Hobbies, such as photography. Which brings me to my question…

Anyone know what camera, lens and film-stock (or if digital, what settings) were used to capture that look in the screenshot posted? I love it. It’s a still from “The Mastermind” and I haven’t been able to find any technical specs on the production.

How the fuck do people don’t get radical or depressed?

Leaning into the former and channeling it into real world action with a community helps with the latter.

By royally fucking up an art heist because you’re bored?

I left the US before the current idiot’s first term and have only set foot back there twice to see family. It still bothers and depresses me.

I still vote and being a US citizen still makes my financial life pain, but it otherwise doesn’t impact me directly. I suspect most of my family is generally happy with the direction of things (though not all). That makes it worse.

By actively opposing those three things. Get involved. It is fun. Get the next mamdani elected

Well I’m about to go into an inpatient treatment center because I can’t figure it out and the voice in my head telling me to run away is starting to panic and consider other options for leaving so I’ll let you know if I figure it out while I’m there

By remembering how bad the past sucked. How much better off I am as a woman now, than at almost any time in the past - even if we are going in the wrong direction, still better off than even my mom was. My mom was alive for the integration of schools, alive when women could not open bank accounts in her state, we have made plenty of progress. Violence is less than 1/10th of what it was here when I was a kid.

Yes inequality sucks, because there are now enough resources for everyone. But it doesn’t suck like the middle ages, or the 1930s, or any time before that.

A few months ago, I was out in the front lines fighting against ICE kidnapping my neighbors and family.

A few weeks ago, I’m watching more and more socialist Democrats rise up to sit in positions of powers.

So I do get radical. I protest and make sure my voice is heard. I make sure everyone knows this is a big fucking problem. And I don’t have time to get depressed because if I’m not out there, ICE wins and kidnaps another neighbor.

By not living in the US, stopping reading American news, and focusing on improving the small slice of the world that I can.

Cannabis. Lots and lots of cannabis.

Also spending time in communities with other people targeted by the regime and organizing resistance. Those are probably more important lol

Find a supportive and fulfilling community that is trying to make things better locally. I’ve found this at my Unitarian Universalist (UU) church. UU’s don’t believe in a shared religious text, instead they have a core set of shared values. During World War 2, UUs helped Jewish people and other oppressed peoples escape the Nazis to other countries with a system of safe houses and creating travel documents. They identified safe houses with a flaming oil chalice in the window, which is now the main symbol of UUism.

My church has people who identify as atheist, Christian, several types of pagan, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, etc. We celebrate religious holidays from all of them as well as secular holidays like Trans Day of Visibility and Earth day. The focus is on being together and trying to make the world a better place. There’s active volunteer groups for hunger relief, housing support, the environment, and LGBTQ support. I also really like the music program. There’s a handy website to find a congregation near you, many stream services on Zoom so you can test them out before going in person. They can vary a lot based on the members of each congregation.

How the fuck do people don’t get radical or depressed?

That’s the fun part, we do

1. I avoid following the news and bully every right wing fascist that crosses my path.
2. I avoid following the news and bully every misogynist that crosses my path.
3. I avoid following the news and shower any marginalized person that crosses my path with love.

Bonus: I slap a “free all Palestinian prisoners” sticker onto street lamps every now and then.

Resist. Join a protest, help out with a campaign or org, pushback when you see it online. Everything, no matter how big or how small counts. It increases the net good in the world and it also helps your own mental health.

Spite, malice, alcohol and the willpower to outlive those fascist bastards. 🤷‍♀️

I’m also doing shitloads of music…