I think another way to look at it is that the GOP has been marching us towards fascism since at least Reagan, and if people had heeded the warnings then, America wouldn’t have collapsed now.
Ahh. Thank you. I’m glad to see the difference, now.
I agree with issues about premature rhetoric. Using the word “genocide” too early and eagerly kind of robs the power of it. But I’m not sure that this is a particularly important point, or that there’s really any practical way to get this right.
The spectrum of actions Trump is willing and able to do, definitely overlaps with the beginning of the genocide spectrum. If unchecked, he’s going to get there before too long. It’s not realistic to wait for the perfect opportunity to make accusations of genocide, we need to call it what it is before we actually get there.
Trump could also fuck up the nuclear escalation ladder. To be clear, he’s definitely too cowardly to start a shooting war that could graze a hair of his head. But he’s stupid enough to make dangerous boasts that could lead to some very dangerous miscalculations. And the Pentagon is in a chaotic state right now.
The worst part of it is, people are scrambling to protect Trump and us from the consequences of his actions. He’s not getting enough negative feedback to make him change course. So he’s going to just keep getting bolder and bolder until something really bad happens to the economy, or large parts of the population.
I think you mean when something really bad happens to HIM.
“And my work here is done.”
(I so fucking wish.)
this type of rhetoric is exactly what the OP was talking about. America has not collapsed. It may yet, it is teetering, but it has not fallen to anything that isn’t recoverable.
Thanks. I think I got Loving mixed up with this one in my head.
Yeah, I’ll respond to this one. I think they were all and have always been fascists. I didn’t really understand this until watching the last few years unfold, and learning a little about prominent Republican figures like G Gordon Liddy. This hellscape expanding before us is what Republicans always wanted. The only difference between past Republican Presidents and Trump is that past Republicans operated within the limits and norms of government and constitutional principles, but they absolutely if they’d had their druthers would have denied rights to women, immigrants, people of color and LGBTQ people (who died en masse thanks to Regean and others who gave not two flying fucks about AIDS.) They long and have always longed for the good old days of white supremacy when women were forced to bear and raise their children and they could beat the shit out of them at their leisure. They’ve always wanted a Christian theocracy and controlled media and banned books. They’ve always resented other people’s freedom.
Trump’s just the first one to make their dream a reality. He’s doing now what they never thought they could get away with.
Don’t blame fuckin’ liberals for that.
The thing is, we don’t know how many people are dying in Alligator Auschwitz, or if deportees are actually being offloaded in South Sudan, or over the ocean from 35000 feet. No one knows. The “ok they aren’t fascists yet” ICEstapo (is that too far?) aren’t letting anyone in to check.
If people don’t speak up now then someday the only option will be a shoot out when they come for you.
I know, that’s because the OP was idiotic. America has clearly collapsed, due in no small part by complacent Americans who just now started paying attention.
Remember that this sort of rhetoric is how MM28 communicates normally.
Sorry, but that kind of riposte is only appropriate during periods where corrective action has at least begun.
He only sexually assaulted one woman (that we know about), boasted about his ability to “grab [others] by the pussy,”, took a series of trips to Jeff Epstein’s Fantasy Island of Sex Trafficking, incited an attempted coup, threatened political opponents with persecution and encouraged followers to engage in violence, used campaign money to pay off a porn star he slept with, bragged about wanting to sleep with his daughter, creeped on teenage pageant contestants, and used his position as President to enrich himself, promote scammy cryptocurrency schemes, and install his patron Elon Musk into a role where he could illegally dismantle entire agencies and cut funding critical to the lives and well-being of millions of people. What the fuck does a guy have to do around here to rate a ‘7’? If he shot J.D. Vance in the head during a live television presser could get a fraction bump in grade?
George W. Bush (‘The Younger’) may have been a clueless dolt but that’s his own damn fault. He got an Ivy League education and an insider’s view of politics as well as having a former president on his Christmas card list who I’m sure could inform him about all of the mistakes and regrets one can have with hindsight. The notion that he was just a puppet manipulated by Dick ‘Mad Panda’ Cheney and Karl Rove for their own purposes makes for a pretty good Adam McKay movie but as President he is directly responsible for what was going on under his nose and had plenary authority to fire or effectively sideline every single person in his administration. Getting into two pointless wars that ended up being the longest and most costly in American history, allowing massive corruption and self-dealing within his administration, signing off on creating a permanent extralegal detainment camp where people were illegally renditioned and tortured at GITMO, and the complete gutting of the US economy with nobody being held accountable for anything are all on him as the guy who could have done something and instead spent much of his time on vacation or practicing landing on an aircraft carrier for the world’s dumbest and most expensive photo op.
This stupid motherfucker deserves every bit of criticism and recrimination thrown at him, all the more for retreating from the field to do paint color-by-numbers dog pictures and neither apologizing for his failings or stepping up and warning the public about what was being done to the GOP that his henchmen helped set in motion. Fuck that guy.
Stranger
Who exactly do you think is going to recover it?
Trump has proven that Presidents don’t have to follow the law. Where do we go from there? You think the Supreme Court is suddenly going to change its mind? You think the people are going to cross the aisle and collectively demand justice and suddenly hold hands and sing about love and tolerance? IF the Democrats by some miracle regain power, the precedent has been set and they’ll break the law in all the ways they can. We’re not going back to a constitutionally grounded government.
My job as a human being, I think, is to find a way to still have compassion and love and hope and to be anathema to Trump and his ilk, and that’s the only salvation I can really see for myself, personally. I’m not doing great at it lately.
Dammit, Ninja’d!
Don’t y’all love it when the person opposite you at the poker table tells you not to worry because you’re doin’ just fine and dandy? 
YET??? Good grief, he hasn’t been in office long enough to gestate a full term infant, and we are already at the stage of pardoning convicted violent felons, imprisoning people who are “undesirable” based on their skin color and gutting federal services that benefit poor individuals (WIC, Medicaid, SNAP etc). If these assaults continue at this rate for the next four years we are going to wish we had been less complacent rather than “too hysterical.”
As I said in the OP, I’ve seen those exact literal claims here on this message board.
If things get bad, and people overwhelmingly vote against MAGA folks (which we saw happen to a lesser degree in the 2018 elections), that might cause politicians to want to distance themselves from these policies. When Trump dies (which could really be any day) they’ll lose that rallying figure to energize supporters.
In a best-case scenario, Trump might have exposed some serious flaws that can be corrected through legislation. Like a company revamping its security after being hacked. It could end up being stronger in the long run.
I’m not saying this can be counted on, or is even likely. But the country is absolutely not at the point where recovery is impossible.
One tenth as often as you’ve seen complaints that are backed up by cites?