I’m starting to really consider the whole “reality is a simulation” angle, and whoever is running the game has put in a cheat code. (not really really, but more than I ever have before)

It’s like a shitty unrealistic movie plot has unfolded over the past decade. And every time it looks like maybe things are heading back on track, BOOM, we get another event that just turns us right back on the track to crazytown.

I’m having a hard time coming up with anything I can cling to in the hopes that Project 2025 isn’t going to go exactly as planned down to the last detail.

How are we not going to become real-world Gilead (but with more racism)?

  • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 day ago

    You are experiencing what they want you to experience in this situation: A state of shock.

    This is “Shock and Awe.” It’s a blitz to make the enemy feel like the task to fight back is insurmountable and to give up before trying.

    Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy’s perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight

    This is not a military battle, but it is clear that Trump is practicing rapid dominance. He is using the Project 2025 pre-written Executive Orders to execute rapid dominance over the US government and make us feel shocked, confused, and desperate.

    Naomi Klein wrote The Shock Doctrine in response to the Iraq War, and this is the Shock Doctrine being used on the US citizenry to whip them into submission.

    We must resist this shock. The feeling you have, that it is hopeless, that no one is pushing back, is exactly how they want you to feel.

    Get involved in Mutual Aid. Give back to your local community. Check out of national politics, we can’t affect it anymore. Focus on building parallel systems (food banks, community gardens, community mesh-networks, community first aid) for people to rely on since we can no longer rely on the systems that Trump is actively trying to dismantle or twist to harm the American populace.

    Losing hope right now means losing the long-term battle against this. Losing hope is what they intend to force you into, broken, submissive, no hope. Do not go silent into that good night.

    If you’re asking for someone to push back with effectiveness, you can be one of the first by giving your skills to your community.

    In Klein’s own words:

    Trump is a rolling shock machine, which a recipe for keeping us scattered and reactive to the latest shocking news. There will be moments when we need to react forcefully and meaningfully to protect one another.


    EDIT: This also seems relevant right now:

    When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

    -Fred “Mister” Rogers

    • Azteh@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      I agree with all except the “Check out of national politics” part. You cant decide who is President anymore, but you should still keep an eye on what national laws they may pass or should be prevented from passing

    • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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      Naomi is brilliant and you’re right, her book perfectly describes what is happening to us right now. Thanks for elevating it into the conversation!

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 day ago

        You’re welcome. There’s lots of other real efforts, too. There’s been various successes at people preventing ICE from getting at people. I know a lot of people in /r/Seattle were doing the legwork of communications to help people avoid getting snared by ICE. The West coast will be a hold out. A school in Chicago also successfully repelled ICE agents from entering the school. Look for the helpers, they won’t be from the government anymore, they will be people like you and me.

    • in4apenny@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      Yeah grow a food coop for the first band of fascist thugs that show up with guns. We need to arm ourselves and train just as much as decentralize our food. If you think they’ll go away peacefully and leave our gardens alone you’re horribly naive.

    • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      Yes, OP’s asking where the alleged helpers are.

      Putting a much finer point on it, we just got a 4 year long demonstration of how utterly disinterested Democrats are in helping.