Life of Wry

Went to Matt’s book signing tonight. Got his book. Got it signed. Just the way it’s supposed to go.

Here’s Matt reading excerpts:

This is the book:

Anxious to read it. About a year ago, I’d read a handful of chapters from an early draft he’d posted on an author’s website for input. I understand this final version represents many additional polishings.

Here’s the back cover:

Matt signed my book: “To my most favorite reader!”

How nice!

Two take aways from tonight:

1. I wanna write a book
2. Get recipe for those green olive-stuffed cheese biscuits.

It was a bit of a momentous project day. I didn’t really realize how much so until I finished this one thing that’s been on my list for a very long time.

The two sentence backstory is this: I save, cull, sort, and binderize Peter’s school work. Have done it since day care days.

I was actually a year behind, so 11th and 12th grade were both on the list.  AND… today I finished those. Here they are on the shelves..

And here’s the shelf below, which dates back to kindergarten…

… and I also have preschool, daycare and even a box of birth stuff.

Below this shelf are large portfolios full of the best of Peter’s art.

Here’s what the inside of a binder looks like:

You are reading the comments of someone very pleased that this project can be checked off the list! It’s one of the more tedious things I’ve ever done as a hyper-documenting, obsessive-compulsive mom. And I’ve done some pretty hyper-documenting, obsessive-compulsive things, let me tell you.

Here’s what makes it worthwhile: 1) the binders contain a lot–though not ALL– of Peter’s work over the years so when/if he looks through all this stuff years from now, he’ll have a pretty good sense of the academic side of his school life; 2) it was tedious and time consuming, but it’s done; and 3) Peter actually really appreciates it (he’s looked through a few of the binders over the years when he needed some info). He told me college will be a lot easier to do (!), to which I replied, “dude…” (though, if he really wants me to, I’ll probably do it).

If you saw the condition of the raw material, you’d be a lot more impressed!

But here’s the thing: this represents a phenomenal body of work. HIS, not mine! From pre-school to 12th grade…it is a LOT of learning. The distance these kids travel from their earliest efforts to draw a stick figure or form the letter A, to solving a problem in AP physics or composing an inspiring, well-crafted college essay… is so mind blowing.

And the journey is pretty much all contained on those two shelves.

Anyway… one day I imagine it’ll all be recycled, or perhaps he’ll recycle most, but keep a few of his favorite things, who knows. It’ll totally be his choice…. I did this part… the rest is his.

And now, cuz I’m singing it…..

Gonna take a sentimental journey
Gonna set my heart at ease
Gonna make a sentimental journey
To renew old memories

I got my bag, i got my reservation
Spent each dime i could afford
Like a child in wild anticipation
I long to hear that: “all aboard!”

Seven, that’s the time we leave – at seven
I’ll be waiting up for heaven
Counting every mile of railroad track – that moves me back

I never though my heart could be so yearny
Why did i decide to roam
Gotta take a sentimental journey
Sentimental journey home

Written by Benjamin Homer, Bud Green, Jacques (f) Plante, Les Brown • Copyright © The Songwriters Guild Of America, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

We’ve given to organizations fighting for common sense gun laws for years and years. I’ve been a member of the ACLU since 1989. We’re longtime members of NPR. We’ve given on and off to the Sierra Club and Planned Parenthood.

That’s just a quick inventory off the top of my head..  there are many more.

But thanks to our new President, sensible gun laws, civil liberties, a free and open press, the environment and women’s rights are all at serious risk.

So in addition to the above, today we made a donation to ProPublica — journalism and investigative reporting in the public interest (Pulitzer Prizes in 2010, 2011, 2016)….

And to the Natural Resources Defense Council….

There will be work to do, as well, but donating money is a good place to start.

You thought the news couldn’t get worse?

My favorite little candy indulgence, Gustaf’s Double Salt Licorice…

… is not available at Newsbeat anymore. In fact the funny fellow behind the counter told me that it is not available anywhere in California because it was found to contain lead in a quantity of parts per million that exceeded some allowable, safe standard.

I’m like wha….?

(I love saying, “I’m like wha….?” )

I did a little research and found this to be absolutely TRUE. Traces of lead were found in certain kinds of licorice. As a result, there’s a ban in California. Not other states.. but health-minded California, yes.

If desperate, I could get it on Amazon… but who wants to eat lead?

Here’s how Amazon deals with the FDA warning. You have to click on the California residents link to get the full Prop 65 warning.

And I have to say, I’m pretty glad for two things:  1) a proposition system that lead to the codification of a brand new 2) regulation, a regulation designed to protect consumers.

So there. Two annoying things…  but things, nonetheless, there for our benefit.

I learned a whole new skill last Saturday.

Thanks to Wes who organized, and the UC Davis’ Confucius Institute, a group of us got together at Wes and Margie’s house and learned the art of bao making. The institute is a partnership between UCD and Jiangnan University in China and their purpose is to promote understanding of Chinese food and beverages. They have a community service component, so, Saturday, we got to be that community. Staff and volunteers from the institute came by and basically walked us through the entire, fairly involved, process.

Here are four of the five who served as our instructors, lecturers and coaches:

The prep involved a TON of chopping (mushrooms, bamboo shoots, chicken, green onions, ginger, etc) and measuring/mixing (broths, oils, soy sauce, sugar, sherry, seasonings, etc).. chicken had to be boiled, egg had to be scrambled, pepper ground… and of course dough made.

The dough also had to rise, which gave us time for a very interesting talk on the history of baos, the customs around their consumption, etc.

After a couple-three hours, it was time to actually construct the baos… which, actually, is where the real art is. The dough was rolled into tubes, and cut into pieces about the size of jumbo marshmallows. We learned how to roll those into small pancakes then stuff and seal them.

Our novice group formed a few dozen baos, awkwardly, then we were shooed away and the experts finished the remaining zillions.

This is a tray of baos prepared by our instructors.  I’d wandered back into the kitchen hell bent on perfecting my technique. I didn’t perfect anything, as you can see….

Definitely not as easy as it looks.

After rising again, they were then steamed for 12-15 minutes. This steaming process is also a complex undertaking, one they didn’t put in our hands. But we did get to sample the final product and they tasted fantastic. The dough is more bread-like than I expected, which gave them an unexpectedly wonderful texture.

Different parts of China have different customs around the preparation, as well as the ingredients, how/when they’re eaten, etc. It was all fascinating.

Turned out to be a really worthwhile way to spend an afternoon.

Photos courtesy of Wes.

How’s about some pretty fall foliage? These were taken from our relatively early morning walk to Farmer’s Market yesterday, but could easily have been from today’s early morning walk to brunch. So I’m sharing them…

Russell Boulevard, between A and B..

Walking south on University Ave…

The market yesterday was super sparkly and bright… not to mention unseasonably warm (70s again)…

I got a new thing… it’s mocha and chocolate on the inside, cocoa and sugar artfully applied to the outside, and so, so, SO good (though I felt a wee bit sick a little later… too much sugary, fat goodness on a Saturday morning…not to say I won’t buy it again).

And absolutely NO SYMBOLISM here… even though my blog’s title suggests otherwise.

Though… heck… why don’t we look at it symbolically anyway… my nod to trying to move forward in these pukily horrible times:

The other thing I find enormously helpful in troubled times: look at the sky. Just do it. Look up, clear your head, take in the moment. Don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow or Trump. Just the beautiful sky, as viewed from our miracle of a planet, at this precious moment in time.

Da balm.

There are rallies, demonstrations, marches and vigils happening all over the country. Day four of them, in fact. Some are angry anti-Trump rallies, some are peaceful gatherings of people in pain. Some are violent, some are tear-filled. Some are a combo.

So people are showing up in solidarity to say not all of us feel the way our new president does.

Tonight, Davis held a candlelight vigil, “Holding the Light.” The crowd was estimated at over 700 people. It was 100% about love and support for people, groups and issues trashed by Trump and his supporters during his nasty, hate-filled campaign. Trump is now our president, which, in the eyes and hearts of those targeted, is a very scary reality. One thing is clear: Trump’s election has created a lot of unrest. His dangerous, careless campaign rhetoric has lead to a lot of fear and tension among numerous now-vulnerable communities. Thankful I live in a community that cares about all of its residents. So grateful for our city leaders for their courage and humanity.

People showed up to say not all of us feel the way our new president does. I was so glad to have a place to go to hang with others who are feeling the same way.

I don’t recall Trump’s name coming up more than a couple of times last night.. as in, this was not an anti-Trump rally. His hateful rhetoric was the subject. Davis’ response: we denounce the hateful rhetoric; we stand by all of our brothers and sisters; we offer, in Davis, a safe refuge for people; we will resist any move by the Trump administration that goes against our values as a community.

It was that last one that was particularly extraordinary. We will resist!

This resist movement (#resist), seems to be getting some legs. I’m wondering if it shows up as blatantly anywhere else in US presidential election history. Not to say there haven’t been unhappy campers following ANY presidential election in our 240-year history, but for high ranking officials across the land–some of the highest–to actively draw a line in the sand and threaten, you cross this line: we will resist your authority... has that happened?

It’s one thing to disagree politically with the party in power but yet accept and respect their authority. It is another altogether to say:  If you, Mr. President, put our country, its people, our principles and our planet at risk.. we will not compromise. We will resist.

It helps to have the rest of the free and sane world on our side. Not to mention weird (weird that it’s come down to Humanity V. Trump (choke, gag, our new president).

Governor Brown’s statement:

Today we saw the beginning of the transfer of power to the President-elect.

While the prerogatives of victory are clear, so also are the responsibilities to ensure a strong and unified America. As President Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ With the deep divisions in our country, it is incumbent on all of us – especially the new leadership in Washington – to take steps that heal those divisions, not deepen them. In California, we will do our part to find common ground whenever possible.

But as Californians, we will also stay true to our basic principles. We will protect the precious rights of our people and continue to confront the existential threat of our time – devastating climate change.

E PLURIBUS UNUM.
 

The California legislature’s statement:

Today, we woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land, because yesterday Americans expressed their views on a pluralistic and democratic society that are clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California.

We have never been more proud to be Californians.

By a margin in the millions, Californians overwhelmingly rejected politics fueled by resentment, bigotry, and misogyny.

The largest state of the union and the strongest driver of our nation’s economy has shown it has its surest conscience as well.

California is – and must always be – a refuge of justice and opportunity for people of all walks, talks, ages and aspirations – regardless of how you look, where you live, what language you speak, or who you love. 

California has long set an example for other states to follow. And California will defend its people and our progress. We are not going to allow one election to reverse generations of progress at the height of our historic diversity, scientific advancement, economic output, and sense of global responsibility.

We will be reaching out to federal, state and local officials to evaluate how a Trump Presidency will potentially impact federal funding of ongoing state programs, job-creating investments reliant on foreign trade, and federal enforcement of laws affecting the rights of people living in our state. We will maximize the time during the presidential transition to defend our accomplishments using every tool at our disposal.

While Donald Trump may have won the presidency, he hasn’t changed our values. America is greater than any one man or party. We will not be dragged back into the past. We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution.

California was not a part of this nation when its history began, but we are clearly now the keeper of its future.

Sigh. So we stand up and fight for justice in an uncertain time. We wear our safety pins in solidarity, reach out to those who are members of now-vulnerable groups; support and join organizations that are already fighting the good fight; stay vigilant, educated and engaged; call out injustice when we see it… and, when time, vote to turn things around.

A couple of photos:

This was taken at Farmer’s Market this morning…

And this at the vigil tonight…

I found this one on Facebook, taken by Amanda… it’s got me in it…

And this is why I love my community.

Whoa, it looks like they gave the Donald back his Twitter account.

[In case I forget when reading back on my blog years from now, this is what happened: Trump campaign officials, in the crucial final days before the election, forbade Donald from using his Twitter account because, well, his tweets had become a campaign liability and were damaging his chances of winning. This prompted Obama, who was out on the campaign trail himself, stumping for Hillary, to say something like, “…campaign aides have taken away Donald’s Twitter. In the last two days, they had so little confidence in his self-control, they said ‘We’re just gonna take away your Twitter.’ Now, if somebody can’t handle a Twitter account, they can’t handle the nuclear codes.”]

Anyway, now that the campaign’s over, they’re feeling a little bit more relaxed and don’t really care if he sticks his big ol’ foot in his mouth. Right out of the gate, he didn’t disappoint:

“Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”

The grown up in me sure hopes our new president can do better than this going forward.

Just a couple of things: Professional protesters, incited by the media? No sir, these are real human beings, your constituents, the ones you talked about bringing together in your victory speech, the ones you trashed for the last seventeen months, who feel worried about legitimate things like their futures, based on what you said you’d do if elected.

All over the country there are demonstrations against Trump. I’m glad about this because I, too, am furious and feel betrayed. I’ve ranted about this for two days. I’ll shut up.

But, kids on college campuses in particular. You have offended them, Donald. They are young, smart, and I hate to tell ya, diverse. You’ve challenged their ethnicities, their faiths, their rights to be here at all, you have challenged education, facts, science. You sound like a doofus and nobody can take you seriously.

So they’re out protesting because you have said horrible and stupid things. You have not earned their respect, you are not presidential material. You put their future at risk.  You are, apparently, not the boss of them.

Here’s a shot:

This was at UCSD on Tuesday night… Peter thought there were thousands, the San Diego Tribune said more like 500. Still, wee hours of the morning, kids poured out of the dorms and marched in anger, frustration and betrayal. People a few generations removed, stuck in some dated and dangerous paradigms, took the election away from them.

The protests occurred on campuses all over the country. I opened my window that evening and heard hundreds (thousands?) chanting “Not my president” and “F– Trump,” coming from the direction of UCD.

Here’s a letter the Janet Napolitano wrote to students at the ten University of California campuses:

President Janet Napolitano and the Chancellors of the University of California today (Nov. 9) issued the following statement:

In light of yesterday’s election results, we know there is understandable consternation and uncertainty among members of the University of California community.  The University of California is proud of being a diverse and welcoming place for students, faculty, and staff with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.  Diversity is central to our mission.  We remain absolutely committed to supporting all members of our community and adhering to UC’s Principles Against Intolerance.  As the Principles make clear, the University “strives to foster an environment in which all are included” and “all are given an equal opportunity to learn and explore.”  The University of California will continue to pursue and protect these principles now and in the future, and urges our students, faculty, staff, and all others associated with the University to do so as well.

We are proud of what the University of California stands for and hope to convey that positive message to others in our state and nation.

President Janet Napolitano                           Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks
University of California                                  University of California, Berkeley

Interim Chancellor Ralph Hexte                  Chancellor Howard Gillman
University of California, Davis                     University of California, Irvine

Chancellor Gene Block                                    Chancellor Dorothy Leland
University of California, Los Angeles         University of California, Merced

Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox                              Chancellor Pradeep Khosla
University of California, Riverside              University of California, San Diego

Chancellor Sam Hawgood                            Chancellor Henry T. Yang
University of California, San Francisco     University of California, Santa Barbara

Chancellor George R. Blumenthal
University of California, Santa Cruz

Crazy somebody had to write that letter.

So…

I’m chewing on this idea that he is not my president. 

On the one hand, I strongly support the peaceful transfer of power and believe any new president deserves the respect of the office and a chance to succeed. He hasn’t even assumed office, so I can’t say he’s not my president. He won, we lost, it’s over, let’s move on; that’s the way it works.

(Unless you’re Senate republicans and then you make it known that your one and only objective, announced proudly and publicly, is to make sure the new president does NOT succeed and you obstruct absolutely everything he tries to do for eight years to ensure his failure, then you bitterly complain and use his failures as your campaign platform.)

On the other hand, he is a very bitter pill to swallow. I might take the high road, give the dude a chance, but, damn, I hate how he got there, how he bullied and lied and threw everything I care about under the bus. And I hate everything he stands for. (No need to repeat earlier blogs.)

No, he does not represent me in any way. Further, he hurts my soul.

As New York Times columnist Charles Blow (one of my saviors during this nightmare of a campaign) said today:

It is hard to know specifically how to position yourself in a country that can elect a man with such staggering ineptitude and open animus. It makes you doubt whatever faith you had in the country itself.

Also, let me be clear: Businessman Donald Trump was a bigot. Candidate Donald Trump was a bigot. Republican nominee Donald Trump was a bigot. And I can only assume that President Donald Trump will be a bigot.

It is absolutely possible that America didn’t elect him in spite of that, but because of it. Consider that for a second. Think about what that means. This is America right now: throwing its lot in with a man who named an alt-right sympathizer as his campaign chief.

[…]

I can’t make it make sense because it doesn’t. I must sit with the absurdity of it.

I must settle this in myself in this way: I respect the presidency; I do not respect this president-elect. I cannot. Count me among the resistance.

And bigotry is just one of my many issues with this horrible human being. Is there a time when you just say no, stand up and resist? In the case of accepting or rejecting the office of the presidency itself.. I have to think about this one.

From a Facebook convo…

In solidarity with racial justice and in recognition of the fact we will never move forward as a society until we take responsibility for our history and acknowledge the existence and oppression of white privilege, we put up a new lawn sign yesterday. It was time to take down the school board and measure H signs, and put this up:

I’m inclined to leave our Clinton/Kaine sign up for a while as a wee sign that I’m having serious issues with our new president.

Woke up, checked my phone, he was still president.

I went into my office and stared at my desk… here’s what it looked like last night (well, more like 3:00am) when I finally dragged myself off to bed…

Couldn’t even finish my wine.. what had been my celebration wine. It went mostly un-drunk the whole night.

Still feel like it can’t be possible that we elected Trump to be our president. I’ve felt ill at ease all day.  At one point, just after I’d gotten off the Stairmaster (so maybe it was a rush of endorphins, but whatever).. I just fell onto my bed and sobbed. Hard, wracking sobs. It didn’t come out of nowhere, because I’d been crying on and off all morning, but the intensity was a little alarming.

I just went with it.

It was reminiscent of an experience I’d had earlier in the year. About six or eight months ago, I was riding my bike home from somewhere, and this tidal wave of a realization that Peter was soon to be moving out and going to college slammed into me. Of course his inevitable departure had been a reality for months, years (right?), and I’d certainly seen it coming and shed tears here and there between the frenzied activities of his senior year. But on this day, while innocently tooling along on my bike, I started to cry, and then sob. I could barely keep a straight line, I could barely see. But I just kept riding along, wailing like a crazy person… yeah, what a sight. And it did something.. it helped to be able to face the grief and just go with it, and then, ultimately, it just felt cleansing. I didn’t really cry much after that… a little, but nothing like that day on the bike.

So I figure the big dramatic release probably helped a little, we’ll see.

I’m looking at this intensely emotional reaction and trying to distill it down.. what is it about? Losing is hard. Losing when you totally expected to win is harder still. Losing a campaign in which you invested fully–emotionally, financially, time wise–is also so, so hard.

But that’s politics. I’ve been on the losing end of voting a lot more times than on the winning end, and hate it, but I don’t cry.

This one is different for so many reasons.

One, the man both repulses and scares me. I will never be convinced he ran for love of country. He ran for one reason only: he wanted the biggest brass ring there is, the highest prize, his name in the brightest light on earth. It’s all about the adulation, the validation. Everything he does, he does for attention and praise. He is in it for the pageantry, the pomp and protocols.

It’s a very sad commentary on who he is and the deficiencies in his life, but I’m not going there now. Suffice to say: pathetic little man child.

Two, his tactics for getting to this place were beyond the pale–so indecent, so hateful. He stoked the basest fears among his vulnerable, uneducated supporters. And he just lied over and over and over again.  He further polarized the country, playing people off one another by manufacturing convenient enemies, and created a very intentionally frothed up base, because that worked in his favor.

It also bugs me that his largest and most valuable demographic was “the uneducated white” population. It’s a segment of the country he exploited, and they didn’t care.  I mean please: “I love the uneducated.” Number one: he does not love them. Not his people. They are a means to an end. Period. And the poor uneducated whites don’t even see the slight. Number two: Really? That’s a value we want to promote?

It’s breathtaking to me the wave of anti-intellectualism that propelled his campaign. Anti-higher education, anti-science, anti -liberal elites.. as though education, facts and knowledge are bad things.

Well, the class-gap is a whole nuther complex phenomenon.. not new, fascinating, very worth exploring, but topic for another day.

Back to the profoundly unfair tactics Trump employed to rally his base:

He knew Obama was born in the United States. He knew his rhetoric would whip his base into a frenzy. He totally encouraged the dangerous mob behavior and conveniently looked away when people spoke of lynching, assassination, ethnic cleansing… while never rebuking it. He knows full well who David Duke is and gladly allowed him to mobilize white supremacists in support of his campaign.

He got to where he is on the backs of the uneducated. He used them. He used their fear.

What frustrates the holy hell out of me is that he got away with it all. AND, he can now count on the short memories of people willing to put all of that aside as politics-as-usual gamesmanship.

The reality is, he simply cannot govern the country in the same vile way in which he ran his campaign. His base wouldn’t expect him to, or even want him to. He may now rise to a more civilized discourse. He’ll just remove that ugly costume and throw it away. He got where he wanted to be, by any means necessary.  Now he’ll play president.

Soon, ensconced in the luscious elegance of the office and its institutional civilities, where people–everyone–must call him Mr. President, he’ll not just tone down the rhetoric, it will be completely gone. His frothing base just a manipulated means to an end. He’ll “look so presidential you won’t believe it” (and I won’t for a minute), and we’ll be fully in pretend land.

So that hurts like hell. The unfairness and injustice of it. I am not cut out for this level of fraud. It just shreds my soul.

THE OTHER TRAGEDY is what happened to Hillary! I am not prepared to defend all that has gone on behind the scenes over her lifetime of political public service… that is a world so complicated, so corporately corrupt and so beyond my reach, I just cannot begin to understand it.  But I will say 1) she is not alone in abusing the system for political gain, 2) she has been unfairly and relentlessly pursued for decades by Clinton haters and old white guys not comfortable with women in power, especially a Clinton woman,  3) the conspiracy theories surrounding the Clintons are legend, so he just seamlessly picked up where other fruitcake theorists left off, and 4) Trump, I’d hazard an easy guess, is monumentally more corrupt and devious, which points to yet another painful, cry and cringe-worthy irony in this whole thing. Like, for godssake people: thousands of lawsuits on the books, countless disgruntled employees and contractors, numerous bankruptcies, and, hello?, no publicly shared tax returns! You can talk to me about Hillary’s corruption after we’ve discussed the creepy, filthy, slimy world of Trump’s abuses and questionable morals and ethics…. the lawsuits, bankruptcies, tax returns, AND his numerous marriages, porn flick appearances, and pending charges of sexual abuse. And whatever else is in that dirty, disgusting, entitled past of his.

I will also say that she may have been politically devious, no doubt she was. But I am utterly certain that his corruption and financial manipulation is orders of magnitude worse. Further, his bottomless pit of questionable business practices are done to advance his personal wealth, hers have been done in the service of public programs. Hers is a lifetime of public service. His.. not so much. There is no comparison.

The irony that SHE was labeled throughout the campaign by HIM as the crooked one, and that that became her defining story, makes me sick.

And then, cruelest of all, this country elected him president while Hillary–smart, wonky, experienced and deeply prepared, a person who’s committed her entire life to public service, especially to girls and families, is bullied, humiliated, shamed and sent packing. She had the resume, she’d done her homework, she was the best candidate for the job. She earned it, and she deserved it.

Once again, the big, powerful, abusive guy prevails. The profound unfairness makes it hard to breathe.

This is why I cry.

It was the last thing I ever expected on Tuesday evening when the polls first closed on the east coast. It made for such a shocking evening, as, hour by hour, her victory started to look less certain. I felt totally, totally sick.

~~

I’ve seen people already writing about getting over it. It was election, there are always winners and losers. Move on. Give the man a chance, they say. Stop being so dramatic. Like it’s everyday a breathtakingly unqualified, bigoted, misogynist with no government experience whatsoever rises to the highest seat of power in the entire world. A position in which he is supposed to lead and represent–fairly and genuinely–the most proudly diverse country on earth.

Hell yeah, people are worried. Muslims, immigrants, african americans. And not just minority communities: people who care about women, women’s rights, climate change and the environment… people who value their health insurance.

For starters.

It is NO WONDER universities all over the country and state governments (I’ve only seen California’s so far) are issuing statements to their people to try and calm everyone the hell down and affirm their commitment to basic human rights principles and protections. They are compelled to let their students and constituents know that they will be safe and protected. I am not kidding.

Jesus Christ. When was the last presidential election in which that had to happen?  Is it not absolutely STUNNING that universities and entire state governments are even writing these things?

So no, I don’t think people’s reactions to Trump’s election are over dramatized and out of line. I think their fear and despair are warranted and understandable.  I don’t think, frankly, we’re going to chill out anytime soon. Our country just elected Donald frickin’ Trump.