When I set out to learn about my mother's bridge club, the Jewish octogenarians behind the matching outfits and accessories, I never expected to fall in love with them. This is the story of the ladies, their game, their gen, and the ragged path that led me back to my mother.
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Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s the battle outside raging It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times they are a-changing
Posted on November 12, 2016 by betsylerner
Betsy Lerner 
I keep waiting to wake up from this bad dream.
Who woulda’ thought?
And the pisser – she won and lost.
Something that occurred to me, Carolynn — so I looked it up to be sure — in the past seven presidential elections, the Republican candidate has won a majority of the popular vote only once — that was George W. Bush in 2004. Before that, the last time a Republican presidential candidate won a majority of the popular vote was George’s father in 1988, who was succeeding a Republican president (Reagan) who had won the popular vote twice running.
The times, they are a-changing, but it is a slow advance against a stubborn rear guard.
Trexit? As we speak, Lola and I are being welcomed to Yorkshire by Brit friends, Maybe we’ll go there, maybe the Dominican Republic, or Costa Rica, where we also have friends.
We’re talking about going on the lam, though, not quitting the USA. The sign in my yard says it for me: RUM Make America Great Again.
We can beat him at his own game, if we unite.
The confusing thing is, how could any woman vote for him? What don’t they see? We are the voting majority, girls. Someone enlighten me, as this blue state resident feels blind today.
Also, wearing a safety pin shows your opposition to Trump’s message of hate. It says you are a safe place and will help in time of need. The Dutch did this in WW2 to oppose the Nazis. Google it for today’s meaning if you want.
I didn’t know about the safety pin but I’ll be wearing one now, along with my peace sign pendant and whatever tattoo I can come up with as a more permanent mark of opposition. Thanks for pointing it out.
I’m not surprised that women voted for him. There’s still a lot of internal conflict around male power and female submission, some of which is sexual in nature and some that seems more about fear and economic insecurity and the desire for a strongman. (“I alone can fix it.”)
There are plenty of women who hold Hillary in contempt for the actions of her husband, as if his infidelities are signals not of his weakness but of her inability to please him. They seem to believe she’s traded her sexuality for professional success and they despise her for it, maybe because of the choices she’s made or maybe because she personifies a complication they haven’t figured out how to resolve or don’t want to resolve. There’s a reason some women like handcuffs: abdication of responsibility. Keeping Hillary down means they can’t be expected to rise with her, and lowered expectation can be a comfort to those who lack confidence or whose circumstances forbid success.
There are plenty of people, too, who see him for exactly what he is and just don’t give a shit. Their point is to deliver a big fuck you to the system, and they’re naive enough not to realize how the guy’s pathology makes him vulnerable to manipulation by the very system they’d like to oppose.
I dunno. It’s complicated.
Thank you for this very thoughtful insight, Averil. Much appreciated.
I wore my pin for the first time this morning on a supposed safe city street. Within 2 minutes a hispanic man walking by caught my eye and whispered, “thank you.” Broke my heart…
Dear Hillary Clinton,
Like many people — just about everyone I know — I was sad, depressed and sick Wednesday morning. I was hopeful our country would continue on a path of logic and progress. It was hard to go to work in the morning and difficult to make it through the day. People are protesting the election results and my only hope is no one is seriously hurt or killed. We’ll have a lot of work to do the next four years to fight against insane proposals that will effect the environment, women’s right to choose, foreign conflicts, wealth disparity and immigration rights. There will be other battles as well.
I cannot imagine Trump will finish out his term. More than likely he’ll be impeached or simply get bored with the job. Pence is the man the Republicans want. Either way, the potential for damage to the freedoms of this country seems unavoidable.
I think the reason you lost the election, even though you received the majority of the votes — a sign of a broken country if ever there was one — is sexism and that makes my sadness even deeper. We’re not as progressive a country as we think we are. I want to thank you for all you’ve done over the years, for everything you’ve fought for while serving our country.
On Wednesday afternoon, I picked up my daughter from school. I knew she was depressed over the election results and picked her up so we could talk and she wouldn’t have to ride the bus for an hour. She told me most of the other kids in her class were upset with the results and some of the girls were talking about how they planning to run for president someday (she plans on being a campaign manager). I don’t know if there’s any solace in this, but you’ve inspired many girls to run for president. Someday a woman will be president and a large reason is because of what you accomplished, because of the historic precedent you set. Again, thank you.
Sincerely,
-MikeD
Love is the answer — nonetheless, we must fight.
Susan and I are pinned (thank you, november, for cluing us in on that).
I noticed that the few republicans living in our neighborhood, who normally all stake political signs in their yards religiously every November, abstained from displaying any placards this year. It made me nervous that there was a sleeping giant, and obviously it was not the Latino population.
In hindsight I can point to so many things that went wrong. However, I still can’t believe that 60 million plus people voted for Donald. its hard to imagine what the thought process is and I’m sure they think the same of me. David Axelrod was on Realtime and he said that we are on the right side of history.
Conservatives tout a platform that includes family values. How do Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani, both adulterers who have been married numerous times qualify under that umbrella? You can’t have it both ways! You can’t demonize Hillary as dishonest and a liar and then pack your cabinet with guys like Christie, and better yet a white supremacist!
The founding fathers are spinning in their graves, and rightfully so. Reality TV has become the new reality. Celebrity matters more it seems. I just hope the DNC can brainstorm muster a viable candidate who can beat Trump, avoiding a long bitter Dem primary.
Dems need to take back both houses in 2018. But over 100 million eligible voters failed to cast a ballot. And some 5 million disenchanted voters cast a protest vote for Gary Johnson–polar opposite of Bernie–and Jill Stein, in what appears to be the Ralph Nadir effect.
The blue wall crumbled. Big league.
My hope is that this is a wake-up call to all Americans who were eligible to vote and didn’t, or who wasted their votes on third party candidates. I think our best move (other than the more immediate marches and calls to our legislators, etc.) is to find ways to support our down-ballot candidates and take control of Congress in 2018. It’s not going to be easy but it’s doable.
And we need to find a way to address the problems with our press, which created this fucking monster in the first place.
Most of all we have to keep reminding each other that this is NOT NORMAL. It’s going to be a hard message to sustain over time but we can’t let battle fatigue cloud our judgment. It’s going to be many years before we get past this, if we ever do, and I think we need to recognize that now and find ways to cope.
As you stated in an earlier post, it’s complicated. I don’t know if it could ever happen, but I’d love to see a viable third party coalition. It would have to be on every level and in every state, very well organized and — this is the hardest part — honest. People are fed up with Republicans and Democrats, but without some incredible grass root organizing, it’s always going to be about the big 2 parties. I voted for Hillary Clinton in this election not only because I had to, but because I like what’s she done and stands for politically. I’d love to cast a valid third party vote. The system is broke and somehow the media has gone the sensationalist/brain candy route of the National Enquirer and People magazine instead of adhering to objective reporting. And the FBI is as evil and insidious as in the days of J. Edgar Hoover
I’m struck by the cyclical nature of politics. From Kennedy and Johnson we wound up with Nixon/Agnew/Ford. The came Jimmy Carter, a decent man in a spiteful town. Carter begat Reagan/Bush, then came Bill Clinton. George W stole the election against Gore and thankfully we elected Obama. Every time I think it’s going to get better … I don’t know if it’s due to a national gullibility to believe those who declare things are bad when they’re not — Trump is a snake oil salesman if ever there was one –, but I really can’t understand how anyone can say our world hasn’t improved with Barack Obama as president. Can you imagine the scandals, lies and deceptions that are coming down the pike after Jan. 20, 2017? Hell, they’re starting already! Bannon? Rudy Giuliani as AG? My head’s already exploding.
It’s hard for me to find ways to cope. Humor might help further down the road, but for now I’m just going through the motions and hoping it’s not going to be as bad as I fear. I’m getting older, but I’m still ready to fight and one positive is knowing how many others aren’t going to just throw in the towel.
Stay strong, Averil! Like Donald Trump’s obvious constipation, this too shall pass.