Posted on 11/07/2004 11:44:21 AM PST by kattracks
The day Sen. John Kerry conceded the election, Dorre Kleinman, 35, was in a horrendous mood. She was trying to get on the subway with her 1-year-old daughter, who was in a stroller."I swiped my card and signaled for the token-booth person to buzz me through the wheelchair entrance," says Kleinman, who lives in Brooklyn Heights. "He claimed I didn't swipe my card. I demanded that he let me in, and he refused, so I started screaming and yelling. Finally, just to shut me up, he let me through. As I walked by his booth, I gave him the finger and yelled, 'I bet you voted for Bush!'"
Approximately 75% of New Yorkers voted for Kerry. And since Black Tuesday, Democrats in this city have been, to say the least, collectively despondent. We're in shock. We cry sometimes. And we're seething with anger, primarily directed at those stinkin' Red Staters.
Erica Boeke, 35, is so distraught, she's thinking about dumping her Republican boyfriend, who grew up in — big gasp — Iowa and Idaho. "We were having issues about the election for months, but I thought it was just kind of a playful banter type thing," she says.
"He would taunt me about how great Bush was and how much he loved Laura Bush. I was disgusted, but thought it was something we could overcome — like Carville and Matalin or Schwarzenegger and Shriver," says Boeke, who lives in Hell's Kitchen and works in publishing. On the night of the election, we had a huge fight, and I couldn't even talk to him or look at him. Then, I came to the realization that he kind of looked like W! This is when I decided that I might not be able to get beyond this."
Are we acting irrationally? Are we overly emotional? Is it justified?
"I think many of us are pretty traumatized," says Manhattan therapist Gerri DiBenedetto. "But while it's normal to be so angry, it's not appropriate to scream at token-booth people. You're so furious you want to let it out. That's fine, but you have to do it in a much more mindful and less destructive way."
What's important to remember, she adds, is that you're not alone in your grief. That many of us have been wandering around the city in a fog, shedding some tears, ordering in Domino's Double Melt pizzas, unable to work because we spend the day furiously E-mailing anti-Bush propaganda, doing whatever it takes to make ourselves feel better.
"I cheered myself up by eating pastries and drinking caramel macchiatos," says Nina Johnson, 29. "They were only momentarily distracting, but better than sitting alone in my office and crying."
Jessica Lothstein, 25, was able to release her anger and pick up a new skill at the same time. "I learned how to sew just so that I could make a voodoo doll in the shape of Ohio," she says.
Amy Zapton, a 32-year-old Manhattanite, is also getting crafty. She recently bought two new "I voted for John Kerry" T-shirts and plans to make a pillow out of one and a shirt for her dog with the other.
DiBenedetto approves, adding that focusing on a hobby is a great way to heal — much better than obsessively watching TV and shouting profanities or throwing things at Chris Matthews and Wolf Blitzer, who we thought were our friends the last six months.
AVERTING THEIR EYES
"I feel like I've been shot," says Cecile Cross-Plummer, a 36-year-old publicist. "I'm a news junkie, but I can't watch CNN anymore. It's too much. So now I only watch the Cartoon Network, ESPN and Comedy Central."
DiBenedetto recommends turning off the TV, getting off the couch and getting some exercise, which, we all know, is a great mood enhancer.
Andrew Stone, 27, and his friend found the boccie court at his local Brooklyn bar Floyd to be a healing salve.
"Boccie is low-impact and relatively quick to master," says the magazine editor. "Plus, you can do it with one hand, while the other is securely fastened around a third or fourth beer."
On a serious note, DiBenedetto warns that boozing it up to ease the pain is not the best answer. "That's just self-destructive, and then you're letting the Republicans win," she says.
DiBenedetto also advises against getting into "political discussions" with family members with opposing views for the time being. "You can get into some really heated battles. It's healthy to protect yourself in that way."
Even if that means not talking to your relatives until the wounds begin to heal. "I'm just not going to call my grandmother," says Tracy Larson, a 30-year-old actress in Manhattan. "I'm pretty sure that she'd gloat. She gloated about the Red Sox winning. I'm hoping that Bush screws it all up before Christmas so that I can gloat."
So, when will the hurt, the heaviness and the pain end? Will we all be in a major depression for four more years? "Our bodies won't allow it," says DiBenedetto. "We'll find ways to turn the negative energy into something positive."
Heather Leo, 29, is doing just that.
"I'm going to make T-shirts that say 'Obama in 2016,'" she says, referring to the newly elected senator from Illinois, whom many regard as a rising star in the Democratic Party. "We need to start grooming that guy now!"
All Apologies
In a city where so many of us did vote for John Kerry, it's tough for New Yorkers to endure international criticism like that found on the cover of Britain's Daily Mirror, which asked "How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?"
But if you're agonizing about how the rest of the world views the President's reelection, you're not alone. And the folks at www.sorryeverybody.com are providing a handy forum for Americans who'd like to apologize for their fellow citizens.
Simply write your message to the world on a piece of paper and have someone snap a digital photo of you and your mea culpa. Then E-mail it to sorryeverybody@gmail.com. Others have already turned in the following sentiments:
"Sorry, world (we tried) — Half of America"
"Half of Ohio is really, really sorry. Don't hate us."
"49% of us still hate Bush."
And, for the true internationalists:
"Yo soy apesadumbrado, muy, muy apesadumbrado! Sono spiacente! Ik verontschuldig me!"
Isaac Guzman
Originally published on November 7, 2004
I'm always willing to drive theses poor people to the Canadian border. No takers yet.
They're all behaving like brats. These are adults? I wouldn't be surprised if they're sucking their thumbs between those pizzas they're scarfing down.
Is this anyway for adults to behave? Man, you guys are all laughing, but I find this depressing. What a bunch of wusses these "tough, streetsmart New Yorkers" are.
We're dealing with my husband's son right now. It's really sort of laughable... The son worships the earth, owls, horned toads, etc. He literally spends all his spare time reading tracts from various environmental groups and thinks we're evil conservative environmental polluters. Not to mention, we are religious.
He says Bush is the "Worst Environmental President" in the history of our country! His dad told him he's full of ^&*$#. The guy used to drive me crazy with his constant phone calls 2-3 times a day on his free cell minutes. Now it's peaceful and I'm liking it!
Please vote in this poll as to where Arafat should be buried. The moonbats are winning.
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/late.edition/
Who has a "boyfriend" at 35? :P
HA! How true!
Silly me. I just sucked it up and held steadfast that values like love and respect for family and country would ultimately triumph.
Four more years of Bush was sooooooooooooo worth the wait.
I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!!
Narcissistic animals.
Whereas WE took it like adults and put up with eight years of the Clintons. We felt disgust and revulsion, but we did not cry in our Starbuck's over it.
"Girly Men" is far too polite a term. "Shreiking, crampy, hysterical metrosexual narcissists" might be a modest start.
True. But I thought Clinton himself was something bad happening to the entire nation, and history has proven me right.
LOOKS LIKE W AND CONSERVATIVE???!!! PLEASE...SEND HIM MY WAY!!!
Why do handsome conservative men go after nuts like this? I really want to know.
Well, they are getting a big reality enema. Hopefully it'll purge some of leftism out of them. Not much hope, though.
Move or vacation in Texas. As a resident of Texas, you can bet that I have plenty of things to do here before I ever consider spending my hard earned money on people who think I am stupid, like the people of New York City think.
The majority of New Yorkers think they are intellectually superior, yet they turn their backs on those who are willing to stab them, i.e, Islam-o-nazis.
Good point. That said, I would've thought that seeing that empty skyline everyday would be enough of a reminder.
Caramel mustacchios are a sugery carmel flavored coffee that contains about 2,400 calories.
Holy carp! Ø_o
That is insane!
You are one tough cookie.
I'm just glad these folks weren't around for WWII.
They're already in Hell and are too dumb to know it. Liberalism is a cancer upon our society.
I see immaturity runs rampant amongst NY voters. It's time to pull their voting registrations--their sense of responsibility simply isn't developed enough to operate a voting booth.
Oh, what a bunch of America-loathing crybabies! Head over to Europe if you think that they are so superior!
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