Juicy

“Fuck all you hoes. Get a grip.”

These tremendous seven words spoken by the Notorious Christopher Wallace at the beginning of his magnum opus, “Juicy,” have pervaded my thoughts throughout the entirety of 2025. 

“Fuck all you hoes,” said to the American people through a slew of Executive Orders, posts, and press briefings. And also, “fuck all you hoes,” said by the people in response to the cowardice of our elected officials for failing to represent the needs of their constituents and especially the most vulnerable.

“Get a grip,” said to the American people expected to accept an unprecedented deluge of bigotry, censorship, and government upheaval. And also, “Get a grip,” said by the people in response to ourselves as we question the momentum of aggressive yet widely accepted hatred while still attempting to maintain our sanity.

“You hoes,” said to the American people who have been deemed nonessential within the federal workforce and provided no evidence as to why their life’s work is now over. And also, “You hoe,” said by the people in response—and with a heavy side eye—to the unqualified and unelected fool responsible for making the cuts and whose spread of misinformation continues to permeate the online landscape and the social media platform he owns. 

And, of course, “Fuck…” said by almost everyone about the collective future of our country. 

To a certain extent, I planned for the 47th administration to come in with a “fuck all you hoes” approach—and for that same administration to tell us all to “get a grip.” Still, I thought we had at least a good six to eight months until we experienced the end of democracy as we know it. Hell, at this rate, I’m not even sure we have another six to eight weeks.

As I continue to process the tossing aside of the policies, regulations, protections, and general civility most of us have lived with our entire lives, I can’t help but wonder why the American people are still expected to act as though everything is business as usual when it’s so abundantly clear that our business is anything but. 

As very scary and very real actions are being carried out by the richest man in the world at the legitimate direction of the most powerful man in the world, why are we still expected to pay our bills on time and manage our households? As Social Security is being questioned and everyone from air traffic controllers to chemists are losing their jobs at the federal level, why are we still expected to do our taxes and wait patiently in line to buy groceries? And, as the Department of Education is being gutted and our military is being polarized, why are we still expected to participate in meetings that could have been emails and teach our children respect?

Most importantly, why, after 38 days of laying waste to nearly every rule, norm, and safeguard in our country and very clearly saying, “Fuck ALL you hoes,” does the 47th administration expect us to function like regular human beings let alone get a grip?  

I realize these questions may seem absurd to some, but what’s more disturbing to most is the continued use of the Nazi salute, the suppression of the free press, and the concept that leadership in America is now somehow akin to total domination. 

So what do we do now? 

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a lot we can do at this point in time—and certainly not with the kind of immediacy we’ve seen in the last 38 days. The exception, however, is in the management of our own expectations which, when it comes to our freedoms and protections as American citizens, should probably be lowered significantly, but should nevertheless be handled with great care in our day-to-day lives.

In my own attempt to stop saying “Fuck all you hoes” to everyone who offers me a simple hello, I thought I’d jot down a few general expectations we can all keep in mind in order to get a much needed grip. 

First, to everyone, if you have a job, the expectation is to continue to do it and to do it well. Everyone is expected to continue to care for their families and to pay their bills on time. Everyone is expected to wait in lines, have their pets spayed and neutered, and tip 20 percent at restaurants. Everyone is also expected to set a better example for the children than the government is setting for us, and to try to keep their shit together for as long as humanly possible. 

To the American people who have felt a great deal of uncertainty and sadness for the last 38 days, expect those feelings to persist. Expect to feel neglected, unseen, and confused for the foreseeable future, but also expect your existing responsibilities to remain largely unchanged. Expect to manage both your mental health and your household. Expect to lean on people who love you, and expect them to lean on you too. Expect that you will eventually feel a bit better than you do right now. 

To the American people who continue to support the current administration and publicly make excuses as to why the elimination of DEI initiatives isn’t overt racism or why access to Medicare should be denied so that billionaires can receive tax breaks, expect to be disinvited to the barbeque. Expect to lose friends and family and even acquaintances at the dog park when you outwardly support a tyrant and the megalomaniac he put in charge to do his bidding. While there are indeed gray areas in politics where we can simply agree to disagree, condoning authoritarian rule in a country founded on the exact opposite isn’t one of them. 

To employers, expect your employees to be pissed regardless of personal politics. Expect hope for emotional support. Expect more absences. Expect missed deadlines and delays in email exchanges. Expect the assumption that you should have it all figured out even though you’re still trying to make sense of it too. Expect some guy from corporate to determine a pizza party as a viable solution.

To elected officials and political leaders, expect to do more. NOW.  Expect demands that you uphold the oath you took to the Constitution by taking action to combat a dictatorship. Expect to put in the work. Expect to feel defeated. Expect more lies from the boys upstairs and the crazy idea that the American people still expect you to combat their spread of misinformation anyway. Expect to remember that your egos, which are not entirely dissimilar from those of this administration, are what got you into politics in the first place. Then, expect to use your arrogance as fuel to step it up on behalf of a country that is in desperate need of rational leadership. Because if you don’t, you can also expect a revolution from the groups mentioned above, and when it happens, we expect you to not be surprised. 

Having said all this, I wish I could end this blog with some good advice about perseverance or growth or how “It was all a dream,” but I’m done with false promises, and I’m pretty sure you are too. What I do know is that things are likely going to get even juicier in America in the days, weeks, and months to come, and it’s important we start managing our expectations now so we can all get a grip in preparation for whatever bigger battle lies ahead.

Title Track: “Juicy,” Notorious B.I.G. Listen here. 

Just a Biggie garden gnome in my Alocasia Ninja for effect.