It's already a dictatorship. This is how it feels. And you haven't left, so you'll make it through. Batten down the hatches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the daily "doom and gloom" post.

Please add some light and hope!

here is some light and hope

https://bsky.app/profile/lorennacleary.bsky.social/post/3m3bkz2u3j223

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.

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?

One of thing to watch for is when Trump purges the ranks. Anyone who is a threat to his power will be eliminated in the Republican Party. This always happens.

Anonymous wrote:

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

States hold them.

Try having an election with troops occupying your state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

So you joined them.

I ain’t no senator’s son, as the song goes.

Just trying to survive.

Since you asked...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWijx_AgPiA
(It ain't me by CCR)

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.

GL luck with that. So many borders are closed for American emigrants now, even compared to a few years ago. The ones who stay must fight. The ones who fled will send support and rally for America in new countries.

If everything is fine or even good for you right now, then they're coming for you later. But they're coming.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Without elections this is hopeless. The best we can hope for is a military coup or Trump embroils us in WWIII when he tries to invade Greenland or whatever and the the regime is somehow defeated that way.

I keep hearing people hoping for this outcome, and I'm shocked at the historical ignorance and naivete. Neither a military coup or invasion by a foreign military are things you want to experience. They typically go very very badly for the local populations—women raped, men captured and killed, your life as you know it, over.

Maybe you don’t want the news much, or maybe it’s just that the far right media doesn’t show it, but that’s the direction we are moving in right now. More cities will be invaded, more courts will be compromised, and the IRS is being weaponized to go after enemies.

I think that most of the country would welcome a joint UN invasion, even if that’s not a realistic scenario.

You are so delusional that I think you must have significant mental health problems.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Without elections this is hopeless. The best we can hope for is a military coup or Trump embroils us in WWIII when he tries to invade Greenland or whatever and the the regime is somehow defeated that way.

I keep hearing people hoping for this outcome, and I'm shocked at the historical ignorance and naivete. Neither a military coup or invasion by a foreign military are things you want to experience. They typically go very very badly for the local populations—women raped, men captured and killed, your life as you know it, over.

The daily disaster fetishists with massive anxiety disorders who post on this site know nothing of history.

“ If the economy tanks then all bets are off.”

If? I guess “tank” means different things to different people but the economy sucks for well over 90% of Americans.

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

States hold them.

There are not going to be any midterm elections.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Without elections this is hopeless. The best we can hope for is a military coup or Trump embroils us in WWIII when he tries to invade Greenland or whatever and the the regime is somehow defeated that way.

I keep hearing people hoping for this outcome, and I'm shocked at the historical ignorance and naivete. Neither a military coup or invasion by a foreign military are things you want to experience. They typically go very very badly for the local populations—women raped, men captured and killed, your life as you know it, over.

Maybe you don’t want the news much, or maybe it’s just that the far right media doesn’t show it, but that’s the direction we are moving in right now. More cities will be invaded, more courts will be compromised, and the IRS is being weaponized to go after enemies.

I think that most of the country would welcome a joint UN invasion, even if that’s not a realistic scenario.

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.

We are definitely in a two steps forward and one step back moment.

But I'm going to offer an ever so slightly more hopeful outlook over the longer term - and that is the state where you live is going to become really important. Federalism is going to take on a new meaning. It's not going to take long for the racist or racist sympathetic/racist leaning state governments to show their true colors. But it's going to take time to regain the ground that's been lost.

And while I agree that we are now under an authoritarian government I actually don't think it's going to filter down to the vast majority of people, but it is going to suck for the people that it does filter down to.

If the economy tanks then all bets are off.