#tbh i find the us govt exhausting and hateful much of the time

[dngrcpckwithmurdericing]

This, but also: saying the government sucks shit and isn't here to help is fear-mongering at best. I realize OP might be speaking hyperbolically and out of intense distress and frustration and I totally empathize and feel similarly. However, I wanna say this:

Is the US government perfect? No. Is there a ton of room for improvement? Yes. Does it participate in the systemic marginalization and racism and bigotry America is infamous for? Absolutely.

BUT. There are thousands of people working in the US government who are there because they believe in a better world and want to help. They are sometimes (often?) required to administrate policies they don't fully support, but that is any job and every job. So many people working in government want to help and will go out of their way to find ways around cruel and unfair regulations to make sure people get the help they need.

Yes, there are some folks who are there for the power trip and all that entails. And yes, doing something in your community to make things better for people will absolutely help you feel better and will bolster your morale to get through the hard times.

But, as Mr. Rogers would tell you, always look for the helpers. They are not all confined to our mutual aid community groups. It is important to remember that there is hope.

Can you tell me it'll be okay? And mean it?

Yeah. It feels like shit now and there's a lot to worry about, but there was a lot to worry about last month and four years ago and eight years ago and twelve years ago and sixteen and twenty and twenty four and twenty eight and on and on and on.

Continue to work locally, continue to help people, continue to speak up for what is right and protest what is wrong.

We all should be breaking unjust laws and taking care of one another because you don't survive things like this by being isolated and alone, you survive things like this by building networks and creating parallel systems and growing tight bonds with the people in your community (either physically or digitally).

Plan on helping someone get an abortion. Plan on lying to ICE. Plan on helping someone get hormones. Plan on defending an encampment. Plan on sharing information that is being hidden. Plan on potesting a pipeline or supporting forest defense. Plan on not crossing picket lines. Plan on helping your friends get their meds.

The US Federal Government sucks shit and is not here to help. But there are millions of people who want to help each other, and those are the people you should be focusing your energy on.

It's going to be hard, but it was always going to be hard. I believe in my community, I believe in the networks I've built, I believe in the ability of small groups to make change and I believe in you.

Don't panic about what's on the horizon, do something *today* that will make someone else's life better tomorrow and it will feel less like the world is falling down.