling of despair when nothing seems to change, no matter how hard we work at it, but giving up is what the haters are hoping for.
Hate’s not the problem, it’s a symptom and a result of masse manipulation. Through leftist propaganda pumped out in sync over nearly all existing forms of media, people, who mostly think themselves among the smartest, too often don’t think at all and are easily, throughly, un-retractably convinced standing against actual effective solutions, is the solution; then vote accordingly. So now we have what we have, and its just getting started. The hyper measures of horror coming at us, in what many are calling WW3, are likely to mushroom around us all before the puppet currently in the White House gets justifiably replaced by the second coming of the mean-tweeter.
Hate, is generating that heat you’re feeling in back of your necks at that very notion, it’s a creation of manipulation skillfully crafted by the very demons most of you voted for: Democrats and RINOs.
Voting, to feel-good in the company of the herd, is like lighting a house on fire to feel warm. It’s not until the horrifying very real screams of children, trapped inside the confines of 81 million votes, burning to death, that some may stop to ponder, perhaps they made the wrong choice.
Interesting that you’re never embarrassed by the nonsense you throw out every chance you get, no matter how unrelated it is to the topic. Look around, Kerry. There’s real suffering going on here and you’re shitting on it. Now get lost.
This so much. Thank you for writing this. I have privilege to live in a safe place (for now. At some point, will no where be safe?) and the dissonance of looking out at trees and rain and knowing that this brutality is going on somewhere else is almost too much sometimes. I don't have a solution (other than the people doing the killing should just stop it?) We are on a dark path and I am trying to see the light at the end and I just can't.
I try not to look away, but still do the things that bring me joy and hopefully bring joy to others.
“Peace is an ugly word to haters.” I’m going to hold onto that one. Thank you for this whole essay. I needed to read it.
It is comforting to read your words and also all the comments. I have to hope and believe there are more people who feel this way than not but it is not always easy to keep that hope alive. I’ve been struggling and feeling so disheartened lately. This helped.
When I was a child, I was sure that by the time I was, say, 35, I would know everything I needed to know. This was how I saw adults at the time. Now, well past that presumed halcyon age, what I see is that there are no adults—just people of different ages. And there is no one who really, truly, knows what to do. And I see this: We fear what we don't understand. And we hate what we fear. And if there are people who are negatively affected by that hatred—well, c'est la vie. But I wish it were otherwise.
Sadly, you're right. Nobody really knows what to do. I'm not above hating but I've never taken that hate to the next step--an act of revenge, an attempt to destroy a reputation, or even do actual harm. I don't understand people who go there, so, yes, they scare me.
Still, I'm not going to hide from hate. In fact, I'm going to call it out every chance I can.
Silence feeds it.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite TV shows as a kid that dealt with this issue. “A sickness known as hate; not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ - but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone - look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether.” ― Rod Serling. It’s telling that we seem to have an outbreak of this contagion after the world is shaken by upheavals in disasters. The most recent being COVID. Coincidence? Hear me out. It was just after WW II when the fear and hate of Communism led to the McCarthy Hearings leading to black listing anyone rumored to be associated with that ideology. We know hate is driven by fear and ignorance, as Arthur Miller showed us in The Crucible. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there’s a parallel rise in rigid authoritarianism in the world and doubt around the flexibility of democracy. As you say, we need to speak out. In therapy, we say that the only way out, is through.
I actually remember Rod Serling speaking those words! They made quite an impact.
There does seem to be that parallel between upheavals, fear, and then hate, but it's not enough to analyze it--we have to figure out how to combat it.
My own Kindergarten mind says let's make it so democracy always wins! Voila! But I'm old enough to get it that it's not that simple. We're assuming people will do the right thing when all of history tells us otherwise.
Trump's presidency should have been the greatest of wake-up calls. Instead, we're back to worrying about his rise again and the very real prospect of an ultimate government takeover that will send our brand of Democracy to its knees.
We don't know what to do about it. That's clear. But at some point we'll have to stop looking backward at how it happened and look forward to making the radical changes it's going to take to get us back on track.
I keep waiting for smarter minds than mine (and that would be almost everyone's) to focus and get down to business. The constant wringing of hands in place of real action is what's going to finally do us in.