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As an outsider (I live in Belgium) it feels very weird and dystopian to see everything happening in American politics with Trump and Musk.

On one side, it's very interesting and almost entertaining; on the other side, it's scary. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in the USA.

Americans, how do you cope? What's your take on the situation?

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[–] pet1t@lemm.ee 12 points 3 days ago (4 children)

and there’s no leverage in government to stop them.

Do you think government will do anything at all in the coming weeks, months, years? I can't wrap my head around the situation at all. How does anyone with a slight bit of brains and a small grasp of history just accept this? It's so dystopian...

[–] usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml 28 points 3 days ago (2 children)

There have been people fighting back. They just get 10x less media coverage than all the horrible things going on. This is part of what people mean when they say the revolution will not be televised

Many of their actions have been blocked in many of the federal courts and they are largely complying with those orders

There are many federal workers refusing to go along with all kinds of their action that slow them down

Many blue states and localities have already passed laws/ordinances to stop cooperating with the federal government ICE raid making them more difficult to carry out

The revolution will not be televised.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Where can I find info on the people fighting back. I have found some judges, but the workers and people like that is hard to find in mainstream media.

[–] usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Democracy Docket is a good source for court battles. They cover all kinds of court cases and the updates on them you hardly find in other media

The other action is harder to find concentrated in one source, but there's people on various social media that try to signal boost the limited media coverage of that stuff. For instance, Ariella Elm (@ariellaelm.bsky.social), various activism groups like Indivisible, the r/fednews and r/50501 subreddit, etc.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 days ago

Thanks, I'll take a closer look at all of them.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Most people are living paycheck to paycheck, and the US is so big that getting from bumfuck, Arizona to DC is a monumental task. Hell, even getting from bumfuck, NY to Albany NY is impossible for some. It's all on purpose. Most Americans are barely getting by.

To add to that, half the country wants this

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Half the voting country wants this.

Edit: I just checked the polls, maybe you're right.

[–] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

My view from across the pond is that is bad enough that 30%ish of the country voted for this - but the 40% of non-voters (let's knock 10% off for people who are unable to vote through injury, commitments, or mental capacity or whatever) don't care enough to vote against it.

It leaves 60% of the country who are at least okay with how it's all working out. Frightening.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

My view from across the pond is that is bad enough that 30%ish of the country voted for this

That does sound like a fucked up number if you take it at face value. But I have found if you look at historical voting, about 35% are always going to be bat shit crazy on how they vote. Is it not like that where you're from?

[–] Bad_Engineering@fedia.io 18 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Over 50% of our population reads below a 6th year education and our school system has been steadily defunded and dumbed down over the past 40 years. A large portion of Americans only have 2 brain cells and they're both busy fighting for 3rd place. Ignorance and a lack of critical thinking skills is what has gotten us into this situation and I don't know if we have what it takes to get us out of it.

[–] djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

How do we even get out of it? How do you reconcile the fact that Americans live in entirely separate realities to each other? How are we meant to educate and connect to a group of people who demonize education and connection? Like I honestly don't know what can be done for some of these people short of actual re-education camps, because they need a full mental debriefing.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Don't forget the 24/7 propaganda networks telling them they should be angry at immigrants and people who are different from them and that only these specific oligarchs are the ones who can save them from the libs.

[–] pet1t@lemm.ee 8 points 3 days ago

A large portion of Americans only have 2 brain cells and they’re both busy fighting for 3rd place

I'll steal this one. That's a marvelous quote

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The people that want to rule in the coming dictatorship run the government currently, the GOP holds every lever of power including the federal "police" force and has installed loyal "yes men." It's the whole reason you read about "buyouts" to let people resign, it's so they can all be replaced with people who have to undergo a new loyalty test they're implementing which apparently ask questions along the lines of "how do you feel the January 6th protestors were treated?" Looking for an answer of "unfairly" or something.

There is no force within the government that isn't under their control. There are individual judges scattered around the country that can try to stop the worst offences with sternly written letters, but with no method of enforcement, the paper just gets torn and ignored.

The people with "brains" are diseased with the greed virus and have looked to history, seeing that Germany was stopped by force and knowing there is no force that could stop us. There is no stopping fascism when it goes full tilt here in America, there is no outside force that has the capacity to free us. It will somehow have to happen from within and I honestly don't see that happening with all the new methods of technology driven monitoring and successful propaganda outlets.

[–] pet1t@lemm.ee 4 points 3 days ago

there is no force that could stop us

... yet! I have some hope in the EU becoming stronger together and try to do something against it. I don't know what, but something...