Dear fellow DUers, I have a question: am I right to be terrified?

[calimary]

And I don’t mean exaggeration or paranoia. Nope. I mean as a result of yesterday’s downright HIDEOUS Supreme Court ruling.

Suddenly, as I think of it, and think through it, and think ahead to a possible Trump victory in November, am I right to be scared out of my freakin’ mind?

And not just scared for myself, but for all our other players and activists who are on the record as opposing trump?

How frightened are we?

How frightened should we be?


And what can we do about it?


I really, sincerely, would appreciate others’ take on what the Supreme Court just gave the green light to.

Thanks so very much. Sincerely and wholeheartedly.

[SoFlaBro]

1. Frightened? No. Activated, seething, & angry would be right. This isn't a fight or flight moment. It is a fight moment.

[calimary]

2. Thank you, SoFlaBro. I really need the perspective of others here.

And I don’t plan to stay quiet or stop advocating.

But the fact is, I’m scared. Like never before. And I’m in my early 70s.

[SoFlaBro]

15. Depends on what you couple with "fear". If it leads to paralysis and inaction, then it's not helpful at all.

[wnylib]

34. I am frightened, too. But, for me, fear leads to anger

Last edited Tue Jul 2, 2024, 07:47 PM - Edit history (1)

and anger leads to finding out what I can or should do. That means learning how a dictatorship of Trump and his thugs will likely play out.

The Supreme Court just gave the green light to Trump and Project 2025, so get familiar with it. Steve Bannon has said in the past few days with total confidence that there is absolutely no way that Trump can lose the election. This was not the blowhard bravado that happens in election years. It was the smug confidence of someone who has an inside line on something.

We know that Bannon has worked on tearing down the whole system and that he has Trump's ear. Trump is Bannon's tool for Bannon's agenda. For Bannon to be so smugly confident, there must be a plan that he is privy to. They have learned from 2020.

One way to calm fears is to develop a plan of action that is right for you. The act of planning is part of doing something instead of stewing in fear. Depending on people's situation, the plan might be how to get out of the country. I do not look down on people who want to or will do that. There could be good reasons for it.

For others, the plan will be how to survive if the worst happens. That might include networking with people you trust, moving to a safer location within the country if you are in a deep red area, staying alert to what is happening, cultivating information sources, living below the radar.

For still others, the plan will be how to fight back, not just with guns, but with brains and creativity. How to undermine the dictatorship. How to protect the more vulnerable. How to defy immoral laws and actions. How to operate with duplicity in plain sight, or how to act "underground," out of sight. How to organize a group and how to communicate safely.

People who are tech savvy can do a lot to undermine the system of a dictator using their knowledge, skill, and creativity.

I once naively asked why the German people did not stop the roundups of people for the camps. When Gestapo entered an apartment building why didn't people stand up to them when the Gestapo dragged out a family? Besides fear and the possibility that they actually supported Nazis, there is the fact that a few unarmed civilians could not do anything in the face of a heavily armed squad of Gestapo.

So, figure out what course of action or coping is best for you and then start doing what you need to do.

Meantime, work very hard to unite people behind Biden and down ticket Dems.

[calimary]

80. Well, there are some very good points in this post, wnylib.

Ideas. That’s the key. Ideas! Seems to me there are more of us than there are of them and that has to count for something!

But most important of all, we have to vote. Have to, HAVE TO, HAVE TO!!! I’m determined to vote if I have to crawl over gravel to do so.

[wnylib]

89. Absolutely right about voting. The ideas that I posted

are for a worst case outcome. But, better to prevent the worst case from happening.

I've read a lot of books and watched a lot of films about people coping under dictatorships or foreign occupation. I grew up on the story of how my great grandfather escaped the German Empire in 1888 when falsely charged with treason. I learned about my uncle surviving a German POW camp in WWII. Some of the books and films that I've read or seen were fiction, some were based on fact. Some were from WWII and others from different time periods and places. Adjusting for differences in location, technology, and time, there are some general principles of how to cope that can be put to use today. Creative thinking develops out of necessity.

But far better to not have to deal with such a situation in the first place. So do all we can now to prevent it from happening. Stay united and work together to defeat Trump and the dystopia that he would bring.

[Magoo48]

51. As a fellow Californian, and being half way to 80, I'll admit, I'lI too have fear for my family.

I’m more comfortable with anger, loathing, and resentment; but they are exhausting when I cannot channel them into some kind of useful, creative endeavor to join the battle. What I’ve been left with is waves of overwhelming sadness for folks in our nations who simply want to live free and peaceful lives.

That said, I live in the California Republic. I’m too old and set in my ways to take very much fascist shit before I begin heaving monkey wrenches into everything befouled by the Orange Menace and his fascist clowns of the Apocalypse. If they should prevail, our deserts and mountains are our first lines of defense.

Thanks calimary for being honest and vulnerable.

[DENVERPOPS]

58. Same here Calimary..............

But I became frightened when I saw HWBush and his CABAL corruptly "installed" Reagan into office in 1980 by committing treason with Iran..............And I have been screaming ever since about what the Republicans were doing...............

That 8 year reign nearly destroyed the entire middle class as we knew it..................

[TomSlick]

41. Exactly.

Totalitarians rely upon learned hopelessness. We must not be hopeless we must vote.

[marble falls]

3. Not as long as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hang in.

[calimary]

6. Thanks, marble falls.

I can’t remember when I’ve EVER been this frightened. Not by the Kennedy assassination. Not during Nixon. Certainly not during either Bush administrations. But trump? That’s a whole different opponent, and adversary.

[LostOne4Ever]

4. I think we all are justified to one extent or another

But fear is a mind killer. We need to use our fear rather than lose ourselves to it. Either make plans to leave after the election or plan how to get us fired up to GOTV. Maybe even both!

[calimary]

10. Yep. You're right.

I can’t afford to let my fear cripple me. NONE OF US can afford that.

Oddly enough, my cat has been a lot more attentive to me today. Couldn’t help noticing the difference.

[BootinUp]

5. I am reasonably confident that like Dobbs

this SCOTUS overreach will help at the ballot box.

Trump will not be returning to the White House.

[calimary]

12. That's the one and only thing that guarantees we're out of danger.

And that’s just temporarily.

[dchill]

37. Oh - you mean the ballot boxes that Democrats can still use?

[BootinUp]

46. I did not say it would be a cake walk. Nt

[dchill]

48. Good. Cause it won't.

[brush]

7. You're right to be scared. Project 2025 has laid it all out. We who opposed trump...

Dems, Blacks, Latinos, Muslims, LGBTQ+, never-trumpers, most women...all who opposed the fat bastard, we're to be rounded up for deportation pens.

To languish there for who knows how long because what country is going to except boatloads of us undesirables?

This is their plan, but the fat bastard has to get elected first, and that's not a certainty.

Things may look bad now, but I still feel more American voters have enough sense to not put the fat bastard insurrectionist back in the White House.

[calimary]

14. I hope to God you're right.

Could this be THE big wake-up call we’ve all been needing, at long last?

[Deuxcents]

8. Fear and drama are what MAGAs want. We can let our imaginations go to the dark side

But we gotta snap out of it quick and keep our eyes on the prize. The phrase, Eyes on the Prize, has always been a rallying point and now, more than ever, it has great meaning. Hold on. We’re in this together ✊

[calimary]

17. You're right. And I know you're right.

And I also clearly understand your cautionary words: “…we gotta snap out of it quick and keep our eyes on the prize.”

Yes indeed. I’m NOT gonna give up. And I’m not gonna stop working for Joe Biden and my fellow Dems. But I also have to figure out a way to ignore my fears. Hearing from folks here does help, I’m grateful to say.

[KS Toronado]

62. I'm not scared one bit, not even concerned about IQ4.5 getting back

into the Oval Office. Why polls are even showing a horse race I'll never understand. Everybody is reporting
fewer rump yard signs and flags in red towns. Been 2 years since I've seen one in my red town anywhere.
And after the SCOTUS screwing up again yesterday, people are being turned off by repugs. Rs in my red town
are well aware rump lost the last election and yet they still see him lying about it and fund raising off it. And
I believe it's turning them off.

Biden will win in a landslide, down ballot is my only concern. We'll make it through this period OK.

[calimary]

66. May you be 100% right!

And thanks for the visuals in your report here!

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Do what financial planners would call a risk assessment. Bankers call it a stress test.

Think! It's not just Trump. It's the fallout from what he enacts, but also climate risk, insurance costs, age, community.

Government has a lot of power over the banking system. They could fee, assess. Money Market funds, notice the $1.00 price can legally vary now? That wasn't the case in 1999. They can close banks, freeze accounts, tax accounts, devalue currency (to support tariffs). They can move the deficit to zero and raise taxes on little people or slash government to zero. We all face risks.

[calimary]

19. But it worries me that trump could weaponize that, too.

And who would dare say “no” to him?

[bucolic_frolic]

26. You've hit the nail on the head.

[Model35mech]

11. The ruling is a playground for malicious mischief by a future evil president

Politicians are like horses. Some graze happily in the middle of the pasture. Others are hell bent on getting to the grass on the other side of the fence

Trump is exactly the guy for whom accountability should have been reinforced.

Now the nation has a new hoop to jump through... we need a SCrOTUS decision to know if he's exercising his core responsibilities and thereby immune.

[TommyT139]

16. "future evil president"

Agreed. The injustices put on blast that the most powerful role in the world is up for grabs, if the candidate greases I mean tips the ones holding the strings, and toes the line about socially draconian policies.

Everyone knows Trump won't live forever, one way or another. He should be more afraid of open windows than of sharks and shaving cream pies.

[calimary]

53. One change that's desperately needed for this Supreme Court:

There MUST be term limits! MUST BE!!!

That’s the main change that is DESPERATELY needed.

NO MORE LIFETIME APPOINTMENTS!!!

[Model35mech]

54. I agree. Early today while driving home

I was thinking 20 years max. No matter what age the person is when appointed.

That would allow some stability in the court but preclude the R's from controlling seats on the court by nominating 40 year olds.

I also thought that the absence of criteria for the job should be changed. Justices should all be experienced jurists, with published scholarship regarding cases and/or judicial philosophies and practices of SCOTUS.

[calimary]

60. I'd go for 18 years. Three six-year terms.

And it just occurred to me that
18 years would be in mine with how the legislative branch handles it.

A Congress member has two-year terms.

A Senator has - gee, look at that - three times that: six-year terms.

So how about another multiple of THAT for the Supreme Court? No more lifetime appointments. BUT: three times a Senator’s term (which is still 6 years)? Which would be 18 years. Three times six.

[Model35mech]

64. I thought about that, 18 is ok with me while

My thought was 20 is a little closer to the length of modern generation generation time.

[Elessar Zappa]

13. You can be but it's not helpful to mental health.

I discovered that years back. I worried so much about everything and it didn’t do a damn bit of good. So I’ve learned to let things go and let come what may. That doesn’t mean I don’t see the danger we’re approaching. I will do everything in my power to make sure Joe Biden gets sworn in again in January of ‘25.

[markpkessinger]

18. Frankly, what scares me most at the moment . . .

. . . is the chorus of Democratic pundits calling for Biden to step aside. There is simply no precedent for doing this a mere four months out from the election. (When Johnson did it, the election was 8 months away.) Those calling for an open convention are kidding themselves if they think it is likely to result in anything other than chaos and divisiveness, resulting in the election of Trump!

[calimary]

21. Yeah. That's pretty doggone galling.

We all need to build, and to BE, a united front.

[Captain Zero]

69. And media will scream, Dems in Disarray!

They would love to do that.

[regnaD kciN]

103. LBJ decided to withdraw on his own...

…when he was still assumed to be the favorite in November, and the decision was a surprise to everyone.

Let’s also not forget what happened thereafter: there was a huge fight between Humphrey, RFK, and McCarthy, the convention ended with a fractured Democratic Party and the election of Richard Nixon, the original “if the president does it, it’s not illegal” guy.

The decision to drop out or stay in is entirely up to the POTUS, and the only reasons I could see for him to withdraw are a) if he actually comes to believe he’s no longer able to fulfill the duties of the office, or b) he appears to be a certain loser in November, while another prominent Democrat appears to be a sure winner. I don’t see either of those being the case, but the impression that other Democratic leaders are trying to ease him out the door can only be disastrous in November, no matter who is running.

[usonian]

20. Calm Down, do something positive.

1. Calm down. I chant to replace speculative and intrusive thoughts, and anchor my thoughts on universal truths. 🪷

2. Do something. Especially political (though not limited to that.)


Follow user Wednesday's posts (latest one here)
https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19084444

or just drop by democrats.org to find powerful ways to take action.
https://democrats.org
Specific actions:
https://democrats.org/take-action/

Democrats.org has tons of ways to help, and even online courses in how to make an impact.

Oh, and
3. Use a monster filter list on DU to block trolls, who are out like black flies in New Hampshire.
The trolling is horrendous. Divide and Conquer is their strategy.

I would like to see quick and harsh filtering of troll posts bashing Joe.
They hurt the nominee and the party and are blatant ageism.
Can you see the concerted attack plan to divide Dems? I sure can. Hillary bashing?
We hang together or hang separately.

First in a series of unleashing my fury on trolls.
https://democraticunderground.com/100219091337

Control what you can control.
Turn off the TV
Read curated and moderated news feeds,
and filter them like crazy


My filter list is not to be ignorant of issues. I know the issues, but to flush the trolls.

[orangecrush]

29. Agree

Bash Joe should be a ticket out.

[calimary]

55. Wish I could recommend this post 100-thousand times!

[usonian]

59. Thank you. Copy and share as you like.

I followed it up with this post:
https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19093851

We've all had "moments" and let's encourage each other.

Spoiler alert:

Joe is fighting for me, and I'm fighting for Joe.

To flaming hell with the trolls.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

22. I have been terrified

Since Reagan. I knew the republicans were fascist pigs but back then nobody believed me. Those fuckers have had this same inhuman awful agenda all along back then they didn’t say it out loud.


With trump I sure am terrified because I will be truly fucked. If they cut disability, housing or Medicaid or cancel my program I am fucked. Broke, homeless, unable to get meds for mental health and diabetes.


My life will be over.

I have a contingency plan so if they start putting mentally ill people in hospitals or skilled nursing care facilities to remove us from public space I know the murdering isn’t far off.

Look at what happens to the vulnerable populations that will be a pre view for life in the future. We all know fascists can’t stop with killing just one marginalized population…

This has been the republican plan all along. And the evilgelical churches are just as authoritarian as the right wing is.

Never trust a republican or a evil evangelical pastor they are one and the same, sociopaths.

[calimary]

70. I wish I could give you a big hug.

You need one … hundred thousand.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

114. Wish I could give

You a big hug right back. ❤️

[LeftInTX]

23. Well a bunch of Democrats certainly don't seem to be frightened enough!

They're too busy fighting amongst each other!

Driving the news: Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Tuesday became the first sitting Democratic member of Congress to call for Biden to step down, as did former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Colorado congressional candidate Adam Frisch.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said in a local TV news interview on Monday that the Biden campaign should be "candid with us about his condition," while Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said on CNN the campaign "needs to listen to us."
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), in an interview with Semafor, chastised the campaign for its "dismissive attitude," alluding to a fundraising email last week that dismissed those with concerns as "bedwetters."
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on MSNBC that it was "legitimate" to ask of both Biden and Trump: "Is this an episode or a condition?'"
What they're saying: "There is a lot of apprehension. That's an understatement, [but] there's no other way to describe it," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) told Axios.

Quigley said public worries are surfacing this week because it "took some time to process" the fallout from Biden's poor showing in Thursday's debate, and members are "starting to digest how the public is being influenced by this."
Pointing to Project 2025 and the Supreme Court's immunity decision, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Democrats "must be laser-focused on winning, not hand wringing, or sentimentality, or insulting each other as 'bedwetters,' or anything else."

https://www.axios.com/2024/07/02/biden-house-senate-democrats-revolt

[Ninga]

24. Just fuck. I'm at my lowest point. Why can't they give Biden some respectful space. Let him

campaign speaking directly to the people.

[LeftInTX]

25. Or just stop airing the party laundry publicly! This is absurd.

[Ninga]

47. I agree! It's oxygen. I going to stop giving such OPs oxygen. No more clicking.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

27. all that religious stuff being crammed into schools in red states, anti abortion, book banning, anti black history stuff

it's coming for all of us.

[calimary]

67. All that "religious stuff"... hell, I was raised Catholic.

I can NEVER EVER remember ANY of the nuns, visiting priests and missionaries, lay teachers, or folks from other parishes and Catholic schools - cramming that kind of info down our throats. Holy Cow! NOT A ONE of those nuns I remember EVER did OR implied shit like that.

[orangecrush]

28. As frightened

As any decent person living in Germany in 1939.

[calimary]

68. Indeed. The worst part is - that's no manipulative exaggeration in any form,

and of ANY kind to ANY degree. It’s becoming a very apt conparison. Sadly enough.

[Diraven]

31. I think he'll go after the big enemies first

Everyone who prosecuted him in his impeachments, prosecutors and judges (except Cannon) in his criminal trials, and E Jean Carroll. They'll all be at least disappeared, maybe worse. Democratic lawmakers he doesn't like, including Schumer, Pelosi, Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, FBI and DOJ investigators will be arrested and prosecuted on bogus charges. Less prominent politicians, celebrities who spoke out against him will just be mercilessly harassed by MAGA minions. Media companies will be made to fire anyone they employ who he doesn't like "or else". Unknown posters on DU will probably just be doxxed by unofficial MAGA online vigilantes and maybe have pressure put on their employers to fire them if they're in MAGA friendly companies. That's my prognostication of doom.

[calimary]

71. It makes me wonder - where's the bottom of this pit?

WHEN does this END???

I absolutely HATE and DETEST this feeling of helplessness I can’t seem to shake off or get away from.

It can’t keep going on like this … can it?

[BigmanPigman]

32. I have many "feelings"

They include fear, anger, frustration, revenge, determination, and even violence.

After I heard the news yesterday I put a new anti-tRump bumper sticker on my car after yelling and swearing at my tv screen (Nicole Wallace's show). I have very intense reactions and they escalate very quickly. Yesterday was hell!!!!!!!!

Ha, I just looked at my tv and the next story is "2024 Anxiety". That makes me laugh. I want to add "anxiety" to my list of feelings.

[calimary]

72. "Anxiety" doesn't even begin to describe it.

[sprinkleeninow]

33. I've cut back on posting bc of 'everything'. But this came to me several times today...

"Vengeance is Mine, thus sayeth the Lord. I will repay."

[calimary]

73. Well, Dear Lord, we're waiting...

Where are You?

[Kaleva]

35. What you do depends on how serious the threat is

Some will go dark or become Good Germans.

Some will stockpile arms and ammo and prepare to fight . Maybe hook up and train with other like minded progressives.

Others will get everything together to flee the country if needed. Passports, a place to stay, money and such .

I'm going to go about my life like I usually do and I think most everyone else here will too .

If I thought the threat was serious, I would have gone dark long ago.

[calimary]

74. Yeah. I think you're right.

I’m gonna try to go on with my life, and face my fears. And do what I can to push back, even as small as it may be.

Sometimes it feels useless. A no-win scenario. Like a pebble set down at the foot of a mountain. But I can what I guess are mere little things - that may or may not make a difference.

I am grateful to all the folks here who cared enough, or thought enough, to weigh in on this-here thread. VERY VERY grateful indeed. I’m proof-positive that misery really does love company.

[Kaleva]

87. I try and not worry about things outside my control

I try to have plans in place to deal with such but I also strive to not let it control my emotions and my ability to enjoy day to day life.

[bigtree]

36. it's really bad. 6 maga justices have decided they're to be the ultimate word on everything

...aside from electing as many Democrats as possible, the options are bleak. That's why, bad.

Multi-state convention to change the Constitution to force presidents to live by the same laws we do. SC changed it yesterday in a blink of the eye to include their new 'immunity' provisions, and the prohibition of using evidence of official acts to prove illegal, unofficial acts in court.

If there was somewhere to go, I'd say that was ripe for appeal.

I'd like to think, long term, that legal scholars who have taught jurisprudence involving precedent and statutory intent would organize and protest on a scale that would rock the legal world and political world.

The rulings are not just wrong, they're crap law, and they're just a collection of politicking and bad reasoning. it's a literal shitshow.

We're in it. It's effectively an autocracy if everything our legislature does is subject to their aberrant and arbitrary rulings in favor of the republican party.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

40. The oligarchs and the christofascists may believe that this Subversive Court cements their rule.

We should do our best to dissuade them and flood government offices with elected Democrats.

[calimary]

77. Well, the haven't taken our right to vote away yet...

although it wouldn’t surprise me if some of the bad guys weren’t already working on that.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

88. They've intimidated election workers to replace them with MAGAts,

but there are still conscientious people in many, many levels of the election process.

[paleotn]

38. Old story... during the Constitutional Convention, a woman asked Franklin what form of government they were creating.

He replied...A republic, madam, if you can keep it. We're once again at the "keeping" stage. It's up to us the people. If not us, then no one.

[calimary]

83. True. If not us, then who?

And maybe we have to remember the bequest, if you can call it that, that Franklin left us with: “a republic, if you can keep it.”

So that invites the question: CAN we keep it? And HOW to do so? Could the solution is to let our bigger numbers help? If we were all, each of us, doing SOMETHING, and not all the same single something, could we confuse and confound, and overpower the opponents, just by our numbers and all our different solutions and strategies? Could there be so many that the bad guys would have trouble trying to keep track?

[alwaysinasnit]

39. I have no words of wisdom for you calimary. I can say this; Biden and his staff are likely not sitting on

their hands. I am sure they are doing a thorough threat assessment on the ramifications of this immunity decision. I imagine that they will do whatever they can to neutralize, as far as possible, the danger they can now clearly see. I have to believe this or lose the last of my marbles. I will continue to do what I can as an individual, and continue to urge anyone who will listen, to vote in November.

[calimary]

84. It does come down to VOTING, doesn't it!

When all is said and done, WE ALL have to make damn sure we VOTE - and that we help someone else to vote, too. Even the ones who aren’t sure it’ll do any good.

[alwaysinasnit]

85. Yup. I have a response to those that feel their votes don't count. "Well, you've got nothing to lose except a

little bit of time and effort, but maybe a lot of good will come out of it." Stay strong my friend.

[calimary]

90. Thanks, alwaysinasnit. I'm sure gonna try to.

The struggle continues, she said, after getting a load of a Susan B. Anthony leader on TV, trying oh-so-sweetly to rationalize how important it is to take away a woman’s authority over her own body.

[YoshidaYui]

42. I WILL tell you why I am Terrified if TRUMP gets back into office..

I will most likely die. I am of Japanese Native Hawaiian decent. I was born in San Francisco. I will most likely be rounded up like they did my ancestors put into an interment camp, with other people of color. sorted and either DEPORTED to one main place in Asia, or ... marched into a gas chamber like the NAZI's did during WWII. ITS far cheaper to just kill people than to send them back to the land of their ancestors.

[calimary]

86. It's people like you who make me feel like I HAVE TO do SOMETHING.

It’s your story and those of your family and friends that make me feel like I can’t let myself get so fearful or down in the dumps that I’m paralyzed.

I’m your average white-bread specimen, and I was adopted at birth, so there’s a part of me that doesn’t know WHO THE HELL I am, and that includes having found some likely relatives some years ago. And only a few, who I believe are on my biological mother’s side. But the man she built her family with was evidently not my biological father.

So I’ve gone through life feeling somewhat untethered. You have your heritage - one that’s REALLY important to every one of us, with or without Asian bloodlines, that can teach US ALL some seriously valuable - and urgently important lessons.

[gay texan]

44. Turn fear into action

GOTV

[calimary]

92. Yep. That's the bottom line. Right there.

[malthaussen]

45. Fear is unproductive. Unless it motivates you.

But presumably you're already doing your best to see to it that the right thing happens in November, so fear is of no use.

-- Mal

[calimary]

95. I definitely am doing everything I can toward that end.

A good tool is the toolbox is the Indivisible group I’m part of. And we’re all on it. Even the already-exhausted ones.

[Dorian Gray]

49. For the first time since Trump was president

I have a pit in my stomach. I don't think you need to be terrified. But I think we need to figure a lot of shit out.

[calimary]

96. Yeah. Agreed. AND we have to make sure our fears don't cripple us.

That’s what I’m working hardest to counteract.

[CaptainTruth]

50. Don't be terrified, be determined.

Do whatever you can to help Biden & Democrats win.

For example I'm donating what I can, sending hundreds of "postcards to voters," & volunteering to place campaign signs around the area for any Dem candidate that wants me to.

I'm sure other folks on DU can offer more ideas for things you can do to make a difference.

[calimary]

98. Yep. My Indivisible group sends out lots of postcards

to Democrats in our district. These now will remind them all of the even greater importance of voting this fall. We’ll be doing a few rounds of them, I them.

[Kid Berwyn]

52. Same Supreme Cult says bump stocks are fun.

Odd how their actions have served to advance political violence.

“Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death.” ― Adolf Hitler

Pardons accepted for appropriate gratuities.

[calimary]

91. WOW - that's quite a quote.

“Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death.” ― Adolf Hitler

Holy cow! I never heard that one before. Sounds like the newest motto of the Republican Party.

[Mblaze]

56. Being terrified

Has nothing to do with being right or wrong.

[calimary]

99. Yes. But I'm trying to use it for motivation.

[budkin]

57. Absolutely

The country is no longer the same.

[Warpy]

61. If you wer;en't terrified of TFG and his fundagelical army, you'd be as crazy as he is.

Congratulations! You're sane and perfectly normal.

See you in the concentration camp. I'll be the old lady with the vague expression that says she's blind.

[calimary]

100. Make that two of us.

I’ll probably be trying to sneak around and fire up a prison riot. Either that, or helping with a tunneling scheme.

[Blue Full Moon]

63. From team Biden

🚨 Breaking News from Team-Biden Harris 🚨

The Supreme Court just granted Donald Trump unprecedented immunity from prosecution.

Simply put, if Trump wins again, he has the green light to carry out his plans of revenge and retribution.

Look, we hate to put this thought through your head, but this is not hyperbole.

[calimary]

101. Might as well FULLY prepared, and realistic.

[EllieBC]

65. Vote blue. Thats literally the best thing to do.

None of this crying, “I just don’t know if I can vote for Biden.” Vote like this might be your last chance ever to have freedom to vote.

[calimary]

102. Agreed. I'm already determined to vote for Biden AND everybody on the blue team.

GO BLUE. Top to bottom. If it’s the last thing I do.

[betsuni]

75. "I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."

Ghostbusters, when The Destructor came in the form of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.

This is perfectly natural.

[calimary]

106. Well, there y'are.

[LakeArenal]

76. Oh lord.

[Emile]

78. The whole country should be frightened. We lost

a right that all citizens are equal in face of justice.

[calimary]

93. And that's a leading reason why we have to VOTE. And VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS.

That’s the ONLY way we can get that right restored.

[Emile]

94. Exactly +1

[GaYellowDawg]

79. Yes.

Democracy is hanging by a thin thread and there are a lot of scissors out there. In order to get out of this, we're going to have to win the Presidency, win the House, get a larger margin in the Senate and abolish the filibuster and jam some sensible legislation right down their fucking throats, either expand the Court or impeach/fire a minimum of two of the Sinister Six, somehow convince mainstream media that their job isn't presenting "both sides" but is to tell the fucking TRUTH and call out bullshit no matter who it pisses off, find a better mechanism for combating disinformation, fund Ukraine sufficiently to kick Putin the fuck out of there, try to find a way to destabilize the regimes in Russia and China, get rid of Citizens United and establish public funding for all elections, re-establish the Civil Rights Act, establish sensible gun control, declare more right-wing radicals as domestic terrorists and discredit or jail them (or both), and I'm sure there's a hell of a lot more but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

[calimary]

107. As long as we can at least keep the White House

and ESPECIALLY keep the donald OUT of there, we’ll have a better chance of being okay. But color me nervous until that’s secured.

[texasfiddler]

81. You are not the only one. We are all terrified. Including those calling for Biden to step down.

The only positive thing I can say is that fear and occasionally hope wins elections. Being comfortable and having apathy loses elections. Think of 2016. I think that fear will be the driving force of this election. Biden 2024!!

[calimary]

82. Yes indeed. The VERY WORST thing any of us can do is give up.

Or give into despair. There’s ALWAYS something that can be done, or at least attempted, isn’t there? Seems to me there’s GOTTA be. trump always seems to find a loophole. Why can’t we?

[edisdead]

97. yes you are roght to be terrified.

I am right there with you.

[calimary]

109. At least it's good to know I'm not going crazy,

or just being a scaredy-cat with no reason for it.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

104. I suggest a careful watching, or re-watching

As the case may be, of Darkest Hour, with Gary Oldman portraying Winston Churchill taking up as prime minister after Neville Chamberlain.

[calimary]

110. I haven't seen that one yet. Thanks for the recommendation!

It sure won awards. Especially for Gary Oldman, including the Oscar, BAFTA (“British Oscars”), Golden Globes, & Critics Choice for Best Actor.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

111. Very welcome! nt

[Qutzupalotl]

105. We have to keep electing presidents of character

from now on until we can fix this. We haven't seen character in stark relief for a long time until Joe's eloquent dissent on Monday. Many have forgotten what that looks like, and why it's important. But character matters now in presidents more than it ever has, because their power is now unlimited and therefore more corrupting than ever. So things are dire and you are right to be alarmed.

Fixing it might involve a legislative approach, explicitly stating it is the will of Congress that the president's actions be subject to law as applies to any citizen; or expanding the court to match for the added circuits since the last size change; or a constitutional amendment, which is extremely unlikely. Legislation or judicial reform would likely need another Democratic trifecta. But that is possible and within our power if we stop fighting ourselves and come together to defeat tyranny.

[calimary]

112. It wouldn't surprise me to see Joe Biden at the top level f the historical scale.

As time goes by, he’s likely to be right up there with FDR for most significant leadership and most productive acts that improved people’s lives.

Too many will shrug him off now, but he’ll stand taller than any President in the modern era when history has its say.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

108. I am worried

You are correct to be worried

[calimary]

113. I bet we have a lot of company.

Hopefully it’s a motivator to get out the vote.

[Bucky]

115. Look at it this way: you don't skip on bullets if you buy a gun

If you buy a car, you have to buy gas.

You don't get a barbecue grill without getting tongs.

So why should they bother to install a dictator if their not gonna give him the tools to do the job?

When I was a kid, this country was a democracy. You know what Congress worked on in those years? Making sure everyone who was eligible could vote. Basic tools to do the job. We obviously don't bother with that anymore. They don't want a democracy

[calimary]

116. And have they thought all this through?

Now you’ve raised my curiosity- and my suspicions.

[SocialDemocrat61]

117. Don't be terrified

Just work harder to ensure Biden and democrats are elected in November.

[calimary]

118. Seems to me THAT'S the bottom line.

Fear can be a motivator for action. It helps to think of it that way.

Keep Working for the Win.

[elocs]

119. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Now imagine if nearly every Democrat and Left voter had voted for Hillary in '16 and Trump was never elected and then defeated again in '20. Over a million in the U.S. would likely not have died from COVID and we would have a solid Liberal SCOTUS. These long with many other things.
Will we ever learn?

"For all the sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
"It might have been!""

[calimary]

120. Sigh... yeah. It still hurts. I voted for Hillary. Instead we got the Orange Plague.

And he wriggled his way in through the damned fucking Electoral College, which should have been abolished LONG ago.

Every American should feel deeply insulted that there has to be an extra gateway in which only an exclusive group of people (the “electors”) have authority. It’s like the rest of us - OUR VOTES - aren’t good enough.

The damned Electoral College should be ABOLISHED. Once and for all. It’s a fucking INSULT.

[elocs]

121. For over 50 years since I could first vote I've always chosen the Democrat in the general election.

So although I did not vote for Hillary in the primary, I did in the general.
Here in Wisconsin in '16, Jill Stein of the Green Party received more votes than Trump's margin of victory here and those votes came overwhelmingly from the Left.
Of course, it didn't help either that she didn't make a single campaign stop here in the general election either, evidently being confident that she had the state in the bag for her.

Our presidential elections are binary with the winner and next president always and only being either the Democratic candidate or the Republican one. Bad things happen when Democrats and those on the Left choose to self suppress their votes. It will again this year as well.

[calimary]

123. God, I hope not! Self-suppression is NO answer.

[RandomNumbers]

122. Yes and No. Here's why the No.

(The Yes is obvious)

Why No?

In my opinion, our capacity for feeling terrified should be pretty much exhausted by now.

1. Climate change has turned the corner to become absolutely devastating over the next couple decades, if that. (in some places, it already is there.)
2. Severe over-population is not only exacerbating climate change, but many other devastating global impacts. Wars are basically being fought over diminishing resources (with other reasons given as a cover story). Meanwhile the attempt to hide the real problem and even PROMOTE further rapid over-population, seems far better funded than any effort to acknowledge the problem and find humane mitigation approaches.
3. Biodiversity loss - the upcoming major extinction event - also triggered by the first two - we are kicking out the bottom of the life pyramid on which humans as a species depend.
4. Over-consumptionism (a proper word isn't coming to mind at the moment) moves on apace, accelerating items 1 and 3 and being accelerated by item 2.

So, I'd say if you weren't already terrified - or had exhausted any capacity for that - you haven't been paying attention. But you are sadly in a very large company, including many good people who just don't know. Kudos to the global education system, sigh.