Political thought of the day:

Maybe it’s just me, but I keep seeing items pop up in my feeds about “Trump-supporters are breathing a sigh of relief” because they’ve felt their way of life has been threatened and now they’re finally protected.

And then I’ll see some article encouraging people to try to understand how Trump voters think, where they’re coming from, how their fears are every bit as real to them as our concerns are to us.

But this whole dynamic of my-imaginary-invented-fear-is-just-as-valid-and-urgent-as-your-real-fact-based-concern just personally infuriates me. Imagined victimhood. Weaponizing an invented crisis to unapologetically justify real harm to someone else.

We should not excuse people’s harmful behavior simply because they actually believe the false information they’re basing it on. By that logic, my neighbors will not have done anything wrong if they eventually go ahead and shoot me because they “know that people like me want to take their guns away” 🙄

And for anyone who felt like they were oppressed and on eggshells because of woke culture - you weren’t. You just weren’t. You were imagining things, which you made more real in your mind by repeating them to yourself. Honestly, it can happen to anyone, and therapy can help you - but as always, the first step is admitting you have a problem.

But the rest of us now have real, actual things to fear because of voters basing their decisions on imaginary, fictional fears. Women now have real fears of how far some guy is going to take that “Your body My choice” chant. Legal immigrants have real fears of being swept up in Mass Deportation Now hysteria. American citizens, especially journalists and activists, now have real fears of being locked up or worse for exercising their freedom of speech and assembly. Pregnant women now have real fears that their access to emergency medical care will only decline. Just to name a few.

So, if you’re a person who has no time for “where Trump-voters are coming from” - don’t feel bad about it. You don’t owe any more understanding or compassion or concession. Push back on imaginary fears. Hold firm boundaries with imaginary victims. And keep doing what you can do each day, in your own life, in your own community, in your own space to solve real problems, and to partner with and support other people who deal in reality, too.💕