Thread by @frodofied

If you've followed me for awhile you might have witnessed me apologize on one or more occasions. I've apologized to my followers, to individuals, and even to the public figures I interact w/ & tweet about.

It's never fun.
Because here it feels like the world is watching.

1/

I'm a passionate person and I have battled depression & anxiety my entire life. The episodes of which have increased steadily in both frequency & intensity since mid-2015.

After the election things only got worse. I don't get much sleep & I'm often preoccupied with worry.

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Add terrible eyesight and a mishmash of half broken devices into the mix and I have a great capacity to make errors of all kinds.

And I do make them, frequently. Given that I'm a perfectionist who demands better of himself these errors are frustrating.

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Discovering them is always easy, acknowledging almost never is, but I still force myself.

In the past two years a great many people have joined this movement we call the resistance. It's been inspiring to be a part of and I've learned so much about this country and myself.

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I can get emotional thinking of some of the stories I've had the privilege to hear and the people behind them. Many here had never engaged social media before, and might never have were it not to fight Trump's illegitmate regime.

Witnessing people fight tyranny is powerful.

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I came to the resistance more naturally than some. I've always been involved and interested in politics and I have always been a Democrat. And it's almost the truth that I have always been a supporter of @HillaryClinton's.

At least it feels like it on most days.

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That support extended into and through both of her campaigns. It is no exaggeration to say that I put more time, thought, emotion, money, and intensity into those two campaigns than I have into any other effort in the whole of my life.

I have no regrets.

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It might be because of my experiences with Clinton's 2008 campaign that I was better able or more likely to see the storm clouds that were forming so much sooner and clearly than others as 2016 approached. So much of what happened was eerily familiar afterall.

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Me, and a not very large group of other Clinton supporters recognized early on the level of effort being given to stopping Clinton at whatever cost.

And in those efforts many of us began to discern troubling patterns and note the undeniable alliances that were emerging.

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I tweeted my first warning about Russia, Trump, and Wikileaks in July of 2015. There were so very few who were on board back then, but those of us who were became the first incarnation of what would later become the resistance.

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Political movements / campaigns are rarely drama free affairs under the best of circumstances, but one like this one are virtually assured of it, and regularly.

We are a disparate group with diverse political and personal histories and ultimately differing agendas.

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Even our expectations of what comes next will differ from person to person.

Since day one it has been clear that it would be an imperfect movement comprised of many who were dedicated to proving the #TrumpRussia conspiracy was real and that our election had been stolen.

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There was also a subsection of individuals who emerged w/ intentions & connections to the movement that were less clear. What was clear, however, was that many in this subsection were putting a lot of effort into becoming de facto leaders of the resistance.

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From the outset some of these individuals seemed suspiciously keen to gain media recognition for their efforts, and to somehow profit from them as well.

For the most part this did not matter to many of us. We understood clearly what was coming and knew we needed every ally.

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The leaders that emerged have mostly been exactly who they have seemed and claimed to be, but there has been a number of still questionable characters whose motivation looks and feels selfish or personal. Many of these have been disappointing, but others have been as well.

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Recently a number of recognized and self-identified leaders of the resistance have publicly disappointed or angered large sections of the movement, many of these people are recognized as leaders within their own right.

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What's been most alarming, has not been the individual incidents that have led to the conflict, but the responses from these leaders to any criticism or input from fellow resistors.

The reactions have been remarkably similar, and equally disappointing across the board.

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Whether it's Michael Avenatti responding curtly to any criticism, followed by the immediate blocking of any and all comers (a practice he actually mocked Trump for), or the Krassensteins, or Amy Siskind or, most recently, David Hogg, they all seem unable to engage criticism.

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This is not a good look for them or the movement & is revealing some very unpleasant things about more than one of them.

Most of the criticism has actually been overdue and well intended, yet there have been few examples of humility or Grace from any of them.

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This thread began by my acknowledging that I have failed often here and that I've let people down.

While my initial reaction when confronted might be defensive I actually do listen to the advice or complaint with as open a mind and heart as I can muster.

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And when I'm wrong I try hard to push my ego aside and acknowledge so, and I do it as much for the movement as I do for my personal code of ethics.

The kinds of behaviors exhibited recently have been sadly similar to the kinds engaged in by Trump and Co.

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Avenatti relentlessly mocking DT for a practice he would later adopt himself is a perfect example.

The point of this thread is to ask all of us as participants in this movement to learn from these incidents & to do better. This is not about pride & ego.

Or shouldn't be.

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This is about fighting to uncover every crime and wrongdoing by every member of this administration, leaning every fact of how they did what they did and who participated and removing these people from power so we can rebuild our nation.

Right?

#Resist