So, last night as I watched Hillary’s path to victory get narrower and finally disappear, I kept thinking to myself, “Tomorrow, I start zombie apocalypse boot camp” (It turns out that’s actually a thing). I’ve become too complacent and comfortable, and in denial that what happened could actually happen. Also, I’m a little squishy around the middle.

Life as we know it is about to change. Are you prepared? I don’t think I am.

I don’t think most people are, and then disaster strikes and it’s too late. They’re just walking down the street minding their own business, they turn a corner and an undead walker starts chewing on their face. It’s not pretty.

Fortunately, we’ve been given a 72 day warning of when everything will start turning to shit. Let’s take advantage of it.

OK, so we just witnessed the undead hoard chew off Hillary’s face. The zombies are all around us. What do we do?

The first thing you should do is make sure you and your loved ones are safe. I know a lot of people have been checking in with people, especially their LGBTQIA+ friends/family as well as friends/family of color. See how they are are doing, make sure they are safe, and let them know you have their backs. And then actually have their backs.

Next, take time to grieve. You just saw your friend taken down by the zombies. OK, maybe you didn’t particularly like Hillary, but losing what her presidency would have represented (compared to he-who-must-not-be-named) is devastating. And the thought of all the things we are going to lose (and we are going to lose A LOT) in 72 days is enough to make the most dedicated activist hide in a dark room curled into a ball. You need to take the time to pass through all the stages of grief:

• Denial: This can’t be happening! The polls predicted a landslide! There’s no way he has enough supporters to pull this off! Hillary won the popular vote! This has to be a bad dream! There has to be a loophole that will give it back to Hillary.
• Anger: WTF! How could people be so stupid! We have a sex offender as president now! Why didn’t Hillary listen to people’s real concerns? If only we had picked Bernie in the primaries!
• Bargaining: If we can find a way to keep him out of the White House, even if it means Pence becomes president, I promise, I’ll be the most dedicated activist and work to flip the senate in the mid-terms! Please let him be indicted before he’s inaugurated! The electors don’t have to vote for him in December!
• Depression: This is the worst thing that could have happened. There is no hope for the US. We’re going to be a third world nation in four years. Or worse, a police state! What’s the point anymore? I’m moving to New Zealand and living in a Hobbit hole.
• Acceptance: He is the president. There is no denying it given our current electoral system. We survived W, we can survive this. But we need to work like crazy to minimize the damage.

While it is important to process your grief, it is equally important to do it with intention and not linger on it. We don’t have much time to organize and prepare.

In the movies and shows, the zombies take over quite quickly and civilization breaks down. The population is decimated and without the living, utilities and internet can’t be maintained. Humans are cut off from one another and eventually band together into tribes for safety. Some tribes want to rebuild civilization. Others want to make a grab for power in the vacuum left when reasonableness has been left to rot.

He-who-shall-not-be-named has followers (not all of them, of course, but more than a few) who have only been looking for the opportunity and implied permission to attack people they have deemed as “other”. We may see an uptick in discrimination, overt racism, and violent hate-crimes in the coming weeks. Be alert and be ready to defend your loved ones against such attacks.

I realize that I have in essence cast the Republicans in the role of the zombies, and part of that is I’m still in my Anger stage. But really what I mean is that we (yes, Liberals included) have created the monster that is this movement to “shake things up”. Or rather we have created the corrupt society that has made the movement necessary or desirable. And it is that which we need to struggle against if we still want to have a recognizable civilization in four years.

Be safe out there.