The Misery Index

I had a long talk with an old friend last night.  She is feeling the pain of having long-term friendships evaporate because people on the other side of the political divide are in the midst of mass psychosis that shows no sign of letting up even after the election.  They.Can't.Let.Go.

It's Florida, it's Abu Ghraib, it's Valerie Plame, it's Ohio, it's...Sarah Palin.

It's also fashionable to challenge your Republican friends to defend their politics and their candidate's wardrobes at dinner parties where they are in the minority.

And if you are in the grip of Palin Derangement Syndrome (strangely akin to menopausal hot flashes cum mood swings:not just for women anymore), it's perfectly fine to lay into one of the professionals who works for you.  Just go into a rage about Sarah Palin.  It's fine.  How better to convey the New World Order?

She told me that it was getting pretty awful, but she said, it's worse for her friends who live in Los Angeles.  No kidding.

She suggested we create a Misery Index for conservatives, who have had to battle their own candidate as well as the Messiah.

I need metrics.  What are factors that contribute to our feelings of "Oh, crap.  Isn't this how Hitler came to power?" Granted, the analogy is imperfect: Hitler had a more extensive resume.  But you get the idea.

How about: large front page articles demonstrating what a boost to the local economy selling Obama crap is?  Yup, those tee shirts are flying off the shelves; the story about Dell (also local) being downgraded and leading tech losses gets buried.  What misery points would you assign this?

You meet up with friends.  The topic turns to politics.  It's all Messiah all the time.  Is this more miserable than having your ass handed to you by your boss because Sarah Palin's flag brooch was too big?

I want reports of Misery.  I want reports of rudeness.  Death threats.  Firings (I actually already have one of those that can be traced directly to the election results.)

I'll grade them and we'll see how wretched our lives are becoming even before The Athletic Messiah takes office.

Comments

[aelfheld]

I take it that just being sick and tired of hearing about how the Obamessiah is going to heal us / the country / the world / the universe doesn't count.