Any other year, any other season I’d definitely describe myself as a news and political advocacy junkie. Until comparatively recently, I would listen to Kagro in the Morning with David Waldman religiously, without fail. Ditto The After Show with Wink & Justice until they apparently gave up on Stitcher as a platform. They don’t seem to believe in RSS feeds either because none of my podcatcher software can find them either, and I’m not in a position to tune in live for their show. As shame because I always liked their show. I used to really enjoy Hopping Mad, too, but the Democratic Primary Season has just gotten too ugly and nasty and I'm checking OUT for the time being until AFTER the Primary Season is over and not checking back IN until the race for the General Election begins in earnest. I’m a Bernie Bitter Ender, I guess. As a Texas voter, it really won’t matter if I vote for HRC in November or Jill Stein (Green), in terms of electoral math. But I suppose I naively believe the popular vote has an intrinsic value all its own in terms of conferring moral legitimacy, so I may yet, with reservations, pull the lever for HRC in November. I will certainly vote in all the down ballot races for every Democrat who runs and against every Republican, which is not always saying the same thing (in some races, the local Democrats decline to put up a candidate). I will gladly vote Green or even Libertarian against GOP candidates; while Libertarians and GOPer’s have equally [to me] odious economic views, I figure the Libertarians will be marginally better on certain civil liberties issues. This is why I still “like” Reason Magazine’s presence on Facebook. Mostly I find their articles ass backwards and infuriating and mock them mercilessly. But every once in awhile they’ll write something sensible about civil liberties.
And while I’m friends with other Bernie supporters on Facebook, I personally have been avoiding re-posting or “liking” the more rabid anti-Hillary stuff that some of these online friends have been promoting on their walls. I also don’t re-post even some of the milder criticisms I think have merit.
I accept that HRC is nearly without doubt going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party, and that I will be voting for the Democrats all the way in November. But I think Bernie’s policies are more in line with my own views and hope he stays in until the convention.
So anyway, until the nomination is finalized and the race for the General Election has begun in earnest, I’m mentally checking out and getting caught up with my favorite anime podcasts instead. Japanese anime is my happy place, my refuge from the everyday world of work and national politics. It meets my emotional needs, it helps me process emotions, and helps me cultivate empathy for my fellow human beings. I’m mostly a fan of anime dubbed in English, but I’ve become more “sub curious” in recent years and months and gotten more and more out of watching certain “sub only” shows on Crunchyroll and other venues. I recently finished the series Aoi Hana (“Sweet Blue Flowers”) which is a tender teen lesbian romance drama, and am working my way through the final episodes of Sakura Trick, which is a teen lesbian romantic comedy. Not long ago, on my local library’s digital streaming service Hoopla Digital, I completed the anime series Antique Bakery, which features an openly gay character who is a master chef at a boutique restaurant. The show treats this character with respect and love and doesn’t make him the butt of any jokes or use him for comic relief, but gives an empathetic portrayal of a struggling young man trying to better himself in this world. Japanese anime on the whole isn't especially well known for its good treatment of gay characters, but there are notable exceptions such as these. I also watched all of Emma: A Victorian Romance, which, despite the setting does not have a licensed North American dub. It’s jokingly called the Jane Austen of anime, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the dub front, I’m currently making my way through Your Lie In April, which is about a former piano child prodigy who was pushed mercilessly by his perfectionist mother (now deceased)...he suffered a nervous breakdown in middle school and gave up piano. The story picks up with him in High School, and his friends trying to ease him back into piano. His childhood friend introduces him to her girlfriend who is a vivacious young violinist full of passionate intensity. She knows full well who the main character is and insists he become her new accompanist, despite his protestations. She draws him out of himself and reignites his love for music, putting aside the baggage of the memory of his abusive mother. But this young violinist is one of those people who burn so brightly that perhaps they’re not long for this world. I know this anime is going to put me through an emotional wringer and probably rip my heart out and leave me a crying mess before it’s done, but I still look forward to finishing it.
In between watching anime in my free time, I comfort myself listening to anime podcasts by other dedicated fans who take a few hours to talk intelligently about anime in such a way that I get to enjoy their conversations vicariously. It’s a welcome distraction from the ongoing ugliness of the contemporary political atmosphere. I’m not checking out of politics for good, just taking a much needed mental health break.