the National Guard deployment is the same thing as the military parade is the same thing as the glowering paintings of Donald Trump staring down at you is the same thing as torturing a small number of South American immigrants: he loves the appearance of tyranny.
All of these spectacles are signs of elite collapse (they are unable to prevent these embarrassments at their expense) but mostly do not change the simple fact that They Do Not Have Enough Guys
Right it's almost a show of weakness (that can still lead to hundreds of thousands of dead...)
His self-worth is measured in ratings. Good TV. Bad TV. Doesn't matter.
If only someone could sum this up in a catchy short phrase. Hmmmm. Something like “Trump’s whole point is trying to be seen as cruel”. Nah. But I think that can be wordsmithed… #sarcasm #gallowshunor
Sometimes, one sentence says a lot about its author. "torturing a 'small number' of.." in a post meant to diminish concern would be an example.
Torturing South American immigrants is great, but I’m with you on the rest.
I just wish we could calibrate a response with this in mind. The Dem leaders calling this a "distraction" are fucking losers, but there's a correlated point that it's stupid to start dooming about no elections et al. The fact that Trump is already backing off from Chicago is a tell!
Trump loves the appearance of tyranny because it gaslights some into surrendering without actually doing the full-blown tyranically work. Too many are Complying in Advance. The best counter is to expose the appearance itself - that it's a chaotic and haphazard bluff relying on Shock and Awe.
Complying in Advance: is it because Americans are in fear of the consequences of protesting, is it because we are all too busy trying to pay our ever increasing bills, or just because we want "someone else" to do the hard work of stopping this Administration?
I think people that are paying attention are fighting back, it’s just 1/3 of the country love this and another 1/3 aren’t paying attention at all and have no idea what’s going on. Completely checked out
And those "completely checked out" people somehow made it to the polling places (not forgetting the millennials who refused to vote at all, because Trump has made them believe his bs that "every politician is corrupt", just because *he* is.)
What do you think “millennial” means? Because the *youngest* millennial was 28 in 2024 and most were over 30. Some were over 40!
Haha I just moved on from that comment. Millennials always catching strays!
It’s our lot in life!
Til the end of time, apparently
So sorry for identifying "millennials" failure to turn out as part of the problem--was shocked to see it in my extended family. if you think that's (your) lot in life, why not try something different? No one can afford to stand on the sidelines now. It is now at a tipping point.
You’re missing the point. Our lot in life is to be blamed for things we didn’t do. We voted at the same or higher rate as prior generations at the same age. But millennials get blamed for everything that happens. We killed all sorts of industries! We sat out the election! (None of it is true.)
So? Whatever their age (in my extended family, all over 30) they did not vote, yet constantly complain. Things might have been different if those people had voted, rather than sit it out.
The same can be said of every demographic. 80 million registered voters did not vote, spread across every generation.
Well I could agree with that just as a common sense statement. I tried to look it up, because 80 million seemed a lot given the numbers who did vote, but AI jumped up and gave me a bunch of gobbledegook.
More people sat out than voted for either party. It was a low turnout election. 75.5 million for Kamala. 77 million for Trump. 80 million no vote. And now we get to hear for the rest of our lives it was a landslide for Trump and a mandate. Yay.
Whatever might have happened in your family, 60%+ of millennials voted. We didn’t “sit it out.”
In my extended family, they, and their rather large group of friends, said they did not believe their votes mattered.
In my extended family, most of the older members are Trump supporters and all of us “kids” are passionately against him, and every single one of us voted to reflect that.
Did that 60% vote for Trump?
Slight majority for Kamala, actually, while a similar majority of voters over 45 backed Trump.
It's because most of us have been raised to reflexively worship and fear the systems of authority that keep is in line -- usually with the explicit threat of instant death -- while at the same time singing the praises of how "free" we are thanks to those same authorities. We are our own oppressors.
#Chicago is definitely not #DC The type of resistance here in our fair city is multilevel and #Illinois has a Governor who may not be as flamboyant as the good gentleman from #CA, but @govpritzker.illinois.gov is definitely not a man to be trifled with. #MakeAmericaSmartAgain 🇺🇸
SO, SO glad @govpritzker.illinois.gov is our governor right now.
It's also not DC in that Chicago has the ability to actually resist. Pritzker holds the reins in a way that the mayor of DC just can't. I think Trump (or someone close to Trump) realizes that Pritzker could conceivably turn this into a humiliating loss for Trump and his administration.
It's gonna get weirder... #SweetHomeChicago already has enough going on, thanks. 🙎
Pritzker did that. "I won't say it's the worst or that there's been worse. I'm saying if you make it worse, count your days"
it's telling that i see people from dc posting on here like "i heard there were 3 national guardsman at XYZ place" as if it was kind of rare to actually spot them
I think if we were *only* seeing the tiny NG deployments, this would be correct. But we're not. There's a buttload of masked-up pseudo-LEOs, along with the actual local LEOs, who--let's face it--have historically been pretty cool with beating the shit out of civilians.
I agree with this save for what I imagine are the obvious facts of A.) regarding the last part, ONE is still too many and B.) there's sometimes a point where power perceived becomes power achieved. I don't think it's anywhere near "there," but it's not impossible either.
He uses fascism the same way he uses gold leaf.
And the same way he plies a score card in golf.
Having the FBI and whatnot stop doing their job and harassing commuters instead is on the "actual tyranny, or at least, really obnoxious" side of the ledger. The natl guard stuff is still just ???. He wants them to go Kent State on the residents of DC but hasn't figured out how to order that yet
The *appearance* of tyranny is far superior to the real thing - because it's much cheaper - assuming that your opponents are completely prey to learned helplessness and see the appearance as proof that they've already lost. It fails only if people just say NO THAT'S NOT REAL and pop the illusion.
There's also the phenomenon I've identified on the radical Left - a kind of perverse "wishful thinking" where they are almost pleased to say "fascism has destroyed liberal democracy, now total revolution is the only solution", and they'll be REALLY pissed off if liberal democracy is restored
But there’s a difference between parades and portraits (appearance), and torturing immigrants (brutal action). As there is in fomenting and watching for hours (and not calling in the Nat’l Guard) as his violent mob attacks our Capitol on Jan. 6. I’d say he wants the real thing.
He is a sadistic narcissist with delusions of grandeur.
It is tyrannical. It’s slow steady ramping of autocratic, tyrannical rule. He tests every barrier and then pushes forward. If necessary, he will ignore court obstacles. It is tyranny regardless of the regime’s motives that started it…ie, stay out of prison.
Very typical of men whose parents dominated them and made them feel powerless and unloved. They can't get love, but they can become bullies to feel powerful. Trump cannot feel powerful without inflicting pain. He knows no other way bc he has no empathy. Love, kindness, giving--to him are "weak"
He loves the appearance of everything, and that's it. Trump might be the shallowest person I've personally been made aware of even existing. No adult planning, just childish vibes, and tantrums. Always the embarrassing tantrums.
Imagine the reaction if Obama said Houston had too much crime and he was sending in the military. Republicans in the house would have filed articles of impeachment the next day.
Everyone should notice that "the appearance of tyranny" is the opposite of a distraction. These things focus attention on his seizure of power beyond the law — more than offensive that are worse but less visible.