tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532889137549821886.post1319569078050041073..comments2024-03-05T10:49:16.834+00:00Comments on Unattended Articles: Threadsslepkanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05830471126428428384noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532889137549821886.post-60818643623612077832016-11-13T13:34:22.654+00:002016-11-13T13:34:22.654+00:00Thank you! We will all do what we can. Be well.Thank you! We will all do what we can. Be well.slepkanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05830471126428428384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532889137549821886.post-3869432528529403032016-11-13T12:28:08.430+00:002016-11-13T12:28:08.430+00:00The first thing I thought when I realised Trump wa...The first thing I thought when I realised Trump was probably going to win was, this is Brexit all over again. You know that feeling, when you hope for the best (it stands to reason that people wouldn’t actively choose to do the equivalent of jumping off a cliff – or does it?) but deep down you expect the worst outcome of all, because that’s how these things usually work. <br /><br />All it takes is for someone to promise to make the country ‘great again’, apparently. By which they mean sending those pesky immigrants back home, because it’s easier to put the blame for economical crisis on foreigners rather than seek out an actual solution to the problem. <br /><br />And even if there was a remote chance that either Trump or Brexit turn out to be not as bad as we might expect – though this is nothing but wishful thinking, I’m afraid – that wouldn’t change the fact that the damage is done already. The men and women in the street now feel entitled to attack everyone who’s different, safe in the knowledge that the winning majority is behind them all the way. Or that most of them are, at the very least, and that’s good enough for racists and haters. <br /><br />That’s probably the scariest thing of all, realising that so many people are perfectly okay with harassing their fellow human beings just because of the colour of their skin, their nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation. That such a thing is becoming the norm rather than something people should feel ashamed of.<br /><br />I too wish there was something we could do to stop both Brexit and Trump. (And more specifically, to stop Brexit *because* of Trump. If there ever was a point in time when the EU needs to stay together, that’s the troubled times we are living right now.) In a way it’s kind of a relief to know that both things are theoretically possible, though I fear there’s very little chance of either country getting away with what would be perceived as ‘going against democracy’. Even more so now that both the EU referendum and the US election have turned into some sort of divide between people who voted one way, and people who voted the other – which means that no matter what happens half of the population is going to be decidedly unhappy about the outcome, and more than a little inclined to blame it on the other half.<br /><br />That being said, I’m afraid there’s nothing much we can do except maybe try and be a safe space for people who need it the most, and hope for the best. <br /><br />(And given that I don’t think I could afford to build a bunker to live in for the next four years or so, I’m just going to hold on to all the little things that make me happy, and wait for the bomb to drop. Hopefully it won’t. In the meantime, thank goodness for the new series of The Monster Hunters, and the upcoming series of JFSP. If there’s one thing that can save the world, that’s laughter. Beauty is overrated. Bless those excellent human beings who can still put a smile on your face even in times of darkness.)Lothirielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12146035496062436652noreply@blogger.com