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As Someone Who Has Chronic Depression, John Fetterman's Latest Remarks About His Job Make Me Angry. [1]

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Date: 2025-05-26

Senator John Fetterman thinks parts of his job as a U.S. senator are just “performative,” and he spent his time bitching to the New York Times about this. Seems that Fetterman’s mental health struggles are being used against him to shame him into attending hearings and casting votes, when his time could be better spent taking care of his family. As someone who suffers from chronic depression and now has to deal with the grief of losing my elderly, invalid Mom, I would normally say, “Yes, I think a person should have the time to take care of their mental health needs and family.” In fact, I lost a career over my depression (teaching), so normally, I’d be “You go boy!” But Fetterman’s reactions to the criticism thrown at him for shirking his duties just pisses me off.

My response to Fetterman is this: Hey John! You have a super important job as a leader in the Democratic Party, and if you cannot cut it, RESIGN!!! At this dark and dangerous period in our nation’s history, YOU’RE DAMN JOB IS TO PROTECT THE REST OF US FROM THE GOP AND TRUMP!

It seems that every damn politician nowadays feels they are ENTITLED to their damn position, and I am sick and tired of this bullshit!

Here’s some of the shit that Fetterman has said recently about the onerous duties of his senate gig:

Since being discharged from Walter Reed, Fetterman’s missed more votes than nearly every other senator, trailing only those with significant personal or political obligations like campaigning or caregiving. Fetterman has been attending recent hearings to demonstrate his mental capability, but he says he finds little enjoyment or interest in the routine responsibilities of serving in the Senate.

Emphasis is mine.

He once described being separated from his family as “the worst part of the job,” and explained that family time is more of a priority… Fetterman also doesn’t like attending hearings and has avoided hosting town halls because he doesn’t want to interact with protesters. He said he left the caucus group chat because he became overwhelmed by notifications and found the discussions trivial.

He goes on to describe some of those Monday votes he misses as merely “bed checks,” and his Dad recently had a heart attack. Therefore, he’d rather see his ailing dad then go to some procedural vote.

Lord Almighty.

The man accepted the job of being a leader in the Democratic Party for the state of Pennsylvania. Whatever the procedural bullshit there may be in being a senator (and I don’t doubt there is), the job comes with a lot of perks, power, and responsibilities. Fetterman rans as a progressive and one of the common people, and Lord knows we need leaders who care for and protect the average American.

We have a long list of things going wrong in this country because the GOP and Trump run the damn show. In fact, House Republicans just passed the MAGA Murder Bill (AKA the Big, Beautiful Bill) that takes away healthcare for MILLIONS of Americans. People will literally DIE is that bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by Trump.

Hey John! You are a man needing mental health, how about a little empathy for all those others about to lose their healthcare and die? And I think this issue MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW THAN A COUPLE OF MISSED DAUGHTER-DAD NIGHTS!

Instead, we get whining from you about how hard this gig is and YOUR NEEDS.

None of my former employers gave a shit about my mental health needs. Nope. When I let my depression overwhelm me at one of the best paying gigs I ever had (research scientist), my employer just simply fired me. They had every right to do that, by the way. I had just been divorced, and then, I lost my job. I eventually couldn’t find other work, and my elderly Mom had two heart attacks. I had to sell my home in NC, at a significant loss of money, to go and live with my elderly Mom in KY.

I had to try and rebuild my life, and I eventually got a teaching certificate and tried to be a high school chemistry teacher. The stress of that career — and my hat is off to anyone who can be a successful teacher — led me to make a stupid mistake while at the school. I made an inappropriate joke about my frustration and anger with teaching my students — no students were around when I made that joke, only a couple of fellow teachers. Well, I was reported to the principal, and to make a long story short, I had a emotional breakdown when confronted.

I was escorted out of the building and told to report to a mental hospital for evaulation. And if you ever want to be humiliated, I recommend being forced to a mental hospital for an evaluation. You are forced to give up any item that might be used as a weapon — car keys for one. You are searched, and you have to wait in a lobby with a two way mirror. I was terrified that I was going to be forcefully committed.

I’m was finally interviewed by one of the therapists who insisted that I go to group therapy. By the way, I was already seeing a therapist, but if I wanted a clean bill of health, group therapy was it. My employer insisted upon it, so I went for four weeks of mandatory group therapy.

I had been in group therapy in college, and it sucked. This was no better. It’s even more depressing to be around a bunch of other depressed people waiting your turn to tell everyone else what is wrong with you.

Turns out my employer at the time wasn’t satisfied with my group therapy, even though the therapist leading the group said I was dealing with my depression. He approved me going back to work. But No, the school district demanded I turn over all my medical records to them first before even considering letting me return to teaching.

I had a lawyer to help me with this issue, but he said this was a hardball tactic from the school superintendent who basically wanted me to either give up all my records, even though I had a report from the group therapist saying, “He’s good to go.”, or they wanted me to resign. Immediately.

Needless to say, I wasn’t giving the school superintendent my medical records, so I had to resign with this black mark on my record. This was all reported to the state education department, and my teaching certificate was essentially pulled. My new “career” was over.

I eventually ended up working for the federal government for the U.S. Census Bureau. The job was fine, and I wasn’t stressed out. I had to take care of my elderly, invalid Mom during that time, which I didn’t mind because I loved her and she had done more than I can say for me. She’s passed away, and now, I am awaiting to be shown the door by Donald Trump and DOGE for my nearly five years of service at the U.S. Census Bureau.

So I think I can say without any hesitation that Fetterman needs to suck it up. I know no one really gave me any breaks for my mental health issues, especially employers. And I know I cannot be alone. I’m sure countless others have had to deal with worse. But here we have Fetterman complaining that we “shame” him into doing his job.

I’m sorry about the length of this diary, if anyone wants to read it on Memorial Day that is. But I’ve had issues with Fetterman of late, and this tirade of his was just too much for me to take.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/26/2324310/-As-Someone-Who-Has-Chronic-Depression-John-Fetterman-s-Latest-Remarks-About-His-Job-Make-Me-Angry?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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