In the days before the election.

November 1, 2020

This is a Facebook post I was motivated to write to address the anxiety, fear and hopelessness I was seeing on social media, and in real life. I share it for history to capture the direness of what our nation was feeling in the days leading up to the election. The link to this post is here: https://www.facebook.com/1386931613/posts/10224068371322198/?d=n

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I stopped off to get coffee at a local joint this morning, and several people asked me about the race, and to everyone I said, “I think it’s going to be a blowout,” and without exception, in eyes full of exhaustion for not having slept, they looked at me and said, for who?

I have never seen anything like this, what Trump has done to our collective psyche. I think somehow documenting him for 4 years, 7 days a week, I have become inured to his techniques. It bounces off me, because I can examine it analytically, and see through what he is doing, in the context of my work keeping The List.

So when you thank me for being positive, I’m really not. I’m basically a really nerdy person who is obsessed with numbers and data. All I’m doing is looking at the facts and putting them into context that is digestible. I’m shocked and horrified that I seem to be one of the few doing this. Stop and think about it: imagine if 2 days before the election, the most credible pollsters in the country gave Biden a 4–10% chance of winning. That is literally how you all are taking it in. But reality is the mirror opposite. And you’re not alone, this is happening in all parts of my life people feeling what they think is PTSD from 2016, but it’s more than that: it’s the impact of 4 years of Trump.

The best laywoman explanation I saw of this was by Aesha Adams-Roberts, PhD who is a relationship expert & love coach. She wrote as a comment: “this happens to abused people, especially narcissistic abuse. You kind of give in and dissociate because you’re exhausted from resisting,” and compared what I am doing to being your girlfriend helping you get out of an abusive relationship. Those who are my friends in real life, know that is who I am there too, but here I am just being nerdy Amy. Telling you reality. But understand you are in a place — in an abusive relationship not able to take it in.

Hope this sheds some light. But the goal should be the same and that is to maximize turnout. Biden’s national lead is a once in a generation opportunity. If we capitalize and maximize it we can win up and down the ballot. Let’s do this together. Put away fear and spend the next two days volunteering to get out every last vote. Save America.

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