The Temperature Around Here

I’ve only been blogging here for eight years. I haven’t been very active lately, and yes I feel like I “picked the wrong week to start posting again.”

But I’ve been reader and sometimes commentator since practically the beginning.

I’ve never seen the atmosphere around here so tense.

So I just want to remind everyone that we are all terrified. We all feel helpless. Despite all the heated arguments, no one really knows what to do: we are staring into the face of soul-crushing uncertainty.

People find different ways to cope — to try assert some kind of control despite being mostly powerless.

Sometimes coping involves taking out our frustrations on those who are close at hand; who, unlike donors and influential politicians, give a damn about what we think — at least enough to take the time to argue with us.

This is a recipe for saying, doing, or writing things that we’ll later regret.

We should also be acutely aware that in many social-media settings — although, thankfully, not here — bad actors will try to exploit that frustration and anger. Some aim is to wedge apart the anti-fascist coalition. Others to simply to run their grift, gain an audience that they can monetize, or simply get their jollies.

So I’m just asking that everyone remember that we’re on the same side. We have the same goal.

We need to do our best to exercise empathy for one another, whether that means resisting our own worst impulses or forgiving others when they inevitably fail.

I am not calling anyone out. I cannot emphasize that enough. I know readers will assume that I’m writing because of one specific incident or another. Please don’t.

I’ve seen many, many examples since the debate, and it’s only getting worse. Besides, I mean what I said about empathy and understanding; this often involves actively trying not to call one another out.

LGM is a great community, the kind that we may need even more in the days and years to come.