Have been surprised by the extreme vehemence of Hillary voters among peers, friends, and former friends, over her election loss.
Weeping, gnashing of teeth, rending of garments, and if you don't share their pain, they get really personal and ugly. They come after you about who you are, what you are wearing, what you eat, etc.
What is driving this? Is it love of Hillary? A complete phony who had to spend hours with "the two most experienced debate prep specialists in Democratic politics" to go a few rounds with... Donald Trump?
Or is it fear of Trump? Sorry, but anyone who lived through eight years of Reagan can tell you there is no difference in the "empty suit," "not qualified for office," cranky man department. The Republicans spent decades burnishing the reputation of that animatronic doll but he was the Trump of 1980. And no one got upset about Carter's loss the way Hillary supporters are bleeding from every orifice. No one cursed John Anderson voters for "giving us Reagan." Well, maybe a few did, but nothing like this.
What is going on here? Hillary voters aren't interested in why anyone voted against her but perhaps they could do some self-analysis and explain why this election is such an emotional moment for them, as opposed to any other election where the "lesser evil" candidate lost.
Update: See this July 2016 Corey Robin post on the precedentedness of Trump (my word, in response to widespread claims that Trump's positions were unprecedented among conservative politicians). "It should be possible to talk about the very real and undeniable dangers of Trump without ignoring or reinventing the insanity of American history," Robin writes, offering a quick summary of wacky statements from Goldwater and Reagan.