But also, fuck neocon Robert Kagan
this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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There is a brutal man with a gun, controlling and threatening a group of good citizens with consciences. He's going to do terrible things to them, and make them do terrible things themselves.
They have him outnumbered, but he has the gun. If they rush him, they can easily defeat him. But, the first one or two or three or four people to move forward will be shot and probably die painfully. Going first is going to cost a terrible price and you don't know for sure that anyone else will follow you, that your sacrifice will be for anything at all.
You feel a little paralyzed and at the same time ashamed you are just standing there.
What happens next?
What happens next?
Everyone pulls out their phones and starts scrolling for what's new and trending, several people answer their discord messages.
Just reading his Wikipedia page is scary as hell for an American president. Unreal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_presidency_of_Donald_Trump
I've mentioned this before to others whenever this comes up. most or a great majority of people in the US have it "good enough" to not "risk it all".
Things over here "aren't bad enough" for people to full-on revolt. I'd say we're kinda close but modern, white, boring america just doesn't want to get caught in the shit storm. They understand it might come for them at some point but that time isn't now so why "stick their neck out"
First they came for the 'illegals', but I did not do anything as I wasn't an illegal.
Then they came for the trans, but I did not speak up for I wasn't trans.
Then they came for etc etc etc.
Waiting for dictators to do the right thing is never ever a good idea.
most or a great majority of people in the US have it "good enough" to not "risk it all".
Most of the people I know are barely hanging on and desperate to keep the little they have. When you're barely getting by, like 60% of Americans currently living paycheck to paycheck, you can't afford to risk anything.
They're too busy making sure their kids don't starve, or making sure they can stretch the last bit of money until the next check. Doesn't help that all we do is exploit these people any chance we can.
And I'd bet a lot of people in that situation don't really care to help repair a system that never really worked for them in the first place.
It's not the right approach, you and I know that. But desperate people don't act rationally. They act emotionally. And our society has gotten really good at manipulating peoples emotions.
The people living paycheck to paycheck are ones who would make the most impact by striking, but are least able to as they will starve, be evicted, lose utilities/cell/internet if they do.
The people who are making enough money to be comfortable are afraid that if they upset the people above them, they will become the people living paycheck to paycheck.
The independently wealthy and top tier capitalists are the ones that have the most financial freedom to protest, but have the least reason to, are the smallest group, and are mostly fine with how things are (at best) or actively making things worse (most likely).
Sadly yes, when it finally does get to the point where most of America says “we’ve had enough!” I feel the water will be boiling and the frog will be almost cooked.
I suspect most people feel that if things get too bad (too late) things will be taken care of for them, someone else will do it, etc. Despite all the rhetoric there is still a lot of faith in the system, at least from the older folks. I have to say it is quite eerie and weird though and not in a good way.
Tyrants always have the advantage in a "civil society"...
(Almost) Everything he does is legal so people treat it as fair game even if we don't like it, and aside from ICE murdering people, there isn't any direct violence to fight against so the "civil society" has to wait until it's wayyyyyyyy too late, to the point that we're all being sent to the gas chambers, until it decides it's morally correct to use violence.
Until that point we're left hoping our "representatives" will "fight" for us (hahahahahahahahahahahahaha...... Ughh....)
:(
People forget that morality, legality, and constitutionality are all different. Andrew Jackson ignored court orders regarding treaties with the Cherokee, nothing bad happened, because the people supported him. Lincoln blockaded the South without congressional approval, that was a good thing, also unconstitutional. He suspended habeas corpus, which was also unconstitutional. ICE is likely not breaking the constitution in many instances. However, that doesn't make their actions the slightest bit less abjorrent and evil. The constitution is a centuries old piece of paper. If anything, the Bill of Rights and some ot the other amendments (namely the 14th) are significantly more valuable.
Ice is detaining people without cause or warrants, it’s most definitely breaking the constitution.
There is a combination of factors that is turning America, a country founded on evicting a King from our government, into a country with a de-facto one.
First, one of the foundational principles of the country was the separation of powers. Specific powers were given to specific branches of government. The founders anticipated that ambitious people would fill those branches, and they would not give up that power so easily. They did not anticipate a Congress that would abdicate it's power over directing the Executive branch when their guy is there. And a Supreme Court picked expressly to choose sides.
Second, the founders realized that there needed to be someone in charge of the Federal executive that had some real power. Recall that we had already formed one government , under the "Articles of Confederation", with a weak central government that was not working. But, they did not trust the general electorate to pick it. That is the original purpose of the Electoral College: State Legislatures would name delegates, and those delegates would pick the President. We retain the Electoral College not because it still works in the modern era, but because it is too hard to change. (The fact that Congress hasn't changed in size for 100 years also contributes to the inequity of the Electoral College, since each state's votes are tied to their representation. In fact, I think the EC might still be workable if each district were smaller....).
Third, we had built up a strong tradition of non-partianship in the executive branch, with career civil servants doing their jobs across administrations, providing continuity. We even thought that protection was entrenched in law. But then this guy comes along, and decides that none of those laws matter. Once that merit-based expertise leaves, it is very hard to get back. And he can violate laws with impunity because of Point #1.
So, while we don't call Trump a King officially, his office is being turned into a monarchy, where his opinion rules all and the rule of law is subject to it.
I don't want to sound like a Bible beater because religion is very much not a part of my life. But I know the Bible. If the warnings in Daniel, Theologians, revelation about an antichrist is true, everything that describes an antichrist, Trump fits to a a T, and this board of peace. I dunno it's starting to be more than a coincidence to me.
One reason is that the US is just too big and too different to fight back effectively.
I think the most practical resistance is the west coast trying to split off.
It’s a lot easier to rally an entire state than an entire country.
Yes, yes you are.
We have been sufficiently divided to prevent collective action until it is too late. Those who should be allied with us are too distracted by gender arguments and religious propaganda to notice the boot coming down for us all.
There are a couple of factors that play into the "lack of resistance."
- Healthcare and employment are intertwined in the US. Also, healthcare is more expensive in the US than just about anywhere else in the world.
- Employment in most states is "at will," meaning employees can be fired without cause. For most employees, there is also no employment contract. Unions in the US are very weak for the most part.
- Most people in the US live paycheck to paycheck, and don't own their primary residence.
These are the ingredients of a captive population. They can hate something all they want, but objecting to it is a risk of losing everything they have. And that's not hyperbole. There have already been reports of people being fired for social media posts, and ICE collecting info on "anti-ICE" social media content. Unfortunately, this is going to have to get to a point where enough people are willing to die to oppose this. When the economy starts hurting the upper-middle class, things might change, but I don't know.
There is and has been resistance, and it's resulted in American deaths. There just hasn't been the craziness of, e.g., Jan 6 (irony intended)!
Also, it's important to remember, if resistance gets to the level of Jan 6, this president likely won't hesitate in implementing the Insurrection Act. That would effectively start either a mass slaughter of civilians and/or a civil war.
Something something society hinges on eight meals.
If the meals keep coming people will avoid violence and put up with a lot.
No resistance! That's why ICE shot those people!
This guy clearly didn't do any research on the street.
Is the interview only two questions and answers for anyone else?
They have a weird paywall up. I even tried accepting their (mandatory) cookies and it wouldnt let me in