NOEMIE EMERY: Disgrace Under Pressure:

A month after the surprise election of Donald Trump in November (surprising to noone more than to Trump and Clinton), the losers are still working through the stages of anguish in ways that seem strange to many observers but of which they appear oddly proud.

Not only do they brag of the length and intensity of their bouts of sobbing —”crying as if someone died” was a common description — but, as New York magazine reported days later, professional women all over the country are making a brave stand to protest Trump’s election by doing hideous things to their hair. Because “the election results felt like an attack on minorities, women, and marginalized people in general,” a “vegan chef” cut her hair off to send Trump a “message.” Others like her got buzz cuts, flat tops or tossed out their extensions, and went platinum, or black.

Unfortunately, there was not a chance in the world that this message would reach Trump, or that he would care if he got it, but somehow the logic of making themselves ugly in the interests of spiting a well-know connoisseur of feminine pulchritude just seemed the right thing to do. . . .

Ever solicitous, the Post’s Style section would go on for days if not weeks with heartwarming tales of a congregation left scared and shaken, a planned “happy hour” at a wellness spa in Takoma Park that became a tear-sodden venture, and a man in rude health who stayed up till 5 when the last votes were in, called in sick to his office and spent the whole day in bed. Ah, Democrats, where the men are all weak, and the women odd-looking. But when have we heard this before? Perhaps the last time the Democrats lost an election they thought they were winning, and showed the same resilience and fortitude.

“Democrats Shellshocked by Bush Win Over Kerry,” ran the piece in World News Daily on November 11, 2004. “The Florida-based American Health Association has released symptoms of what it calls ‘post-election selection trauma’ or PEST, which include: feelings of withdrawal … isolation … anger and bitterness, loss of appetite, sleeplessness … moodiness [and] endless sulking,’ though no mentions yet about hair. “Manhattan psychologist Bonnie Maslin said many of her patients cried about the lost election,” Newsday reported days earlier.

“They talked about hopelessness … the level of devastation is enormous. Patients are saying they feel that the things they cherish and value are under siege.” Republicans felt the same things 2008 and 2012, but they went on ticking. Never change, Democrats, we need you, if just as examples of what not to do when things go against you: Grace under pressure, indeed.

Yeah, this month-long national freakout makes me wonder if Democrats are actually ready for democracy.