We've all been there. One day you're innocently scrolling through your Facebook feed, simply going about your business and trying to waste some free time. You're not bothering anyone. All you wanted to do was watch some cute cat videos, like your mom's latest selfie, and move on with your life. But no. Not today. Today, your faith in humanity as you know it has been crushed and broken up into tiny microscopic pieces. As election season progresses, it seems as though more and more people have been lured over to the dark side. You never expected your old Aunt Bertha or that kid from your high school gym class to publicly post their support for Donald Trump, but there it is on your news-feed. You stare at the post waiting for it to disappear, but there it remains, staring back at you until the five stages inevitably begin.
1. Stage 1: Denial
"No," you think, "No, this can't be true. It's a sarcastic post, right? Yeah, yeah. It's a joke. It has to be a joke." You read the article they shared, watch the video they posted, and analyze every comment they've ever written. "Oh no. Oh god. It's real. It's so real. This is happening."
2. Stage 2: Anger
Your blood pressure starts rising to a horribly unhealthy level. Your face is bright red and a rage induced sweat starts pouring out of you. "I sat next to you in chemistry," you scream at your laptop. "I shared my pop-tarts with you. They were cookie dough pop-tarts I thought that meant something. How dare you. I believed in you."
3. Stage 3: Bargaining
"Anyone," you plead, "Literally anyone else. Go feel the Bern. Pick Cruz as your man. Elect Clinton to office." You begin debating if messaging them a list of other possible candidates would help. You think that maybe you can steer them away from the dark side. Maybe you can help. "Democrat. Republican. It doesn't matter. Anyone. Seriously. Anyone would be better."
4. Stage 4: Depression
You start sobbing into your bowl of Cheerios (it's okay, we've all been there), and everything becomes a giant blur of sadness. "The world is coming to an end. It's over. It's all over. There's no hope for any of us. I might as well just move to Canada before this gets any worse." Words become broken, mumbled fragments of nonsense that should not be documented for your own sake.
5. Stage 5: Acceptance
You start to breathe normally again and your blood pressure finally lowers. Your tears and sweat have dried into a dull layer of salt. "Okay," you sigh, "Maybe this is okay." You can accept the fact that not all 637 of your Facebook friends will have the same political views as you. Some of them will wholeheartedly support Donald Trump and proudly post about their love for him all the time. In the end, you won't unfriend every single person that posts something you don't agree with. That'd be exhausting. Okay, you might have to unfollow them until election season is over, but that's beside the point.
