Until some concrete evidence to the contrary shows up, I believe that the 2/3rds of this country who were fine with a Trump Presidency 4 months ago are still fine with it regardless of the pain and suffering he inflicts on the people who live here.
Until a sizeable chunk of that supermajority changes their tune, there isn’t any way to fight, because we’re outnumbered 2 to 1.
I actually think some one would have to be very brave to leave this country, home, family, secure income.
Especially if you’ve never traveled extensively.
A lot depends on when, in the timeline, your face will get eaten by leopards, compared to the general population. If you are one of the majority (race, sexuality and gender identification, for example) you are probably relatively safe, for a while at least, from the predations of the right. From that position it’s easy to call other people cowards for running away. Put yourself in the crosshairs and then come and talk to us about how brave you are.
Very glad my ancestors all ran away pre-Nazi. There’s a Page of Testimony at Yad Vashem that my grandfather submitted for his uncle and family. My grandparents sent ship tickets for them to Riga just before the Nazis marched in. Nobody ever heard from the family again. There are a lot of people with my last name (and my grandfather’s mother’s maiden name) on Yad Vashem’s database on Pages of Testimony. Pretty much every last name on both sides of my family is well-represented in that database.
I am already making plans to leave this shithole of a country if it gets too bad for trans people here. I have some protection living in California, but if the federal government really wants to come after us and put us into camps, there is not much this state can do to protect me and other people threatened by Trump.
I used to have the mentality of “I took an oath to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And that oath still stands.” But when discussing things with another trans friend who is making plans to move to Australia soon, I realized why should I fight for a country that doesn’t want me to fight for it anymore and is increasingly treating me like a second-class citizen.
I wish I was privileged enough that I could just ride it out because of who I am, but I don’t have that luxury. And so the first sign that my life and freedom is in jeopardy, I’m gone.