I am sorry that you are having a hard time of all this. I read your thoughts and even though I am a conservative, I hear you and maybe we can start to recognized the humanity and stress in each other and others can take a moment and do the same! Kindest Regards
I always respect and appreciate your writing and whatever the core of your being that it flows from. I admire it, please keep at it and wait for a better day, it is coming.
"Last night I found myself wondering if there was anything I could have done to stop this -- personally, politically, spiritually."
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. We weren't the first, and we won't be the last. There are so many of us who saw this coming and opposed it all along, and yet we failed nonetheless. While we're still here and still able to communicate openly and freely, would it be worthwhile to use this window to look critically at what went wrong? What could we have done differently? What lessons can we draw about our failure that might help people in the future or in other countries today?
You’re right. This is gonna be ugly. There is a crazy, criminally insane narcissist in the most powerful position in the world. And that person has declared war against me and much of what I believe. With a good size chunk of the population going along with him, the odds tell us a lot of people are going to get hurt. It seems prudent to prepare for it. I’m holding on to my principles of non-violence, love, empathy and tolerance for as long as I can. I do wonder just how long I’ll be able to. We will see.
Yep. It's tough when the news every damned day makes you feel like a gnat stuck in the jello, beating its tiny wings in a futile effort to fly free. And of course all the pundits secure in their nice offices & homes giving advice on what you can do to resist, when you speculate whether you're going to be shot if you carry your No Kings sign in the next protest. But, going full Luigi is not an option. And our non-white populations have been dealing with this kind of shit for generations. So I take them as our role models now. Resisr. Persist. Take over. Keep eyes on that prize.
In the case of the shooting of Mark and Melissa Hortman and the other Democratic candidate couple John & Yvette Hoffman who were shot to death at point blank range by the Minnesota doorbell killer Vance Boelter, police have found a long list of candidates or office-holders to be killed and the targets were all big "D" Democrats:
"Boelter was a native of Minnesota and lived in Green Isle. According to CNN, he's an evangelical Christian who publicly spoke out against abortion rights and the United States' approach to sexual orientation. Boelter also was married and had several children with his wife, Jenny Boelter."
"According to CBS News, Jenny filed for divorce and filed a petition for "dissolution with child" in September 2025. The divorce came months after she released a statement through her attorney calling her estranged husband's alleged crimes a "betrayal" to their family and their faith."
That delineates a difference between those who accept Divine or Holy doctrine and those who take lives of those deemed as "Other." We should all be attentive and our schools have more than merely restoring "Civics" to the curriculum needed to help in the raising of kids properly or getting them counseling or psychological help as I was lucky to receive from a rare progressive rabbi who was school principal and had the foresight to have a grade school Psychologist on staff when I showed temper tantrums and other disruptive anti-social behavior as a 3rd Grader.
My temper hasn't gone away, however I learned early the many inter-related reasons to motivate me and useful techniques in keeping it under control. So too did my Dad. Led to way happier & longer more fulfilling family life. Surely made me a better citizen too!
I am sorry that you are having a hard time of all this. I read your thoughts and even though I am a conservative, I hear you and maybe we can start to recognized the humanity and stress in each other and others can take a moment and do the same! Kindest Regards
I always respect and appreciate your writing and whatever the core of your being that it flows from. I admire it, please keep at it and wait for a better day, it is coming.
"Last night I found myself wondering if there was anything I could have done to stop this -- personally, politically, spiritually."
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. We weren't the first, and we won't be the last. There are so many of us who saw this coming and opposed it all along, and yet we failed nonetheless. While we're still here and still able to communicate openly and freely, would it be worthwhile to use this window to look critically at what went wrong? What could we have done differently? What lessons can we draw about our failure that might help people in the future or in other countries today?
Strength and luck.
That too!
🫶🏽
Take care of yourself. Give yourself some space and time. St. Laura of not shutting the fuck up has a lot of devoted followers.
You’re right. This is gonna be ugly. There is a crazy, criminally insane narcissist in the most powerful position in the world. And that person has declared war against me and much of what I believe. With a good size chunk of the population going along with him, the odds tell us a lot of people are going to get hurt. It seems prudent to prepare for it. I’m holding on to my principles of non-violence, love, empathy and tolerance for as long as I can. I do wonder just how long I’ll be able to. We will see.
Yep. It's tough when the news every damned day makes you feel like a gnat stuck in the jello, beating its tiny wings in a futile effort to fly free. And of course all the pundits secure in their nice offices & homes giving advice on what you can do to resist, when you speculate whether you're going to be shot if you carry your No Kings sign in the next protest. But, going full Luigi is not an option. And our non-white populations have been dealing with this kind of shit for generations. So I take them as our role models now. Resisr. Persist. Take over. Keep eyes on that prize.
Hugs to you, Laura. Hugs to all of us. These are hard times indeed.
In the case of the shooting of Mark and Melissa Hortman and the other Democratic candidate couple John & Yvette Hoffman who were shot to death at point blank range by the Minnesota doorbell killer Vance Boelter, police have found a long list of candidates or office-holders to be killed and the targets were all big "D" Democrats:
https://www.distractify.com/p/who-shot-melissa-and-mark-hortman
"Boelter was a native of Minnesota and lived in Green Isle. According to CNN, he's an evangelical Christian who publicly spoke out against abortion rights and the United States' approach to sexual orientation. Boelter also was married and had several children with his wife, Jenny Boelter."
"According to CBS News, Jenny filed for divorce and filed a petition for "dissolution with child" in September 2025. The divorce came months after she released a statement through her attorney calling her estranged husband's alleged crimes a "betrayal" to their family and their faith."
That delineates a difference between those who accept Divine or Holy doctrine and those who take lives of those deemed as "Other." We should all be attentive and our schools have more than merely restoring "Civics" to the curriculum needed to help in the raising of kids properly or getting them counseling or psychological help as I was lucky to receive from a rare progressive rabbi who was school principal and had the foresight to have a grade school Psychologist on staff when I showed temper tantrums and other disruptive anti-social behavior as a 3rd Grader.
My temper hasn't gone away, however I learned early the many inter-related reasons to motivate me and useful techniques in keeping it under control. So too did my Dad. Led to way happier & longer more fulfilling family life. Surely made me a better citizen too!
Appreciatively and respectfully
to the living and the deceased
Tio Mitchito
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of A-Tone-ment Seekers)
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