Today I went out to finish some errands and while waiting for the streetcar, I decided on the fine idea of getting fries from a po boy place. I have no business spending money on fries, but alas, I dug into the brown paper bag for some greasy fries and kept checking my iphone, not caring about the greasy smell emanating from the bag. I was reading instagram comments on President’s Obama’s White House photographer who was shading orange bastard. Here I am digging into a bag of greasy fries, laughing that some photographer is making fun of orange face in a nuanced, classy way. Some comments included, “That’s such a great way of trolling xxxx!” or “ He’s definitely part of the resistance.” People who are anti-dufus are calling themselves the resistance. Resist always, world.
I have to try harder to keep myself away from social media. It’s ruining my concentration. Since when do I watch white house briefings? But the onslaught of lies is so comical, you almost can’t believe it’s real. This guy is our fucking president. A couple of nights before, I heard a reporter say: “at this point everything the white house says should be considered propaganda, and treat it as such.”
Before I continue rambling —I’m just going to stop myself. It’s possible that I’ve been diving head first into the news of the day for one reason to be informed, but it’s turning into entertainment and outrage, which distracts me from purposeful activity. I’m suppose to be searching for a new job, but I waste time browsing twitter and listening to the radio, or worse turning on CNN. I fear any day, a reporter’s head will blow off as they try to factually disprove statements from the white house. There was a group of panelists on CNN in sheer disbelief as they tried to make sense of Flynngate, and the recent LIESSSSSS. I have to keep reminding myself news addiction is unhealthy. I should try to concentrate on myself, and find moments of peace. Still this is American’s most wretched reality show in history, and everyone is watching. A show on how we lose our humanity. The administration is selling us entertainment (everyday is a new scandal, meltdown, alternative fact or hatefest towards the media) and we continue to watch, anticipating the next disaster because the media plays into it so well and we follow along. How will it unfold? Will the U.S. survive these unjust human right violations? Will ICE raid immigrants’ homes indefinitely? Will smog, oil spills, and climate-related deaths be considered a normal occurrence?
It’s sad that even if you turn this off—so as not to carry on with the next episode— the reality of the white house will continue to exist despite watching it or not. It’s matters greatly though if you take action, but how do you stay informed without drowning in current news? I keep reminding myself, to be more selective about what I choose to worry about, and make a plan about how to counteract some of those laws and executive orders that will hurt us the most. It’s tiring and stressful to be concerned about everything, when everyday there’s something more mind-boggling than the last. People should stop paying attention to the drama, and more to policy, cabinet positions, and EOs.
My drink of choice tonight was Franziskamer Weissbier.
Portrait of June 