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Lifelong Republicans are turning out to vote for Biden, unable to stomach another Trump term

@alexanderchee/ @JulieTheCatGaf/ @sarahmchen/Twitter

President Trump has always had a fan base that would literally follow him off the edge of a cliff. But he's also had support from Republicans outside of his base—people who range from diehard fiscal conservatives to one-issue voters to hold-their-nose-and-vote folks who couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hillary.

This election, however, there seems to be a turn of the tide. We've seen prominent Republicans who served in previous GOP administrations come out in support of Biden, warning the nation that Trump poses a danger to our democracy. We've seen coalitions of Republicans from The Lincoln Project to RVAT (Republican Voters Against Trump) form in the past couple of years. And we've even seen people who have served recently in Trump's own administration encouraging people not to vote for him based on their experiences in the White House and seeing his behavior up close.

It's historically unprecedented for an incumbent president to lose so many members of their own party, though it's not surprising to the millions who have always seen Trump for who he is. Now it seems many everyday conservative Americans are recognizing that restoring sanity, stability, and decency to the presidency is the first order of business right now—partisanship be damned.

Twitter users are sharing stories of friends and loved ones who are lifelong Republicans voting for Biden—and even voting for him early.

My lifelong Republican in-laws both voted early in Wisconsin for Biden. First time voting for Dems.
— Alexander Chee (@Alexander Chee) 1602036819.0

Some are even voting Democrat all the way down the ticket.

@sarahmchen @alexanderchee Same here! My dad said there is no Republican Party anymore. My husband was a republican… https://t.co/80DvpKrtEH
— Sami Holden (@Sami Holden) 1602041947.0

For some, it's their parents who have made the switch. For others, it's actually themselves.

@alexanderchee Of course! Country over party. And I actually ended up switching parties too haha.
— Carolyn Ticker (@Carolyn Ticker) 1602088058.0

Many of the stories are about folks in the older generation, who may have been put off by the president's cavalier attitude about COVID, which poses the greatest threat to their age group. Or it could be that they are dismayed by how far the dignity of the office has fallen under Trump.

@Cmnsa24 @alexanderchee The Greatest Generation dislikes bullies, Russian Puppets, and draft dodgers.
— Milo Votes ✍️🌊 Early (@Milo Votes ✍️🌊 Early) 1602099933.0

One person shared that her 81-year-old mother understood the "toxic agenda" from the Council for National Policy—a secretive, right-wing policy-pushing group where mainstream conservatives and extremists mix, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The stories seem to be met with a mix of outright glee and cautious optimism, as many people are still hesitant to feel too hopeful after the 2016 election.

@KateCounter @alexanderchee Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!
— More than $750 🇺🇲 (@More than $750 🇺🇲) 1602074721.0

But it is heartening to see that even those who are exposed to Fox News aren't necessarily lost.

@undercovernerd5 @alexanderchee It’s a huge victory. 👏
— Katiedoo (@Katiedoo) 1602085715.0

For some of these folks, voting for anyone other than a Republican is a big deal, especially when they are surrounded by folks who believe in kooky conspiracy theories. Their willingness to put country over party should be celebrated.

@alexanderchee Good: My farmer dad in MN who voted for Trump in 2016 just cast an early vote for Biden. Bad: He’s s… https://t.co/g9xOdsaSnq
— THIS IS BEANS (@THIS IS BEANS) 1602086869.0

@GdadFlyingMan @alexanderchee Thank you for choosing country before party we appreciate you 🙏🏽🇺🇸
— Register-Swing-State-Voters Tran (@Register-Swing-State-Voters Tran) 1602045563.0

For some, a combination of reading actual news and the influence of younger generations have made the difference.

@JeaneCioffi @alexanderchee I started to pay attention after Soleimani was killed and was horrified of the type of… https://t.co/RqkYU6OVi2
— Amy Meyerhofer (@Amy Meyerhofer) 1602085315.0

It's almost enough to make you think that the polls that have Biden's already sizable lead growing might have some legs. Almost.

@cdb224 @inezsneks @alexanderchee It’ll be my first time voting Blue too
— 🌺Jenna 🎧 (@🌺Jenna 🎧) 1602074294.0

One story was particularly touching. Brennan Suen is an LGBTQ activist who was inspired by AOC to find one person in his life that he could talk sense into in the election. He chose his 94-year-old grandmother who has always voted Republican.

She has always voted Republican. My very first memory of politics was seeing polls during Gore v. Bush and her tell… https://t.co/P8UQTT2HvF
— Brennan Suen (@Brennan Suen) 1602091237.0

Suen wrote:

"After RBG died, I listened to @AOC say, there is someone in your life who only you can get to in this election, and it is your job to get to them. Since then, I have been filled with anxiety knowing what I needed to do. For me, that's my 94 year old grandmother.

She has always voted Republican. My very first memory of politics was seeing polls during Gore v. Bush and her telling me she supported Bush but my parents supported Gore. I took one look at the two and said that I agreed with my parents.

After weeks of hesitation, I finally called my grandmother after SCOTUS justices indicated their intent to overturn Obergefell. She has always been the greatest ally -- the first thing she said to me when I came out was that she wanted me to have a grandkid for her.

I have never called her crying, but I did today. I told her that in my work, I advocate for my community every day, and the last four years has been unbearably difficult for me. I told her the Republicans are trying to take away our right to marry, adopt, access health care.

I told her a vote for Republicans was a vote that would harm me and my future. I told her I was scared. And today, my grandmother promised me she would vote for Joe Biden and @xjelliott. She told me that I'm the love of her life and that she would not break her promise.

I am still crying. Please call your loved ones. Tell them what's at stake. Tell them it's personal. Because it's true. There is someone out there who only you can get to. And their decision will mean the world to you."

Some things are just more important than political parties or even policies. As General Michael Hayden, former CIA director under Bush, said in a video ad this week, "I absolutely disagree with some of Biden's policies, but that's not important. What's important is the United States ... Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not."

Country over party. Decency over degeneracy. Regardless of political identity, it's time to say enough is enough.

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Now's your chance to help someone doing good in your community win $1000 towards the charity of their choice

Upworthy and P&G are back with the #ActsOfGood Awards.

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Three winners will be selected to receive $1000 donated to the charity of their choice.

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best of humanity

Science

What will Earth look like if all its land ice melts? Here's your answer.

Climate change isn't pretty.

via Business Insider Science/YouTube.

A map of the United States post land-ice melt.

Land ice: We got a lot of it.

Considering the two largest ice sheets on earth — the one on Antarctica and the one on Greenland — extend more than 6 million square miles combined ... yeah, we're talkin' a lot of ice.

But what if it was all just ... gone? Not like gone gone, but melted?

If all of earth's land ice melted, it would be nothing short of disastrous.

And that's putting it lightly.

This video by Business Insider Science (seen below) depicts exactly what our coastlines would look like if all the land ice melted. And spoiler alert: It isn't great.

Lots of European cities like, Brussels and Venice, would be basically underwater.

In Africa and the Middle East? Dakar, Accra, Jeddah — gone.

Millions of people in Asia, in cities like Mumbai, Beijing, and Tokyo, would be uprooted and have to move inland.

South America would say goodbye to cities like Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.

And in the U.S., we'd watch places like Houston, San Francisco, and New York City — not to mention the entire state of Florida — slowly disappear into the sea.

All GIFs via Business Insider Science/YouTube.

Business Insider based these visuals off National Geographic's estimation that sea levels will rise 216 feet (!) if all of earth's land ice melted into our oceans.

There's even a tool where you can take a detailed look at how your community could be affected by rising seas, for better or worse.

Although ... looking at these maps, it's hard to imagine "for better" is a likely outcome for many of us.

Much of America's most populated regions would be severely affected by rising sea levels, as you'll notice exploring the map, created by Alex Tingle using data provided by NASA.

Take, for instance, the West Coast. (Goodbye, San Fran!)

Or the East Coast. (See ya, Philly!)

And the Gulf Coast. (RIP, Bourbon Street!)

I bring up the topic not just for funsies, of course, but because the maps above are real possibilities.

How? Climate change.

As we continue to burn fossil fuels for energy and emit carbon into our atmosphere, the planet gets warmer and warmer. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means melted ice.

A study published this past September by researchers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany found that if we don't change our ways, there's definitely enough fossil fuel resources available for us to completely melt the Antarctic ice sheet.

Basically, the self-inflicted disaster you see above is certainly within the realm of possibility.

"This would not happen overnight, but the mind-boggling point is that our actions today are changing the face of planet Earth as we know it and will continue to do so for tens of thousands of years to come," said lead author of the study Ricarda Winkelmann, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

If we want to stop this from happening," she says, "we need to keep coal, gas, and oil in the ground."

The good news? Most of our coastlines are still intact! And they can stay that way, too — if we act now.

World leaders are finallystarting to treat climate change like the global crisis that it is — and you can help get the point across to them, too.

Check out Business Insider's video below:

This article originally appeared on 12.08.15

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Pop Culture

Kristen Bell's advice to her younger self about depression is a must hear for everyone

"We're all just human. And you can do it."

Child Mind Institute/Youtube

Actress Kristen Bell speaks up about coping with depression.

Actress Kristen Bell lives with anxiety and depression.

Maybe you wouldn't have guessed it scanning through her work on IMDb. She's the voice behind Anna in "Frozen," after all; the star of a former hit show called "The Good Place," for goodness sake.

Those seem like, um ... happy roles. Right?

That's why Bell is speaking out again about her mental illness.

The media we consume — on our phones, in the magazine aisle, even in Bell's own delightful TV series and films — rarely convey an accurate depiction of reality. And Bell is advising anyone else living with mental illness not to be fooled.

In a video produced by the Child Mind Institute, Bell opened up about what she'd like to tell her younger self.

"What I would say to my younger self is don’t be fooled by this game of perfection that humans play," she said. "Because Instagram and magazines and TV shows — they strive for a certain aesthetic, and everything looks so beautiful, and people seem like they don’t have any problems. But everyone’s human."

She continued (emphasis added):

"Everyone has problems. Everyone feels yucky on the inside sometimes. And you deserve to feel just as beautiful on the days that you wear no makeup, and the days you don’t shower, and the days that you feel like you’re depressed. And you have an obligation to take care of yourself from the inside out, because that’s how you can truly feel beautiful.”

In recent years, Bell has spoken up candidly about her own mental health in hopes it can benefit others.

The actress was diagnosed with anxiety and depression when she was 18 years old. As she explained to "Off Camera with Sam Jones" in 2016, her mom had been the one to fill her in on their family's history with mental illness.

Bell started taking medication to help — and has no qualms about it. "I still take it today; I have no shame in that,” Bell explained. "You would never deny a diabetic his insulin, but for some reason when someone needs a serotonin inhibitor, they're immediately ‘crazy’ or something."

Her anxiety and depression, Bell noted, is probably the biggest differentiation between her own life and the characters she portrays on screen.

Depression and anxiety affect millions of Americans of all ages. But despite their prevalence, stigma surrounding mental illness — dissuading people from reaching out, for instance, or shaming them for taking medication — remains a major barrier stopping people from accessing the resources they need.

Bell wants every kid to know they deserve to feel better.

"Never feel embarrassed or ashamed about who you are," Bell advises viewers in her new PSA. "Never feel embarrassed or ashamed about the uniqueness that is you, because there are people out there to help. And we're all just human. And you can do it."

Learn more about depression and anxiety — and access the help you or your child deserve — at the Child Mind Institute.

children, depression, mind, mental health

Child Mind Institute is an organization changing children's lives.

childmind.org

The Child Mind Institute is an independent nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children struggling with mental health and learning disorders.

This story originally appeared on 5.2.2018

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Family

People applauded after Mark Wahlberg confronted the DJ at his daughter's dance party

Dad to the rescue.

via TheEllenShow / YouTube

Mark Wahlberg on "The Ellen Show."

Actor Mark Wahlberg recently attended a daddy-daughter dance with his 10-year-old, Grace. Sadly, Grace had no interest in seeing her father strutting his stuff on the dance floor.

"I didn't get one dance," Wahlberg told Ellen DeGeneres. "And I told her we were going to do the whole big circle and I was going to go off. And she said, 'Dad, if you embarrass me, I will never talk to you again.' But what she did do is she hung out with me."

No matter who your dad is, especially if you're a 10-year-old-girl, you have zero desire to see him dance in front of your friends.

But the parents at the dance probably would have had a blast seeing Wahlberg bust out some of his old-school '90s Marky Mark moves.

However, Wahlberg couldn't help but leave his mark on the music being played at the dance.

Let's not forget, he didn't get famous for his acting but for showing off his abs in the "Good Vibrations" video.

Being that Wahlberg's time as a pop star was three decades ago, he couldn't believe it when he heard the music being played at the dance.

"[Grace] sat there on the edge of the stage, by the DJ. And then I'm sitting there with one other dad and I'm like, 'This is not an edited version of this song. There are explicit lyrics being played at a school dance for girls and I'm like no good,'" he said.

"I told the DJ and he's like, 'Oh, I thought it was.' I said, 'What are you doing?' I'm hearing F-bombs and this and that's not okay," Wahlberg said.

He's right. There's no place for music with explicit lyrics at a dance for 10-year-old children.

Wahlberg says the DJ didn't know he wasn't playing the edited version, but it's probably more likely that he didn't even realize the song was a problem. Pop music these days is filled with a numbing amount of violent and misogynistic lyrics.

A recent study from the University of Missouri found that nearly one-third of pop songs contain lyrics that degrade or demean women by portraying them as submissive or sexually objectified.

Currently, three of the top five songs on the Billboard Top 40 contain the word "bitch." One of them is sung in Korean.

It's odd that Americans have become more sensitive to misogyny in pop culture in films, television, and comedy, but still have a huge cultural blind-spot when it comes to music.

That's not a good thing, especially when pop music is marketed to teenagers.

"We know that music has a strong impact on young people and how they view their role in society," said Cynthia Frisby, a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism.

"Unlike rap or hip-hop, pop music tends to have a bubbly, uplifting sound that is meant to draw listeners in," Frisby continued. "But that can be problematic if the lyrics beneath the sound are promoting violence and misogynistic behavior."

Let's face it, pop stars are role models. Their examples show young people what to wear and how to behave. That's not to say that kids will blindly follow someone just because they like their music. But it has an undeniable effect.

Wahlberg, and any parent who monitors what their kids are listening to, deserve credit for protecting the minds and hearts of their kids.

Frisby has some great advice for parents concerned about negative imagery in pop music.

"Ask your daughters and sons what songs they like to listen to and have conversations about how the songs might impact their identity," Frisby said.

"For example, many songs might make young girls feel like they have to look and act provocative in order to get a boy to like them, when that isn't necessarily the case. If children and teens understand that what they are hearing isn't healthy behavior, then they might be more likely to challenge what they hear on the radio."