Community and love as a means of resistance. And your writing today makes me think of hypernormalisation article the Guardian published last month:
"First articulated in 2005 by scholar Alexei Yurchak to describe the civilian experience in Soviet Russia, hypernormalization describes life in a society where two main things are happening.
The first is people seeing that governing systems and institutions are broken. And the second is that, for reasons including a lack of effective leadership and an inability to imagine how to disrupt the status quo, people carry on with their lives as normal despite systemic dysfunction – give or take a heavy load of fear, dread, denial and dissociation." https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-interactive/2025/may/22/hypernormalization-dysfunction-status-quo
I’m volunteering for Mom’s Demand Action (you don’t have to be a mom). We do gun safety presentations to keep guns safe and locked away, teach teenagers what to do if they hear a friend talking about suicide, etc. If feels fruitless sometimes, but if one person locks up a gun that could be one less person who kills themself or someone else.
Argh Kelly, I’m so sorry! I hope it’s not weird - I’m not American, but as soon as I saw the news, I instantly thought of you and hoped you were okay.
As I’m not American and we’re not allowed guns in my country I really don’t know what to say to this but just that I know exactly what you mean about the whiplash and I’m also actively avoiding the news. I’m thinking of you all at this difficult time, as trite as that sounds.
But on a separate note, honeymoon planning sounds amazing-I’m a Brit, let me know if you need any recommendations or have any questions about London! I know I’m biased but actually is an amazing city!
I attended a No Kings rally on Saturday, but I was in Wisconsin for a 10k so I protested in Ashland, a port city on Lake Superior where about 200-300 people showed up, instead of in St. Paul, MN. It was really interesting… there were very few young people. I’d guess the average age was 55 or 60. It really weirded me out actually.
I had a total of one friend who attended the No Kings protest in St. Paul, who I was of course checking in on throughout the day for the reason you mentioned. She observed the same thing there—a dearth of young people.
I plan to attend all future organized anti-Trump mass protests that my schedule (and geography) allow. Me! A neurodivergent introvert! The experience filled me with hope. Even at a smaller scale protest. So much better than the panic and existential dread I feel when home alone glued to my phone. 10/10 would recommend!
Kelly, thank you so much for your bravery in writing this. I keep thinking about Margaret Atwood's words on human adaptability from The Handmaid's Tale. Not staying silent demonstrates resistance because it's a refusal to adapt in a normalisation of a "new normal" that dehumanises, terrorises, and oppresses. The human survival ability and adaptability as part of this is remarkable yet we can't let it be a tool of those who only want a select few to survive. Keep going, keep writing xx
Hey Kelly, I'm so sorry for what's happening to you and your country right now. I remember after the Bataclan attacks in Paris in november 2015, I was so fucking terrified, and I decided to confront my fear and book a ticket to spend my 30th birthday weekend with my friends in Paris just a few days afterwards. I was still terrified, but I decided to celebrate life. I hope you'll be able to find the best answer for you regarding this situation, but know that you are not alone and that sharing this is already an excellent start for finding a way out of the pit of despair. I truly hope this helps and that I have not offended you. All the best, Amandine
What you say does matter, though. You’re using your platform to respond to horrifying events with empathy, to say we need to find more common ground, not less, and to reject the normalization of political violence. Individuals do have power to influence forces that seem too big to ever shift. You’re one of the few Americans I interact with and having your perspective is very valuable to keeping some sort of mental balance while drinking from the firehouse of American doom. Thank you.
I really don’t have words. I’m a few states over in increasingly-red Ohio (though it doesn’t always feel like this in the metropolitan bubble of Columbus) and felt similarly even though I was states away. It is truly terrifying. I remember going to the protest in Columbus when Roe v Wade was overturned and seeing men sitting along the route with their guns on display, just to intimidate us. The fact that this is legal and normal is truly terrifying. As someone that has always wanted kids and is getting married in just over a month, I am starting to have serious doubts about having kids. I feel less certain every day about the future. I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you for writing about this and you’re not alone in how you are feeling. 💔
Community and love as a means of resistance. And your writing today makes me think of hypernormalisation article the Guardian published last month:
"First articulated in 2005 by scholar Alexei Yurchak to describe the civilian experience in Soviet Russia, hypernormalization describes life in a society where two main things are happening.
The first is people seeing that governing systems and institutions are broken. And the second is that, for reasons including a lack of effective leadership and an inability to imagine how to disrupt the status quo, people carry on with their lives as normal despite systemic dysfunction – give or take a heavy load of fear, dread, denial and dissociation." https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-interactive/2025/may/22/hypernormalization-dysfunction-status-quo
I’m volunteering for Mom’s Demand Action (you don’t have to be a mom). We do gun safety presentations to keep guns safe and locked away, teach teenagers what to do if they hear a friend talking about suicide, etc. If feels fruitless sometimes, but if one person locks up a gun that could be one less person who kills themself or someone else.
Argh Kelly, I’m so sorry! I hope it’s not weird - I’m not American, but as soon as I saw the news, I instantly thought of you and hoped you were okay.
As I’m not American and we’re not allowed guns in my country I really don’t know what to say to this but just that I know exactly what you mean about the whiplash and I’m also actively avoiding the news. I’m thinking of you all at this difficult time, as trite as that sounds.
But on a separate note, honeymoon planning sounds amazing-I’m a Brit, let me know if you need any recommendations or have any questions about London! I know I’m biased but actually is an amazing city!
I attended a No Kings rally on Saturday, but I was in Wisconsin for a 10k so I protested in Ashland, a port city on Lake Superior where about 200-300 people showed up, instead of in St. Paul, MN. It was really interesting… there were very few young people. I’d guess the average age was 55 or 60. It really weirded me out actually.
I had a total of one friend who attended the No Kings protest in St. Paul, who I was of course checking in on throughout the day for the reason you mentioned. She observed the same thing there—a dearth of young people.
I plan to attend all future organized anti-Trump mass protests that my schedule (and geography) allow. Me! A neurodivergent introvert! The experience filled me with hope. Even at a smaller scale protest. So much better than the panic and existential dread I feel when home alone glued to my phone. 10/10 would recommend!
Kelly, thank you so much for your bravery in writing this. I keep thinking about Margaret Atwood's words on human adaptability from The Handmaid's Tale. Not staying silent demonstrates resistance because it's a refusal to adapt in a normalisation of a "new normal" that dehumanises, terrorises, and oppresses. The human survival ability and adaptability as part of this is remarkable yet we can't let it be a tool of those who only want a select few to survive. Keep going, keep writing xx
Hey Kelly, I'm so sorry for what's happening to you and your country right now. I remember after the Bataclan attacks in Paris in november 2015, I was so fucking terrified, and I decided to confront my fear and book a ticket to spend my 30th birthday weekend with my friends in Paris just a few days afterwards. I was still terrified, but I decided to celebrate life. I hope you'll be able to find the best answer for you regarding this situation, but know that you are not alone and that sharing this is already an excellent start for finding a way out of the pit of despair. I truly hope this helps and that I have not offended you. All the best, Amandine
What you say does matter, though. You’re using your platform to respond to horrifying events with empathy, to say we need to find more common ground, not less, and to reject the normalization of political violence. Individuals do have power to influence forces that seem too big to ever shift. You’re one of the few Americans I interact with and having your perspective is very valuable to keeping some sort of mental balance while drinking from the firehouse of American doom. Thank you.
I really don’t have words. I’m a few states over in increasingly-red Ohio (though it doesn’t always feel like this in the metropolitan bubble of Columbus) and felt similarly even though I was states away. It is truly terrifying. I remember going to the protest in Columbus when Roe v Wade was overturned and seeing men sitting along the route with their guns on display, just to intimidate us. The fact that this is legal and normal is truly terrifying. As someone that has always wanted kids and is getting married in just over a month, I am starting to have serious doubts about having kids. I feel less certain every day about the future. I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you for writing about this and you’re not alone in how you are feeling. 💔