whelmed

Posted on by

It’s been a month since I’ve written anything on this blog. A whole month. I used to write something here 2-3 times a week. I’ve never gone this long without writing something for the blog. Never. Why is this happening?

Here’s why: Trump trauma. Ever since the election, I’ve been…I don’t know. I can’t quite find the right word to describe this feeling. And it’s not just Trump (though Trump alone is enough); it’s also the collection of incompetent fascist nitwits he (and a complicit GOP Congress) placed in critically important political offices. That means that ever single day, including weekends, there are at least half dozen things so outrageous that they deserve a scathing blog post. And I just don’t have the energy to do that right now.

I mean, if Russia had done what TrumpCo has done to the United States (and for what it’s worth, you can argue Russia IS responsible), you’d say it was an act of war. In a mere one hundred days, TrumpCo has kneecapped the US. They’ve completely shredded our reputation for intelligence gathering and sharing; they’ve ignored basic operational security; they’ve gutted our ability to respond to climate disasters while simultaneously reducing the resources needed to warn the populace about those disasters; they’ve rolled back food testing, increasing the likelihood of contamination; they’ve made it easier to evade taxes and harder for the IRS to collect taxes and prosecute tax cheaters; they’ve cut spending on both medical research and Medicaid, which will certainly lead to increased childhood and elderly mortality; they’ve made air travel less safe; they’ve not only limited civil rights, they’ve actually rescinded civil rights that had already been established; they’ve sent out masked goon squads to kidnap and secretly detain people legally in the US; they’ve…well, you get the idea. TrumpCo has basically shit all over the US Constitution, and done it openly.

It’s overwhelming.

You know what? That’s the word I couldn’t think of when I began writing this post. That’s exactly why I haven’t written anything here for a month. I’m not just whelmed (from the Middle English hwielfan, meaning “to turn upside down (as a ship); to roll over and over”), I’m totally and completely overwhelmed. I’m whelmed the fuck over.

Stunned, exhausted, bedraggled survivors trying to escape a capsized ship.

I feel like the United States has been capsized, like we’re caught up in some political Poseidon Adventure. It’s as if the ship of state has been hit by a rogue wave and turned completely upside down, and we the people have to crawl and fight our way through the burning, topsy-turvy, almost unrecognizable wreckage of the nation we knew in an attempt to reach what used to be the bottom of the ship, hoping that somebody on the other side of the hull will be able to cut a hole through which we can escape to daylight.

Maybe that sort of rescue only happens in movies. But we have to try, right?

16 thoughts on “whelmed”

  2. Those kinds of rescues have happened outside of movies. Not often, but they have. Hold on.

    I miss your blogs, but I can feel your overwhelm when you do put fingers to keys. It’s totally overwhelming. The sheer incompetence is mind blowing. That idiot Hegseth! and JDVance who should not be allowed out of the house without a grown up.

    It’s all over our news all the time too. We hear every scrap. It’s as if the UK has no news of it’s own anymore. Small scraps get passed across a lesser page now and then. But the front pages and headlines are all about TrumpCo as you call them. About the money they are making, the damage they are doing, the danger they are putting us all under by letting Trump have a 2 hour phone call with Putin, etc.

    I’m outraged on your behalf. I can’t imagine how it must feel to live in it. Although I do know, you feel now like so many of us felt when we were ripped out of the EU and left to flounder with the numbskulls gloating and jeering at us as our lives changed horribly. We are still paying that price. America is going to have to pay a long price for this too. It’s such a shame. It’s such a waste.

    I hope you are still getting out on that bike as often as you can. Survival via nature is a good thing.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • Sue, I’m riding fairly often. And playing pickleball. And visiting small rural towns to find weird local diners. Between all that, of course, I’m calling my members of Congress (all MAGA Republicans) and making a fuss, and attending demonstrations and rallies.

      We might not get this ship upright, but maybe we’ll be able to escape and find another ship.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  3. Hi Greg, You’re echoing the sentiments of so many of us. How do we even exist in this world that has been upended? I am keeping my head down and making art, resisting when I can and where it makes sense, and otherwise accepting the harsh reality of what has happened to us. I do have hope that reality and common sense among average Americans will prevail, even though it seems like a long shot right now. This crazy shit of the Trump era is unsustainable and I think enough folks will exhibit non-compliance to eventually take back our country. But I’m only speculating and my opinion has often been just plain wrong. I am going ahead with my life, making plans for the future and remaining as energetic as I can be right now in the face of all this darkness. I hope you can keep your head above water too. I miss you.  Love,Jody

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • Sweet Jody. Yes, I’m doing much the same…at least as much as my currently chaotic life allows. The bike and the camera help keep me…well, sane is probably asking too much. But I’m coping and still managing to have as much fun as possible. You know me.

      And I miss you too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  4. My dear blogger friend … I exactly know the feeling!!! I still blog some but kinda superficial things. I have no energy or drive. I’m exhaustipated!!!

    I do reblog important blogs … like this one!! Thanks for sharing!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  5. Pingback: Dear Greg … “You’re echoing the sentiments of so many of us!” | It Is What It Is

  6. I used to think that hope was a trickster, last to emerge from Pandora’s box because it was simply slower than the other ills of the world to have it’s effect.

    But that was hope as a noun.

    As a verb, hope is what sustains us while we work toward the ideals it shows up. True, we’ll never reach the perfection, not least because one person’s idea of perfection is different from another person’s, but it’s a goal.

    Right now, my hope is ready to pop into a thermos bottle of protection so it won’t just die when the next tsunami of shit hits; or, more accurately, when the next wave raises the shit level again. I suspect it would survive anyway, maybe better, if I just leave it freefloating but right now it seems there’s nothing else that I can effectively do other than protect it and maybe share it when I can.

    I’m not sure why this is my comment, but if you would like a more articulate description of the role of hope in a land of despair try googling “Nick Cave on hope”.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Brother, hope IS a trickster. But sometimes tricksters come across for us. I haven’t given in to despair. In fact, I suck at despair. I can manage despair for an hour or two, but I just can’t sustain it.

      It’s that trickster at work, isn’t it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  9. Pingback: JSP Visual Week In Review ~ 05.24.25 | JerseyStyle Photography

  10. I am kept semi-sane from the knowledge that people I respect, including you and those responding to this post are all floundering in a sea of trump-shit. I am not alone. My camera, my pickleball and my marching in the streets helps. I can’t just not do anything and hope it will go away. Keep blogging us….it helps:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

Leave a reply to MDavis Cancel reply