After the Election: A Chronicle of Thoughts From the First 24 Hours
NOVEMBER 8, 2016
5:00pm - She has to win, right?
8:20pm - I don't know if my heart palpitations are a result of the incoming projections...or the watermelon martini I had with dinner.
9:45pm - Really? This is actually happening?
10:05pm - No. Wait...no. No. No. No. No.
11:30pm - Hate did not win tonight. Fear did. Fear of progress. Fear of “otherness.” Fear of privilege being taken away. And while the shock has not worn off, when we woke up in the morning, it will not have been a bad dream. And a new fear will take hold.
11:34pm - James Carville's "worst case scenario" prediction was right. The markets are crashing. The value of the American dollar around the world is plummeting. My God.
11:37pm - We now live in Panem. (Have you seen those projected images lighting up the Empire State Building and announcing the winners?) All that's missing is the sound of cannons being fired with every victory. When do the Hunger Games begin?
NOVEMBER 9, 2016
12:03am - At the risk of sounding overdramatic, I haven't felt this way since 9/11.
7:30am - Christmas music it is. Sorry, Thanksgiving, but I need it right now. I know you'll understand. Spotify, lay it all on me.
8:05am - Half of America needs to take a collective mental health day.
9:10am - These assholes (pictured above) look like they've bullied a helpless victim or two in high school. They also look like they're no strangers to sexual assault. Committing it, that is. And yes, I'm judging books by their covers.
9:22am - There's a difference of 241,000 votes. Two hundred forty-one thousand.
9:23am - Please, someone refer Hillary to the best therapist there is. She needs it.
9:33am - Shit, I got a jury summons in the mail last night. Shit.
9:45am - I don't care if I'm late for work.
10:12am - Fuck it, I'm stopping at Carl's Jr. for a breakfast sandwich.
10:35am - We're now living in a dystopian satire. Think: Back to the Future Part II's Biff-centric alternate universe.
11:02am - I'm thinking Annie Lennox and Al Green's "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" will do the trick of alleviating the grief:
11:52am - What do I want for lunch? How can I eat more of my feelings?
12:38pm - I just need to remind myself to keep living my life.
2:41pm - I don't think I can read another thinkpiece, as brilliant as they are, about why these election results are an American tragedy.
2:43pm - I think this weekend calls for a therapeutic session of Golden Girls episodes. Hell, why not start tonight?
3:00pm - I must try to suppress the rage that's simmering. I can't feel hopeless.
3:50pm - Okay, I'll watch Hillary's concession speech, as hard as it is to do.
3:55pm - I'm actually getting a little choked up.
4:27pm - I gotta see what the ladies of The View said about the election results.
4:44pm - Has there ever been a president who will be hated this much?
5:20pm - I refuse to address him by saying his name after the word "President." But I have to keep living my life. I will get out of this depression. Those standing on the right side of history will continue to work towards progress. Life will go on.
5:22pm - When and what is the next stage of grief?
5:25pm - I need this week to be over.
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