I'm feeling so uneasy with everything I've been seeing. I keep thinking about what we will be this time next year, and if shit hits the fan, what is your plan? I'm queer and was politically active in 2020, so I would potentially be considered a political enemy.
The only blueprint I can think of is what you do in an active shooter situation; Flee, Hide, Fight.
I know there's that romantic notion of "don't be a coward, get out and protest", but I remember the brutality of the 2020 protests firsthand, and even then I thought "thank god I'm going toe to toe with the CPD and not the CCP". Next time is going to be different. The president now has authority to send drone strikes. Protests and riots don't stand a chance agains missiles and live rounds.
Flee- I have an Uncle in Montreal who my family could potentially use as a way to at least temporarily escape the chaos. The hope I'd have is that Canada and other countries would accept American refugees, however that's not a guarantee.
Hide- If borders are closed, lay low and move away from major cities if possible. If civil war breaks out, try to get away from the violence even if you think your side will win. Todays losers may be tomorrows victors.
Fight- If cellular data/ social media algorithms can keep track of you, and surveillance can make sure there's no movement, this would be the last resort of desperation. I guess if possible try to either find a group for safety in numbers, or conversely go guerrilla as groups of resistance would make easy targets.
Not America’s left. America’s left has wanted gun control.
That said, it’s not like the left leaning cities are hurting for guns. There is a reason the left wants gun control.
And the strong push against gun control isn’t a 200 hundred year old thing. It’s a 40-50 year old thing. The NRA used to be about responsible gun ownership, not saving up for the fallout wasteland.
Maybe I'm more of a moderate but I just want some gun control, like universal background checks and mandatory training.
Not really on board with other things though, for example: Banning certain models of guns is just stupid and ineffective: Ban one and there are probably at least half a dozen other functionally identical firearms they can be replaced with. It's meaningless performative legislature.
You make it sound like these people have a bone in their bodies to take the fight to their government.. all a bunch of hot air. Even the ex military ain't got it in them. Not many people are willing to sacrifice their lives for their ideals.
I sure haven’t. That’s a deluded conservative thing… they say they need guns to defend from an overbearing government, then they’re the idiots who vote for freedom-infringing authoritarians. It also hasn’t made sense in decades at best, given that they’d be gravy seals fighting army or police with their handguns while the government has helicopters, grenades, night vision, comm systems (like, they think they’d have cell service in a civil war?) and so on. Maybe some organized group could pull off an Iraq or Afghanistan style resistance, but it seems unlikely.
I've dabbled in ham radio a bit, comms is something that at least some of the right are thinking about with these kinds of things, there's more than a handful of right wing doomsday pepper lunatics in the ham radio circle, if you ever decide to listen in on CB radio chatter, there's a good chance you're gonna hear some lunatic ranting about conspiracy bullshit, I'm pretty sure I saw some pictures of guys at 1/6 with some baofengs (cheap Chinese ham radios, pretty much every ham has one or two kicking around)
I remember when I first started looking into ham radio, I was googling some stuff, clicking into a whole bunch of different results not paying too much attention to where I was, and I found one forum thread that was actually pretty informative until halfway down the thread someone said something really unhinged about race wars or something, and no one called him out about it and some even agreed with him, so I took a look at what site I was on and it was the stormfront forums. Nope I out of there really quick.
Also not the only experience I had like that, few of my hobbies and interests have significant overlap with the right wing lunatics fringe since I'm into some outdoors camping and survivalist type stuff, the algorithms try really hard to suck me into crazytown sometimes.
Small arms like pistols, shotguns, rifles are great against a random meth head that breaks in to your home. But against a coordinated response by the government!? They have machine guns and drones and troops and bombs. And have been known to use them on civilians.
It doesn't seem like you've read much about insurgencies and rebel groups. It doesn't actually take much firepower to inject enough chaos into the system that you cause issues with traditional militaries. One person with a rifle could keep a FOB alert and wasting resources for a couple of hours in Afghanistan. IEDs placed by individuals or small groups caused absolute terror in Iraq.
These types of things are unlikely to "win" a war. But if you make it costly enough, the other side will decide it's not worth fighting. The point is not to engage in head-on combat, that's suicide.
Or hell, look to the tactics of some of the rebels in the Revolutionary War or the Civil War.
“On Tyranny” has some great guidance on this, as well as some guidance on how to do what you can to help put the brakes on it happening.
TL;DR there’s quite a lot more, but stay off the internet, get used to making small talk, making eye contact. Know who’s in your community physically and who has your back. Renew your passport, make friends in other countries if you can. Make friends. Stay off the internet.
He didn’t actually say stay off the internet; that was my oversimplified retelling. A little more complete but still oversimplified version would be: Be careful and don’t share more than what you think is safe to share, and try to focus on the real world as much as you can. The real world doesn’t have mass surveillance in quite such a prepackaged and straightforward fashion, and it is where all the real outcomes good or bad will eventually take place anyway, so prioritize it as much as you can.
It is soo easy to forget about just how much identifying metadata you leave on the internet just by reading stuff.
You know the cookie banners you see? Those that claim to let you opt out from being tracked by advertisers?
Yeah, those are just the overt tracking mechanism, tracking pixels are far far more insidious.
Lets backtrack a bit, back when Facebook started getting big, companies started embedded Like buttons on their webpages, cool right? You could just click the Like button and it would help you post a link to your Facebook feed to the page you were visiting.
Seems fine, right? What's the issue?
It would be fine if the image of the Like button was stored on the local web server hosting the rest of the site.
But it isn't.
It is stored on Facebook's servers, it is stored in a way that every single Like button has their own ID, so every time you load up your favourite website about abandoned radiation experiment sites it makes your browser send a request to Facebook's servers as well and depending on how the request is sent they can at minimum log that your IP address loaded the Like button with the ID number X, the ID number X is tied to the specific webpage you visited.
Then you go and do some research on impotense and how to cure it, the pages you read all have Like buttons as above, but with their own ID numbers, Facebook now knows at a minimum that you are a man who is interested in science, technology, society and modern history, you may also suffer from impotense.
Well, you keep browsing the web and read local news, well the Like button is also there, and with the ID number Facebook can add an area of interest to your profile.
It keeps going like this, but with one huge important change, people are starting getting warey of the Like buttons and Facebook in general, so they simply remove the button, while introducing the tracking pixel, a 1px*1px transparent picture, it works like how the Like button loads, and keeps generating data for Facebook.
Facebook is not alone in this, I just used them as an example.
Canada will not accept US citizens as refugees unless things really goes to hell, we're not even accepting refugees who come from other countries via the USA as they're supposed to ask for refugee status in the first of the two country they step in. So yeah, don't get your hopes up, Canada isn't a consolation prize for you guys, fix your own shit.
It's just the truth bud, people living in the richest country in the world can't be bothered to go out and vote (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/voter-turnout-rate-by-age-usa the majority of electors under 30 support the Democrats) and every US elections research for Canadian immigration laws goes through the roof? If you guys can't make your own country work (even when you've got an amendment made to secure people's right to protect themselves against the shit show your government has become!) then why would you expect other countries to just welcome everyone of you? It's not as if you would extend the same favor, people coming from the poorest countries in the world end up being detained when they cross into the USA.
Make sure everyone you know gets to the polls on our before election day.
Become a poll worker.
We need to make sure we vote in numbers too big to steal. In 2000 the election was handed to Bush by the Supreme Court because of one state. Looking at the last term, the court would absolutely find a way to shift the election to the con in chief if it was just one swing state with irregularities.
Talk to people about project 2025 and what it will mean. This is how the guardrails from 2017 are removed. This is how we start a Christian theocracy. If we vote blue all the way down, the Dems may be able to put stronger rails in place. If it's not Project 2025 it will be Project 2029. These conservative think tanks have been doing this since Reagan, but this is by far the scariest.
Talk to friends and family about the Biden administration wins. It's not just Biden you're voting for, it is a continuation of his administration.
CHIPS and science act bringing an entire industry back home. This will make us competitive with China and boat domestic manufacturing.
Biden has actually increased fossil fuel production which has kept energy prices low and curbed the post pandemic inflation. Record oil productionSPR management
We are pretty much screwed any way you slice it. Make sure you’ve got a trusted network of people, make sure you’ve got your passport renewed. Make sure you’ve got some coins stashed away.
But also, get into local government. Go to a city meeting. It sounds dumb but if you’re not involved then you’re not informed and have no power. A lot of cities have the power of ordinances that can make life less hellish.
Look up climate feedback loops cause we’re already over the edge on that crap. Ain’t nothing to be done except start living underground.
Don't underestimate the US military, as an ally. They are primarily younger, and the upper echelons are educated and all take their oath very seriously, to defend the Constitution, from enemies foreign and domestic. Of course there will be factions that will stick to Trump, like certain national guards, but that will fracture command and weaken our ability to react internationally. The military understand those implications, the potential literal end of the world. In the end, they push the button, not the president. The lower ranks have no desire to fight American civilians either, it's antithetical to everything they are taught, and the age range is generally people in their 20's and 30's.I trust a Marine, a soldier, an airman, a seaman heheh, coast guard too, oh and the spacemen, way more than a cop, to do the right thing.
The US military's entire existence is so they can attack other countries to keep rich americans rich. I dont think they will now suddenly change and care about the life of anyone not rich.
There is that fact, but also a lot of the military are contracted to remain in service or else go to prison. Many of them are there against their wishes simply because their contracts last for years. They are often drawn from poor backgrounds into signing exploitative contracts very young through lies. That is quite different to police where remaining in the job is a choice that pits you directly against your neighbours. There is a long tradition of soldiers becoming radicalised into anti-authoritarian and anti-war beliefs.
I had a similar conversation about this with a Marine yesterday, and I definitely trust the lower ranks and their commitment to the American people, but it is after all an authoritarian hierarchy. I’ve heard of privates coerced into taking vaccines under the threat of disappearing, and if soldiers can fire on their own civilians in other countries, I have every reason to believe they can here. And I know some of them readily would.
I’ve heard of privates coerced into taking vaccines under the threat of disappearing,
LOL this is ridiculous. threat of disappearing is bullshit. During the GWOT many units were mandated to get Anthrax and a host of other vaccines, and you know what? Most people just took it.
A few didn't. They got their discharges.
No one fucking disappeared. Jesus Handy Christ, that's so fucking dumb it's astounding
I’ve heard of privates coerced into taking vaccines under the threat of disappearing, and if soldiers can fire on their own civilians in other countries, I have every reason to believe they can here.
you know you're deranged right? either you're dumber than dogshit for believing this when you read it below the BATBOY headline, or you're sick in the head for making it up.
I hate to say it but if Trump wins, it will not be the same as last time. Trump and the Republicans have both learned a lot from their last go around, and they've got the benefit of a captive supreme court at their back this time. Last time they had no clear plan for what to do if they won. This time around their plan is very clear and very scary.
As someone who might be targeted and killed as this drags on, I'm not really worrying about it much. Control whatever you can, be aware obviously, but what more could you possibly do? Monday's ruling is already in the past - I mean to say that we've already made our choices, long ago (some people have seen this coming for nearly a decade now), and all that is left is to live (or whatever) with them. It "helps" that climate change awaits to kill us all regardless of who wins the next election. To be clear, no I do not say that lightly.
Hypothetical illustration: let's say that you are a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Do you jump forward? Backwards? Remain still? Duck? Jump straight up vertically into the air as high as you can? Once in this position, no matter what you do there are risks, and your choices are limited, with the outcome of your decisions mostly not up to you. Side-note: you could maybe not have jumped out straight in front of a speeding car... but that choice is behind you now, and you can only deal with what is, not what you wish had been.
So don't panic unduly - that isn't helpful - just focus on doing the next correct thing, and the rest... well, isn't up to you.
Not trying to rain on your parade (pun) but you may have been getting your climate change info only from the headlines of for-profit publications which rely on advertising for income. No reputable scientific consensus report indicates we’re all going to die or anything close.
Disasters will cause more damage and food will be more expensive. That’s the effects which Americans will experience for as far as the predictions can go.
No reputable scientific consensus report indicates we’re all going to die or anything close.
Depends who you are. Middle-class american living not too close to a coast? Yea you're probably fine, you'll get hotter summers and colder winters but you'll survive.
Poor and living nearby to coast or such that can get more easily affected by climate change? You could be pretty fucked by mother nature by chance.
First, we are blowing waaay past all earlier expectations, e.g. those made a decade ago. Second, as the other commenter said, we aren't all going to make it (though you are correct, neither are we "all" going to die - I was being hyperbolic, but then later came and added the aforementioned sentence that did not mesh well into my comment). Third, the randomness of it all is mind-boggling, e.g. remember that one day that the temperature went up by a full 70 degrees F? Imagine it being 100 degrees already, as so many places already (almost) are in the USA, and then such a spike occurs making it 170 for that day - yeah, some people are going to survive it, but what about the plants, the animals, i.e. the crops, the wildlife, the entire ecosystem that exists outside of a cushy building that has A/C?
Anyway, thank you for the correction. I should have said that we aren't all going to make it.
Wait, scratch that - "many" rather than "all"!:-P
All of that aside, it does seem a pretty huge deal, more so than these political matters even.
You guys make this sound like some kind of doomsday movie.
I'm not downplaying how bad things are, but if you really have the several thousand dollars you'd need to actually uproot your entire life just sitting around, good for you. Most people don't have that kind of free money.
And good luck moving if you have pets, or have family members you care for. Have you guys even been to your "target" countries? Do you have plans for how you'll make income? How does healthcare work in your target country?
If you have all that figured out, and have nothing to leave behind, then good for you, I really do hope you end up better off. But this panicked response of "What are you waiting for, run!!!!!" is way more entitled than people seem to think.
Damn, I guess you're right. It's a shame I don't have the money to move.
I'll have to abandon my elderly family, put my pets up for adoption, and stow away on a local fishing boat for a few months. I guess it's the only way.
...but seriously, this is my point. Yes, this is all bad, but what do you want me to do? Being able to just jump ship is a privilege I do not have. If the building is burning, then I'm not getting out in time.
Free money? People have been running/fleeing, are still running/fleeing, from regimes/ideologies, etc. today. Running for your life is not an entitled act, it's survival.
Running while expecting to just continue your life as is (income, luxuries, etc,) that could be described as entitled.
So the question is - is this a survival moment? The answer might be no, we're blowing this out of proportion. Or yes, now is the time.
I personally believe that if we had the highest voter turnout in US history, it would absolutely nail Trump. People need to exercise their right to vote, like their life depends on it.
What you forgot to mention is that the “target” country has to want you. Even progressive Americans seem to have the belief (american exceptionalism) that they can just “move” to another country if they wake up in November to find the wrong guy won. In reality, you have to apply to immigrate to a country. Your application is gone through with a fine tooth comb. It will be 50 pages of information including blood work, urine tests, xrays, and FBI background checks. You may be granted a visa if you have something the country wants or needs, like a higher qualification or a job offer. But chicken and egg, it will be near impossible to get a job offer without a visa. And if you have a high BMI, medical issues, or an arrest record, you may as well forget about it. Many countries require that you have a 4 figure wad of free cash to get yourself started. If your target country has already met its immigration quota for the year then forget about it. If your target country has thousands of applicants (which most “good” countries do at any time), then your application has to rise above the others e.g., you have a job offer and a phd. Assuming you get through all this, it will take months to well over a year to get through the process. Want to bring your pets? Factor in 5-10k USD each for shipping, veterinary, and quarantine fees.
The bottom line is… stop yammering on about moving to another country if the orange shitstain wins. If you haven’t started the process yet of your own volition then you’ve likely not the tenacity to work that Sisyphean task.
It will be 50 pages of information including blood work, urine tests, xrays, and FBI background checks.
Um, no. I've done visa and citizenship paperwork, it's not easy, and you're right that you need a compelling case for why you should be accepted. But I've never heard of requiring that extensive of medical checks for visa applications, especially not for from countries that have developed medical systems. Though some countries do require medical records. You're right often a background check is required, but in my case at least, a notorized affidavit where I just promised I was a good boy was accepted.
It will be 50 pages of information including blood work, urine tests, xrays, and FBI background checks.
Um, no. I've done visa and citizenship paperwork, it's not easy, and you're right that you need a compelling case for why you should be accepted. But I've never heard of requiring that extensive of medical checks for visa applications, especially not for from countries that have developed medical systems. Though some countries do require medical records. You're right often a background check is required, but in my case at least, an apostilled affidavit where I just promised I was a good boy was accepted.
Stay and vote. The way I see it, Canada is fucked if PP wins anyways, and will be hurt by Trump regardless. Europe is fucked if the alt right wins in France and hobbles Germany in the next couple elections. Nigel Farage is going to parasitically eat the conservatives from the inside out in the UK. Trump will pull put of NATO, which means war on Europe's doorstep and probably all of south east Asia if China decides they don't mind war.
Running isn't going to work. Voting and protesting and political action is what will keep us all at peace and ever vigilant against populism and later, fascism. All hope isn't lost. We still can undo the damage and categorically reject hate and corruption that is threatening democracies worldwide (and already dooming authoritarian countries with massive population gaps and economic damage)
Europe, who is already seeing far right insurgencies due to a few immigrants? Yeah, good idea.
And if Trump wins you can basically say goodbye to any sort of future that isn't a hellscape. We're already far behind our dues on climate change and this will be the final nail in the coffin.
So not everywhere in Europe is right wing (but there are similar trends in certain countries like the US). If the US falls, Europe will be the last stronghold for democracy (which might also fail in a few years).
Fascism is on the rise around the world. And the countries that have stood firm in the face of it? They are juicy targets for strongman leaders needing an easy win.
At the risk of showing my indoctrinated "american excellence" ass... the US is really a big factor in global security. Because (unless you are on our side) we have a ridiculously large and over funded military and love proxy wars.
Europe, who is already seeing far right insurgencies due to a few immigrants?
A few immigrants ? Remember that Europe got a whole bunch of refugees from Ukraine to look after.
And the USA is huge compared to Europe, especially to some small countries in Europe like Belgium, Holland.
The problem of the rise of far-right is more complex.
I'd like to second that. When it comes to "far-right boiling point" several countries in Europe look like a breeze compared to Project 2025 minded US. Far right is on the rise in Western-Europe but things are not so bad yet. Not sure about the specific gay friendliness per country but countries like Germany (except the East and part of the South), Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, France could be interesting to read more about. Portugal actually had its borders wide open for some time for immigrants to work and live there but they now have some (but not so bad?) restrictions for non-EU citizens.
France is 2 days away from an election which will see the Far Right grab the most seats ever in Parliament, the only question (hope really) is "will they get absolute majority or not".
Holland fell not so long ago.
Belgium kinda holds through "sacred union" that vows to never sign an alliance with it, but at cities level it's too late.
And Hungary is deep into it with Orban since a while now. Hungary which turn it is to lead the European Parliament (a rotating position). First political act? Go shake hands with Putin.
Isn't this a kind of positive feedback circle though? Right-wing wins, left-wing people move and leave the country, leaving more and more right-wing people left. Then obviously right wing wins again next election, more left-wing people leave and so on and so on.
This can also happen with just people moving from right-wing states to left-wing states. I suspect this is a contributing factor to the increasing split in american politics as people tend to stay where their politics align and leave where it doesn't.
This doesn't seem sustainable? Unless the states split into more independent nations that don't have to align on federal politics.
Hey. We got through the last trump presidency. If it happens, we'll fight like hell to protect the ones who are most vulnerable, and we'll figure it out. Personally I am still hopeful that it won't happen. We all need to vote and not get complacent, but this panic is good, electorally speaking. One reason Clinton lost in 2016 was that a lot of people didnt take trump's chances of winning seriously. Biden's polling low right now because leftists are mad at him (and rightly so). But as the election starts to ratchet up more and more, we'll hopefully see people fall in line on at least keeping Trump out of office.
I hate it, personally. I hate that we get government-induced anxiety every election year, just to get people to vote the way they should. All this attention on Trump and Project 2025 is meant to force the undecideds to choose where they stand. If you've already decided how you'll be voting in November, take a break for your own mental health. Last election cycle I made myself crazy listening to political podcasts, checking 538, analysing polling data. I can't do it this year, so I'm trying not to get too deep into it.
I will note that not everyone got through the last Trump presidency. Clinton would have had an actual response to Covid because she wouldn't have disbanded the NSC unit that would have saved most of the 1.1 million Americans who died of Covid-19.
I understand your sentiment internet friend. It made me insane too (and I have dual citizenship and have lived outside the States for a very long time).
But with the recent SCOTUS rulings + the planning that went into P25, this time is truly, uniquely different. If Trump wins this time, it is game over for any future ways to save democracy and anyone but cis, white, het Xian men and the women who remain subservient to them. There will be no "close your eyes and think of England" for four years then back to normal. There will be no way back to normal for generations.
So my thought is that anything, anything that gets the attention of even one more prospective Dem voter is ok.
Whether you're left, right, or center, focus on becoming ungovernable.
If you build up your local community and supporting institutions, and commit to ignoring unjust laws, you can greatly minimize the degree to which anything at the federal level impacts you.
This involves a lot of self sufficiency and privacy efforts that many are resistent to because of the loss of convenience, but it is well worth it.
I’ve been saving for a down payment for a house for two years. It would appear my money is not wanted in the USA. I also have dual EU citizenship. My plan is to improve my spoken German and take my family overseas.
As an atheist married to a Salvadoran woman with whom I have two hispanic children, I feel like after they run out of illegal immigrants we’ll not be far down the “committing suicide with two bullets to the back of the head” list. Or maybe we’ll just get sent to a camp that treats ADHD if you catch my drift.
I visited Germany in 2022 and was very impressed with the walkable/bikeable infrastructure and ICE trains even if they were late on occasion. The food wasn’t my favorite but the culture and people were kind and they still seem to value rule of law and societal decorum to a certain degree. The idea that making a nazi salute in public is jailable/fineable is really how it should be everywhere but “free speech” yadda yadda…
I have wanted to leave the US since 2003. Just didn’t have skills or money until now. I’m still going to struggle with a language barrier and finding a job with A2 level German. That’s my biggest issue right now I think.
My mom moved to the US not knowing English. How the turntables have turned.
As a German: You'll be welcomed and appreciated, just know that we too are fighting a political right shift and that the neonazi AfD might emerge as one of, if not the strongest party next election cycle. Especially if Trump wins this will float nationalist and fascists in Europe on the rising brown tide. It's extremely unlikely they'll end up in government though.
Generally immigrants from the US are quite happy over here and report high satisfaction with their move if they have a) children or b) health issues that cost an arm and a leg in the US and also bring a patience for German bureaucracy and good language skills.
Since you have German citizenship you are free to also consider the Netherlands (easier finding a job with only English, way higher cost of housing) or other EU countries, since you can settle in any one thanks to freedom of movement (Spain might be easier on your wife, since she'll speak the language).
So because I’m in a first past the post system over here, how does that work? You will still have other parties that can form a coalition against the right at that point? Assuming they don’t get 50+% of the vote, correct? The courts here are already fascist and preparing for the takeover due to Trump’s judge appointments during his term. Congress is deadlocked and useless as usual, and Biden is circling the drain figuratively and literally. There is no run off here. No coalitions to be had. Trump gets 47%, Biden 46%, and Kennedy 7%? Trump becomes president even though over half the country doesn’t want him. What’s worse is that he only needs percentages of the electoral college and not actual votes.
Germany, at least from my outsider perspective, seems to understand its history enough to be minimizing the right wing to its true proportions. But yeah, I’m well aware the developed world is going to shit. I’m not really sure what to do about it or where to go. The USA feels like ground zero for this shit due to Trump being in Russia’s pocket. That propaganda op worked better than anything they’ve ever done in the past. Even they probably can’t believe how successful they’ve been.
We looked at Spain, but ultimately the salaries are so low that we wouldn’t be able to afford to fly home to visit relatives and friends assuming we can still do that post Trump. I guess I’m not writing off the US entirely just yet but it’s not looking too great.
Thanks for your advice and well wishes. I hope to vote against AfD if/when I get there.
I'd like to try to assuage your fears regarding a protest meeting missiles or drone strikes. Yes, the President can order drone strikes with impunity. It's been that way since the first use of drones, early as the Obama era (maybe earlier, but I was a bit young then).
However, this does not apply to US soil. One of the benefits of state sovereignty is that federal armed forces can't operate on US soil. National guard gets involved, at the governor's request, but they don't have missiles or drones. Police are barbaric, but they also don't have missiles or drones.
So I don't think we'd see much of an escalation in terms of weapons of violence with regards to protests when compared to 2020.
He can order it all he wants, but that doesn't mean any branch of the military has to actually carry out an obviously illegal order. All it means is that he theoretically "can't" get prosecuted for trying.
Haven't been following the news, have we? What you said was mostly true a week ago. Now, NO ONE has legal protection under U.S. law against crime committed by an American president.
While this may be true, and a drone strike may be ordered on US soil, the President will not be the one controlling the drone, not directly in command of that person. The UCMJ supercedes in the case.
In November 2023, The Washington Post reported that deploying the military for domestic law enforcement under the Insurrection Act of 1807 would be an "immediate priority" upon a second Trump inauguration in 2025. That aspect of the plan was being led by Jeffrey Clark, a contributor to the project and a former official in the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ). Clark is a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, a Project 2025 partner. The plan reportedly includes directing the DOJ to pursue those considered by Trump as disloyal or a political adversary
I was unaware of "Project 2025", interesting read! While that does contain multiple concerning ideas, this is far from a reliable manifesto. Additionally, ties have been drawn to the Trump campaign, but these are loose ties and appear primarily to be op-eds. Trump has also disavowed ties to this "publication". Lastly, that "Washington Post report" is another one of those vague articles featuring "according to sources familiar".
National guard gets involved, at the governor’s request, but they don’t have missiles or drones.
The fuck they don't.
After my active duty service I was in the NG for a while until I figured out it was a fuckin joke, but my NG unit was a Bradley unit which means 30mm cannon and TOW missiles. And that was almost 30 years ago.
The Air NG also flies just about every fighter out there and they sure as hell have missile racks on them.
The hope is that the Americans behind those war machines will be hesitant to fire on their countrymen but Kent State puts a shadow over that hope.
Do you really think anyone competent will work for Trump? The first time around he tried to deport dreamers, didn't end the program the right way, and they didn't get deported for his entire term. He would sometimes forget to sign bills he had photo ops with. He lead a group of rioters to the capital, told them where the electoral votes were, and they ended up taking selfies and Nancy Pelosi's podium. And these were his intelligent supporters.
Yeah and Hitler injected human shit into himself, so what? Where does this sense of confidence come from? He said he'd kill people and now he's legally allowed to do it.
Last Week Tonight said that Trump did not expect to win at all the first time and therefore entered his term very unprepared. This time it is completely different. He had four years to assemble a ruthless, strong, and clever team, which is now ready with a well-developed plan.
Yes. While Trump doesn’t have the full backing and confidence of the real three branches of government (Oil, Finance, and Military Industrial Complex) he has the backing of the religious fanatic institution like The Federalist Society.
They pay good money to figure out how to gamify voting and power, and have been moving the pieces in the shadows for a while. People have been calling them out for decades with their shit judge appointments, but only now that it’s reached a critical mass do people seem to care.
Now that most of the forest is burned, it’s a bit too late, but we can still put out the fire from conservative evil (all conservatives are evil, so if you are reading this know you go against your own Bible and will spend eternity in hell, bitch) and try to recover.
Yes. There's a lot of people itching to use this opportunity to seize power and implement their extreme right wing views via the government. Project 2025 is just there on the web to read, and they have people ready to go.
My kids both have autism and higher needs. I also have this population of clients. I can’t just uproot, honestly. Sit back and have a drink. Continue to teach the kids skills for stay-at-home careers and maintain a low profile.
I have, because of my father, dual citizenship with the UK and now that Labour has gotten in, I feel like that's a legitimate way out, so I am expediting getting a UK passport.
Due to a technicality of the sort that their bureaucracy will hate, I also have the possibility of German citizenship. I'd much rather have the ability to live and work in the EU, so I'll probably start working on that when I get to the UK.
My daughter is queer, I'm Jewish and (although this may not sound like a problem to some of you, I suggest researching it) my wife is a librarian, so I want an exit plan.
You escape BEFORE the regime change. You do not wait to escape.
It was evident that this was the path the US chose in 2008 election vitriol and then 2012 with the tea party. Then in 2016 Trump, it was as blatant as can be. You've had 8 years to plan and leave. You now have 6 months.
Make sure you have a passport. You should have been trying to obtain secondary citizenship. Even with all the money and education, you are only allowed to stay in a foreign country on a residency visa. Americans call theirs a green card for example. It is tied to your passport. When your passport expires, OR IS CANCELLED, then all the visas tied to it are also affected. In some places you can stay as you transfer your visa to your new passport. Some places you cannot, you must exit and re-enter. If your passport is invalid, you can only exit back to the USA if you are only American. The cancelled part is the scary part because the USA already does this. If you don't pay your taxes, or child support or if you have a warrant or even probable cause against you the US will cancel your passport. It's the easiest way to force Americans back home for prosecution.
Your #1 goal should be starting to obtain citizenship elsewhere. If you have grandparents from Europe, see if you can get it. You have relatives in Canada, mayve you can get it. If you can't, then start looking to buy citizenship or residency with a path to citizenship. This is 6 figures and can be instant like Vanuatu or take years like most of Europe. But again, better to start now.
As the Chinese routinely say, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time, is now.
The US is vast and it's unlikely to devolve into anarchy. It may get very violent and bloody or it may become more like a governmental issue where you just get locked up if you're bad. In that case storing some of your stuff in a storage area isn't too risky. If it goes into anarchy, then it'll be lost. Otherwise just keep paying and avoid.
I believe we're looking right at 1930's Germany. The parallels are uncanny. Those who survived, left. Those that waited until they were being rounded up to leave, mostly did not make it. And they lost everything they had and their families ever had.
I completed my move out 4 years ago now. I can now eat popcorn and watch the US implode from the other side of the world. I will lose some money, some possessions, and unimportant things. But my keepsakes and most of my assets are now free of the US.
While I know most Americans feel that way it isn't true.
Migrants, refugees, immigrants... These words apply to white Americans as much as they do to brown central Americans or darker Africans. When you're wealthy you become an expat.
A expat can pack up their stuff, fly somewhere else, get residency and citizenship based on investment, and that's it. Very easy in the 2010's.
If you don't have the money for it, you can still go but you're going to be limited where you can go fully legally. You may have to illegally work to get to a "desirable" location.
But most people who are in the USA came because of relatives that left everything behind except 1 trunk/suitcase and went for it. It is not easy. But it is possible.
To say you just can't because it's expensive is the lazy way out. You can't do it comfortably and easily if you're poor. But you can walk across the Mexican border, 2000 miles walk, just like others do in reverse. You just choose not to.
For Americans and Canadians on a budget, southeast Asia is a great place. Easy cheap visas and lots of countries to do border runs if you need. You can cheaply buy residency in many of them.
Brace for an absolute clusterfuck that will undoubtedly be even worse than last time and be ready for anything to the best of my ability. I'm a straight white guy so I guess I likely wouldn't be targeted directly but I have friends and colleagues who would be a great risk.
If America is lost, I don't know that anywhere would really be safe from the fallout, so go vote this November because if you don't, it might be the last time America gets to vote.
have your passport and any other docs in order now, if you're making all these contingencies.
make more objective and less speculative assessments.
find ways to enjoy yourself family and friends now. And build relationships and support systems with people you know and people in your community. Lines of communication and a habit of community work will help alleviate your doomy outlook for now, and help you build a network when it's time to respond to a bad situation, if one arises.
Stay constructive. Everyone has a plan til they get punched in the mouth, so if you aren't trained in combat or conflict theory, you should just keep assessing your current situation, and if you want to get out, if you truly believe Montreal is a more comfortable place for you, then go ahead now, why wait, it sounds very nice. Though I would appreciate it if you're here to vote to help our chances of correcting the illegitimate court system.
Anyway always ask yourself, "what is the best possible thing I can do right now?".
I'm applying ASAP to renaturalize in Europe. My ancestors survived by leaving shit hole countries when it was obvious they were going to start wars and become fascists, I'll follow suit. Fuck this place. Wish I started the process sooner.
I can't comprehend why there aren't people marching in the streets demanding a constitutional amendment to limit the executive branch and restore checks and balances. The recent Supreme Court decision granting absolute presidential immunity is a direct threat to our democracy. We all need to be more proactive. Government moves so slow if not pushed.
I think 'complacent' is a better term than 'docile.' The upper class has put significant time and effort into making everyone else believe that their actions won't make any meaningful difference, and it's worked just as planned.
If you don’t take it seriously it will happen to you. Stomp out right wing/conservative crap as fast as possible, and call it out for the lies and destruction it causes.
You should be scared but try not to feel hopeless that won't help anyone. I'm honestly shocked at how little people have been freaking out. Especially the news media, I don't see how a free press survives a second Trump administration. That's what really concerns me the seeming apathy.
I'm hoping that come November the election will go well, and we won't have to worry about it as much. (As well as possible given the choices)
My family and I are going to be overseas when the transition happens and if we might not return depending on what happens. We're going to be visiting family in a country where my spouse qualifies for citizenship ship so I feek like that's in our favor.
If shit goes south and it was just me, I would probably stay but I've got kids to worry about and I won't feel bad for a second about keeping them safe.
We have decades of examples of people standing up for what is right or true.
Journalists get shit on because "fake news" or "they are just writing clickbait" and people actively shit on their livelihood. Activists get the shit beat out of them, are maimed for life, and often go to prison. And people post pictures on facebook where they have a background in solidarity before they take a new duck-face picture and overwrite it.
The purpose of journalists are to seek and speak truth on behalf of The People. When The People have made it clear they don't give a shit and can't be bothered to even read the article someone had to go into hiding for?
Let's just say I bought a large cargo trailer, that admittedly serves multiple purposes, but one of those is for emergency scenarios.
If things get really bad, my wife and I have careers that makes going to Canada or Germany or Norway somewhat viable.
I'm not having my family go down with the ship. Let them sink. I have far more responsibility to my kids than to my country. Like the brain-drain on Nazi Germany or Russia as of late, I'll have no problem going and enriching another nation with more sane people. (with recognition there is some degree of crazy everywhere).
What's so sad is that the ignorance that is perpetuating this modern absurdity and making someone like Trump viable in the first place is so deep that even if things come crashing down, they'll be too stupid to point the finger at the actual problem.
I'm Canadian. I plan to steal a dump truck, drive it to the middle of the bridge to the US that's 15 km from my house, turn it sideways, and disable it. Then, when they remove it I'll do it again.
He was no less a fascist in 2016, but there were enough checks on his power that he mostly managed to simply be incompetent and chaotic. He bungled Covid response and gave free handouts to billionaires, sold who knows how many state secrets to foreign entities, but there are a lot of positions in government held by actually qualified and competent people who waylaid his whims. Conservatives have been carefully putting the pieces into place to prevent this from happening again, for instance reclassifying higher ranking government employees so that the president would be able to fire/dismiss them without cause. If the leader of the FBI attempts to investigate him again, they could just hire a new one who won't. The supreme court being full of right wing extremists is another purposeful and deliberate step to undermine the checks and balances system. Conservatives want kings, and they weren't prepared the last time Trump was in power. They will be able to do much more damage this time.
there were enough checks on his power that he mostly managed to simply be incompetent and chaotic
There were no real checks. He had way too many Republicans in Congress for there to be. Most of what protects America is gentleman's agreements that we all assume a normal president wouldn't defy.
If the leader of the FBI attempts to investigate him again, they could just hire a new one who won't.
That is literally what happened last time. The house (where Republicans are a majority) wouldn't pass a bill that makes firing the FBI director illegal so there's no real difference.
There isn't exactly a single candidate in the past ten years I would've called competent. In 2016, every last person running was out of touch, the only thing that enormously benefitted were the memes. Which is why I often mention my biggest qualm with Democrats, that in 2016 they wanted votes so badly they shunned third party voting as "throwing away your vote". Uhm, no, throwing away your vote is what we're doing right now. If the system wasn't simply a monarchy with two choices and if people voted honestly, this is a situation we wouldn't even be thinking about. I feel sorry for nobody.
He didn't know what he was doing for much of his first term. For his second, he'll have an instruction booklet that he just needs to follow and take credit for. Project 2025 and the recent SCOTUS immunity ruling are just 2 signs that show that a 2nd term will be so much worse.
And we know for sure Project 2025 actually speaks for the president? As much as it sounds like an agenda book for QAnon and white supremacy, Trump himself has spoken against this side of extremism (whether or not he himself can be classified as bypassing checks/courtesy). That is not to say I support Trump (I don't), but people are turning it into a game of Chicken Little, especially with an immunity ruling that didn't change anything.
If we wanted to get technical, we could technically say that a candidate promising to be peaceful becoming authoritarian while in power is a violation of campaign promises. But... who here actually punishes lying about your goals while president? Who points a finger at presidents who went against their word and says "we voted for a president who would address the envionmental/right problem, and that's not you"? Nobody. For two and a half hundred years, nobody thought to put that in place? The American people cleared out a direct path to tyranny, and now everyone is blaming everyone else.
I've been paying attention from both ends (unless there are more than two ends). All of what you described have been reactions, not the actions themselves, though I never heard of any hit lists.
I'm trying to think what's going through the heads of maga nazis right now. Is it "yay, we're about to enjoy years of prosperity when we're no longer competing with liberals and nerodigervents for employment"? Is it "yay, they're going to get rid of all the people we hate and that's all we care about"? Or is it "fuck me everything is still going to suck ass because of some other reason".
Their entire mentality is based on FUD. That won't stop with a Trump presidency or Dictatorship. There will always be something or someone to fear to keep them in line
Continue not living in the US. I got out in 2015. It does mean, however, that unless one of my parents is in serious trouble, I'm not setting foot in that country for the duration.
I'm lucky enough to have some security, so my plan is lay low and where I can play safehouse for the folks that need it, I'm not a fighter, but I have what I need and a little more, and I can use that to help whoever needs it.
I've got ideas for what the post crisis should look like, so probably try to find ways to network with the folks who are likely to be making that transition once this inevitably burns itself out.
Meantime, vote. Vote like your life depends on it because the odds are that you know someone who's life does.
Time is our shield, and even if it's only another four years, it's four more years the windbag has to survive into his 80s to take another crack at it, by which time the crop of Dem governors are going to be making enough noise to be suitable replacements for Biden, and if he drops dead in that time, it is very likely the movement will be demoralized the same way JFK and RFK dying took the wind out of the Democrat's sails.
The Redcaps are a cult, when the prophet of a cult dies without an already established right hand who can take over and reconsolidate the movement, the whole thing collapses under its own weight and the shock and grief of its members.
They aren't gonna wake up to how wrong they've been, but they are gonna spiral hard and be unable to keep up the energy.
For a long time now my plan has been to buy land way out in the boonies where no one can find me and set up a bunch of solar energy panels to power basic electronics and satellite internet while I grow potatoes and raise chickens.
We already did, to New Zealand. Education visa to get a PhD my partner had been eager to get, followed by work visa and/or resident visa. Few more years and then permanent resident then citizenship.
We'd been saving up/planning for a decade because we wanted to leave anyway, the environment that gave us Trump only encouraged us to leave. Years later and I'm still 100% convinced we made the right choice for us.
I suggest finding a culture that fits yours, making a very detailed budget, exploring all the options for visas and plan for future visa extensions/applications, and making some sacrifices to get where you want to be.
Lots of EU countries have generous options if you have lineage, I'd start with that as getting into one of them gets you into all of them eventually.
That's exactly the challenge. Without some sort of visa in hand we really don't have any options so we're still early in the planning. I've looked at New Zealand and Canada though.
To be honest, I don't think Trump has the attention span to do any more than hold a bunch of gloating rallies. Ironically his own immunity may end up working against his desire for revenge, as some justice department lawyers will push back until Trump gets distracted by a squirrel or a coloring book or something.
That being said, I kinda dream of moving to Canada. Fun fact: the median Canadian wealth per capita is higher than in the US, meaning it may have a better claim to "land of opportunity" if we're talking about ordinary people instead of the richest few. Plus the people really do seem to be nicer. The mosquitoes though...Canadian mosquitoes are no joke.
All signs point to a anti-woke culture warrior crypro bro as our next Prime Minister, it's a pretty much given at this point, I really regret to share that...
It's not all about Trump or Biden personally though. It's the people they appoint and install to run the government and who they have as advisors. Trump has shown he selects the absolute worst people, who tend to be a combination of malicious, criminal and incompetent. Biden, on the other hand, built a competent administration who is actually interested in competently running the executive branch for the positive benefit of Americans.
We have our own political brain rot here. We may not be the US, but some of our politicians look down south to the red states and think that they have some pretty good ideas.
Keep saving until I can get a used car, so I can stop renting to drive Uber. After that, rapidly save up a buffer using the eliminated rental cost, and then get my second career started. Sales, I’m thinking. Lots of outside sales requires having one’s own car.
Nothing really. By then everyone in my household will hold dual-citizenship and be able to leave when they decide the situation has gotten unacceptable.
I won privilege bingo so me personally am in no danger, at least for the foreseeable future. Work in the infrastructure sector and plan to go down with the ship. You guys have fun with your civil war and genocides, I will keep the garbage and sewage at bay. At least until the secret police get to me and put a bullet in my brain.
Does your uncle have room for one more?
I’ve been feeling very uneasy about things too. I really don’t know what I’m going to do yet if Trump wins, but even if he doesn’t by some miracle, I feel like we’ll just be in the same situation again in 2028, 2032, etc.
I feel like the democrats are not effective at fixing things and the republicans have gotten very effective at breaking them. I don’t think it’s going to be civil war time if he wins, but I do think he’s going to really mess things up for everyone, especially those in blue states again and it’s going to be even more difficult to fix.
I’m pretty fortunate to be where I am now in my life and I don’t think I can just uproot everything and move to another country. I also wouldn’t even know where to move other than maybe Canada, but I kinda also don’t want any country that elects Trump as a king to be my next-door neighbor either.
I think I just have to keep my head down, keep going and hope things get better then keep voting to try to change things and hope enough people feel the same, but I’m really feeling like they don’t.
Lets be honest, the "fight" part people are too comfortable and aren't going to do anything. I'd love it if it were so, but I"m not a leader.
So my realistic plan is buy in bulk, start a garden, try to convince friends and neighbors to do the same to be able to help each other out when the worst of it comes. Which frankly is the exact same plan if Biden wins, but with a lot more fear behind it.
No idea. Don't think I have the physical means to leave the country. I have in demand skills but I am so Far in debt I can't make financial arrangements and am considered a liability to due debts owed to foreign entities. I'm probably going to go back in the closet taking the hide option by retreating into a cist white het male shell and attempt to reclaim that privilege that may hopefully stop me from getting executed or put in a camp.
I might be old but I seem to recall the French taught the proper way to protest this kind of stuff, rather than the soft protests we saw in 2020, let alone 2016.
As for me, fortunately I live in tbe Best Hemisphere so I plan to offer whatever housing space I have available so my friends from the US can flee over and nap the Trump Kingdom over.
People should be preparing for guerilla warfare, not protests. Of course a bunch of people will die if they gather in a group and get a missile shot at them. Use your 2A rights and use your brain.
I'll live here and help who I can. I plan to get into gardening a bit and support local farmers, the main problem isn't really trump but more how much fake bullshit the media is churning out and whether it actually manages to whip enough stupid scandals to cover for the complete corruption and incompetence of conservatives.
If it does turn into an insane fascist government, well if everyone took out exactly one fascist we'd run out of fascists very quick.
I'm headed to Europe. Cheapest country with (potentially) EU passport options is Ukraine. So I'm headed there in July for an "Ugly American European Vacation" to see if I can get in and out Ok. They'll need a lot of help if things go south in the US in November.
Yeah, man. Y'all need to just relax and board the trains quietly. It's not that bad. They probably have pools and stuff at the camps. Plus, you'll make some new friends. Everything will be just fine. Juuuust fine.
The same as if Biden wins. I don't think the office of president is going to meaningfully change my life. It did not the last 8 years either.
Either way we're headed to war, economic troubles, radicalism, etc. Biden and Trump are both stepping stones towards the authoritarian state capitalist system we have been cultivating for decades.
People are going to be fine as long as they do what every person in Latin America did under the military dictatorships supported by the US. Shut up, do your job, and don't make waves.
Don't worry, it can't last forever. These systems have a tendency of falling apart eventually. The next manifestation will be better. Just like WW2 had to happen to bring us our post-60s civil rights era society.
MAGA agenda is gonna happen under Biden too. Biden expanded border wall. Abortion rights are getting dismantled under Biden. Inflation and interest rates are pressing down on working class Americans under Biden - meanwhile corporate profits soar, especially oil companies. Oil companies are making 2-3x higher profits right now than during Trump.
Sure, the rhetoric coming out of white house is going to be more racist, more xenophobic, more anti-gay, etc.
But fundamentally I think the changes this country is going through is much deeper than presidential office. If Biden were a strong leader, maybe he would be able to stem the tide.
But he is not a strong leader. He is the last gasp of air that the establishment neoliberals are desperately trying to maintain. One last attempt to maintain the broken status quo of the great experiment we started under Reagan.
The tipping point has already been reached, a tsunami is coming and people should get ready for that
On the one hand I've been thinking about leaving the country. I really don't think Canada is a safe move. Especially because it's the first thought for so many left wing Americans and it's so close. I also don't think it's inconceivable that a more dictitorual Trump ends up invading Canada...I've been thinking about trying to live in Vietnam myself... I figure if they can keep the USA out then international politics isn't something id have to worry about to much there. They're actual leftists and the money I have here should stretch even farther there to help the transition. I've also tried to talk a few friends into coming along with me if it goes bad we'll see how that works I'm going to try to get 15ish friends to agree hopefully at least a few will follow through.
The other side of my mind thinks that's extreme and doesn't want to leave. That side does think that getting some rice and beans one of those giant rechargeable batteries with solar panels is a good idea though.
I will move to the EU because they will love the influx of US citizens who will show them how to create a working economy, I mean those guys live in the Middle Ages, do they even have running water???
It's not going to be the end of the world, and it's not even going to be the end of the US. The next four years will likely unfold similarly to the previous four under Trump. Then there will be two new candidates: the Democratic one will be seen as equally incompetent as Biden, and the Republican candidate will be considered a Trump 2. We’ll be having this same discussion again, and again, and again…
They weren't prepared last time, and they didn't get away with Jan 6th last time. This would be decidedly different, you need to wake up:
Go look up the beer hall putsch and Hitler, see what happens when you make excuses as a populous that is afraid to challenge their concept of manageable comfort and don't respond to these attempts with definitive strength.
So if you put trumps picture next to things he hasnt said he is going to do then it makes it true? If you have a list of actual things he says he will do that is one thing, but making up propaganda is stupid. And even if he says he will do something it in no way means he is going to do something.
Normally I'd agree with you, And honestly I'm not being an apocalypseist persay. But given the recent supreme Court ruling that the president "Has immunity" and all the other recent bullshit. I think it's a bit more than nothing will happen
Last week I was severely panicking. This week is different. I've just been getting stoned and mentally preparing for the inevitable.
Barring the one-in-a- million chance of a coronary finally killing the bastard, trump is going to win this election.
When that happens, and the fascists seize control, they will be faced with preparing for yhe biosphere collapse via climate change (they 100% know it's cooking), as well as ebay cpuld easily be the next superbug.
Covid was a sign of bugs to come, it was the first, but will not be an outlier.
And there's nothing the fascists can do to hand-wave biosphere collapse or superbugs away - not with their firm stance of burying their head in the sand about it. They know it's coming, but aren't minding it.
Only the 1% escape this scenario, the richest reiterated our society, by preparing their doomsday bunkers. The rest of us will eeke through society, and you can pick whichever post-apocalypse story you'd like to think will happen, it will probably be a mix of several. My money's on something like a realistic Fallout, but maybe that's just cuz it's fresh in my mind.
Buckle up. It doesn't get better from here. Relax and prepare while you still have time.
What makes you say that? He is clearly promising a lot of things to happen, and he's confirmed he would be a dictator "the first day".
I know politicians bullshit a lot, but I am not so sure he doesn't intend to follow through on at least some of the very outlandish shit he's promised so far.
It's actually funny reading the hysteria online about the US elections. Sounds like whatever happens 50% of the US is going to have a meltdown.
Massive over exaggeration of course. Nothing is going to change in your lives. You'll live another four boring years doing exactly the same crappy stuff as normal.
I feel sorry for the people in Palestine and Ukraine and Taiwan who will genuinely be bricking themselves at being caught up in the geopolitical shit show of US foreign policy.
But for US citizens.... Nah. Your lives ain't going to change at all. Stay safe friends 👍.
Trump literally made abortion illegal in about half of the US. Even ignoring that, our lives barely change because many of the institutions that the executive branch controls have employees who aren't appointed and stick around between administrations. Well-funded conservatives made a plan (Project 2025) to reclassify those employees so they could be replaced with Trump loyalists. Considering that this affects agencies like the FDA, NOAA, and FTC, this will definitely impact normal people who rely on prescriptions being available or weather forecasts to know about storms.
Those of us who paid attention the first time he was President noticed changes then. He would enact even more radical change during a 2nd term, and that would be absolutely terrifying to anyone who isn't a complete moron and doesn't have their head crammed entirely up their ass.
Exactly. Society didn't end in 2017, or 2021, and it won't end in 2025. My life, for the most part, hasn't changed. But you won't convince all these doomers. They want to stay victims, so let them. I'll keep enjoying life.
Celebrate and hope that he sticks to his word on ending the war in Ukraine (of course I don't trust him or any other politician, but at least there will be a slight hope, as compared to Biden who will 100% continue the slaughter..)
I think the reason I don't follow that idea is that it sounds so similar to Neville Chamberlain's "Peace for our Time". The slaughter would just be put on pause, but would last longer and become more dangerous in 2 years time.
I see a difference between that and the handling of Gaza, which Trump would very much continue supporting Israel on. He wouldn't put American troops on the ground, but he's been saying his peace plan is for Israel to "get the job done". This is very much what we did in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we saw how that played out. I understand there is a belief that stopping support for Israel means the death of Israel, but with BB, he is only accelerating this by continued genocide of Palestinians.
There are idealists (and I will fully admit some anti-semites) who would love to see the end of a Jewish state, and there are those who would look for a two state solution. Trump and BB have made it clear that they are not for a two state solution and are pushing for complete annihilation of the Palestinian people. Trump is not a peacemaker.
The slaughter would just be put on pause, but would last longer and become more dangerous in 2 years time.
This may or may not happen, nobody can predict the future.
That's why I said "there will be a slight chance".
With Biden the war will go on for who knows how much time, hundreds of thousands if not millions more people will die for sure and the chance for peace in the foreseeable future is 0. With Trump it's >0. So I sure hope he will win.
... Palestine/Israel ...
That's a topic for another discussion really..
Both candidates will probably continue that war, but one will also continue the war in Ukraine, while another one promises to finish it.
The president has less power than you think. I know it's hard, but don't let this make you worry too much. Best thing you can do is be strong and help your local community however you can. The media has hyped up this whole thing more than ever.
There this trend with Americans where they pretend that a presidential election is the beginning of the purge and they've got to make plans or else they're doomed.
I remember back in 2008 when a bunch of conservatives declared that America was doomed because a Kenyan muslim was in power and that his plan was to crash the economy to the ground with the recession he created... and so they were making escape plans to go to Australia or wherever... that didn't happen.
In 2016, liberals famously declared how they were going to escape Trump's fascist regime by moving to Canada or Europe in mass before he starts WWIII... literally nothing happened.
In 2020, both liberals and conservatives declared that if the candidate they didn't want won, they would leave the US to go elsewhere in the West because clearly the country has no future because Trump/Biden will strip them of their rights and run the country into the ground with their incompetence... but nothing happened then either.
Now, in 2024, we have the same candidates from 2020 but more senile and old. Everybody is claiming that if Biden wins he'll sleep walk us into WWIII and if Trump wins he'll turn America into a fascist state. Both of these are unfortunate possiblities, however, will we see a mass exodus? History tells us no, we won't.
But seeing all the dramatic reactions is still pretty funny.
The world will not end no matter who wins, the things that are concerning would be wars the US could get involved in and maybe strife after the election no matter which side wins. But realistically if you dont get yourself involved then you will be just fine. Live your life without the doom and gloom, its the media getting clicks.
some mf'ers said this exact thing to me before Trump won last time. and before Roe was repealed. and before the supreme court was stolen. when should we panic?
Of course it's not a certainty but there is a significant probability. And that probability increased with the supreme court ruling granting blanket immunity.
Trump is a criminal, and SCOTUS just declared that nothing he does is a crime if he's President. There are many scenarios where things get violent, he orders the military to do crazy shit and part of the military wants to follow his order while another part refuses.
There's this thing where normally surprising court rulings result in a lot of breathless over reaction from the public, while serious legal commentators are going "Guys, no, it doesn't actually work that way, it's not nearly as bad as you think."
The Trump immunity ruling is the only time I've ever seen those serious legal commentators saying "Holy shit this is so much worse than you think." People are seriously underestimating just how bad this really is.
THCDenton -Believes conservative groups don't actually want permanent bans on THC. All it will take is is to send 1 federal officer to arrest 1 distributor and a lot of them will suspend operations until the case goes through. Which the case is cut and dry, illegal in the U.S. They just didnt want to worry about turning away future voters. I'm not so sure there will be any future voters.
Well if the left hadnt gutted responsible gun ownership then maybe said guns could fulfill their primary purpose they where designated by the founding fathers. That being military power in the hands of a citizens militia to protect against the authoritarianism of the government.
"As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology." - Biden 2016
Well, the Dems gambled in 2016, regard the supreme court judges, and lost. Big time... The people will pay the price... Weird that the oligarchs win no matter what happens...