Back in 2015, about 5 mo the after my youngest was born, I had the (at the time) most horrific day I ever had in my life. Long story short, I got fired from my job (for mistakenly thinking HR was on my side), my oldest son had a note sent home about a live breakout at his daycare, and it rained so hard in n 30 minutes that my house flooded (the top of the mailbox was almost under water).
I got home and was upset because of being fired (I was already beyond burned out from the job to begin with), and I was trying to patiently sift through my son’s hair to check for lice. I was not a very patient person at that point, said fuck it, and grabbed my hair clippers to shave my son’s head bald. I’ve never shaved anyone else’s head, but my own, so I probably was a little too aggressive, and the unit got hot and burned my son.
My 5mo was crying, so I took him and was trying to calm him down. Around this point the storm of the century began. It was so bad that lightning hit really close to the house (three times). Each time it hit, the lights would go off and back on, and then thunder struck. It was very disturbing to say the least.
Then the water began to rise. And it kept rising. And it wouldn’t stop. No matter how much I panicked and begged for it to stop. I was personally in tears. Then I noticed my neighbor trying to drive through the flooded waters, and her car got swept away by the water. I saw the water reaching her side view mirrors, and I handed my wife the baby and was about to bolt out the door to try to do “something” (it was straight instinct).
In short order, the rain started stopping, and all the water started receding. My panic slowly faded as I realized we weren’t going to drown. In no time my neighbors (most who we hadn’t met yet) all descended on my house with mops, buckets, and fans to help start cleaning up the mess. The carpet and bottom 6” of drywall were ruined. I spent my unscheduled vacation pulling up the carpet, replacing the soaked drywall, and even painting the office (it got flooded too).
Our office and living room was crammed into our dining room/kitchen (thank goodness for open concepts). We eventually replaced the carpet and painted everything. I wet vacuumed my car and removed 16 gallons of water, took out the seats, and put fans on it for a week straight.
Those neighbors became our best friends. We all still stay in touch and have multiple get togethers each year. A lot has changed since that day, myself included. I consider it for the better.
All that to say: this too shall pass.
That’s a nice story and all, but what happens when your wife is an immigrant and your neighbors all decide to “do something about it?” Or they just say nothing as the federal goons come to deport them.
There are incalculable ways for this to NOT pass for millions of us. Saying this too shall pass is some privileged bullshit.
First of all, I’m not going to apologize for attempting to comfort anybody. There is no privilege in that.
Secondly, I get you’re mad and scared/worried (or whatever adjective you prefer for how you’re feeling right now), but let me assure you that I am not your enemy. Do not follow in your neighbor’s footsteps; focus your anger where it belongs: the establishment, and billionaires. They are the threat. Not you or me.
Fine. Fair enough. I just feel there is a better way to comfort people than misleading them.
Just want to call out, there is harm in false comfort. Building a false sense of security and optimism can encourage people to not take preventative actions. Not every storm blows over.
Saying this too shall pass is some privileged bullshit.
Or maybe people trying to give each other comfort and hope.
You’re still responsible for taking whatever measures you feel necessary but lets not attack people trying to help.
You’re not entitled to harm people on your side, we’ve done that for the last decade and all it’s gotten us is a fractured ideology with a hundred different camps of people bitching about minor differences in what progressive things are good or not, and allowed a monster to get elected because nobody cares about trying to make leftists happy anymore. Lash out at someone else who actually deserves it.
Fucking hell, this is why we’ll never have nice things. Our side is just as emotional but not quite dumb enough to unify and focus on one target.
Haha LMAO, bro you need to chill.
My mood improved considerably after republican lawmakers started opposing his appointees, he clearly won’t be able to accomplish as much harm as he wants to with a splintered faction.
Tbh my faith in humanity wasn’t high enough to ignore the aggregate polls to start with. Can’t be disappointed if you have no hopes.
Sucks for climate goals, poor people, and minorities but I’m hoping to ditch the USA soon if I find an opportunity.
My mood improved considerably after republican lawmakers started opposing his appointees, he clearly won’t be able to accomplish as much harm as he wants to.
They’re furrowing their brows, Susan Collins style. It doesn’t mean anything.
Mitch McConnell already denied appointment during a Recess, that means the appointments require a senate majority or will face delays.
Thats already something.
Ready for the military to go through the county and ethnically cleanse you, or your family, or your neighbors and co-workers? Ready to find out what bread lines are like? Ready to experience population collapse?
Lol your psychotic. Turn off the news, put down your phone and go touch grass. Jesus.
Let’s play a game! Which of these quotes are Trump’s, and which are Hitler’s?
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“Jews and migrants are poisoning Aryan blood,”
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“They’re poisoning the blood of our country. That’s what they’ve done,”
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“I will get rid of the communist vermin”
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“They’re coming into our country, from Africa, from Asia, over the world. They’re pouring into our country.”
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“I will take care of the enemy within”
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“We pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that lie and steal and cheat on elections … The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within.”
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“One people, one realm, one leader.”
Here is the answer key: Every other one is a Hitler quote, starting with the first one. And yet, these quotes are in significant overlap. We shouldn’t have a president who is taking a page out of Hitler’s book.
@wanderingmagus Ok, I will remind you on Wednesday Mar 19, 2025 at 1:13 PM PDT.
Okay, be real. Trump isn’t going to let there be bread lines; he won’t set any up, and any public direct action is going to be disrupted with the military and cops. People will starve.
Honestly, that would be one of the few ways I can see out of this mess. Because this… this would evoke resistance, this would evoke outrage and I think they’re not going to give us that just yet. They’re going to cook us slowly.
Fascism isn’t digging it’s claws into the West “Beerhall Putsch”-style, it’s going to be “Prussia contra Reich”-style.
The ruling basically tolerated a breach of the constitution because the court shied away from accusing the President of a breach of the constitution. (Translated from german Wikipedia “Preußen contra Reich”)
It’s not going to be ethnic cleansing right now, it’s not going to be bread lines just now. But the fascist takeover is already happening and has been happening for quite some time and it looks like this: The quiet abolition of checks and balances through the courts and the continuous erosion of legal barriers to a party-dictatorship. It’s about gerrymandering, right to vote, about free press, free speech and multiple media conglomerates worth of disinformation.
The next four years will be one legal battle after another and one (relatively small) overstepping of a boundary after another. It’s not gonna start with the military in inner cities, it’s going to start with more immunities for police, with the eradication of resistance in the executive branch. New generals, new bureaucrats, new judges… if you want to know what Trumps takeover will look like… look to Hungary and Turkey, Trump and the entire GOP have already praised Orban and Erdogan as strong leaders and models for this new term.
Honestly I think hyperbole could be dangerous! If we now tell everyone to expect the goose-stepping, they will say “see, the bad things you predict don’t happen!” While completely ignoring the continuous erosion of the democratic ability to resist them through the system.
Yeah, things are going to get bad, but it’s going to happen slowly. So slowly that a lot of people panicking right now will calm down and go back to business as usual. We will be distracted and forget this is happening, until it’s too late to do anything about it. I’d be shocked if Trump is even president/alive still when America goes full mask-off fascist.
That’s what’s so insidious about it.
I’d be shocked if Trump is even president/alive still when America goes full mask-off fascist.
That’s not necessarily my position. I mean yeah, chances are good you’re right, but while things will escalate slowly at first, they’ll ramp up over time. The more their power is secure, the more americans segregate into a few (but populous) blue states and many (but empty) red states, the more the senate will gain power, the more positions in the bureaucracy, executive and judiciary they have secured, the bigger their overstepping is going to be and the faster shit’ll escalate.
And it’ll feel overwhelming and like too much happening at once the whole time. They’ll drain resistance by basically DDOSing the system, too many things to take care of, too many garbage fires at once and all the time the media is going to jump from one new development to the next, never following up on things, never allowing for a breather.
Man it’s going to be so much shit to shovel… and we’ll have elections in Germany too soon with a likely right wing government of Trump fans getting elected. I just want to cry.
Comic is too optimistic because here the fire was extinguished. In reality the fire has only gotten larger and is surrounded by all sorts of volatile elements.
Maybe if you give enough asspats to people who sat by and refused to help put out the fire, next time will be different.
Maybe if you keep ignoring fascists taking over the country and enabling the genocide of as many minorities as possibly, you’ll attain a truly equitable and equal world someday.
Or you’ll sit there with a smile as we’re thrown in camps and you get to stay smug and safe. Whichever.
