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AdviceHey, Bonita!

How Do I Fight Trump Fatigue?

I am experiencing Trump fatigue. I want to stay informed when it comes to the moral atrocities being committed by our president, in order to know how specifically to focus my energy and resources in response, but I am tired of seeing dude’s face every time I flip on the TV or scroll through social media. How can I take a break from the news cycle while continuing to actively resist? Your advice is yugely appreciated.

I can relate. I’ve made attempts to keep Trump out of my social media feeds and general conversation, too, because, plain and simple, it can be very upsetting and even triggering to read some of these headlines. How can a member of the LGBT community even stand to open their Twitter accounts nowadays? Or a person of color?

Trump is making decisions that are destroying families and ruining lives. I’m for-real worried for the Muslim members of my family while he’s in office, as well as the communities of undocumented immigrants that keep many blue-collar industries moving in our state. I’m worried for myself, a queer woman of color, and the fact that it’s becoming more and more acceptable to openly hate the people of any demographic to which I belong. I am well aware that my body is a threat to some people, and those people have a lot of power in this country right now. This is not a joke.

Trump-related news is an assault on our very existence half the time. If he’s not refusing to condemn neo-Nazis and racists, then he’s insulting female journalists and stereotyping entire groups of American citizens. Consuming the news at full blast is an all-around bummer for those of us who either differ from the status quo, or have hearts. Imagine my horror/panic when an ex-hole of mine rolled up to the bar where I wanted to sit quietly and write to you tonight. I’d rather walk over and buy that cautionary tale another round (of antibiotics) than read another Trump headline.

Have you ever heard of Black Twitter? It’s a social media movement that originated on Twitter and has grown into a mostly black community of people affecting real social change through their writings and actions on social media sites. Through Black Twitter, I’m able to see the big headlines of the day, but through the lens of people like me—feminists, brown people, activists. You need Black Twitter, or something like it, in your life. It’s a much warmer feeling than reading a stark headline blandly informing me of another atrocity.

What’s your political angle? Find some good sources that appeal to you. Intersectional feminists could start with Black Girl Dangerous, and people who want humor alongside relevant headlines and social justice might like VerySmartBrothas. I was able to plug into Black Twitter by just following the right people and organizations, and eventually those blogs came across my feed.

I guess I’m really suggesting that you follow my lead and surround yourself with like-minded individuals and alternative news sources. Trump generates scores of headlines every day, and I realized I was doing myself no favors by trying to keep up. Why not let my community distill all this info and communicate it to me in a way that doesn’t make me fear for my life? A person’s general state of well-being is way more important than knowing the minutiae of this dumpster-fire presidency.

Find better news sources, and stop talking to any centrist or right-wing friends of yours about politics. Save those conversations for people who are more aligned with you politically. Look at more joke blogs and meme pages, where they make the news funny. Talk to people who have your same political views, and be secure in the knowledge that you’re not being close-minded by protecting your mental health and keeping your stress level as low as possible.

Let your community be your filter, and you’ll still get tips on how to fight the good fight. You don’t have to inflict the worst upon yourself to be on the right side of history.

Need advice? Email advice@flagpole.com, use our anonymous form, or find Bonita on Twitter: @flagpolebonita.

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