It gets said over and over but the country is huge and your experience can vary greatly. If you are a govt employee work is likely more chaotic, some more than others. Telework people coming back to the office, looming layoffs, people resigning/staying, big organizational shifts etc.
If you know a person deported of who may be deported you are probably very concerned for them and the world feels turned upside down.
But for most people the gas prices are about the same, groceries are about the same and their life is about the same. If it wasn’t for the news/internet most people probably couldn’t tell the difference between administrations so far. It takes a big event you can’t easily ignore (Covid 19, Hurricane Helene, LA fires) for even ONE REGION of the country to focus on a problem for a while.
And even then if you are outside of that area people probably won’t change their routine beyond posting about it.
But conditions everywhere are bad. Just because we’ve grown use to it doesn’t mean the constant drain on your heart, body, and mind has gone away. I’ve never lived in a time where the world around me wasn’t eriely cold and uncaring.
I guess it’s storytime! The rural area I grew up in was full of unionized industry jobs that shut down in the 80s, and then the auto industry followed in the 2000s. Many moved and for those that stayed life had sucked for a long while.
But the local mall stayed relevant (there’s not a whole lot else to do) and is now being filled with all kinds of new restauraunts and stores where old dead ones were. This was to meet demand since electric vehicle factories were built as well as amazon warehouses and other stuff. Then the taxes led to libraries and schools being built and upgraded.
Now it’s not all sunshine and rainbows of course but for the people there the world seemed cold and uncaring for decades. Now in their eyes it’s starting to come back and the federal government had little to do with it. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s all pretty subjective
“electric vehicles factories were built” “the government had nothing to do with it.”
These people deserve trump, Amazon, and poverty if they can’t see the connection between the inflation reduction act and electric vehicle factories.
That’s the only good thing about democracy. You generally get the government you deserve.
The inflation reduction act was in 2022, everything but amazon was built and operational prior but I get what you mean. I should have phrased it better.
Yes the federal govt likely had some role in getting favorable conditons for factories to be built. For people living there the following years (and years) of company cash flow caused a lot of the actual second and third order effects, not federal programs aimed at the region specifically. That is what I mean by “the fed govt had little to do with it (from the residents’ pov)”
Thank you for the clarification.
We’re all mad
I AM mad. So are my close friends and family
I’m not even American and I’m mad. Most of what I’ve heard from Americans is that they’re mad.
Same. I’m so mad and disappointed in America, but I can’t let that override my compassion for its people. This whole thing is so frustrating to watch. Look at how the French do it, Americans! It’s time to break some shit.
You have compassion for us Americans, and that’s nice, but bear in mind we voted for this. As much as the people who voted for Trump may have done so out of desperation, we still made a catastrophically stupid decision. Trump isn’t the problem, he’s a symptom. The problem lies in the American people. We have been squashed by both our government and our corporations. We need a wake-up call, and if that means we need to suffer from our own choices then so be it. Maybe we haven’t suffered enough yet. If we’re so dumb that we vote for a malignant narcissist like Donald Trump, maybe we need to be squashed a bit more. We have the power to take back our country, we just need the will to do it. Maybe that comes from more hardship and regret. Maybe that comes from more suffering.
But maybe not. Maybe I’m wrong. I’m so disappointed with my own countrymen right now, maybe I’m not seeing things clearly. I don’t know. But I know we deserve what we voted for. The world doesn’t, and that’s a tragedy, but maybe America needs to take a hit and the world needs to rely less on us for both America and the world to be better. Again, I don’t know.
we voted for this
<Tinfoil hat>
Did we? There are some suspicions of voter fraud in some swing states and it sure as hell isn’t below musk to attempt something like that.
Yet, I think that the past MAGA crazies screaming about “election fraud” and “stop the steal” has poisoned the well for legitimate future calls for investigating potential fraud in elections. On top of that it also makes people that question the results sound like the crazies of the past.
It could explain why trump is allowing so much power to musk.
</Tinfoil hat>
Source: I have no source. It’s all feels over reals and a partial lack of acceptance that so many American people are that dumb.
We can’t just claim that an undesirable outcome is the likely really of election fraud… I do wish the result was different but sewing a rumor that has no credible basis in reality serves minimal value.
I completely agree that we can’t blindly blame this on election fraud, that is a form of denial. Which I will admit is part of my Tinfoil hat rant above.
But if there are credible sources that are stating they have doubts about the legitimacy of the results there should be an investigation. Note, this isn’t really about this past election, I know of no evidence that shows fraud only slight rumblings from “unknown sources” which isn’t legitimate to me.
My concern is that the Stop the Steal movement, that was using weak or even made up evidence to support their cause has made future allegations less likely to be taken seriously.
Nothing. Everyone I know is very mad about it. The people who aren’t mad about it aren’t mad because they’re being lied to and told that all their racism, homophobia, xenophobia and just plain mean spiritedness is somehow normal and good.
I assure you that anyone who isn’t a monster is very unhappy about the whole situation
I dunno, I walk through my day and most people’s demeanor hasn’t changed in the slightest. The way we suppress all this is very severancesque. Like sure we have our outies memory’s but seems we don’t have their emotions.
Most people won’t talk politics unless they know the other person’s opinions already. I’ve had discussions about every day with my friends and wife, but there is no way I’m going to get into a discussion with my parents or maga coworker. I don’t have the energy to debunk every stupid thing they say when they won’t change their mind.
I mean, you don’t just randomly bring up politics. You never know if the other person is a nazi that would report you for “being a communist”. Also, if you do this at work, you’d probably get fired because you get reported for “harassment” and now you’re evicted and on the streets, and starving.
I mean, if you have a pride flag or some other symbols that you wear, I might talk to you because I think you’re safe to talk to.
So, if you want to have conversations about this nazi government, wear a pride flag pin thingy (idk what those are called) or something like that, to signal you aren’t a magat.
I walk through my day and most people’s demeanor hasn’t changed in the slightest
I’m unhappy and angry at the situation. But, am I supposed to mope around all day or have depressing conversations with everyone I meet? Should I start fighting every Trump supporter in my small town?
For some reason your rhetorical question about fighting everyone reminded me of this very important quiz. Know thyself or something.
I don’t know. I just know maybe we hold back when we shouldn’t. Doesn’t that just demonstrate their control over us?
It’s hard to truly internalize this but no matter what you think about something and/or how wrong you think someone else is, we are walking through life with imperfect imaginings of what other people think and feel. Trying to make sense of people is even harder than making sense of a person. And we are quite literally incapable of truly knowing what goes on in someone else’s head.
Definitely ask these questions but don’t drive yourself crazy if people don’t make sense. The behaviors and actions we witness in others are only the emergent characteristics of a lot of brain activity that we aren’t privy to.
Maybe it’s time to be a little crazy. If “a little crazy” is not living in an autocracy.
Because most people are blissfully ignorant. They’re going about their day and if anything they’re possibly reminded that Trump is president by some news channel they pass over on their way to the newest true crime show or whatever the hell is on tictok.
Most people couldn’t be forced to care if you had a gun to their heads as evidenced by our disgusting voting numbers. “Didn’t vote” would win every election if it was a candidate.
Most people “aren’t political” which is nice if only politics didn’t affect your life so deeply. :/
I guess that’s true but who is watching the news then? Who is posting online?
Not enough people unfortunately, although I’m sure there is some overlap between those that don’t vote but still watch the news. I think we overestimate how many people are “politically engaged.”
Visibly queer minority here! I’m probably gonna go to jail sometime in the next year for being trans in public. Until I do though, I’ve been lobbying state congress about some of the bills on the docket.
Please reach out if things get desperate. I probably can’t help but sure as shit would try.
No honestly most are mad in some sorta of way but we have a militia of trigger happy enforces and the biggest military in the world. Not much we can do without outside support. If we peacefully protest. They arrest you, shoot and kill you. Call you a terrorist, possibly even ban you from getting jobs.
You aren’t going to get shot. Dont give up just yet.
Yeah no worries for me. While it may sometimes feel hopeless but I have to try. Only issue is I’ve applied at over 7k jobs and barely heard back from 40-50.
Yet…
own the libs is more important than progress
Decades of very effective propaganda combined with intrinsic ideological biases.
They voted for it, so why would they be mad?
Why would they be mad? Why would they be mad about DEI when they are still the most catered too and entrenched class with access to generational wealth. I will go on if you press me further.
Idk what you’re talking about most Americans are mad at the state of out country
I’m mad as fuck. Get me one (or more) of those traitorous bastards within arm’s reach and they’ll find out precisely how mad.
We are mad but we are also distracted and overwhelmed. You can’t get mad at work because you might get fired. Then there goes your housing and food and healthcare. It’s going to have to get a lot worse before things pop off.
I’m mad, but what? Once we pull out the guillotines there’s no going back, so right now I’m hoping that checks and balances thing starts to kick in soon.
I agree. I fought very hard for harm reduction. I just think the time for that has came and went. Now we have to mobilize the population and that’s like a 10 year ordeal, if it’s possible at all. It’s slow going but we gave the democrats 8 years to do something I think 10 years for the people to get their act together might be doable.
I think we’re just on a down wave globally. In early 00s we got social media which helped to organize people and lead to real actionable ideas. The bad actors figured it out and took control of our tools and now people are waiting for a new opportunity.
I think Americans need a strong leader and something to break the camel’s back. Everyone’s who’s angry now doesn’t have a good “deal” for risking exposure and their complacency because the failures are just too recent.
“Wanting a strong leader” is what gave us trump. You be a leader or allow yourself to be led by people in your local community. There is no perfect leader that could ever check everyone’s boxes. If there was one thing we could all agree on I’d like to know what it fucking is.
trump isn’t a strong leader, he’s a very accomplished con artist.
He allows people to project their vision of who he is on him.
You say I’m christian? Sure I’ll pretend I am
You say I’m anti abortion? Sure I’ll pretend that I am
You say I’m for the little guy? Sure, I’ll pretend that I care about them
You say I’m anti-vax? Sure, I’ll tell you that I am
You say I’m the second coming of Christ? Okay, I’m good with you thinking that about me
You say I’m a strong patriot? Sure, I’ll hug the flag and say the words you need me to say
He is everything to everyone of his supporters because he never tells them that they are wrong about who he is.
A strong leader is someone that has strong convictions and articulates them in a way that resonates with the population. They are not people that waffle in their ideals, you either like their stance or you don’t. Smart ones will adjust their ideas over time but they do this from a strong ideological foundation. Some are genuinely good people like MLK, jr. others are more despotic. What America needs is one or two genuinely good strong leaders.
I don’t think so. America will never settle on one or two people to be their leader. They need you to be a leader or they need you to give your support to someone else who is decent enough leader to represent you. What you want is a magic bullet. Some one else to solve all your problems all at once. It doesn’t exist. Americans are notorious in their purity tests and infighting. When what all the American people need to do is compromise then there is no leader that can convince them to compromise for himself.
I think we are talking about leadership at different points of time.
The leader that America needs right now is someone to articulate and draw people together behind the idea of “Throwing the bums out” and in that context there is a large coalition of people that agree with that sentiment.
What happens after the bums are gone is where the in-fighting and purity tests start to take hold. But having the opportunity to argue about whether Leader A’s policy of taxing the billionaires at 90% vs. Leader B’s policy of 70% tax rate on them would be a welcomed change.
