There’s always beer: 10 tips for gracious defeat from the best onscreen losers

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There’s always beer: 10 tips for gracious defeat from the best onscreen losers

Losing isn’t easy. It’s demoralizing at best, but especially so when that loss comes at the hands of a group of people whose win has resulted in a spike in hate crimes. But a majority of the voting population did lose, with their candidate—be it Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, or Dr. Jill Stein—emerging from November 8 with an uncertain future in the private sector.

While it’s easy enough to give in to the darkness, those of us who are capital-L losers will also eventually have to pick ourselves up, hop over the crinkled tissues, and get to the business of making our lives and world better, no matter what. We must be gracious in defeat, remembering that, as Michelle Obama says, “When they go low, we go high.” It’s undoubtedly hard, and right now, it might feel impossible, but here are some tips for moving forward with grace, respect, and alcohol, courtesy of both your fictional friends and your very real internet friends at The A.V. Club. Stay strong, America. The good will out.

previous arrow2. (2009-2015): Just be glad it’s over next arrow

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Privileged playboy and heir to the Sweetums fortune Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) enters the Pawnee City Council race to impress his father, completely unaware that anyone else is running. His opponent Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), on the other hand, has spent her entire life working toward this opportunity. But despite his appalling ignorance and lack of policy plans, Newport’s name and wealth appeal to the basest of Pawneean priorities (sugar), and he winds up giving Knope a run for her money. After a recount and a razor-thin loss of 21 votes, Bobby Newport concedes with a simple “Honestly, I’ve never been more relieved in my life.” This is exactly the kind of peaceful honesty to aim for in loss, especially when you’re in it for all the wrong reasons. And hey, admit it: Winning never would’ve been enough to win Daddy’s approval, anyway. [Kelsey J. Waite]

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