The only real resistance is occurring in major cities, but the upside is that resistance has been significant enough to force Donald to do things differently. The major examples are Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, and LA. In my city we handled ICE by enacting a five-year moratorium on permits for ICE facilities, but that only affects the city limits unfortunately. What’s even more astonishing is how this was done largely non-violently, which means Donald didn’t have a pretext to do worse.
There’s been a lot more quiet resistance than would seem apparent from news agencies overseas.
As for the reasons the country as a whole doesn’t revolt, I think there are three: First, we’re not a country, but fifty fiefdoms all with a different culture and different laws, and that makes it difficult to form any cohesion on a national level. (Probably it’s more appropriate to think of the US more like an EU unto itself.) Second, there’s an election in November and Republicans are polling 14% under Democrats, which is rig-proof territory, so people are expecting significant change in governance. Third, poverty here is rampant and the vast majority are working multiple jobs and 80-100 hours a week to survive, and therefore making meals happen is a vastly more important concern than fascism.
I think Donald’s recent ‘America’s State Fair’ debacle demonstrates very well how unpopular he has become. Very few people and it was a sea of green on the national mall, whereas in 2016 or 2024 you’d have likely had tens of thousands of people there.
Yes, what happened in France would be like people in the US going after their governors. Which almost all states here should be doing too. The federal government is a level beyond and more superfluous. For most Americans requiring more than a thousand miles travel just to reach DC. That’s even assuming who they want is even in DC at the time.
Then let’s not kid ourselves. Even if everyone on the east coast decided on the spur of the moment to march on DC and go after all republicans. It’s not like it was in the 18th century where they would have had to have tried to plot a path out of the region through all the revolting peasants. They will just airlift out and be hundreds or thousands of miles away. Perhaps even in another country within an hour or two. It would take the people immediately around them all turning on them suddenly to actually stand a chance of succeeding.
Even if everyone in their immediate vicinity turned on them. Slaughtering Trump his sons their wives their kids etc etc etc etc. It wouldn’t even begin to actually address any real problems. It would be cathartic and some form of late justice at the very least. But not a solution.
The only effective thing to do, is for states and more importantly cities and communities. To deny the larger state their larder and extortion. Taking stolen wealth back from the wealthy and oligarchs. Keeping and investing those resources back in the communities. The bigger state will absolutely mobilize and attack. And every time they do it will weaken them and their support. But realistically it’s the only way. Real change has to start at the bottom.
Its a painfully unfortunate situation, both the lack of labour laws preventing these ceos from paying a living wage and like you say, the system of having 50 insular groups with their own exploitative laws designed to keep it that way.
I really do hope that the future is less horrifying, but I’ve seen the state of the american political left (as in the politicians, not the people) and it’s looking to be an uphill battle.
Who knows, maybe having america start competing with the world on renewables, what with their massive industries and the RnD budgets to throw money at ‘novel’ technologies like highly emissive paints like the stuff they use on the ISS and satellite radiators to cool things off without an atmosphere, and on a lot of new buildings in the hotter countries, will push the market in the right direction.
Historically this level of wealth inequality has always led to market crashes, which while calamitous, end up spurring positive change in and of themselves. We’ll see.
Touch wood this incoming crash doesn’t just end up being a method for the richest to get richer and the poor to die out in droves.
This level of wealth inequality is genuinely unprecedented, given that there’s one meth head currently ‘valued’ at an english Billion or an american Trillion. (For those out of the loop that’s a one, with TWELVE zeros after it)
a method for the richest to get richer and the poor to die out in droves.
I think, unfortunately, that’s a foregone conclusion. We saw in the Epstein Files that heads of state and billionaires generally know when economic crashes are coming and are able to time them well, and the spike in suicide rates during an economic crash is well-documented.
All you and I can really do is make the best choices for ourselves and try to show basic kindness to the people on our block.
The only real resistance is occurring in major cities, but the upside is that resistance has been significant enough to force Donald to do things differently. The major examples are Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, and LA. In my city we handled ICE by enacting a five-year moratorium on permits for ICE facilities, but that only affects the city limits unfortunately. What’s even more astonishing is how this was done largely non-violently, which means Donald didn’t have a pretext to do worse.
There’s been a lot more quiet resistance than would seem apparent from news agencies overseas.
As for the reasons the country as a whole doesn’t revolt, I think there are three: First, we’re not a country, but fifty fiefdoms all with a different culture and different laws, and that makes it difficult to form any cohesion on a national level. (Probably it’s more appropriate to think of the US more like an EU unto itself.) Second, there’s an election in November and Republicans are polling 14% under Democrats, which is rig-proof territory, so people are expecting significant change in governance. Third, poverty here is rampant and the vast majority are working multiple jobs and 80-100 hours a week to survive, and therefore making meals happen is a vastly more important concern than fascism.
I think Donald’s recent ‘America’s State Fair’ debacle demonstrates very well how unpopular he has become. Very few people and it was a sea of green on the national mall, whereas in 2016 or 2024 you’d have likely had tens of thousands of people there.
Yes, what happened in France would be like people in the US going after their governors. Which almost all states here should be doing too. The federal government is a level beyond and more superfluous. For most Americans requiring more than a thousand miles travel just to reach DC. That’s even assuming who they want is even in DC at the time.
Then let’s not kid ourselves. Even if everyone on the east coast decided on the spur of the moment to march on DC and go after all republicans. It’s not like it was in the 18th century where they would have had to have tried to plot a path out of the region through all the revolting peasants. They will just airlift out and be hundreds or thousands of miles away. Perhaps even in another country within an hour or two. It would take the people immediately around them all turning on them suddenly to actually stand a chance of succeeding.
Even if everyone in their immediate vicinity turned on them. Slaughtering Trump his sons their wives their kids etc etc etc etc. It wouldn’t even begin to actually address any real problems. It would be cathartic and some form of late justice at the very least. But not a solution.
The only effective thing to do, is for states and more importantly cities and communities. To deny the larger state their larder and extortion. Taking stolen wealth back from the wealthy and oligarchs. Keeping and investing those resources back in the communities. The bigger state will absolutely mobilize and attack. And every time they do it will weaken them and their support. But realistically it’s the only way. Real change has to start at the bottom.
Its a painfully unfortunate situation, both the lack of labour laws preventing these ceos from paying a living wage and like you say, the system of having 50 insular groups with their own exploitative laws designed to keep it that way.
I really do hope that the future is less horrifying, but I’ve seen the state of the american political left (as in the politicians, not the people) and it’s looking to be an uphill battle.
Who knows, maybe having america start competing with the world on renewables, what with their massive industries and the RnD budgets to throw money at ‘novel’ technologies like highly emissive paints like the stuff they use on the ISS and satellite radiators to cool things off without an atmosphere, and on a lot of new buildings in the hotter countries, will push the market in the right direction.
Here’s hoping.
Historically this level of wealth inequality has always led to market crashes, which while calamitous, end up spurring positive change in and of themselves. We’ll see.
Touch wood this incoming crash doesn’t just end up being a method for the richest to get richer and the poor to die out in droves.
This level of wealth inequality is genuinely unprecedented, given that there’s one meth head currently ‘valued’ at an english Billion or an american Trillion. (For those out of the loop that’s a one, with TWELVE zeros after it)
I think, unfortunately, that’s a foregone conclusion. We saw in the Epstein Files that heads of state and billionaires generally know when economic crashes are coming and are able to time them well, and the spike in suicide rates during an economic crash is well-documented.
All you and I can really do is make the best choices for ourselves and try to show basic kindness to the people on our block.
100% building skills and tools to help out your neighbourhood is worth its weight in gold.
Potatoes grow well even in poor soil, carrots are good for your health, apples and peppers are full of vitamin C
Simple water filters can be made with sand and washed charcoal, or if you’re in a hot region a solar still is relatively easy to build.
The best time to start growing plants, learning basic maintenance and first aid is last year, as the saying goes.