Coping Is the First Stage after the Election

Moira Weinstein ’25

Contributing Writer

I was 13 when Trump was first elected, posting filtered Snapchat stories and encouraging what I called “Trumpets” to unfollow me on every social media platform. I felt brave in my frizzy French braids, even as I attended New York middle school with a majority of upper-class kids whose parents supported a man that mine never could. Now, at 21, I have once again watched a felon defeat a qualified woman, as my rights float away with the promise of a future rooted in love rather than hate. But what can I do? Before activism and change starts, there is personal healing.

Prior to the election, I felt powerful. I submitted my same-day registration in Hartford, voted, got my stickers that I promptly placed on my MacBook, and encouraged everyone else I knew to do the same. There were such loud voices around me: ones dictated in blue hearts and Harris-Walz hashtags. I had confidence about my future as a woman, as an American, and as an ally of underprivileged and oppressed groups. Despite this hopeful optimism, I heard a devilish voice that told me to be realistic and acknowledge my privilege of a direct democratic environment at a northeast liberal arts school. 

I ignored reality for hours as the votes were tallied, but as my phone continued to buzz in the early morning, I could no longer hide in the coddled warmth of my dorm. I felt my heart drop as I read the many notifications. Then I felt a deep anger, and this intense indignation has remained to this day. Some call it madness, others female rage, but however it is labeled, it is my current coping mechanism in the face of a future without rights for me and others, a future ruled by something very far from acceptance and progress. 

Coping is the stage most of us are in now.The stage right before taking real action against a hateful regime, the stage in which we grieve something we could have had. For me, this took the form of downing Halloween candy and binging Netflix shows. Despite mounds of homework haunting my day to day, I have decided to put myself first in the last week. In the wake of a future where my civil rights are at stake, I thought I deserved it.

At Trinity, I see many people doing the same. Asking around, I understand how those around me care for themselves when nothing seems to matter, and hope seems to have dwindled. 

I asked Mel Keith ’25 how they responded to Donald Trump getting re-elected. During the tallies on television, they described the night, stating, “A friend and I watched the election with a few glasses of cheap Costco wine to hold us up.” The realist, or rather the person who survived a former Trump presidency, seemed to take hold here, acknowledging the presence of hate still very much in this country. After hearing what they wished to deny, Keith states that they took care of themself in any way they could, giving into what made them feel okay. “I spent an afternoon with another friend off campus, splurging on skincare and sugary coffee. Doing a face mask and watching cheesy TV shows is really all that’s getting me through the week right now.” 

Circling to another student, I found a similar response to the election. Reese San Diego ‘25 expressed her own efforts to take care of herself and others in the aftermath of the Republican victory. Like Keith, she tells me that the results left her and her friends “devastated,” and she walked around feeling “hysterical and delirious” the following day. San Diego tells me that she continued to check in with herself and with friends, prioritizing self-care.“The day after the election, me and some of my friends went to go buy candy and we bought each other drinks at Peter Bs. I’ve also been paying close attention to the sort of ’essentials’ that keep me afloat –– cleaning my room, eating, taking deep breaths.” 

In the heavy trenches of college and early adulthood, there is so much to figure out, including how to survive in a world on your own. All of this is difficult enough without the added stress of an election and the fear of losing basic human rights to a political regime that threatens morality and a steady society. There is so much work to be done, all left in the hands of a generation that has already fought against genocide, medical rights, and everything in between. Yet, with all of this on the broken horizon, we must conquer our own battles to prepare for those of the world. The first step is healing ourselves, and in my own advice and that of San Diego and Keith, put yourself first for a little while. Ground yourself in preparation for all to come.