Getting through this
Typical election anxiety advice doesn't always apply to journalists. Here are some things that are helping me right now.
Welcome to data + feelings, a newsletter about being data and being human from Jasmine Mithani. Thank you for reading.
We are in a liminal zone right now in the United States, and will be for hours, days more ahead as we await the results of the 2024 election.
Typical advice about election anxiety rarely applies to me, and all the journalists whose literal job it is to pay attention to the election. I felt deeply at peace starting this weekend, accepting my role in all of this, what is mine to carry, and what I have no control over.
Here are some things that have helped me.
Not checking my phone until I am out of bed. I have no limits on when I can log onto Slack or Instagram. My main rule is that I have to get dressed and leave my bedroom before plugging into the communication matrix.
Reading books. I had a fun stack of spooky reads for October planned but then I decided I needed comfort reads. I’ve been reading books in series I have already started or reaching for romance novels.
Interviewing Ruwa Romman. Romman won her first election in 2022, a historic year for Muslim women’s representation. She has been speaking to The Youth™️ on TikTok about political organizing and life after election day. Some favorite quotes from our conversation:
“History is full of examples of leaders saying no until they said yes. People are waiting for you to give up. That is the reality of the situation. Your opposition is waiting for you to go away.”
“I am now in a place where I approach voting as a strategic conversation more than a moral one. It is simply a moment in time, and I know that come November 6, the day after elections, the work doesn’t stop.”
“I think we forget that movements have to start with persuasion and education and that these wins, the March on Washington that everybody talks about — that was first talked about 20 years prior. This work is long-term.”
“I want to be very clear, as Palestinians in particular, and Lebanese people in particular, shame on anybody who blames us for any decision we make this cycle.”
In response to asking what about her message people miss:
“I think they’re forgetting the part where the reason I share the things that I do isn’t to absolve those in power of responsibility. They’re missing the part where I’m saying, I want us to be so powerful, people have no choice but to listen. I don’t want to keep relying on the goodwill of somebody in a position to do what I need them to do. And I think sometimes people mistake that for blind support, and they forget that when you make strategic decisions, it’s not a permanent approval of somebody.”
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. One of my colleagues shared this quote from one of the mothers of Black journalism with our newsroom: “We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”
Talking to people who get it. For me, this is my partner and my journalist friends. Who is it for you?
Ignoring people who don’t. I love my friends, but I have temporarily muted some group chats. I check in intentionally, when I have the capacity. Sometimes I type out a message and send it to my partner instead of the whole chat.
Planning for 2025. I have a Supreme Court case to cover. Writing projects I can tend to again. More books to read.
Voting. There’s a lot of exciting ballot measures in California this year and I’ve been doing my research. I love working at a news outlet that is unapologetically pro-voting, something that is becoming more common but is still taboo among some journalists.
A little treat. The family-size bag of Nerds Gummy Clusters I bought for a Halloween party was a worthwhile investment.
If you want to stay up to date on election news, check out my Instagram stories. We’ll get through this. Tell me, how are you getting by?
💜 Jasmine
Fortunately/Unfortunately, I have homework that I can pay attention to. I have also decided that this is an exercise optional week.