I genuinely think part of the current political dynamic is that a lot of Dems -- especially your typical educated, affluent city-dwellers -- simply can't believe what's going on. Even though it's right there on the TV, right there in the streets, it's hard to shake the feeling of unreality.
"A fascist president is assembling a national army of right-wing thugs & invading US cities to terrorize their citizens & intimidate their leaders." I mean ... does that sound real? Even if you know, intellectually, that it is, have you really *absorbed* it?
One reason I come here regularly is to ensure I absorb that and can't forget or minimize what is happening.
Upton Sinclair said it all.
Weirdly makes me think about airplane interiors? They make them as soothing and dull as possible to sell the notion that hurtling at 700mph through a portion of the atmosphere sometimes called the Death Zone is just like riding a charter bus. It actually works pretty well right up until it doesn't.
That is a great analogy!
I think making planes look a bit more like the marvels of engineering they are would help the illusion survive contact with the aircraft making strange noises or shaking in awkward ways. But it seems like building and accepting comforting illusions is natural, even when they perform poorly.
The big illusion that's still gripping much of the country is that politics is just politics. We are a people who can witness our foreign policy result in a backlash attack so high profile that nail clippers are banned from every commercial flight and still believe that politics doesn't affect us.
A (now former) friend of mine had to go cold turkey from his phone because he couldn't stop shaking day or night. A week later he's telling me he bought a tesla and acts condescending to me for thinking there's anything wrong with that. It's kind of unreal when you see it first hand how people cope
I keep telling my adult daughters (especially the married gay one) to get the hell out of the country while they can. I’m old- it’s too late for us but they could still leave!
So when they lose, we can all agree there will be no pardons, right?
No because outlets like @koin6.bsky.social and @fox12oregon.bsky.social just look the other way so they can broadcast the next wine tasting event.
I've been seeing this for years... But pay me no mind how could it happen here
What percentage of the US population do you think really knows & understands what's going on right now?
Particularly after decades of being fed "You can't believe what the media tells you," "You can't believe what you read," etc. I am sure that helps some to rationalize and conclude that "It can't be as bad as they say."
Look at how every day Germans reacted in the 1930s as their government invaded neighbors and suspended freedoms at home. As long as the store shelves stay full and the businesses keep paying their workers and the movie theaters stay open most people will go with it We need to force a confrontation
and there are a few opportunities coming up fast. The most obvious one is Chicago. Pritzker seems to understand the reality of the situation, the historical analogs and what the moment calls for. He understands that the longer the nation can sleep walk down this road the worse it will be I'm
hopeful that he will call Trump's bluff when guard units from other states head to Chicago. Instead of being reactive we need him to be proactive. Deploy the Illinois State Police to block the guard convoys. Force the guard to either stand down or destroy Illinois State Police vehicles. And if
the guard just drives over the road blocks he needs to declare a state of emergency and activate the Illinois guard. It would be good for the Illinois State legislatures to pass something similar to the WA house bill 1321 that became law, expressly banning non federalized guard from other states
19?
10 percent know AND understand the glidepath. Another 60 are sort of aware, even concerned about the "fasten your seatbelts" level of turbulence. 20 percent are surprised but think the seatbelt sign should be turned off. The rest think this is a thrill ride.
10-15%
And if liberals themselves don’t believe it, what are the chances that Trump’s own supporters believe it?
Very high, and it’s their dream come true.
Very, very low, thanks to dishonest (i.e. no) mass media coverage. Most people only pay attention to their own daily lives.
My neighbors in LA (this was a few months ago) seemed to be aware but keeping their focus on family, job and hoping to get through the next 4 years".
.05%
That's the essential problem.
White America doesn’t care. My family doesn’t care. Nothing is EVER addressed in America until it negatively affects White suburbia.
“I woke up and took my kids to school today in my car. Then I went to work. My wife also went to work. Then we had to make dinner and get the kids to sports practice and homework. Missed the news. What do you mean something is wrong”
Too late. They desensitized themselves when Murdock spent 8 years saying that's what President Obama would do, or uppity wimins like Hilary or Harris. Saying it now, means you, me, everyone, sounds like them. Nevermind hypocrisy is a Republican plank.
What % of the U.S. consumes media that clearly tells them this is going on? Most media are Right Wing now And MSMedia are not liberal or truth focused. They are simply mixed--containing views from both sides, but more from the not quite Trumper Right than from Left upine.medium.com/the-vast-rea...
Of the people who are *against* Trump, the understanding is a lot higher than those who voted for him (or stayed home): these people are like "but he's just rounding up the criminals, right?" The unreality for all of us is a real problem and must be consciously fought through. But lots of us are.
Unfortunately I thnk it's quite high and they are okay with it
Clearly not enough.
It's like 35% percent that really knows what's going on, tops. Another 35% are only hearing that Trump is the greatest genius of all time from Fox, OAN, Newsmax, Twitter, and Facebook.
Not much, given that Americans experience the news as supplementary information to what is happening in their bank accounts. Until the economy truly locks up and job losses mount, or price inflation spins out of control, we’re stuck waiting for people to wake up.
If Trump takes over the Fed, the economy will collapse. Cutting rates will cause inflation to skyrocket. Trump doesn’t fix things; he breaks them and declares victory. There’s no transparency in Trump’s finances. I suspect he has loans coming due and wants lower rates.
Also he just doesn't want anyone around who's ethical, and/or who he can't control.
5%
There’s an intrinsic unreality to it even if it’s right in front of you. We haven’t seen a lot of very explicitly political use of the assumed power yet and the stormtroopers are not operating at scale yet so there’s lots of room for resistance to grow. /1
Two things that give me hope: The absolutely heroic resistance breaking out at street level, particularly in SoCal (but also DC). The other is the forthright political resistance in Chicago. We haven’t really seen organized physical resistance at local levels but I think that potential exists.
@govpritzker.illinois.gov’s press conference yesterday is the first time I had hope that people are starting to push back against Trump.
Small town (12k pop) in a southern red state and by in large clueless. It's not really impacting here directly... Yet. Groceries are up and will be the strongest trigger but the larger cities problems.. they don't really seem to care.
Perhaps a third? My surprise is that there seem to be so many elected Democrats in DC who don't seem to be among them.
It’s all just a spectacle for most people until there’s mass unemployment and skyrocketing prices or a draft.
Oh yes, a draft would do it - they’ll all would be trying to move to another country because their kids ain’t going!
It wil become even more of a spectacle when the first shot is inadvertantly fired by the stormtroopers in a blue city. You just know it's coming.
Rodney King style riots aren’t out of the question. But even that didn’t get people all that engaged. It was just something wild they saw on TV.
Do you think people see and know, but are discouraged from saying the words (authoritarianism, fascism, etc) for fear that they will be considered to be hyperbolic? It seems this is something people are trying hard to also avoid being - hyperbolic.
I don’t know, but I can tell you that my experience of liberal-leaning corporate, nonprofit, and foundation leaders is one of *deep,* almost reflexive denial. Their staff members and constituents, on the other hand…
20% - tops!
Less than 10% is my guess.
part of the problem is that it happened 45 years ago and they never really came to terms with it then either
50%
<1% are really plugged in. 10% have a decent idea but don't know the real contours. 40% have a sense of which way the wind is blowing but don't really know what's going on. 50% really don't know what's going on
People are not paying attention. They are not seeking out any info that would enlighten them. Many are busy trying to keep their children safe and fed. Many are just struggling to stay alive. Many are just too fucking stupid....not ignorant, stupid.
I’ve been told by quite a few pretty reliable voices that it’s all a distraction. Back to my beautiful kitchen table.
Nah. Corporate media has bin horseshit fer years hey..
So long as it’s framed as crime vs pretext (both by the media and D politicians who engage on the crime excuse) and decried as simply being a distraction, I would put the percentage as being pretty low.
Precious few. Whenever I talk to someone who is knowledgeable about history and can recognize patterns, I say to my wife, "this person knows what is going on in this country" as shorthand for this is someone we need to connect with for mutual aid or other purposes.
If you have friends who are concerned, but are not sure what to do about it, now is a great time to recommend they get involved with @indivisible.org (both a national and local organization) or other organizing groups. They’ll be more informed and more effective, glad they helped, and are needed!
Yep, I had an ill-advised conversation with a coworker. He simply wouldn’t acknowledge that the president prosecuting his enemies, abducting people off the streets and sending them to foreign gulags, building massive detention camps, and deploying troops against U.S. citizens was fascistic.
Because your question has implied value judgement. You can't come at people like that because they get defensive. For example I would pretend to support even more extreme and authoritarian positions and see if he goes along or tries to criticize you.
I consider sending clips of Trump saying insane and cruel things to my MAGA family, who consider themselves smart and compassionate, but they would not either not understand his levels of lunacy or they'd wave it away with what-about BS. It makes my head spin, wondering how to explain fascism.
Same. But they watch Fox and are surrounded by other Republicans, so they have an absurd rationale that I don't even want to challenge.
Was he acknowledging these things happened?
Yes.
My guess would be 10-15%.
25% to 30%
not enough!
90+ percent, easily. 🤷♂️ How many of them CARE? Aye, well, there's the rub. Less than 10%, I'd wager.
20%
It's a question of proximity. Like gun violence.
This stuff happens in movies and history class, not in real life, and definitely not in America. Besides, if it were really happening and actually bad, the good guys would show up and stop it.
There are no blackouts, there's no draft, and everyone's 401k is still fine. Why would the average middle-class white person care?
The 401ks are really doing well?
American exceptionalism is the worst
I think that’s why people couldn’t be bothered to enthusiastically back “not Trump” they didn’t think he’d do what he promised out loud.
Or they might have to get off their butts and do something
This is the same dynamic that played out in 2021, when educated Americans, people in journalism, academia, and politics, refused to accept what January 6 implied: that someone had actively tried to overthrow democracy. So they told themselves it was just riled-up MAGA rubes, and looked away.
This is exactly what happened. The press are the most guilty, because they should know better and covered for these monsters of deceit.
Right, who brought the bear spray? Why the secret meetings Jan 5th? Why did Pence refuse to get in the car?
US elites told a comforting, false story: only Trump was guilty; he "instigated" his followers. Even though the followers had to be prodded and subsidized to get to DC. Though Trump's allies in Congress knew to delay the count. Though the doors at the Capitol were breached in eerie synchronicity.
Liz Cheney will rot in hell for essentially saying it was off limits for congress to investigate the Republican Party that made the insurrection possible and instead had to focus entirely on Trump's actions alone.
And, they're back.
Though it's standard all over the world for would-be autocrats to run astroturfed "uprisings" with useful idiots steered by organizers. And Trump's own inner circle had run those kind of events - in Ukraine. But... not in the US, the pundits said. It can't happen here! We are special! But we aren't.
Absolutely. This was a massive failure by the “serious” people. They basically all closed their eyes and pretended it was the 90’s again.
Terminal American Exceptionalism Brain
20%
Knows is one stat. Understands is another.
I know maybe four or five people who truly grasp what’s happening right now. The majority are just detached from it all. They either: don’t see it see it and don’t care see it and care ‘watch it’ like a Netflix series see it and care and support it
Are those people selling their houses before the market collapses? Am I the only one who can't afford to lose equity?
Had not thought of that one. On the other hand your house could be a hedge against rampant inflation.
I’m just hoping I can stay in the house until I’ve outlived the need for equity.
15-25%
My brothers are not the political type. One occasionally watches John Oliver and The Daily Show. Other than that, he's consumed with work, his family, and other interests. But he's fully aware and regularly notes "we are fucked."
We’ve seen this all before. It’s all straight out of the fascist playbook.
I'd say nearly a third of the country is thrilling to it.
Yes, I think I have.
Right?! And it is being said out loud. Not your words exactly, but that is what they are saying out loud and the media allows it to be said as if it is normal as well!
When I try to talk to people who aren't paying close attention they think I sound like I'm hyperventilating, but that's the fucked part of it, none of it is exaggeration
Honestly, it’s hard to assimilate even when you already believe it, let alone trying to convince someone else of it.
It must really suck to be an American right now. Thoughts and prayers.
It’s horrible.
you have no idea it's trauma on top of trauma
Chapter 13 of this is a very timely read right now.
Yeah plan counter measures accordingly.
Sadly I have. That's why I've stopped sleeping at night. And everyone in my very small real life circle has, as well. But, you're right, the majority of Americans remain oblivious because they just can't believe this could happen here. And they're rejecting the truth because they can't believe it.
I'm not at all oblivious, but I often feel paralyzed. What the f do we do that will turn the tide? I'm learning about the French Resistance. The main thing I get is that they had no clue whether what they were doing would work. They just kept doing whatever they could, every damn day.
Yes. And they were in constant danger.
Yes, and many of them didn't live to see the day.
Many don't know what's happening because they don't watch the news.
they seek nondisturbance above all else
When i look at my kids, getting started with careers and family, I want them to enjoy these experiences. They've had challenges and deserve some joy. The future looks bleak, but damn they deserve more. I bite my tongue for them.
I agree I hate that they are coming up at such a challenging moment But I also feel like they are more prepared for it than I would ever be
I have a daughter in Utah. I adore her but she is among the oblivious. I don’t send her much anymore. She said the pic of me, resisting was “cute”. It makes me so sad.
Normalcy bias will be the downfall of this republic. I’ve been saying this since January 2025. Screaming it into the abyss
Aye my family are Scots...
RW media spreads a more favorable narrative than this.
📌
I can’t think about it too much because it absolutely paralyzes me with horror at what we’ve become.
Not to mention actively interfering with the next election.
Conservative forums that I’ve been reading literally have no idea they are seeing martial law. They still think that average crime justifies military occupation. Not only is the govt seizing the means of production they are installing reeducation and a police state. It’s like bizarro world
No. It really doesn't. I haven't. My brain just refuses to acknowledge this is reality. In part because I don't know what I personally can do about it.
Many of them won’t absorb it until the bullet passes through their skull
Even then! I think a lot about those interviews with elderly Russians who are still nostalgic for Stalin ...
the impression I get from Russian ex-pats is: you discuss world affairs (this was in the U.S., not Russia) but you don't put hopes in it. Pragmatic pessimism. Not to criticize, I like Russian ex-pats better than Americans who tend to BELIEVE in the system even though it's been broken for years
Loki's speech in Avengers hit home because we all knew it was true for some significant (if hopefully not determinative) set of people...
You’d think January 6 would have been a bit of a wake up call.
Rather difficult to interview elderly Russians who are NOT nostalgic for Stalin . They are all dead .
Judging by the number of people who say to me "Only three and a half more years," not many have absorbed it.
Honestly, so little has changed in most folks daily lives —besides grocery prices— nothing is actually happening in their personal reality. That will change, and consequences will cascade disastrously, of course.
That's the problem. They were too smug when folks said this is happening, then failed on the politics, and now look like many are playing the game to save their own skins instead of standing up for their constituents. Notable individuals aside they are collectively failures and cowards.
City dwellers also don't seem to grasp the divide between them and rural folk
The only thing we need to be kept safe from is Noem, Homan, Miller, Vance, Bondi, Patel, Gabbard and Trump. They have used words "National Security Threat" to rob our government. We need a national task force to make sure these con men and women are arrested, processed and never let out of prison.
See also: the markets
The thing that gets me is that if you just say what’s happening clearly and plainly, stating the facts, especially to a right-leaning person, you sound like a fuckin deranged lunatic.
Oh we see it perfectly clearly. Trump followers do not, and the MSM does not cover it as such.
Yeah that'll go down well in Chicago and Boston
They know, but they have dissaciated to save their "wellness".
They call it self care and when you bring up the topic they get angry that you have penetrated their wall of "self care"
Some physically shake and contort their faces and their bodies to distance themselves from you. In this, they imply also that they are better than you becuse they have shuttered out the Fascist regime from their well being. In fact, this has been going on since 2016.
How have they made it safer when it was safe, a gross waste of money
Not if those states “Just say NO.”
Absolutely. It wasn’t all that long ago that the Handmaid’s Tale of fascist takeover of the US seemed a little far-fetched, yet here we are.
I’m originally from Brazil. Brazilians take to the streets to protest government abuse. Here in the US people have had it so good for so long (since 60’s Vietnam protests and riots) they have no idea how to street-protest. Also, bc most people are in suburbs …
We did street protests. About the government murdering Black people. The government gave the police more money and the organizers have been murdered without it becoming a huge scandal.
Yeah, true BLM true . But now, protesting the govt is different focus. Both are Key
There have actually been more protests this year than during BLM or the woman's march based on data I have seen. It has trended older crowd this time though so since media isn't covering it and much less likely to be recording and posting when older it isn't really being internalized.
It is also being actively suppressed by places like TikTok
True. I was thinking Twitter personally but it applies to both (no idea which one has been worse) and since there are many more there than here...can't really be shocked people don't realize what's going on. Once my hometown of 2000ish was on their third protest (small but there) it clicked for me.
Exactly. It's wild that so many people honestly believe that we haven't been holding huge protests all across the country for months. The media is, for the most part, trying to ignore and/or suppress any resistance efforts by the public and frame the whole thing as a feud between political leaders.
That's just the reality of resisting authoritarianism, unfortunately. Authoritarians are violent people, and they use that to keep people afraid and obedient. If we let that tactic work, however, all it will do is give them free reign to commit further violence.
There's also a major sense of hopelessness that plays into it. We effectively no longer have a Supreme Court, gerrymandering radically tempers the people's will, and the height of Democratic opposition is Gavin Newsom's memes. Nobody rallies around milquetoast leaders.
I agree. I look at friends/family (intelligent people) that support him and I am just perplexed as to what they are thinking and how they are remotely ok with what is happening. I’ve been in shock for years now.
I completely agree.
This assessment is incorrect. Educated observers understand that democracy has failed. Citizens United and gerrymandering robbed us a free and fair elections leading to the evaporation of the rule of law. Resurrection in the upcoming midterms is our last chance at a Hail Mary
Sorry but if you are holding out for the elections as our last best hope you are playing football in Veterans Stadium. Instead we need to be organizing and building non cooperation efforts.
I think both things are true. We need a free and fair election next November to liberate Congress from its GOP stranglehold and restore checks & balances to government. However, we also need to realize that our democracy won't make it until next November unless we take other actions now.
I agree but unfortunately I don't think humans are evolved enough to recognize the impending harms. We are too much like stray dogs along a busy street. We get a whiff of something tasty on the other side and nothing else matters.
The Dem base knows it. Our pathetic Congressional caucus, with a few exceptions, is clueless, incompetent, and afraid of their own shadows. Schumer and Jeffries also need to step down.
When I talk to them, they get that Trump is horrible but don't truly understand it...and even if they do to a certain extent, they don't think there is anything we can do about it...Frustrating to say the least.
I think it's more Republicans and moderates than bougie Dems. They think that all parties are the same and that Dems would be doing something equally bad if they had power. Or, the left said 2016 was the end of the world and we got through that without fascism, so this time will be fine too.
Can't believe... Or willingly choose not to? Desperately holding onto their hopes of normalcy or "maybe it won't be that bad"?
Good point. Shock. Disbelief. Unreal. And the “freeze” option in the fight, flight, or freeze response to stress/attacks.
if you haven’t absorbed it then you haven’t been to your local ice office to watch them destroy innocent people’s lives. go witness it so you can stop pretending everything is normal
Acknowledging what is happening means they might have to leave their comfortable bubble and do something that may be a bit riskier than just making a phone call, signing a petition or joining in a big march. I suspect they will avoid it right up to the moment their own doors are knocked.
People with shit to lose if they fight tend to delude themselves into thinking that the necessary fight isn’t actually imperative. It’s why revolutions are always initiated by those who have nothing left to lose.
If that’s the case then they better wake the f*#k up.
So what happened in DC? I do know dinner reservations are down over 30%.
As I have said before, DJT and his regime are not welcome in Massachusetts. The sign on the Mass Pike needs to be edited as such. Ms Noem, do you understand
I am one of them "comfortable' well educated city dwellers and trust me, my friends and I truly believe what we are seeing and hearing every day. Trust me when I tell you it all scares the 💩 out of us.
That's me and my friends, too. We're doing what we can ... making phone calls, going to protests, helping the people in our community who need us ... but it's hard to keep going because it feels like tacking a forest fire with a squirt gun.
I know what you mean. Hoping the economy will shake up the non-political types. These 90 day tariff reprieves mesh really badly with orders from China, the shelves are clearing out, now shipping has halted from several countries, home sales are flat, and prices are rising. Someone's got to notice.
We can't wait that long. "Instead, we need to think what are the actual tools we have? And that is each other, it’s organizing together collectively to take action..." organizingmythoughts.org/how-to-fight... -Shane Burley
An interesting summary of the situation but disheartening and scant on action items.
Well, we are in an authoritarian state. No, he's not laying out step by step what to do. He's talking about linking existing organizations across issues. His message may be more applicable to people already in unions, doing housing, healthcare organizing, etc. organizing.
I think that's the thing. Many of us don't have a background in organising, law, or unions. All we can do is choose how to spend, support candidates financially, vote, protest, strike, and speak out. But we aren't organised, and I'm not detecting much in the way of action oriented leadership.
Those are all important. Have you signed up with Indivisible.org or www.fiftyfifty.one/ or a similar group?
No, never heard of them. Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.
Don't stop.
The reality is we have too much to lose, and the institutions have all failed.
Because it's the stuff of the dystopian fiction we've been reading and watching for our entire lives, or because we're simply in denial, or... ?
Mike Tyson's quote "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face" is what's happening. It's a fight, not a theory
Oh I totally believe this it's insane and disgusting. This whole timeline is exhausting to deal with.
Just wait until Congress returns and Epstein sucks the oxygen from this ridiculous show of force.
You forgot your snark tag, I assume?
Remember in the movies, Signs & Independence Day, the aliens assembled strategically until it was time to attack? Even on 1/6, the Proud Boys & Oath Keepers had a stockpile of weapons nearby in preparation.
Seattle and Portland city-dwellers, affluent or not, would disagree with you. They saw it in 2020, and they recognize the signs.
Most likely the only reason we haven't seen Trump include Portland in his list of Dem cities he wants to overrun with armed Nat'l Guard & active military troops is because Mayor Keith Wilson is white. Trump might well attack Wilson for other reasons, tho. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP9h...
Yep, many Dems actually believe there will be a fair and free election in 2028. Trump did not put all that gaudy gold in the White House if he wasn’t planning a long-term occupation.
@atrupar.com As far as I'm concerned Kristi Noem is a dog killer nothing else. She's a liar & just another disaster to this admin.
Fuck Noem!
💯 Those of us who've experienced autocracy have felt like this 👇 the last several years. youtu.be/-Fx-TP5KBZE?...
Country level bystander effect.
Oh this exactly. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystand....
KRISTI NEOM GO BACK TO BED WITH YOUR "DADDY"! YOU ARE LYING YOUR ASS OFF! THESE MILITARY INVASIONS ARE COSTING AMERICANS $1 MILLION PER DAY! WHO ELSE IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT!
Does she want to explain that? Who doesn’t want to keep people safe?
That's hypernormalization. www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
Yes. Dems tend to consume mainstream media--which did not do anything remotely like warning us this cd happen if T won.
There were warnings all over the place from 2016.
I've been posting lots of comparisons to pre-war Germany, Hitler, & the Nazis & still feel like a hyperbolic alarmist fool even though it's SO obvious the same playbook is being followed. And not only in the US. The UK has no historical excuse for ignoring what's happening here. And yet we are. 🙉🙊🙈
Having been raised by WWII era parents, I fully get the slide into fascism, but my MAGA sibling does not see it. I see other traditional GOPers that could never vote for a Democrat also not see it. Many have not yet been affected as we live in safe white communities with a failure of imagination
I think you’re the one who is refusing to see and I get why… it’s a hard pill to swallow. But at this point, there are no excuses. This is why MAGA got out of control in the first place… those close to them refused to confront them and call them out.
therationalleague.substack.com/p/inside-the...
therationalleague.substack.com/p/they-dont-...
Or perhaps we should stop making excuses for those who voted for a fascist piece of shit and recognize that they vote for a fascist because they are fascists
I recently mentioned the possibility that this regime might not accept the results of the 2026 elections, and I cited as precedent 2020 and 47 asking Pence not to certify. This person had never heard about that. Some people are truly uninformed.
Flip side of the coin- many people who don’t live in a large city watch local news which still follows the “if it bleeds it leads” model. They believe there is chaos in the streets and that finally something is being done.
Send them to Oklahoma “I was horror-stricken to find out it’s an 11-year-old little girl who’s given birth," said Hutson. "And that she had no medical care, and she had no one to be with her.” www.kjrh.com/news/local-n...
Probably because it is all literally unreal at this point, other than DC which is a unique entity. The NG and Marines slunk out of Los Angeles, and if they go to any other blue cities it will likely end the same way. Good to not panic until necessary.
WTAF. But you may be a bot or a plant.
Or maybe I'm a special educator/librarian from Seattle who has been involved in politics since my first vote against Reagan in 1984. Who knows!
(you get kudos for those professions but not for your comment)
Ok Anna the vagabond. Now is the time if you couldn't tell.
I have no idea what you're trying to say there. But if you're talking about politics, I've been door-knocking, phone/text-banking, donating, delivering food to campaign offices, etc for about 40 years now. My family has been involved in the WA Dem party & unions since the 1920s. I know the time.
I'm reacting to "Good to not panic until necessary." US is now authoritarian. Guard left LA because of people in the streets. There is NO guarantee the same will happen in another city. They're still in DC. Not talking about politics-we may not even have elections. We need organizing, mutual aid.
Elections are state run and the swing states have Dem SOSs. This is pure doomery and helps no one. In fact, it seems deliberately designed to demoralize people which is an odd thing to want to do.
Well we can't go with your approach of "don't panic till necessary" which is what I'm reacting to. Many of my posts I try to list things that can be done along with analysis. But to totally put hope in elections in this moment seems naive to me.
Fear is the mind killer. To quote a certain sci-fi classic.
I'm not talking about fear. I'm talking about relevant action.
The subtle change from we are going in no matter what. . . to we are trying to convince them to let us. They should ask Tennessee and see the results
Speak for yourself. Every single Dem voter I know (and nearly my entire circle of friends votes Dem) knew perfectly well that all this would happen... before Trump was elected... the first time
But does the average American want the military and armed masked thugs with no accountability offering the illusion of security?
So far it's not physically impacting a lot of people. I live in LA and I wouldn't necessarily know what's been happening here except for Bluesky. (Don't watch local TV)
The affluent Democrats I know are looking to move abroad.
Yes. I know an interracial lesbian couple moving to France. But they are very well off and don't have family. They were trying to get others to join them.
Sigh. Because most Democratic leaders have corporate donors to answer to. Billionaires don't care about any of us. (See Citizens United, 2010) 💰
He's not talking about Dem leaders, he's talking about the rank & file, and he's right. Our heads are spinning from the destruction of all we have known, more every day. It's like the Nazi blitzkrieg.
Maybe when we have Venezuela level inflation they will wake up? When they can't afford Lulu Lemon and gourmet coffee anymore?
They better open their eyes and start believing what's right in front of them. I think much of their denial is the media's fault for sanewashing this fascist regime's extreme actions and downplaying the threat of violent authoritarian rule. They have betrayed us in the worst way.
A lot of highly educated Americans have been accustomed, for a long time, to making wry, sardonic, jokey remarks about unpleasant things, to show their distance. They don't take anything seriously.
Lot of that on Twitter, and here as well. Beyond frustrating.
I think they can't believe that nobody seems inclined to stop him.
Congress is still on vacation. (Not that any of them are worth a rusty fuck) Gavin and JB can only do so much. AOC & Crockett want to be taken seriously? They need to GET MAD AND GET LOUD.
AOC has been touring the whole damn country. She was country before country was cool. So I wouldn't blame them.
Blame? Who’s “blaming?” I am BESEECHING them. ENCOURAGING THEM. EXHORTING THEM. TO DO SOMETHING.
They always compare situations to a random 3rd world country. Like it isn’t happening right here to them in their own backyard. “This isn’t us” no it is very much you right this very moment
Pressuring them so he can live out his fascist dictator fantasy. The people do not want his police state! Force the military through crime-ridden red cities and see how they respond.
I think you’re absolutely right. Our brains seek order and they just keep trying to reset.
I long for the day when I’m safe from President Trump’s leadership. Just go, Trump, just go.
Boo Hiss
That's a normal reaction to this sort of thing, but we've got to snap out of it.
True for dem leadership, that’s for sure.
💯 It’s absolutely unreal. And hard to keep up with the lies, deception, clown car BS. Let alone wrap our minds around it all and know how to respond.
They are in such a self focused place because it doesn’t impact them. MAGA is enjoying it because they see it as retribution. The people most impacted don’t have a voice.
Disinformation reigns
Add to that the fact that a lot of "Dem" politicians are rich white men and are probably secretly perfectly happy with the way things are going
schoomer definitely is.
And which red states are you going to? Which ones?
I wonder if her extensions are strong enough to take her whole weight?
One half of country can't believe what's actually happening and the other believes something is happening that actually isn't.
She is scared of Portland, and she should be.
Are you sniffing glue? As an educated city dweller I would encourage you to get out more.
Then it’s our job to make them believe it, get them psychologically prepared to resist, and organize them www.bannedinyourstate.com/p/how-to-fig...
MAGA BS! None of you have made anything safer!
Or, they’re just not into this stuff. Gas prices are still low. Or the sushi is still fresh, if that’s their criteria.
Go to your homebase first..Red States
I have often thought the same thing.
One of my kids is a trans teenager, so we've been on edge since the election. But most people I interact with in my life seem way less alarmed or even aware that what is happening is *exactly* the shit we believed couldn't happen.
bsky.app/profile/just...
We'll help translate, David thinks that a lot of white-Americans cannot get a grasp on facts that Trump is actin in a nazitype of way & same #whiteAmericans ARE not recounting thatnazi history when the naziswent after whiteGermanstoo So white- #America get up & protect & fight for Your democracy!
The reality is that they see it through the lens of corporate media telling them not to a worry in a reality where the fascist GOP is still coming for someone else. A lot of current Dems might care, but feel both helpless as to what to do, and secure in not doing much at all.
That’s how I feel, exactly.
Apathy Which is exactly how Hitler managed to rise to power.
That and some other stuff.
That was a campaign promise, wasn’t it? ‘“I will occupy American cities to bring down their awful crime rates.” All over his campaign literature, right? Does he think all Americans are stupid enough to fall for this fascist propaganda just before midterms?
cognitive dissonance
I have no words other than Corey Lewandowski
Jews who were rounded up and taken by the Nazis to concentration camps reported the same thing - that they couldn't believe it was happening even while they were directly experiencing it.
I wish the streets of towns in S Dakota filled with protesters. What would Krist do then ?
Yes white people refuse to believe that racism is real so they don't understand what is going on and dont know how to act other than blame victims of racism 😭😭😭
Actually the unreality is the amount of stupid racist fat white slobs in this country and now the idiots of color who joined them in putting Chubsley bac in office. The unreality is how very very very far this is from being a great country.
Nazi corruption of Germany caused WW2. This movie #DontBeASucker was filmed by the US Army to educate and protect US citizens from those same tactics here at home. Now, in 2025 we have POTUS, Speaker, AG & their minions manipulating us with Nazi tactics #ProtectTheConstitution🇺🇸 youtu.be/vGAqYNFQdZ4
It's easier to hate than admit they're afraid 🙄
Because what must not be, cannot be.
Oh, we're getting it in Portland. Our neighbors couldn't even stand to be in proximity to a July 4th celebration and flew to Canada at the last minute. We're pissed.
It is 6:29 PM EST and we still have concentration camps.
What would makes us significantly safer is gun control. Not troops and particularly, not troops with guns.
That idea is, in my view from New York, utter nonsense. There are affluent New Yorkers who think it’s all good, say, for instance, Lutnick and his coterie. But most of my neighbors are paralyzed with impotent rage. And for good reason. We are outraged and impotent. Violated every day.
If you can, do 1 thing. Volunteer, help at a school, donate to a cause, etc.
All good ideas.
they will not react until something significantly disrupts their daily equilibrium. there is currently considerable inertia in the average American’s life that keeps them from reacting.
Yeah but those people need to clear their heads NOW
How do you make a nation care about rights? The law? Democracy? Like the person who asked me, when I complained, was, “are you drunk?” Americans are like they’re in a casino—here are all my rights. Maybe you’ll give some back to me.
People are either comfortably numb, or exhaustedly disconnected. They have heard the shrill warnings, but so far most of the abuse and harassment has been heaped on on immigrants who speak broken English, homeless, and black folks.
America has a history of rallying the masses against their folk devils.
From your type pad to the Gods of Resistance’ ears!
I kind of feel this is blame the dems and not where it should be aimed which is at all the checks and balances that once stood. You once had a press willing to bring down a president if it was seen to see Justice being met. That wouldn’t happen today.
So appreciate this thread. Got a million things to say, but I think I'd rather listen.
Its not really on tv. And/or tvs arent on. Were still at seemingly 80% of people not having any idea or care about it.
Normalcy bias.
dem elites
During peak COVID remote schooling, my kid would switch away from zoom classes like she were swiping through Reels. The disconnected unreality of it all had her in a years-long state of drift. Teachers were just online personalities alongside Mr Beast + SniperWolf. We’re all still drifting.
I feel that way. I have trouble even talking about it with others because I feel insane describing the situation objectively.
Never related to Melissa from the movie Twister more. Just confused and aghast at all times now
Schumer also loves this shit. He loves wagging his broken ass finger
I think this is a reason to do more IRL events like the No Kings protests. Being there with other like-minded people and seeing the number who show up helps make it feel real.
I keep mumbling, “We’re living in an alternate timeline. This can’t be real.”
Slow roll coup!
American exceptionalism. Its why we have allowed and continue to allow a fascist to seize and consolidate power. To many American's telling themselves 'it can't happen here'. Sad news friends. America isn't special, Americans aren't special. The things that happen abroad can and will happen here.
It’s inconceivable to them that someone isn’t going to come and fix this. Whenever things go off the rails the system kicks in and the laws right the wrongs. We may get close to a precipice but the system won’t allow us to go over it. The realization that the system is broken is too hard to fathom.
Based on people I have talked to in the 'burbs, this is a popular position.
And that implies that the system needs to be fixed, not just to keep the Trumps of the world in line but to keep things from degrading to the point that a Trump could get within 1000 miles of the WH in the first place. But it's hard to see a path to fixing the system that doesn't make it worse.
100%
We are well aware
Normalcy bias ftw.
COVID was unreal, 1/6 was unreal, people are in shock.
Could also be abject cowardice. At a distance they look identical.
You could be serious with this unfair, ignorant, and generally shitty comment, or you could be trolling. At a distance they look identical.
The shock and trauma of it causes dissociation, and it's meant to do that so people are easier to control 😩
This is absolutely correct. My circle of very very well educated lefties are mostly stuck in this "it isn't that bad" delusion. I'd say 1 in 10 are at the appropriate level of concern.
Media carries a huge portion of the blame here.
And privilege.
Media is definitely to blame Especially on this website
Exactly. Watch NBC Nightly News. You don’t see bias but you don’t get almost any hard news. It is cheerful happy face presentation. No sense of urgency. No worries.
I’m not sure what you mean by “you don’t see bias”. It seems like bias to me when flagrant violations of laws and court orders is cast as testing boundaries or some other phrase that communicates nothing to worry about here.
I mean it is not overtly biased like FOX. It mainly doesn’t report any governmental news in enough detail for people to have a clue what is going on.
It's not bias per se, but trying to "normalize" the actions of this regime is extremely dangerous and helps to create this feeling that everything will be okay
I was trying to get to a slightly different problem. They avoid reporting news entirely. If you report nothing you can’t get in trouble with Trump. Instead they fill with home video of random accidents.
Fox isn’t bias. It’s lies and propaganda.
I think American culture/society the way it has been going for the last 75 years has a big amount of blame. Racism, individualism, materialism. "I've got mine"
So what good is the education?
Thats it 😳 jesus 🤯
Sadly yes and that's being nice tbh. My LinkedIn feed is utterly horrifying and the frequency with which they respond to facts/news with "really? Are you sure? Can he even do that?" is disconcerting at best. I do not think these people will be the revolutionaries we're hoping they'll be.
😭😭😭
Are they on Bluesky? I can't believe real "lefties" can say it is not that bad.
I don't think a woman who can't control herself around a puppy should be in charge of safety of humans.
I think you are absolutely right.
We just won two state elections in very red districts. We know what’s going on.
@volts.wtf Pilots learn about this "Humans are subject to a “startle response” when they are faced with unexpected emergency situations and may delay action or initiate inappropriate action in response to the emergency. Training and preparation can reduce […] [Original post on universeodon.com]
The GOP’s failure isn’t ambition, it’s speed. America is too big for people to notice the takeover. They bungle everything, break what they touch, & still lack the numbers to finish. The tragedy is the wreckage & lives destroyed by their incompetence. They will not succeed because of ham fists.
I think getting people to stop committing crimes is great - except the GOP is committing massive crimes, if you believe the Constitution is in effect.
The problem is we are NOT seeing it on the TV news nor in local newspapers. I've asked Sacbee why they aren't reporting what's happening with the 'music festivals' in major cities. People don't know what it not reported by the 'network news' we don't have unbiased news reporting...
Just about every day since the inauguration I have a moment in which I wonder if I'm dreaming. It's the first time in my life I'm witnessing my brain being unable to process the state of the world. (I'm a teacher in a big city.)
That crowd has little skin in the game, which is why Donald rambles on
It feels like the first liberal commandment is never to be embarrassed, that's why they focus so much on hypocrisy and the optics of protests.
I think there may be truth to this. My missus, often asks how Trump can do what he is doing. And, she is serious.
LOOK AT MY TRUTH RESPONSE
Yup. If you believe it can’t happen here, you will likely refuse to recognize the evidence that it is in fact happening here.
Normalcy bias, yes. Abetted by long time press suppression of the reality of this movement. It's not like these people were less crazy 10 years ago but the craziness was not reported so it comes as this complete shock.
This was an issue here after the EU referendum too. Suddenly there was far right rhetoric everywhere and bigots gained a voice, but the media had no language to challenge it. So they just accepted and amplified it, and now we have fascists in Parliament.
the democratic leadership won’t care until it affects their donors
📌
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I’ve always said you could end democracy as long as the bachelor and Monday Night Football stay on air. This year has only been proving me correct. If people can pretend it’s not happening they will forever
And guess what kicks off in less than a fortnight?
America's civil religion
Panem et circenses.
Yes. (additionally millions are hooked on the affiliated gambling)
I certainly agree, but I think there's more to it, too. Aside from the common excuse that lives are so busy, not believing that things could be this bad protects a lot of people from being jolted out of the comfortable complacency they're used to. "Negativity" threatens toxic optimism's safety zone.
it's the same with Climate Change
I physically hate that woman!
It’s all theatrics - meanwhile all these thousands of NG men and women who have been deployed are having to leave their families, homes and jobs to do what exactly?
I think most Dem VOTERS believe it, but a shockingly small number of Dem OFFICIALS are willing to face reality.
They're trying to be the reasonable ones and not escalate. It's too late. Activate your national guard and arrest the masked kidnappers violation posse comitatus.
Herein lies our dilemma.
We HAVE TO STOP WAITING for the politicians. Tie into local groups doing stuff.
Already. Can walk and chew gum and simultaneously call out our leaders who are proving themselves to be milk toast.
Yes, this is exactly the problem. We are aware of what's going on but can't believe the passivity of our elected officials in DC! Every time I read, some of them voted for a nomination my bloods boils because they think we are at normal times! They never drive the narrative an are never on offense!
Who is going to keep us safe from trump & noem?
Noem, who touts the military takeover and occupation of Democratic cities, seems oblivious to the fact that she is the one breaking the law and violating the United States Constitution. Noem's time will come, trump won't live that long.
“Quelling civil disturbances is the responsibility of state and local law enforcement except in extreme instances. Soldiers policing protests threaten fundamental liberties and public safety. It violates the principle against involving the military in domestic law enforcement.”
This kind of shit worked out well for Il Duce.
Too many Americans are kind of okay with white nationalism.
As a leader of an Indivisible chapter, I am very frustrated that we don't have more people trying to get involved in our work. Even when people do show up at our monthly meetings, always the question, "what can I do?" So over the apathy and passivity.
Are they asking “what can I do?” meaning “throwing up my hands because I feel powerless”? Or meaning “How can I be a part of changing things?”
Yes wondering that too.
But they are only attacking Democratic States ! Illegal under numerous statutes
Did the reporter ask her to name the cities? If not, why?
And why not challenge her on crime rates?
That and they are weak, soft and simple. Clearly do not deserve the freedoms their forbearers fought for.
Another dynamic that’s not useful: there’s so much awful crap unfolding every single day that people feel like they don’t want to burden those around them by bringing anything awful up.
Well... We don't have that luxury at this point.
My experience is that a lot of my fellow city-dwelling lefties believe it, but they seem sort of paralyzed. Not willing to take any kind of role in pushing back. I agree that Dem leadership genuinely doesn't seem to believe that their "esteemed colleagues" are Nazi collaborators.
***REFUSE*** TO BELIEVE IT!!! O(VERWHELMED BY THE SHIT STORM>>> ILL_EQUIPPED TO FIGHT THE FIGHT THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN!!! ONLY SKILLED IN CAMPAIGNING!!!! INCAPABLE OF LEADING THE PUBLIC!!!!
As a Minnesotan who follows Amy Klobuchar closely, all indications are that she does not believe what’s happening right in front of her eyes.
Hard to be bipartisan and fight a war against fascism at the same time.
Yep. Maybe Minnesota nice? But Tim Walz gets it.
I think another element is that most party leaders can’t fathom how to function in anything different, so they’re holding out hope that they can rebuild from the foundations. So any alarm bells are couched. But the reality is, the foundations have been eroded or destroyed.
None of this is on local tv. And nobody talks about it in their social circles.
Nothing a hundred harshly-worded substacks and a few finger-wagging appearances on televised political round tables can’t solve.
I can't even with these people anymore.
Undoubtedly
As an outsider (UK) I've always been astonished at the general level of complete denial (not unreality) that exists in the American psyche about anything not glorious and perfect and an "example to the world" it fondly thinks it is.
While true, It's not all that different from how Brits viewed themselves at the peak of their empire.
Which is why we see it so clearly. Though there are some dregs who hanker after "The Empire", the reality is that all those who lived that period are long since dead, and UK has moved on to a much more progressive society.
I'm not trying to argue or anything, but if that were really the case I don't think brexit would have happened. The fact is we all have the same sickness going on to varying degrees.
It’s geographic isolation and this is especially the case in the interior of the country.
I was thinking a similar thought this morning, and I really think more blame needs to go to ignoring the pandemic. The one that is still ongoing and killing and disabling people on the daily. /1
Vaccines were never going to solve it, it was something that was and is reshaping the reality of our lives. The effects on lifespan and quality of life at every age will almost certainly reverberate and echo for decades. /2
Ignoring that reality was a bipartisan effort that I think went a long way towards allowing many Americans to adopt a reality and narrative that most fits their convenience. /3
The pandemic and how it was handled by both sides gave complete permission to every American to only believe in the reality that is at their own individual comfort level at the moment. /4
Even the ones who do believe it secretly think it's all temporary and that once Trump is out of office things will go back to normal. Most people have no personal frame of reference for an authoritarian takeover so there's still a lot of denial going on.
We're all beginning to understand that most Dem politicians led INCREDIBLY sheltered lives and never learned what actual adversity is.
The best analogy is from The Godfather, paraphrasing Michael Corleone: We need a war-time consigliere / consiglieri (plural).
Exactly. I don't think there's a single currently elected Dem right now that is willing to get their hands dirty.
I believe it bc I have a PhD in history (of Brazil's dictatorship), but I live in a blue state and what do we do? Call my reps who are already pushing back? Protest to the choir in my town? (I do) All I can think to do is help those w less/being threatened in my community. It truly sucks.
Yes, all of that. Join an organizing group like invisible.
Oh. What would make them start believing that it’s happening? Vigorously slapping them repeatedly while shouting true things at them?
Maybe they get the reality but struggle with the question: What can I do? Your typical DC educated, affleuent city-dwellers aren't up for hand-to-hand combat.
I’ve been thinking of it as a kind of mourning. We need to get to acceptance ASAP.
Nobody in these cities wants this overreach and unconstitutional invasion from the felon’s administration.
Kristi can sit down, and she can shut up. She’s a lawless human rights abuser, and she is the trouble, the desecration, the stench, the disloyalty to America. Kristi Noem is a deranged perversion.
This adminstration, I mean regime, is delusional.
A lot of them drank the Francis Fukuyama Koolaid and coasted right into fascism. I grew up with militant hippies that basically believed the government could turn on you at any time; but as I got older most of the liberal people I knew would argue to the death that things would never get “that” bad
Don’t worry. Schumer will send a strongly worded letter
VERY strong*
This is bang on. Most (privileged)people have a very deeply held view that the institutions will not let them be harmed, and it's a very scary thing to let go of. So it doesn't matter how bad it gets in the videos of other people, it simply must not be possible that it could happen to them
I dunno. I am a reasonably educated naturalized immigrant with relatives in "The Current "Russia", and even I am not sure about "WTF is going on". This part, "going from city to city", is unique. The US found new and creative ways to commit suicide as a democracy.
Hide your pets
a few most wanted mugs appear seem missing
I think this is a bit wishful thinking. Educated, moneyed and in power. You don't think they know what they're doing after decades in office? They vote as they're told to by their billionairee donors. There are some hopeful actual leaders now emerging so we must support them or we need a new party
We know what's going on. We can protest with cutsie signs. So tf what?
It can't happen here therefore it's not happening here. That's their POV. But it can happen here, it is happening here.
The American center-left lacks leadership. I would happily march every week if marches were organized, branded, and effectively communicated as a critical defense of our democracy. Rolling marches in every major city; sign up for your weekly march; recruit your friends; nonstop pressure. 1/2
But since we have no organizational or political leaders, we won’t do that. Instead we’ll wait until he incites us to a spasmodic and violent protest, which will play precisely into his hands. We can do this our way and win, in the tradition of massive non-violence, or we can do it his way and fail.
Noem needs to work on educating her Gestapo that they cannot blow people’s doors off their homes only to find out the person they wanted didn’t live there … and they can’t arrest 15 year old children by mistake … and they cannot shoot wildly at a vehicle when they refuse to identify themselves.
Unfortunately, when you're the police, judge and jury, you can do any damn thing you want.
That is one explanation for the lack of action against the lunatic GOP takeover and the obviously demented Trump!
