this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2025
588 points (94.3% liked)

No Stupid Questions

37448 readers
1210 users here now

No such thing. Ask away!

!nostupidquestions is a community dedicated to being helpful and answering each others' questions on various topics.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must be legitimate questions. All post titles must include a question.

All posts must be legitimate questions, and all post titles must include a question. Questions that are joke or trolling questions, memes, song lyrics as title, etc. are not allowed here. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.



Rule 2- Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Questions which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding META posts and joke questions.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-question posts using the [META] tag on your post title.

On fridays, you are allowed to post meme and troll questions, on the condition that it's in text format only, and conforms with our other rules. These posts MUST include the [NSQ Friday] tag in their title.

If you post a serious question on friday and are looking only for legitimate answers, then please include the [Serious] tag on your post. Irrelevant replies will then be removed by moderators.



Rule 7- You can't intentionally annoy, mock, or harass other members.

If you intentionally annoy, mock, harass, or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.



Credits

Our breathtaking icon was bestowed upon us by @Cevilia!

The greatest banner of all time: by @TheOneWithTheHair!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

You know, DOGE, fascist president and corporations dictating what people can do, institutions being ruined, laws being ignored. Is there any way out of that or is it over? Is the USA done?

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Babalugats@lemmy.world 42 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

When it's all done and dusted, I hope it's the beginning of the end for corporate capitalism as we know it. Allowing them to become that big and powerful through corruption that they literally think that they can control the world, is insane.

This is happening because of greed.

[–] PhAzE@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It always happens because of greed. All of history.

[–] Babalugats@lemmy.world 1 points 23 hours ago

Yet not one lesson was learned. If anything, they've made it worse. No accountability, monopolies in almost every sector, or vast majority ownerships.

[–] mr_jawa@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Don’t discount religion in that mix.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Whether it's now or later, life has to get a lot worse before it gets better. People will have to feel a lot more pain than they're feeling now before they do more than bitch and moan online.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] darcranium123@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

We are about to become a cautionary tale other countries use to warn eachother not to go too hard into capitalism

[–] volvoxvsmarla@lemm.ee 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So, in the best case scenario, the US as we know it is done and, after a hard fall and hitting rock bottom, will emerge as a country that is less of a capitalist hellhole. Ideally, in the process, other countries will find more independence from the USA, be it trade wise or security wise.

The more realistic scenario is that everything will stay the same/similar and just get slightly worse all the time but every other country will still suck up to the USA and everything gets a little worse. Oh yeah and climate change will fuck everyone up the ass.

The worst case scenario, I would argue, is that this ends in the destruction of the world via nuclear war within less than an hour. This is what I am scared of the most.

[–] Azal@pawb.social 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The worst case scenario, I would argue, is that this ends in the destruction of the world via nuclear war within less than an hour. This is what I am scared of the most.

I just want to know ahead of time frankly because I know where the nuke is likely to hit in our city and I'm out of the insta-vaporize zone so I want to get closer.

[–] volvoxvsmarla@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

I'm afraid you won't have time. It will take minutes. And I'm not even sure it would be announced.

[–] expLogian@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

I joined Lemmy today, and while reading the TOS I had a sigh of relief when I got to the end and the US was not on the list of countries it follows the laws of. Instead it's the three countries at the top of my wishlist of places I'd like to flee to to avoid being sent to a camp, even! Well, Finland has the same problem Canada has of having one of the worst neighbors in the world right now, but Germany and the Netherlands are great options. Rule 1 would have only weeks, maybe months, to live before Elon Musk ordered discrimination against minorities to be mandatory instead of prohibited if Lemmy was following the laws of the dying country I live in. Well, "laws". We don't really have laws anymore, it's all royal decrees now. Everybody is currently holding their breath on whether they've consolidated dictatorial power well enough to enforce them.

[–] Alsjemenou@lemy.nl 25 points 1 day ago

In a sense it is done. That sense is being a beacon of progress. All presidents before Trump understood the relationship America had with the world as being a world power. While there always was a conservative voice in America, conservative presidents were always able to mask self interest under the flag of progress, bringing democracy, peace and free markets. Now ultraconservative fascist are no longer masking, Trump and Musk are literally not smart enough to understand. The USA played a very important role in the world order and the current administration is basically giving that up.

Trump and Musk, because they really aren't smart (i can't stress this enough, they lack the mental capacity), are not considering the value of that role, the services the US provides. They only think about the value of things and of money. More rockets, tarifs on goods, expenditure... And see these as things along which progress is measured.

While that does, to a small extent, captures progress. It forgets the foundations of progress, peace, education, financial security, social cohesion, to name a few. Sorry, i say forget... But really what i should be saying is dismantling. They are also clueless about the value of services and the service economy. Which is, or has become, another measure of progress.

Anyway the point is, the US can't maintain their position in the world order. They can't maintain a government that understands their responsibility in that order. They abandoned their classic role without providing the world with a new/better one.

The US has been degraded to a trade partner.

[–] Snowclone@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yes. How much and for how long is the real questions, luckily I live in CA and if the country dissolves we'll just do everything ourselves. In fact, We'll be better off as we provide 60% of the US tax revenue, and we get noting close to that in return.

[–] Deifyed@lemmy.ml 58 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Just wanted to say: react now. Their actions will slowly get normalized and it will be a much harder fight once culture starts working against you

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 54 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (8 children)

We live in a criminally stupid country but Musk is doing his best to show everyone that being a billionaire should be a crime.

Edit: the tweet is fake, btw

[–] button_masher@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 days ago

It's scary how plausible this tweet sounds in this age. I had to frantically Google to make sure this wasn't a true tweet haha 😅

There's usually stuff "unspoken" and it seems the folks in power are slowly removing that veil.. with minimal repercussions.

[–] garretble@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I hate this dumbshit as much as trump, but we shouldn't be sharing fake twitter posts. It doesn't help anything.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] JigglypuffSeenFromAbove@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago (2 children)
load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[–] rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We been screwed for decades; all the minor plot threads, foreshadowing, and chekhov's implements are all just coalescing at the same time for one last grand finale.

[–] tacosplease@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingerich, Mitch McConnell, and now Trump (and arguably many others along the way) have been choosing self over country and intentionally breaking safeguards for longer than most of us on Lemmy have been alive. It's indirect violence. But it's violence regardless. And they've gotten away with it so far.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] sunbytes@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Screwed is always relative.

I'm hearing chat that immigrants from places like Turkey or India are going "oh yeah this is what it's like back home".

So it's possible it just goes full neoliberal (i.e. no consequences or regulations for the rich) and the division of wealth grows even further.

Provided he doesn't cause a war or some kind of other mass-death problem (chemical spills, reactor meltdown etc) it might just have a cost primarily in human suffering, as opposed to human life.

[–] lurklurk@lemmy.world 34 points 2 days ago (5 children)

It's never over.

Even the worst dictatorship can collapse. They get internally couped until the dictator learns to purge anyone capable of challenging them, then human mortality fixes that dictator and the government collapses

It's not good though. The best time to fix it was ages ago before Reagan. The second best time is right now before the police state is firmly in place

[–] nshibj@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The second best time to fix this was 4 years ago, when the Capitol was attacked to try to overturn a democratic election. But the USA has a big problem: nothing was done. A criminal staged a coup and failed. And nothing was done. He was allowed to go free, run for president and now he is in charge. The USA already failed years ago and now is just reaping what it allowed fascism to sow. Because nothing was ever done about it.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago
[–] PlantDadManGuy@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago

We're cooked fam. Can't wait for the reboot.

[–] Wahots@pawb.social 36 points 2 days ago (3 children)

No, I don't think so. Large portions of government like the CDC, USAID, FEMA and the IRS will take 20 years to rebuild, but the dialed in states like the West Coast will probably be largely fine. It's just such an unnecessary waste of time, resources, and human lives.

Apparently some of us don't remember our values unless they get their mouth curbstomped every 70 years and remember some serious pain and suffering. Then the majority of people start voting for people that weren't dropped as babies and we will go back to a democracy again. Fuckin idiots.

In the meantime, enjoy the unencumbered spread of diseases like measles and HIV, preventable economic meltdowns from disassembling shit like the Fed, SEC and IRS and infrastructure stagnation due to gutting tax infrastructure and the firing of educated and experienced public workers that keep out road, bridges and internet working to say nothing of shit like sewers, water, power, rail, aviation, etc.

And just think, all of this rebuilding could have been prevented with one single vote for a normal candidate. We could have had 20 years of relative progress under our belt instead. 😊

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] meep_launcher@lemm.ee 76 points 2 days ago (28 children)

I hate to say it, but yes. Everything we've predicted from trump has come true thus far.

The insurrection was predicted

The migrant camps were predicted

The ice raids were predicted

Roe v Wade was predicted

~~Selling~~ Giving Ukraine to Russia was predicted

Banning DEI was predicted

The list goes on but more importantly these were all seen as hypothetical worst case scenarios. We should stop treating the next steps like they are hypothetical. America has fallen, and civil war is next.

Former presidents at least recognized they had the responsibility to take care of both the people who voted for them and the people who didn't. Trump only sees the people who voted for him and the people he needs to make an example of.

I hate to say it, but the DNC is weak and won't help us anymore. I supported Kamala like hell and believed that they could figure it out but they just don't and won't.

I'm not a violent person. I hate the thought that I'd ever be forced into a situation where I need to either learn how to fight or die (because right now I'm SOL). I never wanted to find myself rooting for assassins and feeling like the world would be better off of certain people were dead. I'd rather believe the world would be better off if certain people were alive.

But all I see in the future is a federal coup backed by sycophants in the Senate and supreme Court that then collides with the governors of blue states who won't bend the knee.

TL;Dr if we don't go full dictator, we are going to civil war, and we deserve it.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 33 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Trump only sees the people who voted for him and the people he needs to make an example of

Let's not pretend like Trump gives a shit about the people who voted for him.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (27 replies)
[–] j_overgrens@feddit.nl 24 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

It's telling that nowhere in this thread there's mention of the US demolishing it's relationship with its most important ally, Europe.

The US is a lost cause, nationally and globally. It might save it's state, but repairing a (already wobbly) international reputation will take decades.

Yeah destruction is done quickly, reputation and generally constructive policies (especially internationally) takes time.

What the US/Trump-Administration is doing, is just dumb (even for themselves). Europe almost has to slowly(?) cut ties with them, with what they're currently doing. And I do think "cutting ties with the US" increasingly gets more popular for a reason... Let's just hope that the same fate won't come over europe and that the current success of right-wing parties in europe is temporary...

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Honestly we were screwed long before now, but yes. Its going to be a slow decline into fascism until we collectively wise up. I do think there's a real possibility of that happening, but its going to take a lot of work.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›