What’s it going to be like living in a dictatorship?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I’ve had our family scrub (as best we can) our social media profiles, to remove all political statements.

We are also all getting concealed gun permits. Not to carry guns but because your license shows that during a traffic spot. We want the police to imagine we too are fellow fascists.

We’ve also made small donations to the Leader’s political coffers.

What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once the Roberts court dismantles the voting rights act (this month) we will be in full authoritarianism. Because MAGA will get 19 more house seats and Dems will have to overperform by 6 points just to be even.

So when we have elections, and we will, they will be almost meaningless. Unless folks in “red states” wake up and realize GOP is screwing them and they stop voting for MAGA. It could happen but that would mean Dems need to put up candidates who will fight for working people, not middle of the road (nowhere) candidates.

This. It’s done. At this point it feels bleak and we are stuck. Our votes really don’t matter. And there’s no desire from the GOP to even try to pretend to run the government. As much as I dislike Trump, he’s right, we won’t have to worry about voting in the next election.

Authoritarians want us to feel defeated. It’s never over!

Did slaves just accept their fate? Make a plan to attend a No Kings rally, sign up to stay active, DO SOMETHING.

Come on people I know this is hard but anyone who says they’re giving up is obviously comfortable being a “good

German“ Don’t be that.

please, get real.
Bullying people is not the solution. And in case you aren’t sure, you are being a bully and it does not compel anyone to do what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I’ve had our family scrub (as best we can) our social media profiles, to remove all political statements.

We are also all getting concealed gun permits. Not to carry guns but because your license shows that during a traffic spot. We want the police to imagine we too are fellow fascists.

We’ve also made small donations to the Leader’s political coffers.

Don't do this! If you comply in advance, they've already won.

[Anonymous]

Read the 2020 short story "Love Letter" by George Saunders. It is a subtly powerful description of the slow descent into dictatorship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

I see a lot of people fear mongering about this. Please list how you have been directly impacted by any of the so call dictatorship or authoritarian gov up to this point?

DP but we're a well-educated, 3rd generation DC born and raised family, and we've been affected. DW is a Fed, so her agency has been hectic to say the least since January. I run a small business with government contracts, and properly appropriated and contracted funds are just frozen even after out team did the work and paid for expenses (cost-reimbursement contract). My brother has a visible, political job in DC, and he's received death threats but no longer gets security. I think because of my brother, I was doxxed and my small business has been harassed by MAGA and we had to close the doors to the public (but still operational).

We like to think we're a pretty well-insulated, run of the mill family, and yet here we are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading this thread because I feared all of this is really happening. I was reading it hoping that there would be a few replies saying we are over reacting and it’s not going to happen here in the U.S. I cannot believe this is where we are as a country, I cannot stop thinking about what life is going to be like in the coming years. I am scared for my children. I don’t know where to go or how to get my husband on board with the possibility of leaving.

the problem for most americans is, there is no where to go without literally going over the MX or CA borders illegally. Ironic, no?

There is a kind of sick irony that so many Americans are now becoming acquainted with what it feels like to watch your home fall into dangerous disarray, only to find yourself unwanted and unwelcome in the rest of the world. That even if you do make it out, you'll never be anything more than an "immigrant," othered and second-class.

We had something unique and special here. Not perfect by any means, but special. And we threw it away because we forgot that immigrants are what made this country everything it has ever been.

+1

The thought of leaving everything behind — my home, career, social network, etc. to start over somewhere new feels so daunting. And I have financial resources and a higher education, so I have more than most to help land on my feet.

I also think about the fact that many immigrants who were white collar professionals in their home country end up taking on hourly wage jobs in the U.S. to make ends meet. And they may have to expend a lot of their money just to get here. Moving to a new country can actually mean initially decreasing your lifestyle in the hopes of a better future.

Just the mental exercise of thinking about it all, how would I increase liquid assets? What would I bring? Where would I go that would accept my family? Would my kids have to attend school in an unknown language? Would they be accepted by peers and be able to make a future for themselves? Could we find a community of other Americans to give us some anchor to home?

I’ve always felt empathy for immigrants, but going through the mental exercise and worrying about things here in the U.S. getting worse gives me a new level of respect for everything they go through (and I also have immense empathy for those who cannot leave their circumstances or who try to hang on in their home countries). And as a parent I can relate to their desire to do whatever they can to give their kids a better life. I don’t know how anyone can judge that and think people should be shoved around like hardened criminals because of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

The bolded was obvious from the rest of your self-indulgent post.

Why? I’m just being honest about who I am. Are you scared and worried or not?

I’ve been scared and worried for many years, long before Trump. The fact you haven’t been says a lot.

I’m POC and I’ve been worried for a while also. But at least PP gets it, even if later than sooner. It’s depressing to see how many people on FB or Reddit are mocking the No Kings event coming up bc they really don’t see it and still think it’s a bunch of libs overreacting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

I see a lot of people fear mongering about this. Please list how you have been directly impacted by any of the so call dictatorship or authoritarian gov up to this point?

DP, but not all of us only care about how we have personally been affected. I am done having kids and now unable to get pregnant, but I am scared by the loss of reproductive rights for younger women.

I am a white American-born citizen, but I’m horrified how brown people (some who are also citizens or legal immigrants) are being nabbed from the streets (I also don’t want to see undocumented immigrants treated as subhumans).

Currently the national guard is not in Northern VA, but I worry what could happen once we (hopefully) end up with a democratic governor. I don’t want military occupation of my neighborhood.

I am still currently employed, but as a fed I don’t feel stable in my career and I worry about the terrible job market for so many others as well.

Also, I think this poem captures why we shouldn’t only look as far as how we are currently being impacted:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are not going to be any midterm elections.

Stop. There will be. But it will be a HUGE lift because Democrats are going to have to over perform six points just to break even.

So start find a group to volunteer with that registers voters in swing states now. Fund them as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

I see a lot of people fear mongering about this. Please list how you have been directly impacted by any of the so call dictatorship or authoritarian gov up to this point?

DP but we're a well-educated, 3rd generation DC born and raised family, and we've been affected. DW is a Fed, so her agency has been hectic to say the least since January. I run a small business with government contracts, and properly appropriated and contracted funds are just frozen even after out team did the work and paid for expenses (cost-reimbursement contract). My brother has a visible, political job in DC, and he's received death threats but no longer gets security. I think because of my brother, I was doxxed and my small business has been harassed by MAGA and we had to close the doors to the public (but still operational).

We like to think we're a pretty well-insulated, run of the mill family, and yet here we are.

So you’ve been renting off the American public and it’s all coming crashing down. Funny how that works

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

I see a lot of people fear mongering about this. Please list how you have been directly impacted by any of the so call dictatorship or authoritarian gov up to this point?

1) you are saying people should only care if they are directly impacted?
2) with authoritarian govs, the list of enemies keeps expending. First, criminal immigrants, then illegals immigrants, then anyone who looks Latino. Oh and if you don’t agree with us, you are against us and a terrorist, etc.
But to answer your question—it’s impacted me bc people who look like me are targeted by ICE regardless of legal status. And—I don’t feel safe sharing my opinions anymore about disagreeing with the administration. I saw somewhere that if people are at the point where they hesitate to openly criticize the government for fear of being targeted, you are already in an authoritarian government. What is your idea of such a government? You think it starts with people falling off buildings like Russia?

[Anonymous]

Can someone say more about what life is like in a dictatorship? In particular Turkey. I believe there is a Turkish festival
This weekend and I’m
Thinking of attending that, plus the No Kings rally. Hoping there may be people
At the festival that have direct experience that they can share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

Welcome to Gilead! Read the book or watch the show. It's been remarkably accurate.

DP. My brother lives in Portland, OR. A local Catholic school denied enrollment to a child because their parents are a same-sex couple.

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/06/st-agatha-catholic-school-lgbtq-parents/

All I could think about was the scene between Emily and her colleague where the colleague (also gay) warns her against having a picture of her family as her cell phone wallpaper because a student could complain. Emily says, "We're not going back in the closet." By the end of the episode her colleague has been lynched with his body hanging in the open for everyone to see.

We're obviously not that far yet, but kicking kids out of school for who there parents are is a good start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

I see a lot of people fear mongering about this. Please list how you have been directly impacted by any of the so call dictatorship or authoritarian gov up to this point?

DP but we're a well-educated, 3rd generation DC born and raised family, and we've been affected. DW is a Fed, so her agency has been hectic to say the least since January. I run a small business with government contracts, and properly appropriated and contracted funds are just frozen even after out team did the work and paid for expenses (cost-reimbursement contract). My brother has a visible, political job in DC, and he's received death threats but no longer gets security. I think because of my brother, I was doxxed and my small business has been harassed by MAGA and we had to close the doors to the public (but still operational).

We like to think we're a pretty well-insulated, run of the mill family, and yet here we are.

So you’ve been renting off the American public and it’s all coming crashing down. Funny how that works

OK troll. If you don't know DC, at least know that it's an industry town, and the industry is the Federal Government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at the point now that I’m trying to envision our lives in the coming years. What will it be like? What will our daily existence feel like under a dictatorship? Or authoritarian government or wherever we’re headed? What will it be like for our kids who are in middle school right now? What will their futures look like? FWIW we are white. My younger brother (34) is gay. My mom relies on a pension. We have various friends who are Jewish, black, deaf, autistic, LGBTQ. I’m really sad and scared about where we’re clearly headed. Will we be able to find happiness and livelihood? Travel? Express ourselves?

I see a lot of people fear mongering about this. Please list how you have been directly impacted by any of the so call dictatorship or authoritarian gov up to this point?

DP, but since you have asked...

I have been asked for papers.
I have been held up in "check points"
I have friends and families who have list their jobs from illegal firings

I am a white, native born American.

So assuming you are telling the truth you have been inconvenienced twice and experienced something a lot of people go through having friends or family members be let go from a job?

I don't think your Constitutional rights can be "inconvenienced." They can be violated or not violated. Just because the authorities are taking the action and not being stopped doesn't mean they aren't violating your rights.

But PP, with your mindset I think you will claim anything and everything is an "inconvenience" right until the rifle butt cracks your skull. At the end of the day, everyone's skull cracks the same.