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How are you preparing for a fascist America?
Even with all the political upheaval, my day to day has not changed. A sign of some level of privilege, but also something of growing discomfort. I feel like i should actively doing something to fight or preparing for the worst.
I often hear that we need to organize but i find that vague and not helpful. Going to rallys and protests shows public anger and frustration but dont see how that directly affects the current administration when they just dont care. Its still a start, but how are people turning that frustration into a action?
How have your lives been changing and what are you doing to confront the change?
What are some ways groups have organized to take direct action?
Trying to get the fuck out.
As far as I am concerned, it's a lost cause. I am too concerned with my family's well-being to try to push the tide back.
I'm collecting every scrap of information I can find on my family's immigration and places of birth, reaching out to anyone that would even resemble a family relation, and trying to figure out what kind of places would be stupid enough to give an American a work visa and be willing to deal with whatever nonsense the current administration would try to do as punishment. Unfortunately, the job market that I am seeing for work visas heavily skews toward "gambling website startup" which is not the most stable of foundations.
I keep thinking of leaving but I don't even see how it's feasible.
Perhaps a last minute border crossing to Canada if shit truly goes insane, but otherwise I can't see how I could uproot my family.
That said, I have a baby boy now and I can't fight if it comes down to it either. Said it before and I'll say it again, I grew up without my father due to drugs and pretty much nothing in this world would make me risk putting my son through that. And if fascism does succeed, I'm sure as hell not leaving him and his mother to fend for themselves.
Children neuter you politically.
My partner and I have navigated this before, feel free to DM if you want any support.
Is your whole family aboard to move abroad?
My concern with moving is you're doing exactly what the administration is wanting you to do - self deport
If you do move abroad, set up voting by mail and keep voting. You can stay morally in the US without physically being in the US.
As someone who votes by mail from abroad it's not something you set up once and forget -- you have to reapply every year for it.
...which reminds me that I still need to do it this year whoops lol
And it's not something this administration is making easier, either.
True, but luckily voter registration is controlled on a state level so it'll depend on what state you're registered in (which is wherever you last lived in the US). Each state gets to decide independently what they allow -- for instance, Ohio will happily email my ballots to me, but last I checked not all states will and some insist on only delivering your ballot by mail.
Yeah the administration has been trying to force changes to these rules but states are fighting it (I figure you know this) and should have the constitutional advantage there. Service members may have it easier, but being from a state more inclined to restrict voting rights could screw (general) you.
Yesh it's ultimately gonna vary a ton by state no matter what happens federally. I'm voting in a red state these days so it's not really high up on my list in terms of how much good I expect it to do, but it matters enough atm that I'm at least willing to spend the money on postage.
Indeed. I've been voting in Georgia from abroad for over a decade, and I found 2024 noticeably harder to request a ballot for than any previous election.
Democrats Abroad is a really great resource for walking you through how to vote, however. For anyone living abroad, I recommend signing up with them (even if you are not a Democrat) because they will remind you of upcoming elections and guide you through the process.
Yeah I can echo that, they've been a useful resource -- and if you are a Democrat and you live somewhere with enough people, they'll often run in-person primaries for presidential elections.
~6 months for the state I haven't lived in for 7+ years. With no guarantee the mail will make it back here.
...And I still have to file fucking taxes even though I don't make enough to be taxed.
Once you're outside looking in, the US is totally absurd.
Mostly? I mean it isn't exactly going to be fun but it seems like the least evil of the given options. I don't particularly care what the extended family thinks because they are cheering on the reasons for leaving.
Staying here in some kind of attempt to spite the administration doesn't seem more productive.
You can always return when times are better. For some people, such as "woke" scientists, the chances to influence things are better abroad when you can continue working unobstructed. Substantial brain drain out of the US should also send a pretty clear message that things need to change.
Perhaps, but this is also specifically desirable to an aspiring dictator. The educated citizen is the enemy of autocracy. It's why you see attacks against education in general in autocratic regimes, except for the elite ruling class.
Sure, but you can keep voting and expressing your educated opinions to a U.S. audience while abroad, and most likely you can do so more freely.
In the long run, the ruling class isn't going to appreciate losing the best brains that could be utilised to bring revenue to their businesses, or people whose income is good enough to spend on their products/services. Obviously lots and lots of smart, high income folks would have to move out until this kind of impact becomes a reality. Not sure how realistic that would be.
I'm leaving. Moving back to China where I can have the same job with a much higher standard of living and a fraction of the stress. Though to be fair, it's not all on Trump and his administration's nightmare policies, they just gave me the final push I needed.
I thought about leaving a lot over the last few years, but I started to hit my breaking point just after the election. I'm an early childhood teacher in an underserved part of LA and the start of this year was brutal. Like, infamously brutal. Then, after spending the summer working with local organizers to help pass progressive ballot measures for things like lowering the cost of housing, preventing a return to war on drugs-style policing, and ENDING SLAVERY, we got shellacked. I know it's not entirely true, but it felt like every meaningful effort to improve my community was just a waste of time. And to top it off, my step-dad, who is only 20 years older than me, had his second brain surgery in two years and lost the ability to walk and a good chunk of his cognitive function. That one really put things in perspective.
Now that my family's situation is stable and society is beginning its final descent into barbarism, it feels like a good time to bail (side note: my mom fully supports this and has been pushing it for years). To be honest, I never wanted to leave my old life in China. It's just that my friend was getting married on March 14 and my boss said it was ok to take the time since we were already off of work and our unofficial return date was March 23. Man, 2020 was a wild year. Maybe I'll come back in 2028 if there's a fight that feels winnable, but every ounce of my being is telling me that things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better. Sometimes you gotta look out for #1
China has it's own issues, but as an expat (guest) they aren't really your issues. The standard and cost of living is far better imo.
It takes far less to be comfortable there, no need for a car, health care is not absurdly over priced...eggs are cheaper.
Biggest issue is getting money out if you want to save for retirement.
I hope my comment isn't out of place given that I'm not American. I've seen people encourage everyone to pick an issue and start calling your representatives about it. That's probably what I'd do. Set aside a schedule and make new calls periodically, asking again and again what they are doing about the issue. Human contact is a powerful way to influence other humans.
I would also make sure to take care of my personal mental health as much as possible. The more emotional and mental bandwidth you have, the more likely you are to be able to welcome/inspire someone to switch from the oppressors' side to yours. This can't be done by acting hateful or judgmental, as completely understandable as it is that many will act that way when faced with oppression.
I've called, I've emailed, I'm considering going to my house rep's office in person. The responses I get are so fucking milquetoast. I don't want to blow up the thread with the responses I've got but I'd be happy to post them. Largely the format is:
The sitting on hands is absolutely nuts. I've started writing back and saying if they continue with their inaction I'll be actively campaigning to get them out of office. It's hard because our regional congressman is part of a dynasty and well liked in our area.
Wow. I'd be interested in reading their responses and I'm sure others would too.
Can you start a dedicated topic where everyone can post the responses they've received? They could be discussed with/by people who run for political positions in the future. I'm sure votes would go to the ones saying they aren't going to be as impotent when it comes to doing the right thing.
Thank you for doing what you can and not letting these people off the hook!
I have yet to see anything outside of limp, canned answers.
I'd be happy to start a thread tomorrow, we'll see what participation looks like.
I see calling reps more effective in red or moderate states but im in a very blue state so not sure if that will do anything?
Please talk to your democratic reps because many of them are not doing enough to fight this.
It definitely won't do anything in red states.
Jim Banks has been using a video of him insulting his constituent as part of his PR campaign. Indiana is cheering him on. They are committed to the bit.
I see.
I'm not well aware of how your system works but isn't there some way to strip a clearly rogue actor off of power? Aren't other elected government officials able/supposed to do something to get Trump removed from office? Some of them being Democrats. Would it be possible to start consistently applying pressure on them?
I think the problem is that the situation is so deteriorated there’s no way to lock in consensus about what “clearly rogue” looks like. Also Trump was already impeached twice in his first term. That doesn’t do anything apparently. He also has 34 felony convictions and that didn’t do anything either. What’s left? He does whatever he wants and is utterly immune to consequences. Doesn’t help that SCOTUS gave him a legal permission slip to break the law.
You don't need consensus to make your opinion clear to your representative. If everyone does the same, sooner or later there will be consensus.
Does your system not have any way to remove a president who for example goes insane? If not, pressure your reps to make one.
Just for your knowledge, impeachment is in our constitution. As is the 25th Amendment which allows Congress to determine the president is incompetent or more fully, unable to discharge the duties of his office.
There's nothing Congress alone could do to amend those. But both are in Congress's power to activate. Ultimately the problem is that representatives don't represent their constituents particularly well, they represent their party. But the system is set up to perpetuate that not fix it.
All of which to say, calling is absolutely worth doing but it is very helpful when advocating for it to understand the system in which that's occurring.
Thank you for explaining. I'm definitely not well versed with the American political system!
The problem is that Trump isn't particularly unpopular.
It sounds crazy, but a huge chunk of the country has no idea what's going on or how anything works. They've already chosen Trump for whatever stupid reason and they'll stick with him no matter how much damage he's doing
Cajole them as much as you can. Their silence on this isn't helping anything.
We ordered passports for the kids. Started reading some books on Milosovic / collapse of Yugoslavia in the mid/late 90s since I think that's the closest parallel to the situation in the U.S.
First move is to book it for the Canadian border, I guess and maybe on to Ireland or something from there (my company has an office in Dublin).
I'm a former employee of the DNC, so trying to figure out where my name would be on "the lists" is something I'm thinking about.
Just some other stories from neighbors;
Couple down the street from Colombia and Puerto Rico almost cancelled their trip to Puerto Rico (which is even a US territory). They're still going but bringing passports for the whole family just in case.
Next door neighbor is white but his wife and kids are Indian. He's always been anti-gun in every way but last week he showed me his new handgun he bought in case someone tried to take his kids.
None of this is normal.
I was curious and found this video: The Fall of Milosevic 2001, Chapter 3: Finished. It seems like Yugoslavia was a bit more unified against the incumbent compared to the United States today. I feel like Americans are a bit more selfish and there is more capacity for long-term harm before the majority of people are starving but maybe the current admin is not patient enough to pull this off "correctly".
However, I can definitely see parallels between this and that.
I think something like the Cambodian Genocide (where 25% of the population was killed) is the worst case but I hope that something like that happening again is unlikely. We don't want to believe it but it probably will happen.
The Khmer Rouge was predicated (iirc) on an open and wholesale rejection of modernity and a return to an almost entirely agrarian society. While there may be shadows of Pol Pot in the MAGA rejection of certain things (vaccines comes to mind) I don't know if your rank-and-file MAGA really wants to wind back the clock that far but that period is certainly instructive (in a very dark way) about how brutal people will treat their neighbors for purely ideological reasons. It's scary as hell to think about.
As someone who grew up poor, I'm more concerned about food shortages than anything else. So I'm learning to grow open pollinated food and flowers, collect seeds, and preserve food. I've got hard copy books and notes in case power or the Internet in general becomes broken or unavailable.
There's a lot to learn, especially in an area that has droughts during the summers like mine does. Plenty of companies will sell you a doomsday bucket of seeds, but I've learned the hard way that if you don't know what you're doing all the seeds in the world won't help. They also aren't an instant fix, they need time and the right conditions; some plants need years before they produce anything. Some plants are completely useless to try to grow in my climate, they end up a waste of space where I could have grown something else.
This may not be the kind of political act you have in mind, but that doesn't mean it isn't important. Most of the produce in my grocery store comes from far away, even other continents. That means the prices are about to shoot up. We must keep our food pantries stocked.
Nobody is coming to save us, it's up to us to save each other. Growing enough to share is one way to do that. It's also been fantastic for my mental health while I've been out of work.
I believe the only thing that shuts up the Orange Cheeto is financial ruin. He can have all the yes men he wants sit around the table and stroke his ego like a petulant baby in need of his soother, but none of them can make the Dow/NASDAQ/S&P go back up with their ridiculous ego stroking. None of them can make Canadians (like me) visit our former southern playground when he keeps making ludicrous statements about the "51st state" (Spits on ground in disgust). None of them can rewrite history and make the rest of the lucid world believe that Ukraine was the aggressor and Putin isn't a bad guy. None of them can stop the rest of the world from finally looking at where our products and services come from and cancelling/boycotting anything from the US.
I honestly hope it gets so bad that his own people decide that enough is enough and run him out of town because it doesnt seem like the opposition is strong or organized enough to do it. Either that or the cheeseburgers do their job and quietly do the world an act of justice. Please McDonalds, we've never needed you like we need you now.
I apologize to my American friends, we hold no malice to you personally, but the Orange Cheeto is screwing over the entire world order and needs to go.
Canadian here,
I'm buying a gun. Never thought of buying one before except for target shooting, for which I can normally just go to a range, but now I feel like owning one is important for some reason.
Elbows up.
So many other Canadians I know are now interested in getting licenses and practice in with guns. It's really picked up here.
Well, if there's demand for pistol, rifle, and crew served weapons trainers in Canada, I think I may have just found my way out!
If someone has seen a successful example of
I'd love to hear it.
https://indivisible.org
Montgomery had go boycott busses for an entire year before they started to see any real change. And by "change" I mean the powers that be got angry and fought back harder. These protests aren't meant to fix things overnight, and if you think of them as one and done events, they won't. Changing minds sadly takes a lot more time than it needs, but you look at the numbers and actions of what you thought were "packed courts" and even "packed congress" and you see there's been a drastic shift for 3 months (really fast in comparison to the civil rights movement).
I'm in California, so fortunately I've been insulated from a lot of the sweeping changes going on on the other side of the country, or in more conservative districts. The more all-encompassing changes of the economy hasn't left me in great shape, though.
I'm not sure if it's especially worse here, but the media industries on LA feel especially dead over the Hollywood strikes and it's been well over 6 months since I had any semblance of an interview for a local role. Even personal referrals don't seem to have an effect.
I'm still in a wait and see mode on if I want to take any drastic actions, for that reason. I lived in US my whole life, so uprooting all of it to go to a foreign country would be tricky on many levels. I still see the fight happening through all the despair and I want to see how the dust settles before truly giving up on thr country. There's a lot of damage that will probably take decades to undo, but I don't think it's hopeless yet.