Discussion USA election - a note from staff

[opheliaoveragain]

Thank you to our incredible mods for officially addressing this, inside the US or not. I have the utmost respect for you lot.

 

[ArteriesBindEveryon]

I respectfully disagree . I see it as He's got two years to totally screw everything up for so many people. And he's going to have a lot of power because he has the Senate controlled by Republicans, possibly the house since we don't know yet, and the Supreme Court filled with judges that he appointed. I am no political expert by any means, but as far as I know, Roe versus Wade being overturned was solely the result of the Supreme Court and had nothing to do with Congress.It is going to take years and years to not have a Republican majority there since they stick around forever. Yes, Congress can overturn it, but who's to say there won't be another case that the Supreme Court will hear in the future that could overturn that. And this is assuming that the Democrats actually get some power in two years. He obviously has more supporters than many of us even realized. Who's to say they won't Stop supporting him.
A lot can happen in two years. Even more in four. But I think the lasting damage and amount of suffering for individuals can last way longer.
Believe me, I wish I could be as optimistic as you.

Your feelings and worries are totally valid. To be honest, I'm coping pretty hard right now. What I'm counting on is that after Trump is gone (assuming he doesn't try for a third term) Republicans will return to sanity and stop acting like a cult. Yes it'll still be majority republican, but maybe the republicans won't be as crazy once Trump is gone. No matter what though, the damage will last over a decade. And there's no guarantees that things will improve. But we won't know for sure what will happen until time moves forward.

Just remember, things that took years, decades, even centuries to fight for, build, create, revise, etc, they can be destroyed in an instant.

And just because something was created once, doesn't mean it can ever be created again. Trans kids who are bullied -simply because their bullies have been empowered by orange man and his cronies- and kill themselves as a result will be lost forever. Now throw in trans-kids who are actively denied hormone blockers by their policies. Or young transmen who are raped by empowered assailants and get pregnant with no access the abortion.

I'm going to stop by agreeing that yes -eventually and at the macro-level- much of the damage he and his cronies will cause is likely to be undone, but just logically following the probable impacts of actions that they have repeatedly threatened to do they will absolutely continue to harm kids -kids who aren't even born yet- for their entire lives, and some of those actions will likely shorten many lives (e.g. banning vaccinations will likely cause deadly outbreaks); so in the short-term and on the individual scale, people have every right to be very concerned, especially if they've already lived with the impacts of his and his cronies' previous time in office.

You are completely right. I was speaking only in long terms because I'm trying to stay optimistic on a website where so many suicidal people gather. I just don't want anyone to CTB due to Trump before his second term even starts. I am deeply concerned for what trans people are about to go through. Some states like California and Minnesota are likely to be more welcoming, but it's completely unacceptable that many human beings will have to move states just to be treated like a normal citizen. I still hold out hope that the future will be bright, but there is no denying what will happen until that future comes. I'm not trying to say that people don't have reason to be worried, I'm just trying to say that there is reason to be hopeful too.

 

[alltoomuch2]

I might be missing something here but I am not sure this is true? At least here in the UK our main crisis line will not call anyone if you are feeling suicidal, they will just talk to you. I think the only case they would try to get someone else involved is if they thought that you were likely to harm a child or vulnerable adult.

I think we should be careful what we say about the policies of specific lines folks, and make sure we're giving accurate info & not potentially misleading anyone.

If we are dealing with people in crisis on here, it's important they get accurate info & aren't dissuaded from accessing a potentially life saving resource.

Not trying to fight with anyone here. Just thought it was something worth saying, considering the situation we are now in.

On a different note, I am also feeling terrible about what is going on right now. It's like I'm in a dream and can't really believe it is real.

Samaritans won't call anyone but all the others will, just to clarify. I've been held to ransom by SHOUT in the past for example.

Thank you to our incredible mods for officially addressing this, inside the US or not. I have the utmost respect for you lot.

They are incredibly caring aren't they, and risk a lot by moderating this site.

 

[combatcuteness]

I suspected it but now I see I was wrong. Humanity's good deeds can't make up for it's fault. Humans suck at collective thinking, hence why this species is doomed and this happened. Maybe the real problem is not the media', politician's, or the billionaire's maybe the real problem is that we're inherently asinine. and I have reasons to believe we're too asinine to fix it.

 

[Winterreise]

Remember you can neglect the community.
Drain the drinking water.
Not sorting the garbage.
You can "forget" to close what you open, causing things to be lost.
You can "misunderstand"/"misread information" , causing problems later for others.
Do as poor job as possible.
Plant misinformation on your profiles.
Dont let people comment on your page.

 

[sonny]

I strongly encourage SaSu folks to call a "warm line" instead of any "suicide hotlines" or "crisis hotlines", as the later are more likely to call authorities on callers who are deemed a possible threat to themselves.

warmlines at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

If you call from a cellphone and do not give your address, they can't send authorities.

Also, the warmlines don't have queues and rarely pick up. I've called Trans Lifeline, Thrive Lifeline and peer support life lines many times and no one has picked up.

 

[wren-briar]

If you call from a cellphone and do not give your address, they can't send authorities.

Also, the warmlines don't have queues and rarely pick up. I've called Trans Lifeline, Thrive Lifeline and peer support life lines many times and no one has picked up.

I'm disappointed to hear that you've had problems with the Lifelines and warmlines.

Thank you for sharing that and the cell phone location info!

 

[kavina]

I feel like RFK is going to completely dismantle public health and leave us all to Covid and H5N1. So anyone wanting to go, you can just let him do it for you. That's what I think is on the way.

 

[ThatStateOfMind]

Your feelings and worries are totally valid. To be honest, I'm coping pretty hard right now. What I'm counting on is that after Trump is gone (assuming he doesn't try for a third term) Republicans will return to sanity and stop acting like a cult. Yes it'll still be majority republican, but maybe the republicans won't be as crazy once Trump is gone. No matter what though, the damage will last over a decade. And there's no guarantees that things will improve. But we won't know for sure what will happen until time moves forward.

I don't know, I'm mixed on this. I think it's possible that Trump has set a new status quo for republicans. Although it could be more like Andrew Tate, where he was like a singular enigma, and everyone who tried to emulate it failed miserably. I hope it's the latter. One thing is for certain, and that is that the next 4 years will be undeniably rough.

I feel like RFK is going to completely dismantle public health and leave us all to Covid and H5N1. So anyone wanting to go, you can just let him do it for you. That's what I think is on the way.

Yeah, for sure. An anti-vaxxer for the top health position in the country is terrible for us all. He also has some controversial views like (in his own words):

"I do believe that autism does come from vaccines."

"They get the shot, that night they have a fever of 103, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone. This is a Holocaust, what this is doing to our country"

"The agency, the USDA, the FDA have been captured by the industries they're supposed to regulate, and they all have an interest in subsidies and mass poisoning the American public."

He said scientists should study shootings to "see if there is connections to some of the SSRI [antidepressant] and psychiatric drugs people are taking, whether there is connections to video games."

He's said AIDS might not be caused by HIV: "They were doing phony, crooked studies to develop a cure that killed people without really being able to understand what HIV was, and pumping up fear about it constantly, not really understanding whether it was causing AIDS."

And one of my favorites, he said 5G services are being used to "harvest our data and control our behavior."

I'll just link this tweet as well

Anyways, my point is that this man is dangerous for the country. This is coming from someone who, at one point, supported him before I heard his views on the above. Now I think he is completely bonkers.

 

[death's_door]

I certainly don't agree with Trump on all things but may I ask, what exactly are people afraid of regarding being LGQBT+ under his administration?

 

[Lookingtoflyfree]

I certainly don't agree with Trump on all things but may I ask, what exactly are people afraid of regarding being LGQBT+ under his administration?

https://translegislation.com/ - these happened because of his hatred.

https://glaad.org/fact-sheet-trump-transgender/ - long history of problematic statements and behaviors

https://www.aclu.org/trump-on-lgbtq-rights - also more detail

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...-protections-reversed-by-trump-administration - a specific example

Nobody has a right in this thread to debate these sources, and I'm certainly not going to debate anything on this with any cishet men or women so I won't do any 'whataboutism' or 'you have nothing to worry about.

 

[mistysmile966]

I am not from USA, LGBT, or pay attention to politics anywhere as I have too much in my own life to worry about. What is Trump doing or trying to do?

 

[Sophie123]

Trump, Biden, Bernie, Harris, Obama, it doesn't matter. No politician gives a shit about the average American

Agreed omg! People from both sides acting as if the other one is end of the world.

 

[UnlovedUnlived]

I am not from USA, LGBT, or pay attention to politics anywhere as I have too much in my own life to worry about. What is Trump doing or trying to do?

It's literally just going to be the same as the last time he was president. People on the left think the world's going to end, four years will pass, they'll realize they were worrying for no reason and then the people on the right are going to go mental once a democrat gets elected in 2028

 

[BallBoy]

"The Little Things Give You Away"

That's a good song. Got me through a lot of hard times

 

[Jack_Nimble]

I suspected it but now I see I was wrong. Humanity's good deeds can't make up for it's fault. Humans suck at collective thinking, hence why this species is doomed and this happened. Maybe the real problem is not the media', politician's, or the billionaire's maybe the real problem is that we're inherently asinine. and I have reasons to believe we're too asinine to fix it.

Ding ding ding we have a winner



I also want to say it's such a shame a forum created to discuss ending ones misery through suicide has devolved to arguing about politics. There's multiple threads in the suggestions forum asking for another suicide section since the majority of what's in this sub isn't about suicide. There's lots of places on the internet (and even a sub on this forum) to argue about politics if one wishes. The current politic atmosphere is meant to be divisive. Such a shame that incredibly mentally harmful divisiveness is allowed to be brought here. This place isn't what it used to be.

 

[Dot]

Ding ding ding we have a winner



I also want to say it's such a shame a forum created to discuss ending ones misery through suicide has devolved to arguing about politics. There's multiple threads in the suggestions forum asking for another suicide section since the majority of what's in this sub isn't about suicide. There's lots of places on the internet (and even a sub on this forum) to argue about politics if one wishes. The current politic atmosphere is meant to be divisive. Such a shame that incredibly mentally harmful divisiveness is allowed to be brought here. This place isn't what it used to be.

= impssble t/ hve a ste lke sasu w/o acknwldgng poltcs

Assistd ctb & euthnsia r illegl in mst cntries bcse of poltcs

Polticl polcis dict8 hw mny ppl r abl 2 liv thr lves & accss hlp & rsourcs whch mght mke lves easr

Th/ politcl Nvirnmnt genr8tes socl h8 fr margnlisd grps whch drves ppl t/ plces lke sasu

Thre = poltcs sectn fr a reasn bt ppl hve ctb bcse of anxty ovr th/ nxt usa admnstratn s/ postng th/ currnt thred ws dsignd 2 hlp ppl sty mre groundd in th/ momnt & nt mke n.e implsve decsns

That's a good song. Got me through a lot of hard times

U jst mde @rainwillneverstop dy

 

[rainwillneverstop]

That's a good song. Got me through a lot of hard times

good taste, didn't think anyone would get the reference.
prob the most underrated lp song imo, it's my fav. And it's more relevant than ever.

 

[Gorsasu]

Imagine killing yourself because of a president lmao

 

[KlMeNw]

https://translegislation.com/ - these happened because of his hatred.

https://glaad.org/fact-sheet-trump-transgender/ - long history of problematic statements and behaviors

https://www.aclu.org/trump-on-lgbtq-rights - also more detail

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...-protections-reversed-by-trump-administration - a specific example

Nobody has a right in this thread to debate these sources, and I'm certainly not going to debate anything on this with any cishet men or women so I won't do any 'whataboutism' or 'you have nothing to worry about.

Anything can be debated, and anyone has that right. You get to tell exactly no one what they can question, or how they should think. Knowledge, all knowledge has come from the ability to freely exchange thoughts and ideas. It is when you are not given that freedom is when tragedy and oppression occur.

 

[Dot]

Imagine killing yourself because of a president lmao

Bt ppl hve alrdy dne tht

A trns advoc8 on Twittr lost 3 frnds withn dys of th/ electn bcse of th/ anxty of hw a Trmp cabnt wld tke awy thr rghts & incrse h8 2wrds thm

 

[Gorsasu]

Bt ppl hve alrdy dne tht

A trns advoc8 on Twittr lost 3 frnds withn dys of th/ electn bcse of th/ anxty of hw a Trmp cabnt wld tke awy thr rghts & incrse h8 2wrds thm

That is just retarted and victims of fearporn

 

[Dot]

That is just retarted and victims of fearporn

Thn am gussng tht u r nt in n.e of th/ vulnrble grps wh/ r b-ing targtd wth rhtoric & politcl promses

 

[taq]

I doubt that's the significant reason here. You can be part of a marginalized group like mine and life with it, without it being the only aspect of yourself.
Hyperfixation is what allows fear-mongering to take hold and cause a personal crisis, instead of a concerned view from the distance.

 

[Blue Dream]

CTB over this election would just make the MAGA ghouls happy.

 

[ALonelyFreak]

Sending love and hope to youu from Europe!
There is always hope - this time the situation is different. Now he has other more serious problems on the international stage. He might not have time to bully his own citizens. Also he's very old and after covid. He might die during those 4 years or become unable to engage in bullying. It is bad but it's surviveable.

Don't disclose your LGBTQ+ status to people you don't trust for sure. I know this is hard but the fewer people know the better. Remember your identity is valid regardless how many people know or care.
Don't have unprotected sex regardless of your gender. Learn how to protect yourself. This way you lower your chances for needing an abortion for yourself or your partner..
Don't break law at all. Don't speed and don't even jaywalk because apparently you won't be forgiven for this in the USA.
Avoid police. Well unless you havve to report a crime but do it safely.
Don't go to unsafe places at night. If something happens apparently you won't have help. Do you guys in the USA have street lights? Cuz we do unless they break.
Take care of your health so you won't need medical healthcare. It includes ofc proper diet and physical movement but also fixing your house so you won't fail down the stairs. Make your home safe. Have antiseptics and bandaids at home so if you wound yourself you can disinfect the wound.

So once again I send yall some love.

 

[peaches]

I'm grateful to those that shared this info with me, and am glad to share it in turn.



I wouldn't actually say that suicide and crisis hotlines were witch hunts.

Suicide and crisis hotlines have often times been created with the goal of "reducing suicides" when someone is in crisis. So, if "they" (whether "they" is the organization, funders, just the individual answering the phone, or some other key entity) think they can do it just by talking with a caller, great. However, if they think they haven't "saved" the caller via conversation, then "they" are likely to feel justified calling in the authorities to "save" the caller.

Warm lines were created with the goal of having "certified peers" (i.e. people who have actually personally lived with mental health or substance abuse challenges, gone through some basic training, and gotten certified) actually helping individual callers dealing with mental health or substance abuse challenges, ideally before they reach a crisis point.

Of course, individual hotlines and warmlines will have their own policies and procedures, but those policies and procedures tend to align with their goals. For example, a hotline is more likely to gather identity and location info because they believe they may need to send help to "save" a caller. Meanwhile, a warmline is more likely to have policies and procedures that explicitly limit the collection of such information precisely because they know that calling authorities on someone can disproportionately harm that caller (and frequently has).

Likewise, the individuals answering the calls are humans, who will each have their own reasons for being there and their own biases based on their personal experiences. (To be clear, we all have biases based on our experiences. But in certain contexts, knowledge, training, and even procedures can reduce the impact of an individual's biases.) For example, if a talking with a college age caller who is a crying and is then unexpectedly disconnected, a parent who lost a college age child to suicide is likely to respond very differently than a peer who themself had to have special accommodations during their own college years.

So basically, hotlines have a goal of "saving" people (and likely corresponding policies) and may or may not be manned by people who have any personal experience with mental health or substance abusr challenges while warmlines have a goal of "helping" callers (and again, likely to have corresponding policies) and are staffed by certified peers who have at least some personal experience with mental health or substance abuse challenges.

(To be clear, I am not a peer support specialist, but I spent a lot of time with about a dozen of them in early and mid September, and I have mad respect for them! How to Become a Peer Support Specialist)

Thank you for the distinction between warm and hot/s prevention lines.
Sometimes I just need to say what is real. I hate having to protect the other person on the phone from my truth.
Maybe a warm line participant is more real.

LBGTQ Crisis Line Reports Nearly 200% Increase in Election-Related Calls From Queer and Trans Youth

Staff understand that the election results have caused a lot of fear in people, and understand the valid reasons for distress.
No one knows at the moment, what is going to happen or what policies are going to be implemented, and exactly how people will be affected yet.

• Will people lose their rights?
• Will vulnerable people receive more abuse?
• Will people lose support which is keeping them holding on right now?

Uncertainty is scary.

One of the best things about SaSu is the compassion and empathy that members offer each other.
People are here for each other, and make each other feel seen and heard.
For anyone struggling; try not to process what you are feeling alone. Stay connected with supportive people on-site, irl and any support organizations that you use.
Finding community can help ease some of the loneliness and isolation that often follows distressing news like these.
There are obviously lots of horror stories of what "might" happen. Staff urge people to try to stay in the present whenever possible. And respond to what policies actually unfold, as they happen, instead of reacting to current assumptions and uncertainty of the future if you can.
We know it's hard.

The world survived Trump the first time, and there are only 2 years until mid-term elections where some of the power can change hands again.
SaSu intends to be a safe space for people affected by the recent results - feel free to vent, speak feelings with each other and hopefully some comradery can happen through the initial shock, and see whether anything can be problem-solved later.


Below are the names and numbers, of some organizations which might offer some extra support in the mean-time.

The Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386
Provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth (Mainly for those 24 and younger)

LGBT National Help Center 888-843-4564
Offers peer-support and can also help with information and local resources.

Aidaccess
Nonprofit that provides access to abortion via medication. All online, medicine will be sent via mail.
Discreet and they can offer funding if necessary.

Trans Lifeline (877) 565-8860
Peer support for transgender people. Hotline can be used if you need somebody to talk to, or in crisis.
They have a policy against non-concensual active rescue, meaning they will not call emergency services or law enforcement even if you express you're going to harm yourself or CTB.

Crisis Text Line 741741
Non-profit that provides text-based mental health and crisis support.

2-1-1 211
Can be called and redirected to resources in your local area - whether it's crisis hotlines, practical support or community groups.


Compilation of other recovery and crisis information:

Recovery and Crisis Resource Compilation

The following are resources for you to reach out for help and support. We encourage you to seek recovery and be happy. Different resources work for different people, so we encourage you try several until you find what you need. Your happiness comes first. The list has been created from...

sanctioned-suicide.net

...

"The Little Things Give You Away"

Thank you to the staff for the above post.
I am totally gutted that millions of people in this country are maggot cultists.
I am older, female, of Jewish ancestry, and agnostic/anti-theist.
I don't affiliate with any religion, and this country is dominated by pro nazi, christian nationalists who wish me broken or dead along with lgbt+, women, people of color, non-christians, anyone who isn't a white male.
I am disgusted by the idiocy of all republicans and anyone who was stupid and ignorant enough to vote for a criminal rapist.
I want OUT of this country and I will never lower myself to allow any t voters in my day to day life.
I am appalled at this country.

 

[BallBoy]

good taste, didn't think anyone would get the reference.
prob the most underrated lp song imo, it's my fav. And it's more relevant than ever.

I know right?! Easily my favorite song, also one of my favorite albums !

 

[Kris7825]

The United States has a strong and powerful leader once again. The good and decent people of the world love Trump!

 

[rainwillneverstop]

The United States has a strong and powerful leader once again. The good and decent people of the world love Trump!

How tone deaf are you?