I don't understand what it's going to take for someone to do something. Protests are not going to work when they're holding all our money, services, rights, data, etc hostage, and threatening all our public servants. We already had a hard time protesting before this, because health care is tied to employment. It's not a coincidence that they're going after Medicare and Medicaid. They want an entire nation of indentured servants. Unable to own anything, including our own freedom. When we can't work anymore we can just go die in the wilderness like animals I guess. Hmm where have we heard that before?

Everyone is terrified and exhausted. It seems pretty evident that the election was outright stolen, and I have a hard time believing nobody in power suspected something that many of us immediately called, not with the mountains of evidence that's been stacking up for months, years even. So why didn't they do anything? Why did they wait until Trump was sworn in to even talk about it?

I see Canadians online talking about Americans like we chose this. But we didn't, it was forced upon us, and we're begging for help! Who can we turn to if not our allies? What is going on???

[–] RootAccess@lemmynsfw.com 10 points 47 minutes ago (1 children)

You did choose this through decades of inaction, apathy, laziness, fecklessness. The world kept telling you that something was wrong in your "democracy" and the canned response was, "Haha, not in America - land of the free, home of the brave!" Then one day, with your rights stripped away you all finally say, "Not my fault!" It was, it is, and it will be solely Americans fault. And the longer it takes you to own it and fix-your-shit the more costly it's going to be. As always. Imagine how much easier it would have been had you just mass protested after Citizen's United, for example.

No one is coming to save you. The people who have been standing up to fix it couldn't motivate the rest of you to get off the couch. My suggestion is to stop parroting excuses like, "We are too exhausted to do it", and do it. Look to history for examples on how, and for what real exhaustion looks like. The first steps are usually meeting with organizations already doing something and ask what you need to do.

"But I'll lose my job!" If 50% of the country loses there job then there will be a lot of job opportunities. "But my family!" Ok, then sit there and let your fear keep you from action. Keep waiting for someone to save you. Watch how bad it gets as Americas military falls under the control of a facist regime. Watch as your educational system becomes even more of an indoctrination engine. I wonder which, if any, heinous act by your government finally motivates you enough. The kids-in-cages wasn't enough, I wonder what could be? Possibly nothing.

"Home of the brave". Fucking ha ha ha. "Land of the free". Sure. I have no sympathy for people just waking up now. Where the fuck have you been?

[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 2 points 25 minutes ago (1 children)

If I lose my job how am I supposed to heat my house, feed myself and my wife, or treat my chronic illness? Employers don't look kindly on job abandonment, especially to go protest the thing businesses stand for...

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 20 minutes ago

Surely there will be waves of protestors being kicked out on the streets with their families, left to starve in ditches with nothing they can do.

[–] Vespair@lemm.ee 24 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

People keep saying this, but WHO?

Who are you talking about?

Who is this "somebody" you keep talking about showing up to save us?

Look, nobody is coming to save us, and asking somebody else to risk harm on your behalf is selfish.

If we object, it isn't on somebody else to show up and save us, it's on us.

If you aren't willing to make the moves yourself, who the fuck are you to ask somebody else to.

Nobody is coming to save us, folks. It's either us, me and you, or it's nobody.

[–] SPOOSER@lemmy.today 5 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I don't trust anyone enough for something to actually be done. Buy guns, buy 3d Printers, learn to make clothing, prepate your homesteads, prepare for isolation and be ready to lean on and support your neighbors.

Be the best you can be, make good relationships with those around you, and brace yourselves . It's the only thing I can realistically think I alone can do for me, my family, and my community.

Is it a doomer view? I don't think so. I like to have hope that my vote can fix something. I like to think my protests are heard and considered. But at the end of the day I have to focus on doing what I actually can.

[–] Vespair@lemm.ee 2 points 2 hours ago

I have a similar, albeit slightly less doomer, view currently. Focus on the safety and good of your community and loved ones, and remember that nothing is guaranteed to us. Do the necessary good steps like voting and protesting, but don't be naïve enough to think that's the whole of necessary action or a magic bullet to solve the problems. Do the good, but focus on the real workable action in your direct sphere of influence. Cheers.

[–] randon31415@lemmy.world 30 points 5 hours ago (4 children)

In 2016, people thought that Trump was the problem. That if Trump left, we could have civility restored to the electoral process. Defeating Trump won't solve the problem because he isn't it - it is the electorate. The voters need to SEE what will happen when this or that occur.

Deport all the immigrants, see the damage that brings, then bring them back with legal protections this time.

Cancel all the science, see how far behind we get, then bring it back with all the funding to make the next moonshot.

Get rid of all fogien aid, watch as our global power dimishes, the vote to bring it back with a clear and true purpose other than empire building.

The people don't know WHY these things are important, and are unwilling to listen or learn. Thus, the only teacher is to experience. But to quote Trump: "There will be some pain" when doing it.

[–] MY_ANUS_IS_BLEEDING@lemm.ee 5 points 1 hour ago

100%. Even after he leaves office, is anyone confident that the country will collectively go "well that was embarrassing, anyway, back to normality now!"

[–] PagingDoctorLove@lemmy.world 18 points 5 hours ago (3 children)

I don't disagree with you and I would love it if people had to experience the consequences of their poor decisions and learn hard lessons that they've been evading for years. The problem is that millions of innocents are and will be caught in the crosshairs. This is a matter of life or death for many people who did not vote for him and it is unconscionable to allow all those people to die just so a bunch of loud racist hillbillies with lead poisoning can learn a lesson.

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 3 points 16 minutes ago

There are already millions caught in the crosshairs. Its not a choice between doing nothing and saving lives, and doing something and losing them. We are losing them both ways but by doing nothing people evade social responsibility.

[–] randon31415@lemmy.world 9 points 4 hours ago

Fair, I just see no other way of swaying minds without consequences. We tried 4 years of shielding people from Trump's baser urges, and we ended with thousands of people dying each day to COVID. Then 4 year later THEY VOTED HIM BACK IN.

[–] sleepmode@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

They don't even know what DEI means until oh hey, they're out on disability for months+ for surgery in their physically demanding job and need help because their arm or whatever doesn't work and/or they'll be out for surgery for months and/or SSDI rejects their claim. The willful ignorance and just plain ignorance is really sad.

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Will they actually see it though is the question, or will they greedily accept the new set of lies as the world burns around them.

[–] sleepmode@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Dead on. This is a snowballing shit storm building since Reagan. Probably earlier. Trump is only a foothold, a useful idiot. He's popular with the Boomers and knows how to work them and use the language. They even refer to him as "their boy." Meanwhile he's "making deals" e.g. pumping the dicks of other corpos like Xi and Putin and pretending to get them on board even when he fails with the smarter leaders while his little weasels dismantle shit in the background.

[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

It wasn't stolen and it wasn't forced on you. Depressingly enough, turkeys, it seems, do sometimes vote for Christmas. I totally agree with you about the awfulness of the situation but - he told you how he was going to govern, he told you what he was going to do and then he won the election that enables him to do it. You did, as a nation, choose this.

I don't know how any nation state can really intervene on that basis. Its not like Hitler steam rolling Poland or Putin annexing the Crimea - this isn't an invasion or a hostile takeover, it's an elected President carrying out the will of the people that voted for him.

[–] PagingDoctorLove@lemmy.world 16 points 6 hours ago (5 children)

I'm not going to argue with you, I get enough of that on reddit. But there is a literal mountain of evidence, including their own statements and sketchy behavior, hard data, unsecured voting machines, various voter suppression tactics, ballots that were tossed, code that was published online months (possibly more than a year) before the election, and one of the twerps currently taking over the treasury wrote code that can falsify ballots while he was an intern for Musk.

Also, it is like Hitler, they're using the same exact playbook, and while there are some key differences there is no arguing that this is the exact reason NATO exists. Justin Trudeau could invoke article 4 for threats of invasion. Someone from our government should still be able to invoke article 5. These international agreements exist because when the highest power in the nation is compromised, we need outside help.

[–] sdfric88@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 4 hours ago

I'm sorry, I'm Canadian, and what exactly do you think all of NATO could do, allied and organized against the American armed forces? Do you seriously believe we could stage an effective military campaign against America? That would he suicide.

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[–] sleepmode@lemmy.world 7 points 4 hours ago

The Canadians I talk to are either furiously pissed off and lashing out at me like I'm about to annex them myself or dead ass silent. This is a weird fucking timeline to say the least.

[–] tonbo@lemmy.world 7 points 5 hours ago (3 children)

What are you asking outside forces to do? Invade America and install a foreign government because americans are unable to maintain their freedom?

[–] Tankton@lemm.ee 3 points 5 hours ago

Perhaps we can ask the Taliban for help

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[–] Tm12@lemmy.ca 8 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

I don't understand what it's going to take for someone to do something

Who is someone? Who is something? Organize and mobilize. I know all Americans didn’t choose this, but you’ll need a lot of support/like minded folks (which it sounds like you have). Trump’s shock doctrine has clearly worked. Try and focus on tangible steps to take whether it’s annoying the heck out of your elected officials, joining a grassroots org, or attending a public rally on an off day.

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[–] gearheart@lemm.ee 6 points 6 hours ago

I hear you... The problem is no one is going to come save us.

Change can only happen internally.

Unsure what can be done though... Voting and protests don't seem to be effective...

If nothing changes everyone will have to get comfortable enough to feel like freedom is fighting for.

This means first amendment up, train, and be ready for the day to when we need to defend our constitution.

The confederacy already lost once, they will lose again.

At the rate this is going I honestly don't see any other future.

[–] niketunic@lemmy.world 50 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

people need to start seriously protesting

[–] in4apenny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 hours ago

Yeah but we need to stop occupying sidewalks and start occupying gated communities. The fact that protest organizers won't do this says everything you need to know about them - they prefer passive action that does nothing but maintain the status quo. I've been to over 100 protests everything from workers strikes to BLM to Occupy Wall St, and i've learned that occupying a sidewalk that the oligarchs don't walk on does nothing but make the cause look pathetic. We need to protest where the oligarchs will be afraid, anything less is just playing into their hands.

[–] john_lemmy@slrpnk.net 7 points 4 hours ago

Yeah, that is a great first step. Especially if you try to connect and network with other people during the protests to form longer lasting groups or find and participate in already existing ones.

This shit won't be fixed with protests alone, but if they help people get a taste for what it feels like to organize and take some power back, then it is already worth it. Hell, even being around people that feel the same way is already a net plus for a lot of people who are ideologically isolated.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 6 hours ago

Yeah like every day... none of this "we will spend one hour during our lunch break on one Wednesday!" bullshit.

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[–] hedhoncho@lemm.ee 22 points 8 hours ago

An actual use. Yeah send help!

[–] lud@lemm.ee 2 points 5 hours ago

Relevant: https://youtu.be/ZwMVMbmQBug

[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 128 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Kudos to the person who is sending the correct message. Everyone who believes in protecting the US Constitution should fly the US flag upside down.

[–] maxoakland@lemmy.world 24 points 9 hours ago

I think we need to do more than that. The flag is a distress signal. We have to help the people who are distressed

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