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Takket

(23,746 posts)
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 08:26 PM Dec 2024

I still cannot even believe any of this is happening.......

When I go out in public, and everything just seems so normal. The world is just going on like nothing has happened. It is surreal. There's a movie, I've never seen it but heard of it, with the wrestler who was known as Rowdy Roddy Piper. "They Live" is maybe the title? But only he can see that there are hideous aliens living among us. They just look like regular humans to everyone else, and so they all just go about their day blissfully unaware that we're being taken over by aliens.

That's what I feel like since the election........ like i want to take every article i read every day and climb on top of a tall building and yell down at the people below "Are you seeing this??????????? Have you read this???????? Are you okay with this???????????"

I'm struck with this FURY thinking not of the MAGA loons, but of all those people who probably spent all of 5 minutes thinking about the election, because "All politicians are the same" and "i don't know anything about kamala, and he's a business man, and eggs" and went and voted for drumpf. And i bet none of those people can tell you a single person he's nominated for his cabinet, or what he said about groceries not coming down in price..... and when the country comes apart i'm sure they'll all say "this started under biden!"

But the country just goes on.......... full speed ahead.... right towards the iceberg that we've been told a THOUSAND TIMES is there but no one seems the least bit worried about it.

I told my wife (referencing the movie Titanitc) that there is no stopping the destruction to come. No one in drumpf's DOJ is going to enforce any laws he breaks, or those broken by his billionaire buddies that destroy every regulation on the books. It is too late to miss the iceberg. I told her "We are Jack and Rose, clinging to the railing, as the broken ship plunges into the ocean, and we can only hope we are some of the lucky ones that make it to a lifeboat and get rescued before we freeze."

But there is no getting out of this unharmed for everyone. People are going to die. People are going to needlessly suffer. People are going to lose jobs lose homes, lose their health, and lose their minds. And when it happens, they'll scratch their heads, dumbfounded, wondering what went wrong, or probably believing drumpf when he says this is biden's fault.

And the media is just treating this all in such a matter of fact fashion. It is just so surreal............

113 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
I still cannot even believe any of this is happening....... (Original Post) Takket Dec 2024 OP
There are lots of people are shaken...we have to live our lives Demovictory9 Dec 2024 #1
And then there are the guns Dan Dec 2024 #2
You mentioned bdamomma Dec 2024 #37
I would laugh my ass off Dan Dec 2024 #50
He is planning to deputize a whole bunch of these crazies for the border. travelingthrulife Dec 2024 #91
If he pardons bdamomma Dec 2024 #107
I hear you Skittles Dec 2024 #3
That's bdamomma Dec 2024 #39
I'll stay and fight Skittles Dec 2024 #40
............... bdamomma Dec 2024 #45
We do need to understand that there are people RandomNumbers Dec 2024 #81
Great post.... walkingman Dec 2024 #4
Citizens United Fire Sale of Politicians and end of democratic electoral system. NotANeocon Dec 2024 #43
The Harris/Waltz campaign had 3X the fundraising dollars the Trump/Vance campaign did kelly1mm Dec 2024 #56
These Super PAC have a far greater influence than direct campaign contributions. walkingman Dec 2024 #58
I thought Rick Wilson, and Steve Schmidt, and the Bulwark displacedvermoter Dec 2024 #78
Well, it sure bought a lot of really useful "news coverage". Biophilic Dec 2024 #72
Righttttttt........... Farmer-Rick Dec 2024 #80
In reality there is no true accounting DENVERPOPS Dec 2024 #98
You are sooo right, I also feel that it's all too surreal. Think. Again. Dec 2024 #5
We have always been at war... COL Mustard Dec 2024 #82
beautiful (and frightening) synopsis... Escape Dec 2024 #6
I keep telling myself to be brave. I want so to be brave, but I am very frightened... Joinfortmill Dec 2024 #31
That's my biggest fear as well. Frank D. Lincoln Dec 2024 #52
Completely agree. Joinfortmill Dec 2024 #53
Hitler was The Wizard Dec 2024 #63
Come on now. Use common sense. Frank D. Lincoln Dec 2024 #109
I'm numb. Happens when you live in Florida being represented by Medicare thief Rick Scott, allegorical oracle Dec 2024 #97
That sounds pretty bleak. Frank D. Lincoln Dec 2024 #110
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Dec 2024 #7
I have been having nightmares of the US in ruins since the election. Initech Dec 2024 #11
The irony is that's what Kamala Harris kept saying. Frank D. Lincoln Dec 2024 #54
Yep. Game over. live love laugh Dec 2024 #64
The impact has not been felt yet of this incoming administration FloridaBlues Dec 2024 #8
Look at how well the fascist shit worked for Argentina. Initech Dec 2024 #14
This will end, Codifer Dec 2024 #9
"They Live" is Great cult classic movie proud patriot Dec 2024 #10
"I have come here True Dough Dec 2024 #26
Classic proud patriot Dec 2024 #32
Good reading list in that bookstore. Beartracks Dec 2024 #46
Amen. "Put on the damn glasses!!" chouchou Dec 2024 #27
ha ha yup ! proud patriot Dec 2024 #30
Yes! Fight goes on forever -- at least 5 minutes LSparkle Dec 2024 #48
I just googled it , 5 and a half minutes proud patriot Dec 2024 #57
I rewatched w my son last year IbogaProject Dec 2024 #65
Agree nowforever Dec 2024 #12
You are so right. yellow dahlia Dec 2024 #13
People are going to die in the streets because of these fuckers. Initech Dec 2024 #20
That's because it hasn't actually started yet. Kablooie Dec 2024 #15
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Dec 2024 #19
That is what I dread. dchill Dec 2024 #25
I think day one will consist of Frank D. Lincoln Dec 2024 #60
The difference between US and Russia... Bluethroughu Dec 2024 #16
I don't think bdamomma Dec 2024 #44
It's their game... Bluethroughu Dec 2024 #49
You're not alone. That's the thing about fascism, its stealth actions, its stories. It never announces itself. ancianita Dec 2024 #17
Crtitical points Cirsium Dec 2024 #62
Just read the whole article, excellent! Wild blueberry Dec 2024 #111
It won't be long until... Grumpy Old Guy Dec 2024 #18
Well, one can hope so, anyway. calimary Dec 2024 #113
It feels like the end of time and... multigraincracker Dec 2024 #21
We did all that we could do Cosmocat Dec 2024 #22
The cycle for 50 years: They purge and we appease. Hermit-The-Prog Dec 2024 #85
What we are seeing is the complete collapse of human society. ananda Dec 2024 #23
If we had strong leaders in government and our institutions, Bluethroughu Dec 2024 #84
And ... Seinan Sensei Dec 2024 #86
Yes, we'd have a strong just Supreme Court. Bluethroughu Dec 2024 #88
THIS malaise Dec 2024 #24
This message was self-deleted by its author wcmagumba Dec 2024 #28
Amen, brother. Joinfortmill Dec 2024 #29
While all this was taking place some on our side on DU and the media were blindly reveling over doc03 Dec 2024 #33
I think people have had it with MSM. Meidas Touch, et al is gaining momentum. Joinfortmill Dec 2024 #38
I wish I could rec this again, so I'll kick it again. Think. Again. Dec 2024 #34
yes, agreed - this old history major... bluboid Dec 2024 #35
some of us are just trying to fuckin SURVIVE FirstLight Dec 2024 #36
You are a good person. I hope your family situation improves soon. Joinfortmill Dec 2024 #41
FirstLight, you sound like me. slightlv Dec 2024 #71
Chinese female neighbor (in her 70's or 80's) told me I was wrong vapor2 Dec 2024 #42
We are in "They Live" -- I've been saying that to friends since the election!!! LSparkle Dec 2024 #47
Another round of chaos if people do nothing SteadySeas Dec 2024 #51
This resonates Pegasus30 Dec 2024 #55
Please hang in there Takket ReRe Dec 2024 #59
It actually was Teddy Roosevelt... Wuddles440 Dec 2024 #92
This is what happens ReRe Dec 2024 #102
It's felt like that to me for the last eight years. Crunchy Frog Dec 2024 #61
Shock is "part of the plan" but we have to get through it. summer_in_TX Dec 2024 #66
I truly think ecstatic Dec 2024 #67
That's what we already know! nt DontBelieveEastisEas Dec 2024 #68
I would never support gun violence -- byronius Dec 2024 #69
I do not feel safe living here and haven't for quite a while. 58Sunliner Dec 2024 #70
Since we are all DownriverDem Dec 2024 #73
They will still blame the pain on the left AdamGG Dec 2024 #99
Destroyed elliesmandt Dec 2024 #74
Whistling past the graveyard. BradBo Dec 2024 #75
If they seriously impede vaccinations, add long forgotten dread disease to the mess these idiots are making. Swede Dec 2024 #76
Corporate America gave the guy a TV show, his sleazy tactics in business were well known. Passages Dec 2024 #77
Great post. raccoon Dec 2024 #79
The ice berg comes on Jan. 20, 2025. trump's kakistocracy begins then. brush Dec 2024 #83
Like a brain worm bagimin Dec 2024 #87
ive been in a state of shock since the 2000 fiasco. AllaN01Bear Dec 2024 #89
But, you must have felt optimistic in 2008 AdamGG Dec 2024 #103
i loved obaama and i loved mr biden. they sort of releived my anxiety. AllaN01Bear Dec 2024 #108
You have expressed perfectly my feelings of horror, fear, and dread and my incredulity that most people are oblivious LaMouffette Dec 2024 #90
I am at a complete standstill because... the_liberal_grandpa Dec 2024 #93
Life has to go on like normal. There is no other option Groundhawg Dec 2024 #94
Your post is greatly appreciated! Wuddles440 Dec 2024 #95
Many feel exactly as you do. Ever since the election, I feel like I'm living a nightmare DeeDeeNY Dec 2024 #96
Agree completely. Saw a guy at Kohl's today with a "Fuck Your Feelings" Drumpf shirt. With his wife and kids. Class. Evolve Dammit Dec 2024 #100
Co-signed Blue_Tires Dec 2024 #101
Inspiration for They Live... SleeplessinSoCal Dec 2024 #104
Democracy is where voters hold the politicians accountable bucolic_frolic Dec 2024 #105
Important and Pertinent Book Pesky1 Dec 2024 #106
I see them too 4catsmom Dec 2024 #112

Dan

(5,246 posts)
2. And then there are the guns
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 08:38 PM
Dec 2024

Big guns,
Little guns,
Single shots,
Automatics,
With Scopes,
Without Scopes,
And
People that know how to shoot guns,
People that don’t know how to shoot guns,
And
People that will feel alone, isolated, without anything to lose,
People that will have other people around them that will feel nothing to lose,
And
People that will one day say “What the hell, why not”.

bdamomma

(69,585 posts)
37. You mentioned
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:28 PM
Dec 2024

the abundance of guns, can you imagine if the felon takes away their (Magats) guns????? Think about that.

Dan

(5,246 posts)
50. I would laugh my ass off
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:13 PM
Dec 2024

Cause some of them assholes are downright crazy.

And, that not counting the non-MAGA crowd.

bdamomma

(69,585 posts)
107. If he pardons
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 02:25 PM
Dec 2024

The insurrectionists that will be his private paramilitary. Cause he is such a fucking coward.

Skittles

(172,164 posts)
3. I hear you
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 08:38 PM
Dec 2024

especially irritating to me are the people who yawn and say, "There's nothing I can do." THIS IS HOW FASCISM THRIVES.

RandomNumbers

(19,201 posts)
81. We do need to understand that there are people
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:20 AM
Dec 2024

who TRULY have very little power to do anything, and perhaps what little power they have, they need to expend on others even more vulnerable who are close to them.

What makes me happy is when I see the people taking the opposite attitude: "how can I help?" and in so helping may increase the power of those feeling, or actually, disempowered.

(not meant as a criticism to you, just a thought spurred by your post)

walkingman

(10,978 posts)
4. Great post....
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 08:40 PM
Dec 2024

Last edited Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:11 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm struck with this FURY thinking not of the MAGA loons, but of all those people who probably spent all of 5 minutes thinking about the election, because "All politicians are the same" and "i don't know anything about kamala, and he's a business man, and eggs" and went and voted for drumpf. And i bet none of those people can tell you a single person he's nominated for his cabinet, or what he said about groceries not coming down in price..... and when the country comes apart i'm sure they'll all say "this started under biden!"


I totally agree this comment you make. I would lay money on the fact that most people, especially registered Republicans, do not know anything about the people they vote for, their positions, even their names when they vote. They regularly vote against their own interests and do not appreciate the party that gives them benefits that they use. The reason I say this is because I have to spend a lot of time, especially in local and state elections, to research who I am voting for - I know not many people do that or would even consider doing it.

The biggest problem we have these days is money can buy you a political position - not always but most of the time. Everyone need to remember that the billionaires are the problem - the politicians are only their paid employees.
 

kelly1mm

(5,756 posts)
56. The Harris/Waltz campaign had 3X the fundraising dollars the Trump/Vance campaign did
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:39 PM
Dec 2024

and together with sympathetic PACs spent over 2 Billion Dollars compared to just under 1 Billion for the Trump/Vance campaign in 2024. Apparently money does not buy elections after all.

walkingman

(10,978 posts)
58. These Super PAC have a far greater influence than direct campaign contributions.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:14 AM
Dec 2024

Elon Musk's Super PAC ground game in the 7 swing states is just one example of this. If just campaign contributions were all that mattered, the pay-for-play system would never attract so many big donors.

I'm not saying money is the only thing that matters but the billionaire class has far greater power than just dollars. They own all the media companies and basically corporate America.

displacedvermoter

(4,733 posts)
78. I thought Rick Wilson, and Steve Schmidt, and the Bulwark
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:10 AM
Dec 2024

and Stuart Stevens, and James Carville, and all the Hopium folks all agreed they had no ground game to speak of? I was stupid enough to believe this, which was a primary reason I was pretty confident about the election. Teach me to listen to experts, especially ones whose collective opinions of themselves were so far off the charts!

Biophilic

(6,598 posts)
72. Well, it sure bought a lot of really useful "news coverage".
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 08:08 AM
Dec 2024

Way more helpful than old time "TV spots".

Farmer-Rick

(12,716 posts)
80. Righttttttt...........
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:16 AM
Dec 2024

Because Trump reported all those Russian campaign contributions he got. All those Russian trolls spreading lies and targeting less sophisticated voters. All the espionage Putin passed on to Trump to help convince easily manipulated voters. Did he report that? Did he report corporate media's constant free advertising? Did he report all of Zuckerberg's help on Facebook? Did he report Musk buying votes? As a guilty felon we know he would never ever break the law concerning campaign contributions. Because Trump never ever lies.......

Don't believe the constant con, propaganda and barrage of lies fascist love to feed you.

DENVERPOPS

(13,003 posts)
98. In reality there is no true accounting
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:48 PM
Dec 2024

of money collected and spent on elections......Just look at the fortune Russian Oligarchs laundered through the NRA which ended up in Republican Politicians PAC's...........Or the fortune Uber Wealthy Republicans can donate through "PAC's", but don't show up as donations for any particular candidate.....

The perfect title for a book about the past 45+ Years would be: WHILE THE NATION SLEPT

Escape

(486 posts)
6. beautiful (and frightening) synopsis...
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:05 PM
Dec 2024

I don't think it's really going to hit the American psyche until the monster officially takes power.

There will be plenty of opportunity for HEROES.

The COWARDS have already stepped forward.

Joinfortmill

(21,356 posts)
31. I keep telling myself to be brave. I want so to be brave, but I am very frightened...
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:18 PM
Dec 2024

that this could turn into another 1939 very quickly.

Frank D. Lincoln

(894 posts)
52. That's my biggest fear as well.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:18 PM
Dec 2024

In fact, I obsess about that every single day.

There are a frightening number of parallels between Trump and Hitler except that the former is isolationist and the latter was expansionist.

Most Americans have no idea how dangerous Trump is. I don't even think most Democrats realize it.

Frank D. Lincoln

(894 posts)
109. Come on now. Use common sense.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 06:24 PM
Dec 2024

I stated there were parallels between Trump and Hitler, which is true. That's not the same as stating they're the same in every way.

allegorical oracle

(6,512 posts)
97. I'm numb. Happens when you live in Florida being represented by Medicare thief Rick Scott,
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:47 PM
Dec 2024

know-nothing, do-nothing Lil Marco, and civil rights shredder, DeSantis. Am battling to save my property insurance (rules keep changing and I keep spending thousands to fulfill new requirements). Can't eat, can't sleep. It's miserable here unless you're one of the Miami oligarchs being propped up by TSF and DeSantis. Next, we'll probably have that song lark, Lara Trump, replacing Rubio.

Almost useless to get out of bed every morning.

Frank D. Lincoln

(894 posts)
110. That sounds pretty bleak.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 06:37 PM
Dec 2024

I think a lot of our troubles go back to Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema blocking Democrats' attempt to pass the For the People Act that would have gotten a lot of the money out of politics, would have cracked down on partisan gerrymandering, etc. Had that act passed, Trump might have lost his bid for a second term, Rick Scott might have lost, and things might be a whole lot better right now.

Anyway, best of luck with your situation in Florida.

Response to Takket (Original post)

Initech

(108,943 posts)
11. I have been having nightmares of the US in ruins since the election.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:28 PM
Dec 2024

Like I feel this is the beginning of the breakup of the United States, which is what Emperor Putintine wanted. These fucking idiots are going to steer the US towards a Great Depression while Fox News will be beating the Civil War drums. It's total insanity.

Frank D. Lincoln

(894 posts)
54. The irony is that's what Kamala Harris kept saying.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:24 PM
Dec 2024

"We're not going back."

Yes we are: to January 30, 1933.

FloridaBlues

(4,678 posts)
8. The impact has not been felt yet of this incoming administration
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:19 PM
Dec 2024

Things are still normal to many people I suspect that will change in the coming year (s). Once the effects of chaos starts.

Initech

(108,943 posts)
14. Look at how well the fascist shit worked for Argentina.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:31 PM
Dec 2024

It will be like 1,000 times worse here. And the fuckheads will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Codifer

(1,209 posts)
9. This will end,
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:21 PM
Dec 2024

as these things always end.

Ozymandias
Percy Shelly

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

proud patriot

(102,527 posts)
10. "They Live" is Great cult classic movie
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:26 PM
Dec 2024

has the greatest fight scene between Rowdy Piper and Keith David ever.

well worth watching .

chouchou

(3,198 posts)
27. Amen. "Put on the damn glasses!!"
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:12 PM
Dec 2024

I've been surprised that a modern version has not been made. On the other hand, the original IS wonderful.

LSparkle

(12,215 posts)
48. Yes! Fight goes on forever -- at least 5 minutes
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:01 PM
Dec 2024

Great cult movie and hopefully more will check it out.

IbogaProject

(5,977 posts)
65. I rewatched w my son last year
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 01:50 AM
Dec 2024

I was suprised how slow the story went during the first 45 minutes. But still a classic.

 

nowforever

(586 posts)
12. Agree
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:29 PM
Dec 2024

I believe his election is truly the beginning of the end. The Democrats will not be able to rescue us from the level of greed and stupidity that drove this election. Civilization was on the brink and now it's been pushed over.

yellow dahlia

(6,162 posts)
13. You are so right.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:31 PM
Dec 2024

I keep asking: what is going to happen when tens of thousands of people can't afford to get by? Are we going to see tens of thousands of homeless people....many of them elderly?

Kablooie

(19,115 posts)
15. That's because it hasn't actually started yet.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:32 PM
Dec 2024

So far it's just words.
I expect the fan will start spreading the shit immediately after the inauguration.

Response to Kablooie (Reply #15)

Frank D. Lincoln

(894 posts)
60. I think day one will consist of
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:22 AM
Dec 2024

Trump declaring a national emergency and ordering mass deportations.

Things will quickly escalate from there as Project 2025 is aggressively rolled out.

Bluethroughu

(7,215 posts)
16. The difference between US and Russia...
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:33 PM
Dec 2024

We got the guns, and millions wanting to use them as heroes...

Luigi just inspired millions of them. The billionaires are NOT getting out of this mess that easy either, ask the UH CEO.

A judge just locked up a lady for fighting over the phone with her healthcare company and saying deny, defend, depose on the phone. Bail 100,000. But Eloonitic can say the country will have to suffer or BLOODY mass deportations, of even citizens! MTG and GOP have been taughting killing citizens or other Congressmen and women.

This is lawlessness for the rich, while the poor pay the price, whatever the rich decide that will be. No different than Assad, Putin, Oong, or any other dictator!

We choose eachother over divison or we all suffer.



bdamomma

(69,585 posts)
44. I don't think
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:43 PM
Dec 2024

the CEO's or billionaires are going to get out of this easy, hopefully they will eat their own. But the chaos will be elevated, so they will keep us distracted so they can steal.

Bluethroughu

(7,215 posts)
49. It's their game...
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:12 PM
Dec 2024

But we are no longer pawns in this Chess game.

Although, my daughter beat me at Chess
once, after a good hour, her pawn against my king.

ancianita

(43,312 posts)
17. You're not alone. That's the thing about fascism, its stealth actions, its stories. It never announces itself.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:39 PM
Dec 2024

Realism takes courage, fortitude, and a fight for solidarity.

We're all there now. Hope this piece underscores where we are together, because we need to be together to beat this thing.


https://lithub.com/fascism-is-not-an-idea-to-be-debated-its-a-set-of-actions-to-fight/


Sometime in the summer of 1992, which was incredibly bloody in Sarajevo, I wrote, in what would be my final letter to Zoka, that Slobodan Milosevic, the nationalist president of Serbia and its Socialist Party, who would die in The Hague awaiting trial for genocide and war crimes, was a national socialist—in other words, a Nazi. In his response, Zoka fully supported Milosevic, who for him also represented the interests of the Serbian people, and wrote that “Hitler did many good things for Germans.”

In a kind of epiphany, I understood that the letter was written in a language I no longer recognized, not least because he was using a dialect and diction far closer to Gorski vijenac than to our past movie arguments...
My mother, who’d implored me not to end my friendship with Zoka for “politics,” wept over the letter, because the Zoka she knew was absent from it. I read it too. It was written not only by a stranger, but by an enemy.

My relationship with the war has always been marked by an intense sense that I failed to see what was coming, even though everything I needed to know was there, before my very eyes. While Zoka took active part in enacting the ideas I’d argued against, my agency did not go beyond putting light pressure on his fascist views by way of screaming.
I have felt guilty, in other words, for doing little, for extending my dialogue with him (and a few other Serb nationalist friends) for far too long, even while his positions—all of them easy to trace back to base Serbian propaganda—were being actualized in a criminal and bloody operation.
I was blinded, I suppose, by our friendship which had ended, I know now, well before our dialogue did. For all that, I still feel guilty and ashamed of my cowardice and naïve belief that if we only kept talking something might bring him back.
I retroactively recognized that his hate and racism were always present and that there was no purpose or benefit to our continued conversation. I had long been screaming into a human void.

I recalled my memories of Zoka ... when it was announced that Steve Bannon would headline The New Yorker Festival and engage in an on-stage conversation with the editor-in-chief David Remnick. I was so upset that I rushed to a conclusion that Bannon’s fascism was, for The New Yorker, merely a difference of opinion that could be publicly debated for the intellectual enjoyment of its paying audience. Angrily, I envisioned an intense but polite exchange, a staged confrontation that makes for a good high-brow spectacle, with cheese, wine and further exchange of ideas in the foyer afterwards. In my tweets, I imagined an afterparty where Bannon would be mingling with edgy hedge fund managers,...

But within hours of the announcement, just as I was intensifying my furious search for things to break, The New Yorker disinvited Bannon. Remnick issued a memo to the staff in which he explained his reasons for wanting an interview with Bannon and acknowledged that a public conversation was the wrong format for it. I found Remnick’s reasoning to be comforting in its sincerity and belief in the truth of journalism, even if I continued to think that an on-stage interview would’ve inescapably and obviously had the shape of an exchange of ideas...."


This is why the techbro billionaires surround Trump.

“Only those safe from fascism and its practices are likely to think that there might be a benefit in exchanging ideas with fascists.”


Cirsium

(3,984 posts)
62. Crtitical points
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:47 AM
Dec 2024

"Fascism is not an idea to be debated, it’s a set of actions to fight."

"I was blinded, I suppose, by our friendship which had ended, I know now, well before our dialogue did."

"I had long been screaming into a human void."

"If Bannon were to be called as he is, a fascist, the marketplace of ideas would have to confront the fact that the American government is being rapidly radicalized, that things unimaginable might be around the corner, and that there are many tempting paths to full collaboration."

"The idea that we’re all in this together and that we must keep talking is dangerous, just as my commitment to friendship was, because we might find ourselves wasting time and anger on a fundamentally unbalanced dialogue, where one side is armed with ideas, and the other is armed with weapons."

"It is frightening to think we could be entering the civil war mode, wherein none of the differences and disagreements can be hashed out in discussion. It is quite possible that there is no resolution to the present situation until one side is thoroughly destroyed as an ideological power and political entity. If that is the case, the inescapable struggle requires that anti-fascist forces clearly identify the enemy and commit to defeating them, whoever they are, whatever it takes. The time of conversations with fascists is over, even if they might be your best friend from high school."

I believe that this is where we are now in the US with our MAGA family, friends, and neighbors.

Wild blueberry

(8,327 posts)
111. Just read the whole article, excellent!
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 06:42 PM
Dec 2024

Saw it was from 2018, now even more relevant, sadly.
Thank you for bringing it to our notice.

Grumpy Old Guy

(4,354 posts)
18. It won't be long until...
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:43 PM
Dec 2024

the shit hits the fan. Then it will be FAFO time for these idiots.

calimary

(90,312 posts)
113. Well, one can hope so, anyway.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 08:34 PM
Dec 2024

And I DO hope so! I DO hope you’re right! But maybe I’ve seen and watched too much of this big strengthening-and-empowering-of-bad-guys to be too optimistic.

Cosmocat

(15,445 posts)
22. We did all that we could do
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:55 PM
Dec 2024

Its been a slow, but increasingly faster train wreck going back at least to Reagen.

I personally saw this, not exactly, but generally coming in the 90s.

I thought it was inevitable after the 2010 mid terms, but you are right, after this election we are on a boat headed toward an ice berg, that were were screaming was coming well in advance, but it's too late now. We are hitting it and sinking.

Hermit-The-Prog

(36,631 posts)
85. The cycle for 50 years: They purge and we appease.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:50 AM
Dec 2024

Greedflation, a conglomerated media, and a corrupted Federal judiciary got us here.

ananda

(35,287 posts)
23. What we are seeing is the complete collapse of human society.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 09:55 PM
Dec 2024

All norms and laws are moot.

The only way forward looks to me like complete destruction
on so many levels.

Bluethroughu

(7,215 posts)
84. If we had strong leaders in government and our institutions,
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:43 AM
Dec 2024

Nixon would be in jail
Raygun would be in jail
Bush 1 in jail
Bush 2 in jail
Corporations are not people
President's do not have immunity
All Insurrectionists go to prison for 20 years
All Judges obey the law or go to prison
Rich people that break the law, are jailed
Companies that break the law, are dissolved

Democracy is held in place by equal justice.
Without equal applied rule of law, it's corruption.

We've been teetering with fascism since our Revolutionary War. Power hungry people have gone unchecked by our rule of law since our Constitution was being developed.

We don't have to war, we can
GENERAL STRIKE!
That method brought us the New Deal, but we know now we need it enshrined in our Constitution, along with healthcare for all, Social security with inflation adjustment, and free public education. These are the benchmarks of Democracy and freedom.




Seinan Sensei

(1,589 posts)
86. And ...
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 11:32 AM
Dec 2024

If we had strong leaders
Money would not be considered Free Speech

Good post
I totally agree

Response to Takket (Original post)

doc03

(39,113 posts)
33. While all this was taking place some on our side on DU and the media were blindly reveling over
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:22 PM
Dec 2024

Trump's destruction of the Republican party. It looks like the joke was on us. The election is over and
we lost. There is not much we can do other than hope the Trump Administration self-destructs. As of now the
Republican party almost totally controls the media. Maybe they will overstep enough they will lose the
Congress in 2026 if there is a 2026 election. The future looks bleak.

Joinfortmill

(21,356 posts)
38. I think people have had it with MSM. Meidas Touch, et al is gaining momentum.
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:30 PM
Dec 2024

Unfortunately, Fox News is roaring a long.

bluboid

(845 posts)
35. yes, agreed - this old history major...
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:26 PM
Dec 2024

is very uncomfortable with the direction of 'things...' thank you for staying aware as we move into & through what's to come... it's going to be a wild ride, especially for those who can't yet SEE, or refuse to SEE what's ahead. it will be a shock to many when it hits, & we need as many voices like yours as we can find as things come down the pike. it's called, leadership - don't shy away from it - find a way to get involved at the community level, & always welcome other viewpoints, & people will welcome your viewpoint & input.

FirstLight

(15,771 posts)
36. some of us are just trying to fuckin SURVIVE
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:26 PM
Dec 2024

I'm not okay, I am rattled and I know its gonna get worse, much worse.

But at the moment, I got one kid with a GF and a baby who are "staying with me" until they can get jobs and an apartment...and another kid who is across the country living with her partner's dad cuz they can't afford life either...and they have been job seeking for over a year and not getting anywhere. I just sent them $50 for groceries cuz all they can do is instacart.

So First, all these people that are saying job numbers are good or that nobody wants to work anymore...are all full of shit.
And second, I am slowly bleeding my savings to help them all with groceries etc

These holiday commercials can fuck off... I got the baby some socks and one toy to unwrap, that's it.

If TSHTF, I just hope I have enough guts to off myself before it goes even more sideways.

slightlv

(7,828 posts)
71. FirstLight, you sound like me.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 04:40 AM
Dec 2024

I hit a breaking point today when I cried..All I'm alive for is to figure out how to pay bills and allow us to survive in this house... and cooking to try to make the meals go farther. All the while I worry about losing my marbles and not being able to keep up with it. All I do is worry about money and pray neither of us comes down sick or that I don't break any more bones. The changes in Medicare Advantage this year sets us up for surprises and medical debt. Hubby had two heart attacks in the last two years. His health needs scare the crap out of me.

Like you, I don't feel like I'm living... im just trying to survive. And, since we're ultimately responsible for my mom, the repub changes to Medicaid... KanCare here in Ks, scare me, too. We don't have enough to survive on and yet they could take my house for her nursing home costs if her SS check gets smaller or are stripped from us.

I didn't work all these decades, playing by the rules, paying my taxes, and being a helpful neighbor and friend just to see my life go to crap once I retired. Talk about feeling cheated. I never thought id live high on the hog, but I did think we'd have a nice quiet lifestyle. Instead I find myself seeming to live for paying insurance and taxes, and utility companies. I'm sure I need my money more than they need it, but they've got to have their cut from my check. I wish I could work... I need to work... but I retired because of my disability, and it certainly hasn't gotten any better. Someday, even survival seems far away.

vapor2

(4,660 posts)
42. Chinese female neighbor (in her 70's or 80's) told me I was wrong
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:40 PM
Dec 2024

when I told her before the election that trump was going to continue giving the rich tax breaks. Then after the election she wrote a note (along with a pie on our porch) saying how wonderful the election was. HA, wonder if she will say the same when he takes our health care, our social security and our vaccines. This is a horrid nightmare.

LSparkle

(12,215 posts)
47. We are in "They Live" -- I've been saying that to friends since the election!!!
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 10:57 PM
Dec 2024

Your post gives me hope there are others who are seeing what I’m seeing.

SteadySeas

(19 posts)
51. Another round of chaos if people do nothing
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:13 PM
Dec 2024

People from every walk of life are feeling the same fears, feeling panic, hopelessness, dread. Many of us are with you -probably most. Many from other countries, even.

Others? Denial. Sometimes people retreat when a situation feels crucially urgent and they are overwhelmed. Denial in a crisis is a survival mechanism, a self-protective cocoon, to shield mental, emotional and physical processes from damage. On the face of it, it looks like irresponsibility, lack of caring, or dereliction of duty - in this instance - as a citizen. The only way I know of helping someone is their active engagement in contributing and being part of something worthwhile.

But there is no getting out of this unharmed for everyone. People are going to die. People are going to needlessly suffer. People are going to lose jobs lose homes, lose their health, and lose their minds. And when it happens, they'll scratch their heads, dumbfounded, wondering what went wrong, or probably believing drumpf when he says this is biden's fault.

It's likely that will be the case. But with community action we can minimize or mitigate losses and gain ground. My grandmother raised 4 children in The Depression. They had a very small 11 acre farm in a neighborhood of other small farmers. They organized a small, interconnected community, socialized at the local Grange, dance halls, and shared harvesting and the results of the harvests. No one went without as much as possible; everyone had at least one skill and often taught others, everyone was valued, belonged, and mattered. They survived. Sometimes squabbled, but they were there for better times.

My grandmother often said, 'when you don't know what to do, pick something up and do something with it.' The best thing to do in a crisis is to take action, early on. Upsetedness and all the rest, doesn't accomplish anything. But putting one's hands to work calms emotions, is strengthening, and builds a bridge to where one wants to go.

At some point it will be blatantly evident that normality, or any sense of it, has left the room. The groundwork of building community will lessen the sense of disconnectedness replace it with 'we're in it together'.

Start by getting to know neighbors, invite them for coffee or whatever. Casually broach the topics of being more self-sufficient and working together as a group. Right now is crucial. When things start progressing - a community garden, building and plumbing skills, etc shared-, people will line up to be a part of the whole. Some of those in denial will stay there, but some will slowly start to feel safe enough to join in.

SteadySeas means I can't row a boat by myself in a storm. But all hands at the oars just might make it possible for all of us to reach shore.

Pegasus30

(11 posts)
55. This resonates
Fri Dec 13, 2024, 11:27 PM
Dec 2024

It is hard to find anything in any of the media anywhere that represents where we are right now. This is the closest I've seen that reflects what I'm feeling and thinking . It is truly surreal .
I had the dubious pleasure of discussing the election results with a R today: they were " looking forward to T taking over, he was such a successful businessman...." etc....the Faux propaganda machine has done such a number on what is left of their minds.
It was good to read this post and realize that there are others out there who are just as perplexed by our fall into the Trumpian Twilight Zone.
- Pegasus

ReRe

(12,189 posts)
59. Please hang in there Takket
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:20 AM
Dec 2024

I suffer with worry for a couple days and read DU, then I have to step away from all news and DU and watch re-runs of Vera on Brit Box, NCAA basketball games or true crime on Court TV. Older folks are the ones who are worried out of our skins. Young people have no idea how their lives are going to change when they don't have spending money to blow anymore, since the cost of living is going to be sky high. Cars will blow up, it won't be safe to get on a plane. We won't be able to breathe the air or drink the water. Driving around will be like a circle-8 demolition derby with broken stoplights & potholes in the street. Safety? What's that?

We're going backwards fast as of Jan 20th. Just remember this: They can take away things we can't even imagine today, but they can't take away the love we have for our family and friends. We need to buckle down and use our heads. And we will. Communities will come together to help as many as possible. All we can do is pledge to work hard everyday to take care of ourselves and as many others as possible. And when we lay down at night we can take comfort that we did the best we could.
And like FDR (I think) said "Walk softly and carry a big stick!"

Wuddles440

(2,097 posts)
92. It actually was Teddy Roosevelt...
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 11:57 AM
Dec 2024

and the quote was "Speak softly but carry a big stick". However, your point is well taken.

ReRe

(12,189 posts)
102. This is what happens
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 01:59 PM
Dec 2024

when one reaches a certain age. I appreciate your correction. I need to get serious about fact-checking myself.

Crunchy Frog

(28,288 posts)
61. It's felt like that to me for the last eight years.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:31 AM
Dec 2024

I guess I'm sort of getting used to it.

summer_in_TX

(4,202 posts)
66. Shock is "part of the plan" but we have to get through it.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 02:01 AM
Dec 2024
https://snyder.substack.com/p/decapitation-strike-december

Timothy Snyder

"If there is a plan, shock is part of the plan. We have to get through the surprise and the shock to see the design and the risk. We don't have much time.…

snip…

The understandable jokes are that DOGE just adds unelected bureaucrats when it is supposed to replace them, and that DOGE is itself a model of inefficiency, since it has two incompetent directors. But the humor distracts from the basic truth: DOGE is there to make the government fail, and then to divide the profitable bits among regime-proximate oligarchs.

DOGE = Den of Oligarchs Gets Everything.

…citizens, regardless of how they voted, need now to check their attitudes. This is no longer a post-electoral moment. It is a pre-catastrophic moment. Trump voters are caught in the notion that Trump must be doing the right thing if Harris voters are upset. But Harris voters are upset now because they love their country. And Harris voters will have to get past the idea that Trump voters should reap what they have sown. Yes, some of them did vote to burn it all down. But if it all burns down, we burn too. It is not easy to speak right now; but if some Republicans wish to, please listen.

Both inside and outside Congress, there will have to be simple defiance, joined with a rhetoric of a better America. And, at moments at least, there will also have to be alliances among Americans who, though they differ on other matters, would like to see their country endure."

ecstatic

(35,088 posts)
67. I truly think
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 02:04 AM
Dec 2024

that there's a significant chance that trump will single-handedly destroy the entire world. He came close last time and now he just might succeed. That's how ignorant, incompetent and reckless he is. And yet, as you say, the media has completely normalized things. He's being placed on the cover of magazines. CEOs are clamoring to "donate to his inauguration." Now we're talking about his latest distraction of whether to end Daylight Savings Time. Okay, please proceed everyone... We're like frogs in a pot.

byronius

(7,988 posts)
69. I would never support gun violence --
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 03:07 AM
Dec 2024

— but a baseball bat fits so nicely in the back of a trumpling’s head.

Excuse me.

58Sunliner

(6,355 posts)
70. I do not feel safe living here and haven't for quite a while.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 04:06 AM
Dec 2024

They are going to cut my medical, quite possibly my SS and may wreck the economy. I don't feel safe being an online activist here either.

DownriverDem

(7,021 posts)
73. Since we are all
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 08:44 AM
Dec 2024

going to suffer, I want trumpers to really feel the pain. That is the only way some of them will wake up. The rest are a lost cause.

AdamGG

(1,886 posts)
99. They will still blame the pain on the left
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 01:53 PM
Dec 2024

The "alternative" right wing media system is so entrenched, these people are permanently divorced from reality.

elliesmandt

(42 posts)
74. Destroyed
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 08:47 AM
Dec 2024

The outcome of the recent election destroyed what little belief I had left that the majority of American voters have the capacity to vote in their own best interests.

Swede

(39,725 posts)
76. If they seriously impede vaccinations, add long forgotten dread disease to the mess these idiots are making.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 09:55 AM
Dec 2024

nt

Passages

(4,270 posts)
77. Corporate America gave the guy a TV show, his sleazy tactics in business were well known.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:07 AM
Dec 2024

He has always been a lowlife, yet he has long been normalized. They employed him for spots where he played himself in Home Alone and Sex and the City. My point is, why would they change now?


I will never stop fighting back, but I am looking to a new generation of politicians and organizers to see Democrats stronger by 2026.

Trump will rot in hell before I give in.

 

brush

(61,033 posts)
83. The ice berg comes on Jan. 20, 2025. trump's kakistocracy begins then.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 10:29 AM
Dec 2024

At least many of us are aware. I don't think most of the trump voters know what's coming. The one's in trump's political orbit certainly do, and they're licking their chops...Miller, Bannon, Patel and the boys are whispering in trump's ear and recommending clown car cabinet appointments.

Meanwhile JD Vance is just waiting patiently. He senses, as do many of us, trump ain't gonna last four years, but if he does, he's already dementia challenged and the VP is the one who initiates the 25 Amendment...

AdamGG

(1,886 posts)
103. But, you must have felt optimistic in 2008
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 01:59 PM
Dec 2024

When Obama got swept into office with a supermajority in the Senate, I really thought that the nightmare was over, that the Republican party had become obsolete, and that we were moving into a new enlightened era. There was an online avatar at the time of a Republican party logo with the elephant replaced with a dinosaur.

I also felt certain on January 6th, 2021 that Trump and Trumpism were over. It had surely been fully revealed for what it was and the Republicans would now have to be moving on from it.

I now feel like I was naive and that the forces of oligarchy and authoritarianism are more dominant than I gave them credit for, although I suspect that Trump's ascendance and reascendance probably needed Putin's assistance.

LaMouffette

(2,646 posts)
90. You have expressed perfectly my feelings of horror, fear, and dread and my incredulity that most people are oblivious
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 11:37 AM
Dec 2024

to the impending, and seemingly unstoppable, disaster that is unfolding before our very eyes.

Thank you for putting my feelings into words so accurately. I just wish to God this were not our surreal reality.

Take care of yourself, Takket. The only thing that has helped me since 2016 has been volunteering with my county's Democratic Party.
You might consider doing the same where you're at, because taking action, any action, helps alleviate the feelings of despair and hopelessness (at least, a little bit). Plus, you will be surrounded by friends who can reassure you that you are not alone. Kind of like being on DU, which is also a godsend.

93. I am at a complete standstill because...
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:06 PM
Dec 2024

I don't know who to trust anymore.

The corportate media sucks
The Democratic leadership is silent
Trusted the wrong people with how the election would turn out and not trusting them now either.

For now, I am not going to get wrapped up in everyones outrage of what could happen.

I will reserve my energy and wait for things to unfold and then hopefully someone or some group will step up to lead the resistance.

Until then, I am enjoying the holidays with very limited exposure to politics.

Wuddles440

(2,097 posts)
95. Your post is greatly appreciated!
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:14 PM
Dec 2024

I only wish more of our fellow citizens would wake up, realize that they're about to experience one of the worst nightmares imaginable, and prepare accordingly. It's not going to be business as usual once he officially sits on the throne in January!

DeeDeeNY

(3,958 posts)
96. Many feel exactly as you do. Ever since the election, I feel like I'm living a nightmare
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 12:28 PM
Dec 2024

I'm not sure what scares me more: what's in store for this country after January 20, or the fact that so many tens of millions of Americans voted for him.

Evolve Dammit

(21,798 posts)
100. Agree completely. Saw a guy at Kohl's today with a "Fuck Your Feelings" Drumpf shirt. With his wife and kids. Class.
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 01:53 PM
Dec 2024

SleeplessinSoCal

(10,423 posts)
104. Inspiration for They Live...
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 02:09 PM
Dec 2024

From Wikipedia:

"Carpenter has stated that the themes of They Live stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the economic policies of then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, as well as what Carpenter saw as increasing commercialization in both popular culture and politics."



Released in 1988.

bucolic_frolic

(55,427 posts)
105. Democracy is where voters hold the politicians accountable
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 02:12 PM
Dec 2024

Dictatorship is where no one holds them accountable.

Dictatorships run until the wheels come off.

We are in for a major economic plunge. AI and layoffs and tariffs. Efficiency experts will ensure that no one works, nothing is produced.

Find your tribe. Open discussion for mutual support. We will all need it.

Pesky1

(63 posts)
106. Important and Pertinent Book
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 02:15 PM
Dec 2024

The book is "They Thought They Were Free", It was written by a professor who lived in Germany after the war who did in-depth interviews with regular Germans to uncover how fascism had appeared and spread....1933-1945:


https://www.amazon.com/They-Thought-Were-Free-Germans-ebook/dp/B078HVYH88/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QOKQCTR7TTGO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KrX1uGuSGfMRblUwaYA3pwKR54NaIyY0wnqxdkHUOi7Noq67YZ-HilO-Ux7dfViNdI7LJtBxLAEBaciUAKyu_Ww3HrDvJ8feejjCX2XBBsatip7fmZ2NheoS_ZKnx6EHJUCzURvqU_eqozZ-gA4xPddJPdFTmuQTDHSXZRTYBludL6O0dPoQZE90VFJFZdKgYmTUgOU0GcNAMD6IOjGTZEiB5l0FoJWw8b5ocHpWkps.XRcYy8ZMCoPTBwt7NlKJJCdtdL8szILIcuWwWrOklyA&dib_tag=se&keywords=they+thought+they+were+free&qid=1734196923&sprefix=They+though%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-1

The book was a National Book Award finalist. Of note, many interviewed said that everything seemed normal for a while even though everything had changed.

The very feature that the OP mentions.


4catsmom

(667 posts)
112. I see them too
Sat Dec 14, 2024, 07:06 PM
Dec 2024

I can't bring myself to do any activities that I used to do with groups in my red state because I don't see them the way I used to. they are not 'very fine people' - they are destroyers of our country.

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