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Home » Donors Choose and Contests, Stories, True and Otherwise

Dear Revolutionary Sweethearts

Submitted by on January 26, 2017 – 9:59 AM21 Comments

I’ve (re-)discovered a few things over the course of the recent Days Of Rage. Some of them are great!

1. Actually doing something really helps with those feelings of powerlessness and where-to-start paralysis. You don’t have to save the world all by yourself; you can’t. We all have to rise up together so we don’t fall apart. I signed up for Women’s Guard, I’m keeping an eye on stuff at SwingLeft, and I have a Donors Choose giving page called Seeds Of Change.

2. It’s a longish time ago now, but speaking of Donors Choose: remember when we did this? We raised over three hundred grand in a month. The internet’s a different place now, but…

2b. …it’s also kind of the same. It has a bunch of shitty trolls, nobody knows how to get any real consistent money out of TV recaps…and it is fairly bristling (I use that word advisedly) with smart, generous, furious, hilarious people from whom this national identity crisis is bringing out the very best. I already knew that, of course. I’ve seen it right here, many times. We must resist; we must also believe. We have to look each of us to the right and the left of us and believe in the people we see there, trust them to flank us, know they trust us the same. Everyone has someone at her elbow, whether it’s who you think it is or not. “I really don’t.” Okay, email me. I’ll come stand there. Hope you like cat hair.

It’s easy to think the shittiest of everyone right now; facts in evidence, don’t you know. But we can believe in ourselves and each other, too. And we have to. Resist; believe.

3. Resist; believe; rest. Take a break! You cannot care about the New World Orange 24/7; you will lose your damn mind. Remember that obnoxious column “Uncle Steve” King wrote that finger-wagged at us for caring about Michael Jackson’s trial when people were dying in blah blah blah self-righteous-cakes? People can care about more than one thing, and also, fuck off, you can just build a moat around Maine and count your money in there if you want, which you don’t, and your son seems cool on Twitter, but: seriously, don’t tell people with real problems their lives. Anyway: making pop-bead jewelry in front of a Law & Order you’ve seen 16 times isn’t just okay; it’s recommended. I mean, or do it in front of CSPAN, I ain’t your ma. It’s the pop pop pop and the having a bracelet in five minutes that does the trick.

PFM is back to distract you in the next couple days. I’ve got a backlog like you wouldn’t believe but keep sending me nominees! You could win a shirt! And!

4. The TN Store is a migraine-y mess right now! Sorry. Lots going on. I’m-a fix it, and I’m-a make “Yes, You Are” shirts and raise some money for Planned Parenthood.

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21 Comments »

  • bluesabriel says:

    Hooray! Thank you so much for this, Sars, and thank you for keeping up a safe space for us. Someone shared a great article outlining pretty much all of these points (You can’t do everything but you can do something, TAKE A BREAK, etc.) just when I was at peak outrage fatigue. Exhaustion leads to laying down and normalizing things, and we can’t let that happen. I’m planning on re-reading the Harry Potter series and gearing up for fantasy baseball. Don’t feel guilty for letting yourself have these things. Self-care is so damn important.

  • Sarah D. Bunting says:

    Exactly. It doesn’t mean you don’t care about others/issues.

  • Abby says:

    You shouldn’t write here because I adore your writing and it makes me feel like all of this is a little more manageable. But still…thank goodness you are.

  • Georgia says:

    Because I didn’t click on the link for the Stephen King letter, I first assumed you meant Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), and was like: “Oh my god, he’s the woooorst!” Then I got to the counting your money in Maine bit and realized it’s the much less awful–though still irritating–master of horror.

  • Sarah D. Bunting says:

    Yeah, he’s terrible. What’s with all the horribles with nouns for last names?! You’re ruining it for the rest of us, Trump Pence King Lance Rice Bush LLC!

  • Jen S 1.0 says:

    As long as the dancing tomato is on our side we cannot fail!

    Think of action as the doubling pennies trick. Day one, you have one penny. Day two, two pennies, day three, four pennies, day four, eight pennies. By the end of a month you’re a not fake millionaire.

    Double your pennies. Focus on the pennies. You will build a mountain, day by day.

  • Judy says:

    You are so my favorite. Thank you for this. I was just thinking about you earlier when I went looking for the Angela Chase Driveway Dance to post on my FB. Because while the country is a shitshow and the news is all awfulness and terribles, my BF and I said some big words for the first time the other day (actually they were mostly very small words) and mentally I’m still all Monica on the balcony shouting to the world that he loves me. And then I have guilt about that. So thank you for this timely post.

  • Lsn says:

    Thank you. Back in the day TINO helped keep me sane and a sense of perspective – this will pass too, somehow, and we can attempt to limit the damage as much as possible.

  • attica says:

    Something happened today that surprised me. My local-local tv news (the off-brand channel paid for by the cable company; not exactly Marxists), who has been reliably squishy about reporting, say, Sandy Hook “truthers” as ‘controversial’ actually filed a report on the ABC interview Lord Damp Nut (anagram!)did…and called his comments about voter fraud false! Straight out! Not even ‘some people dispute’! Only a week in? I find that startling. I don’t know if I dare hope to be reassured by it, but it’s gotta be a good sign, right?

    No way out but through. We’ll get through.

  • Leigh in CO says:

    Yes, You Are t-shirts? Shaddup and take my money. Also: thank you.

  • cayenne says:

    Oh my God THIS SO MUCH. I really needed this today, Sars. All the outrage and uncertainty is bloody exhausting. Thank you for reminding me that you can’t be effective at protest while burnt out.

    My issue is the feeling of impotence that comes from not even being able to call a representative to bitch out or applaud – because I’m in Canada and have no representative to call. There are so many people around the world who are afraid, who want to help friends and strangers in the U.S. affected by this dystopian shitblizzard, and have very little recourse. I get it: it’s not our problem, but… yeah, it kinda is. Myself: I will march, I’ll signal boost on twitter and FB, and I’ll donate to the ACLU when my income levels recover. In the meantime, sign me up for a YES, YOU ARE t-shirt so I can be a walking mini-billboard for the cause while helping PP cos those people are amazing.

  • Wehaf says:

    Anxiously awaiting those “Yes, You Are” t-shirts… Just another thing to thank you for.

  • Cora says:

    Oh, what a relief to see this post. Like all normal people, I also just cannot with Pumpkin Spice Stalin; but nobody I know can, either. Which is uniting. Also, you can always put Obama’s last speech on repeat play on YouTube.

  • Sarah D. Bunting says:

    “Pumpkin Spice Stalin” A+

  • Lore says:

    I’m too sad/angry/frustrated/terrified/busy showing up to any demonstration that will have me to find coherent, articulate, incisive, let alone comforting thoughts about any of this. I am more grateful than I can say to see you back at it and taking up the cause, in better prose than I could write even if not all of the above.

  • RJ says:

    I’m just going to say – I miss the recap site (Television Without Pity) almost daily. I can’t tell you how much enjoyment that site brought me. I feel like there’s nothing else out there that is as smart and funny when it comes to reviewing shows (i.e, oh how I miss the acerbic, delightful bitterness of the poor recappers who covered “The Bachelor”!!!!).

    Miss.

  • Nanc says:

    I’ve found I’m very overwhelmed even by the media I trust as well as social media. There’s a fine line between passion and haranguing and I feel I’m constantly defending myself about not attending events or not “liking” a post–just because I don’t attend or like doesn’t mean I don’t agree (or disagree) and don’t (or do support).

    I’ve found myself relying on the cold hard facts of https://www.congress.gov/–you can subscribe to legislative updates as well as my state, county and city versions. If I want to explore further then I hit the news and social media sights because I feel I’m reading it after seeing the original source material. This routine has become my safe way of dealing with all of the strife as well as the occasional good.

    Now to harsh everyone’s groove over something that came in my congress.gov digest: If you care about safe and legal abortions for US women, contact your congressional representatives about H.R.586 — 115th Congress (2017-2018)Sanctity of Human Life Act. A year ago I would have said no way would it make it out of the House, but today I’m not so sure.

  • Sarah D. Bunting says:

    Thanks, RJ! Many of us are over at Previously.TV now and have been for a while.

  • bluesabriel says:

    I’m enjoying the heck out of Previously.TV. I’m not nearly the voracious tv watcher that I was or still want to be now that I parent a preschooler, but I love y’alls writing so much that I stop by the site regularly. Thanks for continuing to bring the snark!

  • RJ says:

    REALLY?????? I’m headed to Previously.TV….. thank you! This is the best news I’ve had in … well, over a year!

  • Megan says:

    Did you guys see? $29 Million, paying off *every* *single* *project*. All of them!

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