Navigating the Chaos: Trump, Covid, and the Climate Crisis in America

[Social Media]

 

The past few years have been exceptionally challenging, marked by a series of crises that have left deep scars on the collective psyche. From the Covid-19 pandemic to the political upheaval under Trump, and the looming menace of climate change, these events have profoundly disrupted our lives, leaving a sense of unease and exhaustion that permeates every aspect of our existence. This widespread psychic devastation is perhaps the most significant and least acknowledged truth of our current reality, both in the United States and beyond.

 

The Covid-19 pandemic alone was a catastrophic event that reshaped our world. It claimed millions of lives, upended economies, and forced us into prolonged isolation. Yet, when the fourth anniversary of the global coronavirus pandemic arrived, it was met with surprising silence. The trauma of Covid is unique in that while it dominated our lives, there seems to be a collective desire to forget and move on, despite the fact that the virus still lingers, continuing to cause illness and death.

 

The pandemic’s impact varied widely among individuals, depending on factors such as age, financial situation, and living conditions. For some, it meant the loss of loved ones or the threat of losing their lives as frontline workers. For others, it led to economic hardship, isolation, and a disruption of everyday social interactions. Teachers and professors frequently report that their students have not fully recovered from the abrupt shift to online learning, which often resulted in inadequate education and excessive screen time.

 

Overlaying the pandemic was the turbulent political landscape shaped by Trumpism. The four years of Trump’s presidency, followed by nearly four more years of its lingering influence, exacerbated the nation's collective stress. The administration's divisive rhetoric and actions, often marked by misinformation and blatant disregard for norms, have left many feeling bewildered and disoriented. The sense that the most powerful individuals can act with impunity has eroded trust in institutions and undermined the coherence of public discourse.

 

The corruption and blatant disregard for the rule of law exhibited by Trump and his allies have further strained the national conscience. Instances such as Justice Samuel Alito’s symbolic support for the January 6 insurrection and Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself despite clear conflicts of interest highlight a judiciary entangled in political bias. The normalization of outrageous behavior, such as Trump soliciting campaign contributions from fossil fuel executives in exchange for policy favors, underscores a troubling shift in societal standards.

 

Amidst this political turmoil, the climate crisis looms as an ever-present threat. For those attuned to the realities of climate change, it represents a profound moral injury. The destruction of ecosystems, the extinction of species, and the pollution that kills millions annually are stark reminders of our collective failure to steward the planet. The psychological, social, and spiritual impact of witnessing such widespread environmental degradation is immense, contributing to a sense of helplessness and grief.

 

The internet, with its pervasive influence, has also played a significant role in this era of upheaval. It has fragmented our attention, undermined traditional news media, and fostered the spread of misinformation and hate. Social media platforms, designed to be addictive, have created echo chambers where misinformation flourishes and civil discourse deteriorates. This digital landscape has contributed to an epidemic of loneliness, as virtual interactions often replace more meaningful face-to-face connections.

 

In diagnosing these interconnected crises, it becomes clear that our political catastrophes are deeply entwined with personal and collective trauma. The public and private spheres are inextricably linked, with each exacerbating the other. The psychological toll of these events manifests in widespread fatigue, anxiety, and a pervasive sense of disorientation.

 

However, recognizing this intertwined impact is the first step towards healing. Acknowledging the distress we’ve endured can foster empathy and solidarity. Defending facts and truth with determination is crucial in combating misinformation and restoring trust in institutions. Addressing climate change with urgency and commitment can mitigate its devastating effects. And perhaps most importantly, reconnecting with each other in meaningful ways can help alleviate the loneliness and fragmentation that have come to define our era.

 

In this chaotic new world, kindness and solidarity are essential. Understanding that millions are grappling with similar challenges can provide a sense of shared experience and resilience. By coming together to address the root causes of our distress, we can begin to heal the wounds of the past few years and build a more compassionate and connected future.

 

Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist.

 

Credit: The Guardian 2024-06-07

 

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[Tug]

My family and I were lucky during the Covid pandemic first off we knew from the git go trump is full of it,when I saw the Chinese building hospitals in 2 weeks we started buying ppe we were living on acreage so isolation was easy,followed the science got the jabs + boosters health wise we were fine I did have a tenant pull the Covid squat that sucked cost us about 30k all told……we are still suffering under the sickness that is trump hopefully we can put that behind us on Election Day.of course everyone is concerned about Putin’s criminal war of conquest and so it goes……of course that’s just my little word peace to all don’t be a rube vote blue!!

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Social Media said:

The trauma of Covid is unique in that while it dominated our lives, there seems to be a collective desire to forget and move on, despite the fact that the virus still lingers, continuing to cause illness and death.

From governments for sure, after their disastrous policies causes so much anger against them. I'll bet they want everyone to forget lockdowns, penalising people for not taking their experimental vaccines, and destroying lives and businesses.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Social Media said:

The corruption and blatant disregard for the rule of law exhibited by Trump and his allies have further strained the national conscience. Instances such as Justice Samuel Alito’s symbolic support for the January 6 insurrection and Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself despite clear conflicts of interest highlight a judiciary entangled in political bias. The normalization of outrageous behavior, such as Trump soliciting campaign contributions from fossil fuel executives in exchange for policy favors, underscores a troubling shift in societal standards.

Translation: fighting back against the Democrat dictat.

[Tug]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Translation: fighting back against the Democrat dictat.

Ahhh okaaaa……

[nobodysfriend]

11 hours ago, Social Media said:

Amidst this political turmoil, the climate crisis looms as an ever-present threat. For those attuned to the realities of climate change, it represents a profound moral injury. The destruction of ecosystems, the extinction of species, and the pollution that kills millions annually are stark reminders of our collective failure to steward the planet. The psychological, social, and spiritual impact of witnessing such widespread environmental degradation is immense, contributing to a sense of helplessness and grief.

 

The world IS rapidly changing now .

Not only by the impacts of climate change , but on a social , humanitarian and political level as well .

Everything is connected ,every action provokes a reaction ... If this ' reaction ' is helpful or not , it leads the way to our future ...

No (re)action at all just lets the ongoing processus continue and does not help .

But whatever bla bla ... we know already that the climate change will not be stopped or reversed , the 1.5 degrees have been surpassed already , there have not been any significant efforts to stop or delay this , the consequences are clear and can not be ignored anymore .

 

 

11 hours ago, Social Media said:

In this chaotic new world, kindness and solidarity are essential. Understanding that millions are grappling with similar challenges can provide a sense of shared experience and resilience. By coming together to address the root causes of our distress, we can begin to heal the wounds of the past few years and build a more compassionate and connected future.

 

Well said .

" the root causes of our distress "

What needs to change is the System . Political , economical , social .

Thia present system only crates destruction and hatred . There is a more balanced and sustainable solution to this , but , to save our SPECIES , not our ethnicity , all people need to speak the same language ... will not happen without a catastrophic event that greatly reduces the world's population ...

 

[JCauto]

10 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

From governments for sure, after their disastrous policies causes so much anger against them. I'll bet they want everyone to forget lockdowns, penalising people for not taking their experimental vaccines, and destroying lives and businesses.

 

Well, you know who has forgotten it already? The 1.366 million people in the USA who are dead because of the botched response, the misinformation and the anti-vaxxers. Luckily the majority of those people would have voted for Trump again seeing as they listened to his advice to the point that it actually killed them. It will be even more glorious this time around that they died for nothing since the loss of those numbers will just add to the margin of victory by President Biden.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

[johng]

1 minute ago, JCauto said:

Luckily the majority of those people would have voted for Trump again seeing as they listened to his advice to the point that it actually killed them.

Complete conjecture....and who was it who initiated operation warp speed fast tracking the ever so safe and affective jabs ?

 

2 minutes ago, JCauto said:

It will be even more glorious this time around that they died for nothing

What a disgusting comment.

[johng]

11 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

From governments for sure, after their disastrous policies causes so much anger against them. I'll bet they want everyone to forget lockdowns, penalising people for not taking their experimental vaccines, and destroying lives and businesses.

 

Not only do they want/hope/think people will forget  but they also deny they where responsible for the disastrous polices  passing the buck   just following orders    and even worse than that is they say next time (disease X)  the policies should be even harsher and stricter !

[JCauto]

11 minutes ago, johng said:

Complete conjecture....and who was it who initiated operation warp speed fast tracking the ever so safe and affective jabs ?

 

What a disgusting comment.

 

Did you read the link? It was the CDC who published that. They're actually charged with that task so it's the very opposite of conjecture.

 

As to disgusting, well, I find the anti-vaxxers to be more disgusting personally, and the idiots who behaved badly caused the deaths of many people by spreading the virus to people who were trying to protect themself. Rubes who believed nonsense peddled by known grifters so highly manipulable and dangerous people, as shown when they stormed the Capitol on 6 Jan. They're no loss.

[johng]

48 minutes ago, JCauto said:

Did you read the link? It was the CDC who published that

 

The link makes no mention of Donald Trump  let alone allege that he gave his supporters advice which killed them.

 

Again who initiated the operation warp speed that lead to the super fast rollout of

"safe and effectives" ?  is that the advise you mean ?

 

53 minutes ago, JCauto said:

caused the deaths of many people by spreading the virus to people who were trying to protect themself.

 

People trying to protect themself  should have "protected themself"  everyone else should have just got on with life.

https://bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000282

 

A recent analysis of seroprevalence studies in this prevaccination era illustrates that the Infection Fatality Rate estimates in non-elderly populations were even lower than prior calculations suggested

At a global level, the prevaccination Infection Fatality Rate was 0.03% for people aged <60 years and 0.07% for people aged <70 years

For children aged 0–19 years, the Infection Fatality Rate was set at 0.0003%.

This implies that children are rarely harmed by the COVID-19 virus

 

 

55 minutes ago, JCauto said:

they stormed the Capitol on 6 Jan. They're no loss

Completely not relevant   and by the way the police let the protesters into the Capitol  and no police officers  or anyone else where killed by the gunless insurgent insurrectionists   Jeezzz

 

P.S  still no clues who planted the 2 pipe bombs on that day near to RNC ,DNC offices.

 

PPS  Biden is a war mongering  genocide supporter  who should also be prosecuted except that

due to his age and cognitive state the prosecutor won't...

[scorecard]

13 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

From governments for sure, after their disastrous policies causes so much anger against them. I'll bet they want everyone to forget lockdowns, penalising people for not taking their experimental vaccines, and destroying lives and businesses.

There's also much evidence that vaccines and isolation saves hundreds of thousands of lives in many countries.

[charleskerins]

Biden navigated it    keeps exceeding expectations 

 

BREAKING NEWS

Hiring in the U.S. was unexpectedly strong in May, with 272,000 jobs created, reinforcing signs of the economy’s health.   NYT

[Roo Island]

17 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

From governments for sure, after their disastrous policies causes so much anger against them. I'll bet they want everyone to forget lockdowns, penalising people for not taking their experimental vaccines, and destroying lives and businesses.

Portugal did great. Why? They didn't make it political. Just about science

[JCauto]

4 hours ago, johng said:

 

The link makes no mention of Donald Trump  let alone allege that he gave his supporters advice which killed them.

 

Again who initiated the operation warp speed that lead to the super fast rollout of

"safe and effectives" ?  is that the advise you mean ?

 

 

People trying to protect themself  should have "protected themself"  everyone else should have just got on with life.

https://bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000282

 

A recent analysis of seroprevalence studies in this prevaccination era illustrates that the Infection Fatality Rate estimates in non-elderly populations were even lower than prior calculations suggested

At a global level, the prevaccination Infection Fatality Rate was 0.03% for people aged <60 years and 0.07% for people aged <70 years

For children aged 0–19 years, the Infection Fatality Rate was set at 0.0003%.

This implies that children are rarely harmed by the COVID-19 virus

 

 

Completely not relevant   and by the way the police let the protesters into the Capitol  and no police officers  or anyone else where killed by the gunless insurgent insurrectionists   Jeezzz

 

P.S  still no clues who planted the 2 pipe bombs on that day near to RNC ,DNC offices.

 

PPS  Biden is a war mongering  genocide supporter  who should also be prosecuted except that

due to his age and cognitive state the prosecutor won't...

 

The link was supporting the claim of excess deaths caused in the USA during the COVID-19 era. The statistics in your post refer to worldwide statistics, rather than USA statistics which was of course the topic of the thread.

 

I do appreciate that you posted a link to a genuine site with a proper scientific and professional basis. They didn't separate out the excess deaths by country in terms of numbers, but for example if you look at the graph in Figure 2, you can see that taking 2020-2021 the countries that exceeded the P-values are all former Eastern European countries with no G7 nor any G20 country unless you allow anyone who is an EU member to count. That's a sign of policy failure, when the country with the highest health expenditure per capita and at the center of so much medical technology and where many of the vaccines were developed that successfully saved the lives of tens of millions or more people doesn't beat a single country whom most Americans could point out on a map.

 

Not sure what that equates to in numbers of deaths and can't be bothered to do the math, but you get my drift.

 

"Police let the protesters into the Capitol" - lie, already disproven.

"No police officers or anyone else where (sic) killed by the gunless insurgent insurrectionists" - in the days and weeks after the riot, including one the day after who suffered two strokes, 5 police officers involved in the Jan 6 riots died. Gunless? Nope. Link below. Zip ties, arms caches, pipe bombs, this was a coup attempt. Over 450 already convicted, over 780 guilty pleas, your Dear Leader has pied pipered practically all of his dubious "best people" into the Justice system due to habitual law-breaking as taught to him at the foot of Roy Cohn. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-deaths.html

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/capitol-rioter-armed-gun-jan-6-found-guilty-charges-rcna80387

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/3-years-jan-6-numbers-1200-charged-460/story?id=106140326

 

The list of US Presidents who are war mongering is long and by no means exclusive to one side of the aisle or the other. The characterization of the Israel-Hamas conflict as "genocide" makes the term meaningless if true. Which of course is one of the goals of the massive misinformation campaign that you have fallen prey to. But this thread is not about that. 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

21 hours ago, JCauto said:

 

Well, you know who has forgotten it already? The 1.366 million people in the USA who are dead because of the botched response, the misinformation and the anti-vaxxers. Luckily the majority of those people would have voted for Trump again seeing as they listened to his advice to the point that it actually killed them. It will be even more glorious this time around that they died for nothing since the loss of those numbers will just add to the margin of victory by President Biden.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

Never let a chance to blame Trump go by unused.

Do you guys ever read the stuff you post?

 

Ooh, there is a drought in Africa, it must be Trump's fault.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, JCauto said:

The link was supporting the claim of excess deaths caused in the USA during the COVID-19 era. The statistics in your post refer to worldwide statistics, rather than USA statistics which was of course the topic of the thread.

What none of the posters on the anti Trump side point out is that Americans are apparently an extremely unhealthy population with an large number of obese people. IMO that is a recipe for a higher death toll than a less fat population.

[nauseus]

18 hours ago, charleskerins said:

Biden navigated it    keeps exceeding expectations 

 

BREAKING NEWS

Hiring in the U.S. was unexpectedly strong in May, with 272,000 jobs created, reinforcing signs of the economy’s health.   NYT

 

Mainly gov, health care and leisure sectors (again). I'll wait for  the revised number.

[candide]

22 hours ago, johng said:

Complete conjecture....and who was it who initiated operation warp speed fast tracking the ever so safe and affective jabs ?

 

What a disgusting comment.

No conjecture. Republicans died more than Democrats from Covid after the vaccine was available, because a lower percentage of them got vaccinated.

 

To be honest, Trump did not directly tell them they should not get vaccinated. He told them to do what they want, while MAGA outlets were diffusing anti-vaccine propaganda.

 

Republicans' excess death rate spiked after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, a study says

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1189939229/covid-deaths-democrats-republicans-gap-study

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-in-republican-counties-have-higher-death-rates-than-those-in-democratic-counties/

[nauseus]

 

This is not world news. It's just a biased opinion piece from a confirmed anti Trump nit, called Solnit. 

[charleskerins]

5 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

Mainly gov, health care and leisure sectors (again). I'll wait for  the revised number.

Did you get the revised numbers on jobs during DT's regime?      Negative

[charleskerins]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Never let a chance to blame Trump go by unused.

Do you guys ever read the stuff you post?

 

Ooh, there is a drought in Africa, it must be Trump's fault.

 

time for a nap you're getting cranky

[charleskerins]

20 hours ago, JCauto said:

 

The link was supporting the claim of excess deaths caused in the USA during the COVID-19 era. The statistics in your post refer to worldwide statistics, rather than USA statistics which was of course the topic of the thread.

 

I do appreciate that you posted a link to a genuine site with a proper scientific and professional basis. They didn't separate out the excess deaths by country in terms of numbers, but for example if you look at the graph in Figure 2, you can see that taking 2020-2021 the countries that exceeded the P-values are all former Eastern European countries with no G7 nor any G20 country unless you allow anyone who is an EU member to count. That's a sign of policy failure, when the country with the highest health expenditure per capita and at the center of so much medical technology and where many of the vaccines were developed that successfully saved the lives of tens of millions or more people doesn't beat a single country whom most Americans could point out on a map.

 

Not sure what that equates to in numbers of deaths and can't be bothered to do the math, but you get my drift.

 

"Police let the protesters into the Capitol" - lie, already disproven.

"No police officers or anyone else where (sic) killed by the gunless insurgent insurrectionists" - in the days and weeks after the riot, including one the day after who suffered two strokes, 5 police officers involved in the Jan 6 riots died. Gunless? Nope. Link below. Zip ties, arms caches, pipe bombs, this was a coup attempt. Over 450 already convicted, over 780 guilty pleas, your Dear Leader has pied pipered practically all of his dubious "best people" into the Justice system due to habitual law-breaking as taught to him at the foot of Roy Cohn. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-deaths.html

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/capitol-rioter-armed-gun-jan-6-found-guilty-charges-rcna80387

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/3-years-jan-6-numbers-1200-charged-460/story?id=106140326

 

The list of US Presidents who are war mongering is long and by no means exclusive to one side of the aisle or the other. The characterization of the Israel-Hamas conflict as "genocide" makes the term meaningless if true. Which of course is one of the goals of the massive misinformation campaign that you have fallen prey to. But this thread is not about that. 

 

you can always tell a non right winger    they are intelligent

[nauseus]

3 minutes ago, charleskerins said:

Did you get the revised numbers on jobs during DT's regime?      Negative

 

No need.

[nauseus]

2 minutes ago, charleskerins said:

you can always tell a non right winger    they are intelligent

 

in their own minds

[Tug]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What none of the posters on the anti Trump side point out is that Americans are apparently an extremely unhealthy population with a large number of obese people. IMO that is a recipe for a higher death toll than a less fat population.

 I read your post then just think of the refrigerated semi truck trailers parked in rows outside hospitals to handle the over flow of DEAD AMERICANS and you say it’s all an attack on your beloved orange felon…….i doubt you have the capacity to understand how deeply offensive that is you sir are one sad case…..

[riclag]

Good timing on the  introduction  of another Trump hit piece, I think from

the usual suspects!

 

Trump gaining support from his dem conviction trial , while the Gop gets to reinvent A cover up news story that was suppressed 4 years ago by the bidens,msm,dems , intel , facebook, twitter  .

 

naseus:This is not world news. It's just a biased opinion piece from a confirmed anti Trump nit, called Solnit

 

 

[charleskerins]

1 hour ago, nauseus said:

 

in their own minds

Statistically speaking

[charleskerins]

46 minutes ago, riclag said:

Good timing on the  introduction  of another Trump hit piece, I think from

the usual suspects!

 

Trump gaining support from his dem conviction trial , while the Gop gets to reinvent A cover up news story that was suppressed 4 years ago by the bidens,msm,dems , intel , facebook, twitter  .

 

naseus:This is not world news. It's just a biased opinion piece from a confirmed anti Trump nit, called Solnit

 

 

no cover up news story you're easy prey for propaganda

[RocketDog]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:06 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

What none of the posters on the anti Trump side point out is that Americans are apparently an extremely unhealthy population with an large number of obese people. IMO that is a recipe for a higher death toll than a less fat population.

And your cherished leader is the poster child for obesity.

I can only hope the burgers and fries finally do their job.