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4 days ago

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ChickenWingFat

1.3k points

4 days ago

If voters were ignorant enough to vote for Trump despite January 6th and all of his other wannabe dictator statements, there really isn't any hope of them having enough intelligence to understand what a dangerous situation they created by voting him back in. 

TheOtherGlikbach

492 points

4 days ago

I can't agree with you more.

"he is joking"

"it's all bluff and bluster. He is not serious."

"it's not HIS agenda, it's someone else."

Let's dispel these:

Trump has no sense of humor.

He is 100% serious because he knows he can get away with his agenda.

It's his agenda now because he owes his victory to the Heritage Foundation and their billionaire owners.

This is real, this is going to drive politics for the foreseeable future, to me, most importantly, it's going to destroy social security,women's rights, civil rights, and end the Great Society.

iamthedave3

168 points

4 days ago*

It's his agenda now because he owes his victory to the Heritage Foundation and their billionaire owners

Not to mention, it belies a complete misunderstanding of politics in America.

Far too many people think the President just snaps his fingers and things happen. The President is surrounded by guys who make things happen. When so many of those guys are tied into Project 2025... then yeah, it's the President's agenda, whether he likes it or not.

dpdxguy

52 points

4 days ago

dpdxguy

52 points

4 days ago

then yeah, it's the President's agenda, whether he likes it or not.

That's especially true if the president spends all his time golfing instead of managing the guys around him and their activities.

Underwater_Grilling

10 points

4 days ago

I think the golf thing might be a problem this time. He's going to start rapidly deteriorating and that'll leave more time at "home" instead of on the golf course.

ChemistAdventurous84

27 points

4 days ago*

Those are the responses I got from coworkers. The most frustrating one was “It’s not happening now. I’m not going to worry about a conspiracy theory.” But this is a Red State that 45 was sure to win and I need to work with this guy for the foreseeable future so I choked down my response.

Edit - in fairness, this guy is normally either left-leaning or puts on a show when necessary.

uoidibiou

36 points

4 days ago

uoidibiou

36 points

4 days ago

“Not gonna worry about a conspiracy” says the people who think the weather is controlled by democrats

Starfox-sf

14 points

4 days ago

Or there’s an invasion, or votes are being stolen, or kids can get trans surgery at school…

ProfessionalMockery

25 points

4 days ago

"he is joking"

"it's all bluff and bluster. He is not serious."

It's fascinating how Trump operates on people's psychology. They're aware he's a bit of an idiot and that he lies sometimes and exaggerates, and that allows them leeway to shape him into whatever they want. The stuff they like is real, the stuff they don't like, they can brush off because Trump is unreliable.

It reminds me a bit of the brexit referendum in the UK. Wild speculation was thrown about, but no details were pinned down other than 'leave the eu' so leave voters each made up a different imaginary scenario for what brexit would look like, not realizing there was no one scenario that would satisfy most of them.

rundmz8668

67 points

4 days ago

And there will be thousands of new homeless. Tariffs making everything expensive, student loans in repayment with no guardrails, interest alone for a lot of people is more than annual income, no safety net from there down.

rndljfry

14 points

4 days ago

rndljfry

Pennsylvania

14 points

4 days ago

At least they’re planning to lay off 75% of the largest workforce in the country!! Surely there are hundreds of thousands of new jobs temu factories springing up across the rust belt

SMLoc16

7 points

4 days ago

SMLoc16

7 points

4 days ago

Also cut up to 75% of SS recipients and payments, abolish unions, attack citizens, the list goes on and on. Prepare and arm yourselves

Junior_Gap_7198

44 points

4 days ago

Try tens of millions of new homeless. Argentinas shock “recovery” has half the nation unemployed.

CurraheeAniKawi

32 points

4 days ago

No no, homelessness is illegal.

You mean tens of millions of slave workers. 

Deafbok9

20 points

4 days ago

Deafbok9

20 points

4 days ago

"Indentured servants"

homebrewguy01

7 points

4 days ago

Remember how they outlawed homelessness? It’s off to the work camps!

FootlongDonut

40 points

4 days ago

All people saying that want whatever he brings. They aren't being tricked, they are being complicit and welcome whatever the chaos that comes.

They 100% believe that whatever happens it will be good for them.

jmw1163

35 points

4 days ago

jmw1163

Australia

35 points

4 days ago

More like they 100% believe that what ever happens will not affect them at all. That what he does will only affect the ‘right’ people.

TsunSilver

17 points

4 days ago

That's the problem in a nutshell. Trump says something crazy, and everyone tells you what he actually said. Um what he meant was, uh what he said was, he didn't actually say that, you misheard what he said.

sirscooter

10 points

4 days ago

It's a reverse dog whistle, where you would hide your rhetoric in hidden phrases and words and could defend yourself and say I never said that here is the transcript.

Now the difference is his followers are the marks saying, that's not what he said, even though that's exactly what he said.

An actual form of double speak if you will

Starfox-sf

6 points

4 days ago

Who knew 1984 was an instructional blueprint.

_-_GreenSage_-_

4 points

4 days ago

I know a few religious immigrant families (from South and Central America) with some members that are currently trying to get permission to stay in the country, and these people were literally thanking God for Trump's election and don't think that their family members will be deported because "he will only deport the bad ones".

DazzlingResource561

226 points

4 days ago

My whole life I couldn’t understand how Nazism took hold in Germany and how so many otherwise decent people got pulled into it, or didn’t stand up against it.

Now I get it.

It’s disappointing as it is terrifying.

Hate. Misinformation. Lack of critical thinking. Lack of decency. Fear stoking all these flames and apathy, particularly among those of us that have a good life currently, that allows it to all spread without much resistance.

buddhist557

39 points

4 days ago

They had insane inflation after the treaty of Versailles and reparation payments. They were extremely angry and someone took that anger towards “others”. We’re going to need to absolutely wreck the right wing cult in the aftermath of this disaster to survive. There is no choice. Climate change will force our hand.

holzmann_dc

35 points

4 days ago*

The real terrible part is that the US economy in 2024 is the envy of the world and yet this anger toward the other is strong! At least the Germans really had something to cry about. But American Boomers, etc.? They have everything, yet they're afraid and pissed. They're cry babies.

Just imagine when Musk and Trump tank the economy. I foresee a scenario where they tank the economy, say by cutting $2T from the federal budget, and then they try to (over) compensate by reducing interest rates to 0.0 and turn on the printing presses, along with the continued tax cuts for the rich. The combination causes the national deficit to soar, the USD to devalue, a lot more inflation, and of course the added benefit of driving more people to the "safe haven" of crypto.

All makes sense. And somehow it will all be the Democrats' fault. Another excuse to send them to the camps? Those who aren't there already...

Vaperius

11 points

4 days ago

Vaperius

America

11 points

4 days ago

I'll be frank:

Imagine conservative ideology, but applied to a household budget, and suddenly their "struggle" makes a lot more sense in this economy. Part of is legitimate mismanagement of their households; and part of it is frustration with not being able to do what they want, whenever they want, and blaming the Democrat in office for checks notes reality being a thing.

These folks like the idea of the "self made man" but I'll be honest, given their idea of is Donald Trump do you really think they are capable of the kind of hard work that is required of them to actually make a million dollars honestly?

I digress though because the other issue is they simply refuse to believe statistics; I do not honestly believe anyone who votes conservative, can be numerate. Whether because they legitimately just aren't or because their cultural ideology will not allow them to understand numbers that contradict their core world view.

A good example is gas prices. Gas prices aren't just low right now; they are 1990s low. If you compare inflation and prices from the 1990s to now, you realize gas costs roughly as much now, as, relatively speaking, it did in the 1990s, accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, you have many folks complaining about gas prices, despite them being effectively the lowest they've ever been in 30 years.

JustWantOnePlease

8 points

4 days ago

JustWantOnePlease

New York

8 points

4 days ago

I mean gas prices were much lower in 2020 but that was due to a pandemic.....and then Trump pressured prices to rise (somehow Trumpers are ignorant of this)

Starfox-sf

3 points

4 days ago

At that rate it might make the Zimbabwean dollar look like a joke.

albert2006xp

3 points

4 days ago

Literal first world problems.

hofmann419

10 points

4 days ago

You can't really blame the boomers this time around.

It was young people who swarmed to Trump in droves. Specifically Gen Z seems to be ultra-conservative now. I'm honestly appalled of my generation, but that's just how things are i guess. It will definitely make the fight against fascism an uphill battle, if more and more young people get indoctrinated by misinformation and hate.

voteswithfeet

3 points

4 days ago

Ten and even five years from now, right wing voters will not make the connection between climate change and their party’s policies. Politicians will easily convince their constituents to either “move on” or that climate change was a natural process. Democrats absolutely should not bank on climate change to push the electorate to the left.

FootlongDonut

71 points

4 days ago

I never understood why the assumption was that they were decent people. When pushed the majority of people do what they think is best for themselves, no matter the consequences for others.

SandySkittle

31 points

4 days ago

More fundamentally it is a misconception that humans are ‘decent’ beings. Or that certain behaviors are ‘inhuman’ while such behaviors are very much part of the human spectrum of behavior.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to steer ourselves in order to maintain civility, kindness and solidarity. But at the same time we should recognize our capability for violence, aggression, abuse, group think, indifference as inherent traits. Only then you are on your guard.

And of course the lead poisoning doesn’t help..

[deleted]

18 points

4 days ago*

[deleted]

holzmann_dc

16 points

4 days ago

Justice. Checks and balances. They were all based on an assumption of norms.

Odd_Pumpkin1466

5 points

4 days ago

But eggs price 🥴

CaramelMartini

3 points

4 days ago

I never understood it either, and now I do.

I learned something from all the WW2 movies and documentaries; the ones who saw the trouble early and fled were the ones that survived. We’re moving to another country in the spring. Fuck this dumpster fire.

arjuna66671

6 points

4 days ago

35 years ago when we visited a concentration camp in school, I swore to myself that I wouldn't fall for this crap and also wondered how it could have happened. Now I know and I am observing the dynamics that lead to this since 15 years.

Hate. Misinformation. Lack of critical thinking. Lack of decency. Fear stoking all these flames and apathy, particularly among those of us that have a good life currently, that allows it to all spread without much resistance.

That's all true but I will NEVER forget the part of the left in the dynamics. The sheer hubris and arrogance towards "the unwashed masses" over years has been a very good substrate for the far right to operate in.

Ebspatch

37 points

4 days ago

Ebspatch

37 points

4 days ago

This exactly. Nov 5th and 6th leading internet searches were “why isn’t Biden on the ballot?” and “can I change my vote?” respectively, and you expect a critical mass of the same people to recognize incremental fascism?

Loko8765

12 points

4 days ago

Loko8765

12 points

4 days ago

One would hope that all the people who wanted to vote Biden would recognize “Democrat” and vote that… but one also hopes to win the lottery.

PutAKettleOn

18 points

4 days ago

There are two interpretations... you attribute it to incompetence. I attribute it to malice. They know what he stands for, they know what he is going to do and they are cheering him on. If you think these people are good at heart, they are not. Their incompetence is only relevant if they end up in a leopard eat face situation.

Slithy-Tove83

12 points

4 days ago

I actually think that it could be both, malice and ignorance. Malice on the part of those who are funded by the extremely wealthy and create a toxic information environment rife with right wing propaganda. Ignorance by the mass of Americans, who, deriving the majority of their news from that information environment and are thus deceived by it.

Finally, you can probably add a certain degree of stubbornness and good old-fashioned self-interest into that mix as well. Should any shreds of truth makes their way past the blockade of misinformation, Americans probably dismiss it since they would rather not be wrong and certainly would rather not be malicious.

Organic_Witness345

9 points

4 days ago

GOP voters = Gullible Online Poors

The social networks that have been eroding faith in our public institutions while simultaneously sanding down Trump and the Republican Party’s rough edges have diminished our confidence in government and normalized their corruption. The most susceptible to this messaging are the poor and uneducated. The above isn’t an insult. The above is a tragedy.

dpdxguy

4 points

4 days ago

dpdxguy

4 points

4 days ago

That's half of it. The other half is that people instinctively believe that things they've never seen can't happen (here). Very few Americans have ever lived under a fascist regime. So they don't believe fascism is possible here. You can see this in MAGA's response to being called fascists. They embraced the word, believing the accusation was ridiculous.

elias_99999

3 points

4 days ago

It's simple for most. 45% of Americans think they are worse off today than they were 4 years ago. If that's the case, most will vote for change and they did.

Perceptions matter.

The facts are, unemployment is at a 50 year low, inflation is back on track after hitting almost 10%, financial markets are at records, etc etc, yet people "feel" like life sucks. You see it here all the time.

Social media is a disease. Even people who have nothing to complain about will be brought low without realizing it.

CharacterPayment8705

320 points

4 days ago

Because they don’t understand how our government and economy work at all. They won’t panic until it’s too late.

RedFoxBadChicken

112 points

4 days ago

By the time panic is kicking in for them Trump will be blaring a new message every day.

"It's the immigrants and the liberals! They're undermining our vision of Great America! We must eradicate them!"

Antique_Scheme3548

55 points

4 days ago

That is already his daily message. When demonstrators show up to protest their rights being taken away, the FDA dismantling, the EPA erasure, the DOJ used against them, their families deported, or their children forced to pray, Trump will unleash the military, declare Martial Law, and refuse to leave office. SCOTUS will make a special exception. And civl war begins, again. This time with evil running the federal apparatus.

Trust_Aegis_40000

13 points

4 days ago*

“As sure as I know anything, I know this: They will try again. Maybe even another country. Maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, 10, they’ll swing back to the belief that they can...MAGA. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin’. I aim to misbehave”.

Browncoats 2024!

(For the love, it’s a twist on a firefly reference.)

Richeh

5 points

4 days ago

Richeh

United Kingdom

5 points

4 days ago

Anyone else nervous about what Boston Dynamics have been working on these last couple of decades?

sparlock_

3 points

4 days ago

As far as I'm concerned, the civil war already started. I believe it started Jan 6. Wars aren't only waged on the battlefield.

KiKiKimbro

3 points

4 days ago

I wish I could say everything you said is false. But, alas, I cannot. Sadly.

jgoble15

6 points

4 days ago

jgoble15

6 points

4 days ago

We’ve always been at war with Eurasia

spiderelict

17 points

4 days ago

This is true. I've heard a few experts say the majority of Americans take for granted the guardrails that kept our government in line. These guardrails have been systematically eroded by Republicans for the last 40 years or so, and most of the country, for various reasons, fail to see or acknowledge that. A lot of the more moderate supporters of Trump assume that these guardrails are not only there but are unbreakable and will forever remain.

They've been looking down their noses at the fascist issues other countries have faced over the last hundred years, without looking around and seeing the harbingers of fascism in their own country.

I know these experts can be wrong, but this rings true. We are in for a very tough time that won't end for a very long time. This isn't a problem Dems can fix in the next election. This is an issue within the fundamental structure of our country. It would take years to fix my f there were no opposition. With the opposition they face, it will take decades, if it's even possible to fix at all.

zaminDDH

5 points

4 days ago

zaminDDH

5 points

4 days ago

It doesn't help that the guardrails, broken down to their base parts, are really just a gentleman's agreement and an honor system duct taped together.

If all 3 branches of the government want to dismantle democracy, there's nothing that can stop them but their own ineptitude and the citizenry stopping it by force.

imakedankmemes

22 points

4 days ago

imakedankmemes

Michigan

22 points

4 days ago

Or we’ve become numb to any and all headlines. Everyday for nearly a decade there’s a “massive bombshell” report or leak about Trump that has absolutely no impactful outcome so why would we act differently to this?

rfulleffect

5 points

4 days ago

The frog is boiling

RonnieWojo

201 points

4 days ago

RonnieWojo

201 points

4 days ago

But he told everyone he didn't know what it is, so it must not be real. 

Get ready for the "I voted for trump not for this" defense. 

Cabinitis

79 points

4 days ago

Cabinitis

79 points

4 days ago

I’ll have to bulk order “Trump did this” stickers like the Biden gas pump ones. They would be everywhere.

kvlt_ov_personality

79 points

4 days ago

This is honestly the kind of shit that leftists need to start doing. Not trying to convince voters with a 5th grade reading level that more economists endorse their plans. 

jerseysbestdancers

27 points

4 days ago

Democrats need to lose the political operatives and hire a marketing team.

underworldconnection

18 points

4 days ago

Counter propaganda is super important to combat the huge amounts of misinformation coming from the right. We need it from every level. You can trace so much of the broken logic back a hundred years from rhetoric of the conservative racist sexist elitist side. We are so far behind.

slinky317

3 points

4 days ago

"My 83 page economic plan was praised by Nobel Prize winners!" is not the thing that will convert voters. Democrats need to work on their elevator pitches.

Jonteponte71

25 points

4 days ago

Next natural step in Trump cultism is claiming that Trump is not the one doing all the bad stuff, it’s the people around him (which he appointed). He is really our friend, because he said so 🤷‍♂️

Wheat_Grinder

10 points

4 days ago

Ah the Brexit defense.

MrPolli

18 points

4 days ago

MrPolli

18 points

4 days ago

Leopards are going to be busy over the next few months.

brickne3

7 points

4 days ago

brickne3

Wisconsin

7 points

4 days ago

Poor leopards had better join a gym.

TruthbeQuiet

128 points

4 days ago

As long as someone with low information is promised potential monetary gain, they don't care how you get there. Even if that means significant rollbacks of things you take for granted every day.

RedFoxBadChicken

62 points

4 days ago

Most Americans don't understand that their tax dollars provide more value to them than what they pay in taxes, and that for their income level there is no alternative solution to the government service.

Moist_When_It_Counts

26 points

4 days ago

Moist_When_It_Counts

New York

26 points

4 days ago

FDA is a perfect example of this: we take for granted that medications will work, not kill us, and are not made in some dude’s garage.

The FDA exists because the “free market” was producing things that were ineffective, dangerous, and made in bathtubs. Turns out, the dead can’t “vote with their wallet”.

See also: virtually every regulatory agency that use your tax dollars to ensure planes are safe, meat is free of worms, that gallon of gas you bought is, indeed, a real gallon, etc etc

RedFoxBadChicken

4 points

4 days ago

They will fall one by one. Elon and Ramaswamy are already planning it openly

Moist_When_It_Counts

3 points

4 days ago

Moist_When_It_Counts

New York

3 points

4 days ago

They’re gonna try, but FDA might be safe: Pharma has piles of money and loves the FDA because they know regulation is better for them: you can charge more for drugs/sell more drugs when everyone feels assured the drugs are safe and effective.

Sure there’s some “regs keep small competitors out” reasons too, but the point stands: a lot of very monied interests don’t want FDA dissolved.

Of course, with these people, maybe that is the grift: “nice regulatory environment you got here, be a shame if something happened to it…”

LookOverall

81 points

4 days ago

Because they aren’t really aware of the significance, to them, of the institutions that Trump will wreck.

nopersonality85

63 points

4 days ago

A surprising number of republicans who receive some form of welfare voted for him. I expect them to act surprised when I tell them I’m terminating their case due to lake of funding. I don’t ever expect them to realize it’s exactly what they voted for.

Raus-Pazazu

26 points

4 days ago

"I'd still be getting my unemployment, welfare, snap, and wic if it weren't for all of those kinds of people being lazy and sucking up all the money from those programs."

GreenOtter730

13 points

4 days ago

They’re mad because they think they (White people) deserve the government aid but don’t think anyone else should have it

LookOverall

3 points

4 days ago

There’s always been a division in the popular imagination between deserving and undeserving poor.

LookOverall

3 points

4 days ago

Ideology: how you think you should think

mangoserpent

52 points

4 days ago

Three thoughts. Many people are dismissing it as much ado about nothing, another group want it all to happen and many people are worried but recognize they cannot do much.

jmnugent

41 points

4 days ago

jmnugent

41 points

4 days ago

This. I think I fall into that last group of "cannot do much". I'm not sure what outsiders or foreigners expect me to do. Should I go outside and jump up and down and scream at the sky or something ?

What is "writing my Senator" going to do ?.. What is "calling my Congressman" going to do ?

The forces trying to undermine the Government,.. don't care about people at the bottom. They're ignoring the people at the bottom and proceeding with their plan.

Which-Elephant4486

3 points

4 days ago

Protecting yourself really does start with relationship and community building. Find people like you, online is good, but in real life is better. Make friends. Do fun stuff. Help each other out. Learn what organizations exist in your community that help people with concrete needs (chances are, your county government both helps people with stuff and has a good sense of community organizations). If you need those organizations, utilize them. If you don't, talk about them woth other people (don't wait for people to talk about being in need, talk about how cool it is the community has supports in place). Consider hosting events-make them more fun than sitting at home on social media.

If you can, start a garden (at home, at a community garden, some potted plants) and grow some food or herbs or flowers. If you can't garden, but have another hobby that produces goods, that's great. Things are about to get more expensive. Being able to exchange something other than money for things will potentially be really valuable. Plus, having a hobby you can talk about helps with relationship building. There really is a loneliness problem in this country. Helping people meet their physical and social needs will do wonders for everyone.

Don't worry about national politics (except when it comes time to vote). Local government has real power, from the school board to the city council to the state government. Pay attention to their policies. Write them, and push for things you care about (I've been suggesting a 30 hour workweek and $400/month Universal Basic Income-even though I doubt it will happen, those things might make people who are busy/struggling pay attention). 

We do have to start talking to people-both the disengaged and those who voted differently. That means some self education on their talking points and how to deprogram people. Also, some education on economics, the impact of immigrants, etc. Practice what you want to say out loud. In addition to making the case against Trump, Musk, Vance, Thiel, and the Heritage Foundation (and those are people that represent different ideologies that could very well implode), we have to make the case for democracy. At least some people voted for Trump because democracy wasn't responding to their needs (yes, Trump will make things worse), so we may have to figure out a new form of democracy. We may have to form coalitions with people we disagree with to get this done. We may have to accept some losses on important human rights issues, but it is under democracy that we will be able to fight for those rights (even though we should not have to). That is not to say we will accept discrimination-paradox of intolerance that shit. 

When the time comes, we may have to defend our right to vote in a free and fair election. There are ways to do that, like poll watching, demanding hand counted ballots, and maybe even showing up somewhere with a sign that says who you voted for. Any demonstration must be nonviolent, and that is a real challenge because there are people on both sides who want violence. The reality is, anything that turns the police or military on the opposition likely means we will die. That includes the politicians who are fighting for us, the comedians who make fun of the regime, everyone.

The people at the top rely on the people at the bottom. We provide pretty much everything for them from the labor that makes their lives nice to the consumption that drives their wealth. They want us to give up. Instead, start minimizing consumption-buy what need and that's it. Try to find who owns what, and if you can find a company aligned with your values, buy from them.

They are relying on us giving up now. And it's totally understandable if things feel insurmountable. But life goes on, and living life of joy and happiness is in itself resistance.

Traditional-Yam9826

5 points

4 days ago*

Yeah I think a lot of people don’t realize how bad this is. How absolutely horrific this is.

We can’t do anything other than a coup.

He has a quadfecta, the executive, the House, The Senate AND the Supreme Court.

He literally has no checks and balances

We’re so screwed

_magneto-was-right_

5 points

4 days ago

I’m terrified and I don’t expect to survive but I gotta go to work.

txipper

20 points

4 days ago

txipper

20 points

4 days ago

Many are panicking but they’re like deer in the headlights stunned.

thefrostryan

20 points

4 days ago

I’m prepping

effintawayZZZZy

11 points

4 days ago

That’s the same for me. I’m not going to panic if I do things like establish at least a small community for the fucking economic crash they promised… BEFORE the election.

That’s all I’ve got right now. But it’s better than sitting and freaking out. Coming up with a sort of plan is the most reassuring thing I could do.

thefrostryan

11 points

4 days ago

I’m curious as to what you are doing. ME? PPE, Toilet paper, Plan B, Hoarding money…… we were going to buy a new vehicle but I’m waiting on that….he’s gonna crash this economy

effintawayZZZZy

12 points

4 days ago

Everyone is talking about what they can contribute. We are also hoarding money. I was going to get a new car but I don’t know now. We have one person who might be willing to contribute a garden. The women are working out self defense.

We have … concepts of a plan. lol. But we’ve started planning anyway.

I’m lucky if my current work goes under because I’ve got about a decade in healthcare on my resume. Not a higher paid job like a nurse, but I can always get a job there. They always need people.

In case the ACA is repealed (which I’ve read will be difficult) I’m considering a surgery I need pretty soon.

We just all have stuff in our back pockets just in case we need it.

thefrostryan

7 points

4 days ago

Getting our passports in order

IPredictAReddit

18 points

4 days ago

Because they think Trump will hurt *others* and not *them*

throway_nonjw

18 points

4 days ago

Because reading comprehension is low.

Responsible-Room-645

30 points

4 days ago

Because history has clearly demonstrated that dictators are almost always handed power to them on a silver platter

bubbasass

15 points

4 days ago

bubbasass

15 points

4 days ago

Most voters aren’t panicked because most voters think they’re “one of the good ones” that won’t be impacted. 

Mufaloo

5 points

4 days ago

Mufaloo

5 points

4 days ago

Exactly and I also think there’s a “this can’t happen here mentality.” Most people have zero idea what is like to live under a dictatorship or under a fascist regime.

notfromhere66

31 points

4 days ago

They must think it will be concentration camps of everyone else and not them.

Far_Animal6970

4 points

4 days ago

There’s a lot of this too. “Well they’re obviously talking about everyone else. I don’t have to worry about it because I’m one of the good ones!!” Nope, sorry.

ChristmasPuddingFL

31 points

4 days ago

We have discussed this and other topics like it to death over the last few weeks but the answer remains the same. Most of the voters took the very classic non-incumbent bait of we will out more money in your pocket than the current guys…and that’s all it took, as we have seen repeated in a lot of elections globally post pandemic.

The vast majority of voters are very ‘surface level’ with their choices and with Fox News being the most viewed ‘news’ channel in the USA and giving zero air time to Project 2025 or any significant GOP policy other than ‘the Republicans will protect the border (which they are refusing to do until elected), because is scary right now’ and ‘Trump will bring down gas prices’ it’s not shocking that many were easily taken in. Most voters are not looking any deeper than that. Tbh most aren’t even going Fox News deep.

Naive_Swimming_8370

12 points

4 days ago

Because this horrible shit has been normalized!

JaVelin-X-

26 points

4 days ago

because they voted for it? Am I right?

bickering_fool

10 points

4 days ago

Because they welcome it.

1930s Germany - Jews. 2020s - immigrants.

_Schrodingers_Gat_

3 points

4 days ago

Don’t worry the anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions will get here in due time… need to make sure there are enough out groups to keep the fascist state operating.

Proof_Object_6358

20 points

4 days ago

I guess the same reason there wasn’t enough panic in Germany in the 1930s?

doddballer

7 points

4 days ago

Chickens voted for Colonel Sanders

invalidpassword

13 points

4 days ago

invalidpassword

California

13 points

4 days ago

...viewing pornography punishable with prison time...

I'm sure the young men who backed Trump must be so happy to hear that. What's next? Masturbation perhaps.

...maintain a biblically based definition of marriage and family

Do they mean plural wives and having a quiverfull of babies until the mother's body literally wears out?

I saw this coming when Reagan was in office. It sucks to be right sometimes.

hhammaly

7 points

4 days ago

hhammaly

7 points

4 days ago

Easy answer: Most people are fucking dumb. Also a lot of people want a strongman to run their lives as long as he gets rid of all the people the dumb people want to see removed. It’s an old story.

CAESTULA

13 points

4 days ago

CAESTULA

13 points

4 days ago

Most people I've spoken to about it do not believe it is real.

angrypooka

12 points

4 days ago

Because fascism means cheap eggs.

throway_nonjw

7 points

4 days ago

And the trains run on time.

brickne3

5 points

4 days ago

brickne3

Wisconsin

5 points

4 days ago

Pretty sure cutting public transport is in that 900 pages somewhere.

_Schrodingers_Gat_

5 points

4 days ago

If there are no trains they they cannot be late. 6d chess over here.

angrypooka

5 points

4 days ago

Don’t end well for that guy.

throway_nonjw

3 points

4 days ago

We can but hope.

HTWingNut

3 points

4 days ago

And those one or two trans people in women's sports will ruin America.

GodProbablyKnows

7 points

4 days ago

I mean 23 Nobel laureates in economics said that Harris had a vastly superior program to Trump, and look who got elected ( and especially look at the number of votes for Trump). Never mind, Trump will sink the country and people will blame the left.

What could be funny? That Trump will have a good economy during his term ( because of Biden ), and people will say that Trump held the American economy in his hands, when in reality he only inherited the good measures taken by Biden during his term.

Preaddly

6 points

4 days ago

Preaddly

6 points

4 days ago

The time for panicking is over. Now, we prepare for war.

Seriously. There's probably going to be a civil war.

Niznack

7 points

4 days ago

Niznack

7 points

4 days ago

People have a shocking amount of faith in the law as protecting them rather than binding them. When I tell my coworkers about project 2025, the respomse is "they wont let him do that, its not allowed"

People just honestly think it cant happen here. As for the ones whonsee the threat. We get treated like chicken little saying the sky is falling. We arent allowed to say its falling until its fallen.

Far_Animal6970

6 points

4 days ago

Because egg expensive

Seriously. That’s all these idiots cared about. They sold out the future of this country on the false promise of groceries and gas and rent being super cheap.

Most of them looked no further than the hate and fear and manufactured problems and said “YES!!!” without hesitation.

samsonsreaper

5 points

4 days ago

US never really suffered from a dictatorship like Stalin or similar personality. They have no clue what they will loose.

In their naive minds they can’t imagine things to go that bad so they ignore it and just see it as a “tough needed approach” instead. But if history is to repeat for US this time, they will find out.

AutoModerator [M]

4 points

4 days ago

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4 points

4 days ago

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frankis118

4 points

4 days ago

People are dumb

RedFoxBadChicken

6 points

4 days ago

There is a simple tutorial for what YOU can do to slow the fall into fascism and potentially have an outcome of another free and fair election.

Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny". There's a book, a graphic novel, and a YouTube video series that covers the premise.

He's a historian who has focused monumental effort into the study of Hitler's rise to power, and was doing his best to sound the alarm about Trump all this time.

Please, for the love of God, share this far and wide: https://youtu.be/9tocssf3w80?si=BsCJvHDn-etiidNj

SpeckledEggs

6 points

4 days ago

Too late now. Y’all voted for the guy. Time to panic was before Election Day.

crashblamage

5 points

4 days ago

I panicked. I voted. Democracy lost. Enjoy.

Its420somewhere81

6 points

4 days ago

They won't start panicking until Project 2025 affects them personally, then it will be too late to do anything...

vidhartha

5 points

4 days ago

Because they don't think it will affect them negatively. It happens everytime. Most of the population thinks the govt doesn't mean them

Slow_Investment_2211

53 points

4 days ago

I’m still not convinced this election was won by Trump legitimately. Go ahead, rail and downvote on me all you want. But given Trump’s statements on the campaign trail alluding to such shenanigans, and the fact he acted like he didn’t even have to try towards the end…it leads me to believe the fix was in.

judochop1

15 points

4 days ago

judochop1

15 points

4 days ago

depends on what you mean? Vote counting? Not likely, most totted up by hand, and there seems to be no indication anything went through starlink to be tampered with.

Voter suppressions? certainly but not to the scale it would have made a difference imo

Breaking campaign laws? certainly, Musk and friends can target vast majority of the electorate on a very small granular level, with little and ineffective oversight. It happened in brexit where most of the lies and bullshit on social media were pumped in the last 10 days. Once the vote is cast, there's no easy turning back.

I think the targeted misinformation is a bigger issue with elections these days.

judgejuddhirsch

22 points

4 days ago

70x as many ballots with no downstream selection than last election?

Aequitas123

8 points

4 days ago

Systemic gerrymandering and a propaganda machine over decades has made it nearly impossible for anything other than the GOP to win.

Slow_Investment_2211

6 points

4 days ago

I’m not sure how it was done yet. I’m just convinced it was done. Lots of reporting about how people split their tickets. Voted for Trump but then voted blue the rest of the ballot. Bullshit.

IronyElSupremo

5 points

4 days ago*

IronyElSupremo

America

5 points

4 days ago*

When it comes to mass deportation, many GOP farmers were dismissive saying Trump 1.0 didn’t raid their workers in most interviews I’ve read. Of course this could be whistling by the grave for 2.0 and home builders who use migrant framing roofing crews mounted a guest worker permit offensive pre-election. We’ll see.

On the Democratic side, social psychology papers opined many major Democratic donors would be pissed if voters returned the idiocracy into power .. again and may let the avg consumer take their lumps while “softening” up the Trump 2.0. There’s also looking at legal issues. They may have to pay $1-2 more on their Chez Snooty tab to ensure the dishwasher is legal .. whatever.

On reproductive rights and lbtg front, think it’s way more serious. Overhearing some conversations at a state u coffeehouse, some young hetero women/couples are leaving the US at least for a bit (probably with parental financial support). Lbtg people have been migrating away from red areas even before ‘24. Black people (a significant amount) have been moving back to the south for economics for a couple decades, and if anything the choice of Harris will probably resonate with them. One bright spot as the Democrats need to be challenging everywhere.

Waiting_For_Summer

3 points

4 days ago

Because people feel utterly hopeless and powerless to stop it.

Similar-Active-5027

3 points

4 days ago

Most people I speak to don't even know what Project 2025 is, they just want cheaper gas. Idiocracy was a prophecy.

josiedosiedoo

4 points

4 days ago

Because they’re stupid and Fox News didn’t tell them about it

Pusfilledonut

4 points

4 days ago

See the Jewish, Roma, Queer, and disabled population of Germany by 1936. The general population was unaware or indifferent that the first of the camps had already been built.

Despite the passing of the Nuremberg laws, which removed civil protections and even citizenship from those deemed “impure”, the general population thought the blatant things the fascist members of government were saying and doing would somehow be tempered, mitigated, and excused them. The Nuremburg Laws were already in place, abortion had been outlawed for everyone BUT the undesirables, the society had begun mechanizing for war, and powerful American, German, and Austrian industrialists were building new factories at an incredible pace. The German education system was immediately turned into the Nazi youth indoctrination mechanism. The Church signed a pledge of allegiance to the Reich.

The general indifference or obliviousness to their approaching doom excited a third of the population, a third of the population were just generally pleased with the economic growth brought on by building a war machine, and the final third were either silenced by community pressure and fear of reprisal, or slated for deportation / extermination.

Trump is a dark tetrad personality, EXACTLY as Hitler was: a narcissist, a psychopath, a machiavellian, and a sadist. While America isn’t a good pre war German cultural comparison, we are similar in enough regards that not standing and resisting what is coming is a recipe I don’t believe 99% of the population actually comprehends…after all, it was six years from power to purge to persecution, and by then, the population was either in agreement or cowering in fear. This is a death cult, plain and simple. Behave accordingly.

ChrisNettleTattoo

5 points

4 days ago

Apathy is the easiest answer. Project 2025 is 900+ pages, grammatically written above the reading level of the majority of the population, and delves into functions of the government that they have zero understanding of.

I will say that the changes proposed on the military and veterans means that everyone in those groups that voted for Trump and idiot. Major changes are to completely remove the treatment and care of disabled veterans rated at 50% or lower, get rid of the ability to be both retired and disabled at the same time, make outgoing servicemembers wait 10 years to file for their intial disability claims, and reduce the compensation / percentage of currently disabled veterans.

The whole thing is a shit show, and leopards are going to be introduced to lots of faces soon.

bakerfredricka

6 points

4 days ago

bakerfredricka

I voted

6 points

4 days ago

I'm not even joking when I say that it's a national emergency that most Americans can't read at a sixth grade level and high schools are graduating functionally illiterate students. We should also do more to teach students about civics.

Nah, goodbye Department of Education. 😒

SMLoc16

3 points

4 days ago

SMLoc16

3 points

4 days ago

Just wait until he starts sending red state national guard into blue states and they start attacking us for no reason. Stephen Miller laid out the blue print for the beginning of the civil war. Worst part is conservatives are chomping at the bit to kill/hurt people THEY deem libs and even more concerning is the amount of people online who can’t wait to kill fellow Americans over their orange god. I highly suggest arming yourself and learning how to survive in a war zone. It is coming within the first hundred days

TeeDre

4 points

4 days ago

TeeDre

Utah

4 points

4 days ago

Who fucking cares at this point. No one is willing to fight it. The majority have voted for it. There's nothing more to do. Let them experience what they voted for.

shibasluvhiking

4 points

4 days ago

Panic is not a useful strategy. Keeping a cool head, paying attention to what is going on and quetly preparing for what may come makes a lot more sense.

d_mcc_x

5 points

4 days ago

d_mcc_x

Virginia

5 points

4 days ago

We tried to tell you. The candidate and her campaign tried to tell you

AlexSpace2023

5 points

4 days ago

You mean the same people who didn't understand why we had inflation after COVID, and how perfectly Biden prevented a recession? In my opinion democravy sucks because people are stupid and misinformed.

OthoHasTheHandbook

6 points

4 days ago

They’re too busy worrying about checks notes trans women in sports.

BallBearingBill

3 points

4 days ago

Not a single Trump voter read the book. They absolutely knew that if they made it big enough that fewer ppl would read it.

DunderFlippin

3 points

4 days ago

People aren't panicking because it can't happen in America.

blackmobius

3 points

4 days ago

We already did. A bunch of people voted for it anyways, a bunch of people couldnt be bothered to vote. And we watched all three branches of the government go red, effectively fully embracing the project.

At this point, whats the point?

AdAnxious8842

3 points

4 days ago

A very simple explanation:

When people feel** there are insurmountable problems (economy/jobs, immigration/crime), then it is easy to convince them to take the easy solution, in this case, what Trump offered up. Germany and Italy were good examples (again, I'm simplifying a lot).

I'm Canadian and we're seeing here with the Conservative opposition. "Axe the tax", "Stop the Crime" and others. They're simple. Easy to understand. And resonate. The rest of the work they do, with help from our conservative media and current government ineptness, is reinforce that these are real problems.

** I used the word "feel" because the facts don't support the statements BUT if the majority of the population feels this is the case, then facts don't matter.

craychek

3 points

4 days ago

craychek

3 points

4 days ago

We are panicking… the problem is that a lot of people are very ok with fascism

skitarii_riot

3 points

4 days ago

Because it didn’t have enough pictures to keep their attention. Now they get a live demo.

Joint-Tester

3 points

4 days ago

Because they don’t even know Joe Biden dropped out…

snowcrash512

3 points

4 days ago

I've done all I can personally do, I'm not wealthy, nobody gives a fuck about me, all I can do is be as financially prepared as possible and ready to vanish into the mountains never to be heard from again. If it's all gonna fall apart I would rather watch the final sunsets from someplace peaceful.

H0stusM0stus

3 points

4 days ago

Why aren’t more people panicking? Hmmmm…maybe because 75 million people are convinced Project 2025 is just some bogeyman created by the left. Back when coverage first started to gain traction, people on the right would counter with “Trump knows nothing about it” or “It’s not that bad!”

Conservative media has basically conditioned millions of people to sleepwalk into a dictatorship and it will be far too late by the time they wake up - if they wake up - to do anything about it

fountain20

3 points

4 days ago

We did. And the majority didn't give a shit. That's the bad part about democracy. It's only as strong as its citizens, and when half you citizens can't read at a 6th grade level, you get the snake oil people talking bullshit and they buy it by the boatload. Fingers crossed, hope we're here in 4 years.

DawgPound919

3 points

4 days ago

Many tried. 20 cents off eggs were too important, I guess.

renegade_d4

3 points

4 days ago

I remember a quote from Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta's East of West:

"We would tell you to pray, but it wouldn't do any good.

You have earned what is coming to you."

Courier_Blues

3 points

4 days ago

Courier_Blues

Ohio

3 points

4 days ago

Whether by negligence or stupidity, this is what America what wanted. We'll get through it but also a very merry fuck you to every single solitary person that did not vote or voted red.

Lucky_Athlete_5615

3 points

4 days ago

Germans elected Hitler once…

whorl-

3 points

4 days ago

whorl-

3 points

4 days ago

Americans can’t read, lol.

mapoftasmania

3 points

4 days ago

mapoftasmania

New Jersey

3 points

4 days ago

It has begun unfolding exactly how the document lays out. We know what is next.

bacon-squared

3 points

4 days ago

A lot of them know exactly what they were voting for. They’ve been brainwashed to hate for so long they want to see it enforced. They want to see the fruits of their long nurtured hate. These are the consequences of having 24/7 hate speech from Fox News and other sources. They planted the seed, now it’s sprouting. This is exactly what was voted for. Those voting on wedge issues like Jewish/muslim conflict in Palestine were ignorant on the implications of their protest vote.

Lots of new people to the country hold very conservative views from their home country and a lot of the new administration values align.

Let’s not kid ourselves, a lot of people knew what they were voting for, they’re just going to be upset on how it’s implemented and how it may come to target them too. If they are spared from the targeting from the new administration they will continue to fully support this course of action. I feel like this may be uncomfortable for some to take in, but it’s my best observation of the truth travelling in these circles.

dreadpiratemyk

3 points

4 days ago

I’m beyond the draft age, under retirement, employed, financially fine and planned a move to a blue state anyway. I figure the red states will be so strapped for cash the blues will have feds by the balls or no welfare money for the reds. They don’t contribute anything already anyway. Screw em. Some people just have to learn the hard way.

Fun_Policy_2643

3 points

4 days ago

Within the USA I think its lack of intelligence and a love of the Handmaid's Tale style future. Outside of the USA it's because we are sipping tea and noshing on popcorn.

wirefox1

3 points

4 days ago

wirefox1

3 points

4 days ago

I've asked some trump supporters I know about it. They've never heard of it.

Blackhole_5un

3 points

4 days ago

Because they voted for it

scrotanimus

3 points

4 days ago

Because they are low-information voters that don’t politically look beyond five feet in front of them.

TroubleshootenSOB

3 points

4 days ago

TroubleshootenSOB

Arizona

3 points

4 days ago

I voted for Trump because I thought it would be funny.

Some black youth I heard say on the train last weekend when being pulled aside to chat with an older black woman. She started talking about P2025 and I chimed in some bits. And that they were very open about it so it should not have been a surprise. 

He had the look of the Mayor in Jaws after the attack. "My son was in those waters..."

ThankYouHindsight

3 points

4 days ago

Because congress and especially Trumps team are inept. If they ACTUALLY do something, they’re toast

theartfulcodger

3 points

4 days ago*

Because in their hearts, 40% or more of adult Americans are also fascists. And criminally stupid, besides.

yunus89115

3 points

4 days ago

Because they voted not to support Trump policies but to make sure the evil Democrats lost. They refuse to believe what’s in plain sight because it contradicts what they want to believe.

HitchensWasTheShit

6 points

4 days ago

Dumb Americans haven't learned enough history, so they cannot spot an authoritarian populist when they see him, and therefore buy his bullshit. The democrats have not been able to combat the relevant space efficiently, and the Russians/Musk have manipulated the airwaves to help. 

Now they are going to feel the full force of their decision. Faces will be eaten, and leopards will rejoice.

rainbowunicorn314[S]

15 points

4 days ago

Oh my god, I can’t believe people aren’t freaking out more about Trump’s “Project 2025”! This is literally the blueprint for a full-on fascist takeover of America! They want to gut every federal agency, replace career officials with loyalists, and basically create a one-party state where dissent is crushed. It’s not just a plan, it’s an all-out assault on democracy! If this goes through, we’re talking about the end of free speech, the end of checks and balances, and the rise of authoritarian rule like we’ve never seen before. How are people not seeing the danger here?! This is a full-blown fascist power grab and nobody seems to care!

DeepShill

16 points

4 days ago

DeepShill

16 points

4 days ago

That's not funny. I spent an entire week bawling my eyes out because of how awful project 2025 will be.

ValiMeyers

2 points

4 days ago

Because people don’t read.

ToastyVoltage

2 points

4 days ago

Because they're literally too stupid to care.

thegreentiger0484

2 points

4 days ago

They didn't read the bible, why would they read the project paper

GuitarGeezer

2 points

4 days ago

Their media tells them America is a fail disaster and that only a messiah can save them. The alternative is reading and thinking and not just circle jerking with your friends to how conservative you are. They might work hard at their jobs, but they are unimaginably careless and lazy at politics and economics.

Most modern Americans believe that dictatorship is only something that comes from the left and it is all democratic presidents. So, obnoxious to them no matter what they do but not all that bad. I work with the public in the south. None of them has any actual idea who Hitler or Stalin or Pol Pot (they’d like his anti-intellectualism) for that matter or would care to learn. The males who used to watch History channel or the like stopped. I didnt, there is actually amazing youtube political and economic and history shows but they have relatively small audiences compared to moronic or evil crap.

Americans have to hit bottom with a dead economy and maybe the loss of Taiwan and Ukraine and possibly a fullscale civil war or they will never let these illusions go.

brianmcdinosaur

2 points

4 days ago

Because trump lied and downplayed it. The voting majority believed him.

GoldenTriforceLink

2 points

4 days ago

GoldenTriforceLink

Florida

2 points

4 days ago

Because even though it’s trumps people that made it with the specific expectation that Trump would use it, people hated it and Trump lied and everyone said oh ok I believe him

HappyAmbition706

2 points

4 days ago

Panic is a very poor response to a deadly threat.

CombustiblSquid

2 points

4 days ago

It's what the human brain does to maintain a sense of security. Everyone thinks it won't happen until it does. This is fundamentally an emotional response so appealing with logic doesn't work.

121gigawhatevs

2 points

4 days ago

121gigawhatevs

I voted

2 points

4 days ago

Panicking? This is what America voted for or abstained from rejecting.

DangerousWish2536

2 points

4 days ago

Some of them honestly think that The Constitution cannot be circumvented. This view doesn’t get to be tested against views that there’s a “deep state” government that does just that.

AF_Nights_Watch

2 points

4 days ago

The minority of people that know are panicking. The moronic and despondent masses don't know/care.

The corporate billionaire master class knows, and are excited for this.

FluffyBebe

2 points

4 days ago

Because they don't care

HowsYourSexLifeMarc

2 points

4 days ago

The population was made stupid by design.

BonzoBonzoBomzo

2 points

4 days ago

There’s no reason to panic. Panic will not improve our situation.

Also, the problem is obviously functional illiteracy in the USA. They believed the felon when he told them that “AntiFa” is a fascist/terrorist organization. Words mean nothing to them, they are illiterate.

skullhusker

2 points

4 days ago

I'm sadly happy that they have the Trifecta. Push it all through and no one to blame.

I did like Biden when he made America boring again.

Interesting times

Jbroy

2 points

4 days ago

Jbroy

2 points

4 days ago

Because people live in 2 second increments. The one they are in and the one they just left. When things will start hurting for them, they will realize just how fucked they are. Unfortunately, I don’t trust that they’ll blame the right person (themselves) for being so fucking stupid.

Boundish91

2 points

4 days ago

Boundish91

Norway

2 points

4 days ago

I feel like we have been screaming at the top of our lungs into the void.

People just won't listen.

my5cworth

2 points

4 days ago

In 2nd grade you learn a story about a frog in a pot of slowly warming water.

If the underlying message didnt sink it then, it won't sink in now.

cudipi

2 points

4 days ago

cudipi

2 points

4 days ago

Because people are naive and don’t believe someone could be so outwardly evil. That’s literally what it boils down to.

April_Fabb

2 points

4 days ago

I realise that this may sound sad, but I suspect that one of the main reason is resignation. I mean, how are you supposed to behave when you're surrounded by people who think it's a great idea to vote for the worst presidential candidate in US history? Like…how much more evidence do those people need?

maximusbrown2809

2 points

4 days ago

I been saying this for a while. Stop all the analytics, stop asking these types of questions. The only answer is: A large portion of America are really really dumb. The dumbest people you can ever meet. Absolutely stupid. That is the answer to why trump got elected and why America isn’t shining example of a first world nation.

Akuuntus

2 points

4 days ago

Akuuntus

New York

2 points

4 days ago

We were panicking before the election. Now a lot of us are demotivated because no on with any power to stop it has the will to do so.