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As an outsider (I live in Belgium) it feels very weird and dystopian to see everything happening in American politics with Trump and Musk.

On one side, it's very interesting and almost entertaining; on the other side, it's scary. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in the USA.

Americans, how do you cope? What's your take on the situation?

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[–] GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I'm trans. I don't have the luxury of ignoring it.

I have been fighting against this bullshit for ten years. I even got arrested protesting Trump's bullshit once. Met some fantastic socialists and amarchists in jail.

Yeah, entertaining, isn't it? Seeing that every warning bell that was rung was ignored? That every day I waved a sign or shoved a cop, was just a day delaying this from happening?

Has it all been futile? Have I wasted ten years fighting the same fascists my grandfather fought in WW2?

The scariest thing is that the only reason we haven't done the violent uprising thing yet is because the only way it would succeed is if the military instigated the countercoup. We won't survive under American martial law, and they're bullbaiting us into giving them an exuse to kill and imprison us all. We must fight back, but we can't fight back.

This is hell. This is hell. Never, ever, ever let it happen in Belgium. For the love of any god that gives enough of a fuck to listen, care about politics. Care about politics before they decide they don't care about you.

Because in ten years, those of us who aren't in prison camps are going to be starving and freezing. Take a good look. Take a good, long look, and be smart enough to get up and do something dangerous and crazy once in a while when it matters most.

[–] compostgoblin@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I’m trans too. I’m still closeted, though, and now I’m getting scared that I’ll never be able to transition. They’re restricting gender-affirming care for minors right now, but it feels like a small step for them to ban it for adults too. And I have ADHD and take antidepressants- I’m starting to be genuinely worried that they might put me in a camp. What do we do? Where can we go that is safe?

With his talk of invading Canada, I'm wondering how much of that is to drill oil in the Arctic, and how much of it is to hunt down the people who ran away from him.

[–] pet1t@lemm.ee 14 points 2 days ago

This is hell. This is hell. Never, ever, ever let it happen in Belgium. For the love of any god that gives enough of a fuck to listen, care about politics. Care about politics before they decide they don’t care about you.

I try! It's a hard battle, sometimes, because even here right-wing nutjobs are getting more and more normalised. We can only hope that they see the situation in the US and realise they don't want this kind of shitshow. On the other hand... even here some of those nutjobs are celebrating Donny and Elmo. That's very scary.

Has it all been futile? Have I wasted ten years fighting the same fascists my grandfather fought in WW2?

It's not! I really believe it hasn't been futile! Keep on fighting! I know it's very demanding, but never underestimate the power of the masses. I support you, even if I can only raise my voice online. And here in Belgium, I'm fighting for sure to evade the same situation.

[–] Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Has it all been futile? Have I wasted ten years fighting the same fascists my grandfather fought in WW2?

You didn't waste your time any more than he wasted his. Plenty of people died fighting without seeing victory on the horizon. If WW2 had ended differently, it still wouldn't have been a waste of time fighting Nazis. You can't always win, but you can always fight.

Martial law would be devastating but no matter how well-funded they are, the American defense industry is bloated, mismanaged, and full of flawed humans. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, even Ukraine - all prove that defeat is far from guaranteed against what appears to be an unstoppable force.

But to tell the truth, I am struggling to figure out how to fight at this stage. Messaging, communication, organization - these appear sparse and unreliable right now, drowned out in the sea of disinformation. What will bring us together? Do we need heros to rally around? Martyrs to avenge? Slogans to shout? Organizations to unite? Platforms to coordinate? All of the above?

[–] GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

A military force with a moral conscience would be nice. A revolution in America will be impossible without defectors, and a LOT of them.

We're dealing with the most heavily armed police force in the world, the most well-funded secret police in the world, the most insanely overarmed military on the planet, and a citizen's army of heavily armed zealots.

We have teenagers with winter boots whistling Hunger Games.