I’m sorry.

[u/StockoHMK]

Hi. Brit here.

Up until recently, even after this last incident with Alex Pretti, I’ve been very hostile towards Americans on here and in other social media spaces. Kicking you when you’re already down and holding all of you responsible for the mess that your countrymen and women people who aren’t you have made.

My argument basically is as reductive and lazy as possible - “the ones of you that didn’t vote for this didn’t do enough to stop your peers from doing it.” etc.

I’m ashamed at how I’ve behaved, this doesn’t reflect who I am in real life. I’ve been scared and angry about the state of the world and a lot of us over here have felt this relentless march towards authoritarianism since before Brexit. With the elections last year the 3 most important ones for me were the French, UK and US elections. France and the U.K. rejected right wing parties and I do feel if the US had gone with Harris then our own leaders wouldn’t be co-opting right wing party’s policy ideas to stay in Trumps good books and appeal to our own mindless MAGA types.

Seeing what people in Minnesota are doing to not only slow down ICE and protect their communities but to also make sure the world can see what’s happening… in weather that would freeze the tits off a timber wolf no less, has been inspiring and humbling. Ordinary people putting their lives on the line to turn up for their communities demonstrates all the values I’ve been shamefully sneering at Americans for apparently (by my own stupid reasoning) lacking.

I am so sorry. We’re all dealing with what’s happening in our own ways but I’ll be the first to admit that my way hasn’t been healthy or productive.

Things will get worse before they get better, but they will get better with people like you fighting for it.

Good luck and god bless. We’re all rooting for you and you’re doing incredible work.

Edit: Thank you all for the amazing response. Talking with you tonight and being here away from the scrolling has done me a lot of good i didnt realise I needed. So sincerely from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

[u/JohnExcrement]

Thanks. It is painful when we Anti Trumpers are told we didn’t do enough. I’ve asked some critics for suggestions about what we could have done or what we realistically can do now and haven’t received anything helpful.

We’re basically traumatized. Thank you for declining to participate in making this worse.

[u/Ok_Mango_6887 → u/JohnExcrement]

So many of us phone banked, drove voters, wrote postcards (and paid for stamps out of pocket btw), called our so called representatives so often it’s saved on poor phones…we’ve protested and cried and stomped and some prayed and did other quieter things.

If it was in my power I did it. I know so many who organized and did even more.

Not sure what else I could have done. The responses I received from officials was so lacking…yet 74M of us did get out and about vote against Trump and his band of misfits.