pics

It appears to be real. The federal government is currently in the midst of the most comprehensive purge in the history of the nation, and many career civil servants are being asked to retire early with a severance "or else". The worrying part should have come when Project 2025 laid out the groundwork for what is happening right at this very moment, back when it was first revealed. Trump intends to replace all of these government workers with yes-men and cronies who will be loyal to him and him alone, and not the constitution or the American people they are meant to serve. The damage being done right now will probably never be reversed in our lifetimes and will pave the way for absolute executive control - in other words, a dictatorship. This is not alarmist, this was the plan all along and nobody listened.

If you don't have a plan to GTFO in case things get even worse, I would start making one right now. You have to set an uncrossable line yourself and be prepared to act on it, because other people are going to continue to go along with this until the very end, so you can't count on other people to be giving you signals on when to bail out.

1. I see little reason to doubt it
2. It means whoever hoisted it considers there to be a crisis, which is consistent with accounts of public offices being overtaken by random young white men who are rapidly taking control.
3. Speaking as a non-American political scientist having worked a little with rule of law and fascism, it seems a bit late to start worrying. Think about what you can do for yourself, your neighbours, and your country, urgently or in the longer term. It's going to be ugly for a while.

#3 depends where you are on the hit list I suppose. I'm trans, so I'm well past worry-o-clock and am actively making arrangements to leave the country. Someone like a cishet white male tech worker has a lot less to worry about though

You should have been worrying for years now.

1. I think so.

2. That's unclear but my take is that this is an expression of the distress felt by the employees, and perhaps the only possible outlet for their feelings. I suspect that it's more likely the action of one or two people rather that some kind of collectively approved signal.

3. I just don't know. I'm not even American but I feel very discombobulated.

The new "phone, wallet, keys"