I didn’t vote for Trump, this is not a justification for anything he is doing, this is purely me trying to find any crumb of hope in this abysmal situation.
The country was in decline for at least a decade before Trump took office. So far everything has been a slow boil and we Americans just take it imo.
Maybe Trump will make everything so awful so quickly it will force actual change. Basically we were slowly heating the water and when it turned lukewarm Trump just cranked the heat up to max, maybe the frog realizes this and jumps out.
Reading these responses is so sad. I can see that a large number of people on here have fully embraced cynicism and active pessimism. This is the most damaging attitude possible when trying to create change. If you have this mindset, you’re not only not helping to make positive change, you’re actively working to drain any energy from those who might be in a better and more productive place than you.
To the OP, don’t give up hope. There are thousands of people around the country working right now to change things and resist the downfall of our country in whatever ways they can. The number is growing every day with each new outrage and attack, and energy is building quickly. If you can’t donate your time, donate your money to progressive organizations (look up the 50501 project for help finding them).
Nothing is going to change with blind optimism, but history is on our side, and it shows that when things start to hurt for people in their day to day lives, real change is possible. This is not the first fascist takeover in history, and it won’t be the last. Some older folks have literally lived through similar times in our own country (see: McCarthyism for example). Nothing is inevitable and no one can predict the future, no matter how believable their claims may sound.
To the cynics, you’re absolutely allowed to feel how you feel. I feel quite cynical myself a lot of the time, too. Just remember that when you mock and shout down people trying to move forward, you help create the future you’re so resigned to. Not all of us are so ready to roll over and take it. If you won’t help, please at least get out of the way.
/soapbox
no, but it will be good for punk rock and comedians… everything else will hurt.
I dunno. My favorite punk band just canceled their American tour…
See, things are already better for that punk band.
that’s wise of them…
but, i bet their next album will be pretty good….and aren’t you sick of punk shows where everything goes smoothly and you buy a t-shit and go home? i want punk shows where the cops show up and a riot breaks out… like the good old days….
Thought this would happen the first time, woke up to him winning again.
Shit needs to get a lot worse before it gets better apparently
Nah. Accelerationism is pure bunk with exactly zero evidence supporting it. Things getting worse just makes it harder to make them better.
Except, you know, most of human history. Can’t overthrow an evil regime if there isn’t one.
Thanks for saying it. People on here really seem to think this is the first fascist regime in history.
“Let the OrphanGrindingMachine cook,” he said to the crowd.
Ha!
Hahahahahaha!
Hahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhahahagahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhhaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahabahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahabahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahababahababababahahahahahahahabaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Hahaha…
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh…
Ha.
No.
I have cystic fibrosis, it’s a genetic disease and my lungs are (were, I got a new set) especially impacted, I thought COVID could possibly change the world for the better for people like me, improved access via remote work or telehealth etc. that people would be more reasonable and understanding to those with lung disease, that the medical sector would start looking more heavily into lung health, lung rehabilitation, the issues around lung disease and immune-disregulation etc. but really very little has happened and there’s been no significant permanent changes and people chose to keep denying illness and disability exist… I think the virus of the trump presidency running through the US will have the same negative effect where a lot of people die and not much else happens
I’m disabled too. By far the biggest issue for me is other people’s reactions to it
My wife is disabled in a not-immediately-visible way and our experience is similar. Had one old friendship ruined because he decided she was lazy for not trying to diet her issues away.
Ugh, your wife and me both. “Have you tried meditation? Fasting? Maybe just push through the pain?”
Pushing through the pain is why my desk jockey ass is currently recovering from a surgery rarely performed on non-athletes. At least all the hospital documentation promises that I can start competitive play within a year or so. Upgrade!
There’s so much negativity here… Don’t let it take away your hope.
Things are looking really bad right now, yeah, but losing hope only ensures misery.
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”
I understand your perspective and agree that it would be best to do the following.
But you gotta understand how it feels for most Millennials.
What’s not included in this meme are: USA’s Unjustified involvement in two Middle East countries with our armed forces and bombs, 1 Trillion dollars collectively “spent” on those two involvements, “Resurfacing” of mass racism, Mass false news/information, The never ending inflation of everything, and the lie that if we all went to college and got a degree, that everything would be alright later on. (Let me know if I missed any.)
So yes, giving up hope is not wise. But nor is letting us live our lives as if this isn’t some of the most corrupt, asinine, ‘fight amongst yourselves while we the ultra rich keep taking from you in any way we can,’ period of time.
I definitely feel that pain. I was lucky enough to buy a house, but that’s all I’ve got going for me. Otherwise I’m just paycheck to paycheck, living every single day on the verge of losing everything.
I hate it, but I believe in us.
Yeah there is, I get it though. I’ve noticed that in myself I have a much shorter fuse now. I try not to take it out on people because I recognize it’s just misplaced frustration.
Part of the reason I made this post was to just let people get all of their vitriol and upset feelings out, if even a little.
It’s of course not helpful to shout in the void but it also alleviates some of that frustration people feel. I thought it may be a bit therapeutic to give strangers a little spot to direct some of that negativity to.
Thank you for the kind words and your quotation perfectly sums up the response I’m trying to maintain in my mind, if only for my own sanity.
People forgot what Trump was like 4 years ago and re elected him. So no, it will not facilitate any change.
I like how people think destroying everything will somehow result in a future where people are empathetic.
Agreed; that jackass has pushed me firmly into the “let leopards eat all their faces” camp as opposed to giving a shit WHY they’re so fuckin stupid anymore.
It’s more about the less people have to lose the more they are willing to risk
When the people end up with nothing left to lose, things tend to get exceptionally shitty for a few generations. Then it’s a die toss to figure out if what comes after that is any better or not.
It’s not really a die toss because the people with power maintain that power and have the most influence in what comes out of that shit-pool. It needs a functional shakeup at the deepest level, and not superficial changes at the surface level to make an effective difference. Otherwise things will just continue to repeat until we destroy ourselves. The problem is that kind of shakeup requires that people remain vigilant and involved for their entire lives, which isn’t going to happen if their only concern is that their own lives are getting disrupted and they want it to go back to par, which is our current standoff.
Phoenix?
This usually happens, yes.
After millions people have died.
Not worth it. Trump and the other right wing extremists should have been stopped years ago.
Idk we got biden instead of Bernie Sanders in 2020… I doubt it will improve
That’s a legit societal theory called “accelerationism”. Make everything so awful that people will realize what’s happening and instigate massive backlash.
Except… the first time this was tried, in the 30’s, we got WWII instead of solutions. So maybe not that great of an idea after all.
There’s also the social cycle theory. Things always change.
This was first proposed in “The Republic” by Plato writing down Socrates’ arguments.
I feel like the arrows are backwards
It feels that way, but that is correct. Here’s an article that helps to understand a little better. Usually there’s a buffer between Democracy and Monarchy/Tyranny. In the case with Trump, went straight from democracy to Tyranny because they elected a monarch who was also a tyrant.
https://www.history.com/articles/what-are-platos-5-forms-of-government
It’s not a theory. It’s a religion; sociopolitical homeopathy. Theories require supporting data and accelerationism has none. It just has people willing to sacrifice the vulnerable on the altar of fascism in the belief that magic will happen causing class consciousness, resulting in utopia, despite all evidence showing that it’s more likely to result in dark ages.
basically accelerationism.
the better conditions we have, the better it is for positive stuff to be done.
making things worse only makes it more difficult to fix.
There’s three ways to get rid of cancer:
- Poison it. Diminish its numbers to the point where it never comes back.
- Excise it. Cut it away from the rest of the host.
- Do nothing. It’ll die once it consumes the host.
Eating granola and berries or sitting there with hopes and praying for change is option 3. I’m on team option 1. Time to get active.
I’m on team Option 2
Same here! I’m a lot more comfortable operating a guillotine rather than a gas-chamber.
I’m on team Option Whatever the hell is quickest.
And maybe cotton candy will shoot out of my butt and feed all the starving orphans.
The frog jumps out when it’s uncomfortable no matter how slow you heat the water, despite what the meme tells you. The issue is that there’s plenty of people more than willing to provide yet another pot of water to boil for the frog to jump into, because the frog just wants out, it doesn’t care where it goes.
