I have been crying and throwing up since last night.

I can't stop. My eyes are swollen, my stomach hurts, and my heart aches. I had a friend, 19 years old, who made me promise him before he was deployed to Iraq that I would do everything I could to make sure Bush was not re-elected. He was killed a few weeks later. I let him down. I let myself down. I am just 21 and am facing the sickening realization that my future daughters won't have the same rights I have. I probably will never be able to afford my own house, even if I can afford to keep paying my increased tuition. My boyfriend of 4 years will probably be sent to Iraq (or Iran, or Syria, or North Korea, or God knows where else). I let my friend down and I let down all the troops who deserve better. I let down myself and my generation - I should have done more.

I don't think I will ever get over this. I stayed home today, but I don't feel like going back to school tomorrow or even getting out of bed longer than to write this.

I just don't know what to do.

Friesan, this needs to be in the "Help and Support" forum.

I'm really sorry. That's horrible. All I can tell you is that we're still fighting, and that this isn't your fault at all.

Your friend would want you to keep fighting, I know.

Listen to BGL...those are the right words for the right moment.

Please Please try to ease your mind over this. You didn't fail..the rest of this god forsake country failed. There are still MILLIONS of us who know what's right and who are determined to NEVER BACK DOWN..we certainly WON'T FORGET. And we love you and your family...

You are not alone. Keep posting in here as needed. We'll get over this shock and try to make sense out of our present reality.

I'm so sorry about your 19 year old friend. He wouldn't want you to fold up......keep fighting. Go to some peaceful place and remember him, then get up angry and let's rock this place.

All my love and empathy :hug: SB

I have been physically ill since last night. Last night I was unconsolable. This morning I haven't cried but have been nauseated and vomiting. This has never happened to me before.

change takes a little longer than we like. Maybe we have to do it one person at a time. Pretty soon, it spreads. The coming problems we face will become apparent to people in time. But you did what it takes. You took that step. We all thank you.

I wish I had something positive to say...

Not bad considering in was in ruins after WWII.

and again this afternoon. But I cannot really discuss anything with anyone without bursting into tears. Went to a concert at a church Monday where there was one bomb damaged collonade that had a plaque affixed to it that said "A Warning to the Living." I walk through my neighborhood which was BOMBED TO SHIT by the Amis and Brits in WWII and note the buildings that survived. There are plaques in the sidewalks all over the city with the names of those who lived on that particular street who were deported to their deaths. It was enough then. What is NOT to get now?

did everything we could to defeat Shrub. Please know that. You're not alone. I didn't go into work today; I was too upset myself.

We fought for Senator Kerry and he fought as hard as he could. He is a statesman and a gentleman and I have never been more proud to support any candidate (including my beloved General Clark). This is heartbreaking and gut wrenching.

The sight of * Bush on TV is vomit inducing. He sickens me.

Please don't beat yourself up over this. Most of it was out of our hands.

Some of it has to do with 5 days now with little to no sleep. We worked so HARD here in PA. I have to go in tomorrow to help clean out the campaign office. There were so many incredible people who poured their entire being into this campaign. I am sure that we will have another good cry tomorrow, but then we have to move forward and start planning for the next battle.

No respite, no retreat. We will dog Bush and expose him and his followers. We will make the vast right-wing conspiracy look like child's play.

Please don't be so hard on yourself! You won't be any good to yourself nor anyone else if your health suffers from this. I am sure your friend wouldn't want you to suffer because some in this Country are incapable of thinking of anything but their own self interests. You are among friends here. We are all feeling sick and numb and angry, lots of emotions and difficult to deal with. Please take care of yourself! :hug:

Hang in there!

-----------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT! Take this country back one town and state at a time!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

I've never felt such excrutiating physical/emotional pain before. Or if I did, I suppressed it and it's all coming out now. I can't eat or I'll puke. I can't even drink.

I feel like I didn't do enough, also. Now I feel like I have no purpose, but I know I must, or I will just give up.

Stay with us.

but don't let karl rove's theft of this election send you spiraling downward.. if anything use this energy and start thinking how we democrats can use their tactics against them. we must not let this get us to discouraged. you are young and must think of ways to get our country back from these thugs and scoundrels. you have not let anyone down, they had this election rigged. find ways to keep the voting machines from being used, contact your politicians when they go against the peoples will, etc..... do positive action. cry if you must then get over it. cause we must not let them ever win again.....

indicates to me what a true DIAMOND you are. (((:hug:))) Forget "shoulda, woulda, coulda" those things are ALL in the PAST. I hold you in my arms, next to my heart, we cry together tonight, then tomorrow we decide WHERE WE GO FROM HERE. And if we need another day, that's OK too.
MUCH LOVE TO YOU, Friesianrider. :loveya:

This is undoubtedly the worst that I have felt since my family crisis last year (too complicated to go into - I found out I was being used, robbed and vandalized maliciously by two people I loved and trusted and it violently exploded from there). It's a similar feeling of betrayal, manifested in the American people.

This hasn't been as personally tragic for me, but on top of other stressors in my life it has been devastating. I've been on the phone with my best friend and my sister and brother for hours, wearing the same clothes I wore and slept in yesterday.

Tomorrow, I have to go to my American Presidency class and face the Hitler Youth (College Repubs), which before this literally used to be the highlight of my day. What am I going to say...?

But Friesian, I do promise you that with time, and hopefully staying away from the television, we will feel better about this eventually. Right now it is all black, but the fight will be back in us.

we're not done with these jerks. you haven't let anyone down. W let them down. it will take time, but you've got to keep your chin up!!!

A little advice from a older DU'er
Your young, you worlds just starting. Mine started in 69, US ARMY 69-72.
You will survive.
Your friend is a hero, I'm sorry for your loss, don't become another casualties of this world and it's wars.

Sometimes I feel I could have done more. Brought up politics more instead of just shutting up like people told me to. Gone to a meetup. Anything that would help John Kerry win. Not just because Bush is awful, but I truly believe that Kerry is a good man. Now I am excited for the 2006 Congressional races, because I will be able to vote then (I'm going to register on my 18th birthday) I'm going to do my best to make sure that those idiots in office can't make things any more worse than they already are.

I'm going to do my best to make sure that those idiots in office can't make things any more worse than they already are.

Damn i love it.

I too have been crying and vomiting over these results. I can not take it.

All is not lost.

you are NOT responsible for this fiasco! You contributed as best you could. Your friend would not want you to feel this way. This fight is far from over. Take a break, breathe deeply, be kind to yourself then come back to us. We need you...you are our future! :hug:

Jenn

Making yourself sick isn't going to help. This is dark, but it's not the end of the road. This country has come back from facism before, and we will do it again. The Repukes are going to mess up so badly in the next few months, let alone the next few years.

And take comfort in the fact that Democrats are now free. It's not our responsibility, we don't have to take the blame for anything. EVERYTHING that goes wrong is Repuke's fault. EVERYTHING. And we will be shouting it from the rooftops.

I've faced down and survived quite a few devastating crises in my life, including being robbed at gunpoint, and losing a child. :)

Firstly - the feelings you're experiencing right now will pass. It may take a few days, but you will begin to feel right again. This is shock, despair and betrayal making you sick now. It's good to go ahead and express those feelings, rather than trying to hide them.

The fact that you're feeling guilty only shows that you are a compassionate and caring person. You aren't just looking out for yourself. You had a personal emotional commitment to the Kerry campaign, and you gave it everything you had.

Some things are simply beyond our control, and when they happen to us, we have to find a way to keep on going in spite of it. It takes readjustment and it takes time to make that readjustment.

Don't push yourself, but don't allow yourself to be dragged into a negative quagmire either, because we will need you young people! I'm sorry that we haven't been able to hand you a better world, but many of us have fought hard and long to try to make it a better world for you. All we can do is continue to work together for change and for that better world.

Start very small. If you're throwing up today, only take liquids in very small amounts. If that doesn't work, just take ice, to keep yourself from dehydrating. Then, in small steps, start eating again.

Don't just lie around. Even if you're crying, get up, move around your room or apartment. Keep your blood flowing. Even light exercise will release some endorphins that will begin to heal the damage that stress and shock has done to your body.

When you're able, begin to do some small, mindless tasks. Nothing huge, only things that will take a minute or two. Put a few clothes away, wipe the dust off a shelf. Tidy a corner. You'll find, as you occupy yourself, that you'll be able to do more and more. It may take a few days, but you'll get back up to speed.

Get out in the sunshine, even if it's chilly. Walk around the yard or around the block. Look at living things. If you like dogs, enjoy the dogs you see. If you have a pet, spend some time with it. If you like children, walk by a playground and enjoy their happiness. Don't let yourself dwell on a dark future - that's something for a time when you're stronger and ready to fight again.

Do some things that you love to do and haven't had time for during the campaign. Read something non-political. Pick up a project that you abandoned. You may not believe it now, but you will savor life again. It will never be the same, but it can be good again.

I promise you, your friend who died has not been let down. You are a young person to be proud of. You are the hope for the future.

With all my love from across the sea,

Expatriate

I like it!

We'll get round it a few more times too.

I see all you young people. You are always before my eyes.

It didn't happen this time, but it will.

a second term. I remember how awful it was, but I don't think it even seemed as bad as this. (There was a legend in our dorm that someone's pet dove--and I don't know why they would have a pet dove in college--beat itself to death on the bars of its cage the night Nixon beat McGovern).


I saw an historian interviewed by Judy Woodruff this afternoon. She was trying to put words in his mouth about how this is a huge mandate for Bush. He said, no it isn't, that--at 51 percent--Bush ranks in the bottom tier of presidents who've won reelection. He also pointed out that no 20th century president made it through a second term unscathed.

I'm not saying history will repeat itself, but it's something to keep in mind...Nixon won by about 500 electoral votes in 1971. Two years later he was waving bye-bye from the steps of a plane.


That may not make you feel better, and there's nothing wrong with feeling bad...this was a disaster. But remember, the worm turns. And it will.

And another thing. I would much rather be one of us--even in defeat--than one of them. Kerry fought a brave, honorable battle--and we were lucky to be a part of it. You didn't let your friend down. You honored his name by your participation.

Keep the faith.

than anyother. :-( :cry:

as to what we can accomplish, especially with so many responsibilities all ready. I'm so sorry about your friend getting killed over there. This president let him down, not you. Please take good care of yourself. We are stronger with you than without you.

Just give yourself a few days, and you'll find a constructive outlet for your emotions. Remember this: If it wasn't for all our effort, the result would have been worse. At least now we have in place a movement that can fight Bush every step of the way. Kerry won 48% of the vote. That's a lot of people. You let no one down, but the people who did not vote or voted for Bush let your friend down.

This was truly fitting and the sign of how I feel and many of you must feel.

My four year old is already a political junkie. He went canvassing with me for Kerry and went on a long bus trip to see Kerry with me. He made up songs about John Kerry and how we were helping him. I took him to an election party last night. He was so excited. He was jumping around yelling "Go Johnny Go!". That was when we thought we had a chance.

This morning at 4:30 my son woke up crying. I went to him and asked him if he had had a bad dream. He said yes. It was like a sign--this is a bad dream. And it will be his generation that will still be paying for this mistake. It breaks my heart.

start drinking this bottle of wine. I am looking at moving to Canada.



USA - A fundementalist warlike country where liberalism and homosexuals are persecuted and which steals whatever it wants at the point of a gun.

I've been crying every time I can't distract myself. We worked so hard... if this doesn't do it, what will? Mostly I'm crying for the country now... who are these people who voted for this man?