# I am dreading Election day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 21, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558 "2024-09-21T16:06:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/281 "2024-11-05T21:05:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I might be naive, but I don’t expect much of this. It was a disaster for the participants last time, and I can’t see them having much enthusiasm for it. All they know how to do is double down. Also, [authoritarian learning](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21599165.2017.1307826?journalCode=fjcs21) is a thing. I find it likely that they’ll have studied their mistakes and adapted new strategies. Some of the richest people and biggest racists in the world feel that their very existence is at stake if Trump loses. I find it hard to imagine that they’ll go home quietly after a Black woman gives them a wedgie and takes their lunch money. But I’m wrong about a lot of things, hopefully this will be one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/282 "2024-11-05T21:19:37Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I might be naive, but I don’t expect much of this. It was a disaster for the participants last time, and I can’t see them having much enthusiasm for it. This has been my theory for a while. The patriots’ last march into the history books ended up with 1,400+ in prison. Their cosplay didn’t work out the way they expected and I think a large majority of them sit out the calls to action this time. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/283 "2024-11-05T21:29:00Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Their cosplay didn’t work out the way they expected and I think a large majority of them sit out the calls to action this time. Agreed. There were countless people who were **stunned** to find that they got in trouble. They were sure that what they were doing was going to be absolutely sanctioned, because clearly they were doing the right thing. I don’t think many of them were trying to be martyrs. They weren’t like your typical protestors who show up to block a road or other location and expect to be jailed for their cause. And I’m sure the few who were expecting to get in trouble were sure Trump would bail them out. Next time around, they have an example of what would happen, and it’s just not going to happen again. At least, not with a huge crowd. If it happens, it’ll be a few nutcases who _do_ want to be martyrs. ---
**Author:** ![TheTooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/919ad9/32.png) [@TheTooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTooth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/284 "2024-11-05T22:13:40Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Well, they are very corrosive… And often find themselves charged. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/285 "2024-11-05T22:33:14Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Their cosplay didn’t work out the way they expected and I think a large majority of them sit out the calls to action this time. This may or may not be true (as, non-snarkily, I have no idea) but I fear just a few Timothy McVeighs in the right places could shed a lot of blood. But, again, I have no idea except that it wouldn’t necessarily take a big, popular upwelling of stupidity and fanaticism. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/286 "2024-11-05T22:44:28Z")
> [@TheTooth](#): > > And often find themselves charged. They’re just crusty. Brush off those contacts and try again, I say. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/287 "2024-11-05T22:48:30Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > This may or may not be true (as, non-snarkily, I have no idea) but I fear just a few Timothy McVeighs in the right places could shed a lot of blood. That is always a concern, but bears no resemblance to January 6. Lest you forget, what happened on January 6 was an unprecedented event, at least in modern times, and we are unsure if such a thing will ever happen again (and hope it won’t). Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City bombing happened almost 30 years ago, and wasn’t the first instance of domestic terrorism in this country, and wasn’t the last. Now, it was and remains the _deadliest_ one, but is far from the only one. Invoking lone nuts like McVeigh is an unrelated tangent to the idea of another January 6th-style insurrection attempt. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/288 "2024-11-05T23:17:47Z")
Best analogy I can think of is waiting for my prostate biopsy results to come back. If it’s bad news (which it was, but 15+ years later I’m still making my daughters’ lives miserable), at least there’s a target to focus on; but until then, there’s just an amorphous blob of dread. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/289 "2024-11-05T23:23:51Z")
Or worse, OANN. One of my Facebook friends (RIP Bryan) was in a motel a few years ago, and that’s the channel in the breakfast nook. He asked them to change it, and they said they’d had a lot of complaints but that’s what the management required them to show. That said, at least where I am (Iowa) things appear to be going smoothly. Hope it stays that way. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/290 "2024-11-05T23:34:24Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Invoking lone nuts like McVeigh is an unrelated tangent to the idea of another January 6th-style insurrection attempt. My point is that - contrary to many posters who have said, essentially, that MAGAts are all fat, weak cowards and, therefore, nothing bad will happen - very bad shit can still happen, and it doesn’t necessarily take many people to do it, whether they are “lone nuts like McVeigh” or not. And, contrary to it being “an unrelated tangent” (or whatever crime “bucket” that you categorize it in), there are still significant consequences that can’t be wished away through some category effort. So, wrt “invoking line nuts” vs Jan 6 mobs, so what? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/291 "2024-11-05T23:39:42Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > My point is that - contrary to many posters who have said, essentially, that MAGAts are all fat, weak cowards and, therefore, nothing bad will happen - very bad shit can still happen, and it doesn’t necessarily take many people to do it, whether they are “lone nuts like McVeigh” or not. I’m curious about the “many posters” who have said “that MAGAts are all fat, weak cowards and, therefore, nothing bad will happen”. Sounds like you are the one who is overgeneralizing here. What posters _are_ saying, including me, is that there is not going to be some upswell of right wing anger from hordes of MAGA folks to cause widespread chaos. Because many of them are, indeed, cowards. (Not sure how “fat” or “weak” matters; a fat and/or weak person can still be dangerous.) Show me who has suggested that right wing domestic terrorism doesn’t exist anymore, otherwise this is just a straw man argument. ETA: And yes, there might be an incident here and there as a result of this election, but we’re not going to see widespread terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/292 "2024-11-05T23:48:28Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > My point is that - contrary to many posters who have said, essentially, that MAGAts are all fat, weak cowards and, therefore, nothing bad will happen - very bad shit can still happen, and it doesn’t necessarily take many people to do it, whether they are “lone nuts like McVeigh” or not. You don’t have to be an athlete to fire a gun. Or to search online for other possible ways for disruption and destruction. As Trump has showed us, you don’t have to be smart for this. You don’t even need to be dedicated to a particular ideal. What they are afraid of is - losing money, or those ‘other people’. Which is a tremendous motivator for some. It’s total bullshit of course invented by the people that are rich and want more money. Said from a guy that is by some standards ‘rich’ and votes for tax increases for schools and other programs. I don’t want to be surrounded by idiots when I retire, but I fear it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/293 "2024-11-06T01:11:41Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Invoking lone nuts like McVeigh is an unrelated tangent to the idea of another January 6th-style insurrection attempt. Are you sure? Wasn’t McVeigh one of those sovcit type nuts and aren’t a number of the insurrectionists parroting sovcit nonsense? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/294 "2024-11-06T01:14:35Z")
I realize only a single-digit percentage of votes have been tabulated, but I am NOT liking what I am seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/295 "2024-11-06T01:16:50Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Wasn’t McVeigh one of those sovcit type nuts and aren’t a number of the insurrectionists parroting sovcit nonsense? Sort of, it was more of an anti-government survivalist bent than the SovCit “the law works differently than most people think” magic thinking. But there was a lot of crossover. Terry Nichols, convicted co-conspirator who helped radicalize McVeigh certainly shared a lot of ideas with what we hear from SovCits today. But I was more talking about the actual actions, not the philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/296 "2024-11-06T01:20:24Z")
If you want Harris to win you should be. If what we are seeing now is an actual indicator of how things will turn out, Harris will have flipped Ohio and Kansas (though I don’t expect either to be true) and managed to win North Carolina, as well as holding in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. If all of that ended up being true, and the rest of the election played out with blue states staying blue states and red states staying red states, it would be an overwhelming victory for her. Of course, none of those states I mentioned have been called yet, and there are still a lot of votes to count. So I’m not really super optimistic yet. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/297 "2024-11-06T01:29:34Z")
If you were hoping for immediate reassurance and catharsis that would have no danger of reversing, I think you were doomed to be disappointed… ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/298 "2024-11-06T01:30:14Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Or worse, OANN. Or better, ONN. > **[The Onion](https://www.youtube.com/@TheOnion/videos)** > > The Onion is America's Finest News Source. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/299 "2024-11-06T05:00:49Z")
Fuck every asshole who actually voted for RFKjr. WTF??? Throw Jill Stein in there too. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558/300 "2024-11-06T05:03:14Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Fuck every asshole who actually voted for RFKjr. WTF??? Throw Jill Stein in there too Agreed! Morons, every single one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-dreading-election-day/1007558.md?page=16)