As an American, I know that every day someone around me is having their life ruined or ended by people I could have stopped. Not broadly, but one on one I have the capacity to end their intent to harm before they harm someone else. Big picture that’s not going to change much, I’d likely be ended or removed from society for my efforts and there’s no guarantee the harm to the person I tried to protect keeps them from harm by those same forces indefinitely. Ending state sanctioned brutality requires state level mobilization of forces willing to oppose that. And then, yeah, it’s a meat grinder of attrition, destruction, and innocent lives in the crossfire until, hopefully, the aggressor capitulates. Then whoever is left does their best to rebuild and learn from the lesson.
You live in a country that has long lived on the border of a ferociously aggressive neighbor and bled to maintain its independence. I live in one that was once the underdog, tore itself apart over the debate about human rights, and has gone on to be both anti-fascist and fascist af. Diplomacy and trying to limit the fallout of full scale war is great, but eventually there’s opponents who have the power, have the resources, and have the support that will only be stopped when enough people lace up their boots, accept their terms, and say “no”.
I read what I thought was a pretty solid review on the current situation. European leaders seem to be holding off on hard lines because, like many Americans, they keep hoping the next election cycle will put a comfortable, familiar ally back in command of the US’ resources. Nobody wants to fight Russia in a full out war, their oligarchs are willing to bleed their nation dry through attrition and worst case they go scorched earth.
But I’m telling you as an American, whatever we were to Europe in the 20th century, whatever right side of history we were on, whatever armies we could muster or nuclear holocaust we could stave off because of mutually assured destruction; we are not that nation anymore and we are not an ally that any European should think will be anytime soon. We are either going to continue to collapse until we’re our own version of Russia, a cabal of oligarchs propping up a strongman and sowing misery internally and abroad that no one stands up to, or we’re going to rip ourselves apart again in a bloody spectacle that the rest of the world sits back and watches in horror. We ain’t voting our way out of this, no outside force is going to aid us, and we’re either going to abide our decline or die trying to stop it.
Ukraine is getting pummeled regardless, and it’s not going to stop until Russia either gets checked or turns on itself, and I don’t think the latter is going to happen. You guys need to be planning for what to do when Trumpism drops cosplay fascism and the US openly embraces what we all know it already is. China knows, why do you think they’re so quiet and patient while the western powers flex where they can and dilly-dallies on how they respond to each others disregard for established etiquette?
It’s pretty shitty over here because it’s a slow boil. It feels like Trump has cranked up the speed but we’ve been heading this way a while, and it’s been so normalized that every escalation isn’t a surprise, we as individuals who are disgusted by it are really powerless to do anything about it because our institutions are corrupt and between the cops, the courts, and our hateful neighbors, a one person stand against the injustice isn’t going to achieve anything. It like you pointed out with Russia, unless it starts breaking at a state to state level, there’s not much that can be done to break the federal power. We’re far too big, far too populous, far too resource rich, far too isolated, far too powerful and important to the current global economy to ignore, and the people in power know that so they just keep doing as they please.
I’m hopeful that our midterms this fall will be the breaking point, the final straw that removes all doubt for both foreign and domestic leaders to recognize America is cooked because they’re going to rig this election as a trial run to ensure they’ve got it sealed to rig the next presidential election. Boycotting our products and encouraging your leaders to withdraw from trade with us is working, the cost of living and the quality of life most of us working class folks enjoyed is skyrocketing and hurting us. But that’s what it takes. Make our privileges suffer and hopefully it’ll turn into enough discontent that eventually manifests as a revolt. I have a slight hope for us. For all our acceptance of populist tyranny our self-mythos of rugged individuality, self-determination, glorification of violence, and personal gun collections is bound to come to a climax at some point. That’s the difference between us and Russia, I really hope for our sake and the world’s sake we don’t end up like that.
deleted by creator
As an American, I know that every day someone around me is having their life ruined or ended by people I could have stopped. Not broadly, but one on one I have the capacity to end their intent to harm before they harm someone else. Big picture that’s not going to change much, I’d likely be ended or removed from society for my efforts and there’s no guarantee the harm to the person I tried to protect keeps them from harm by those same forces indefinitely. Ending state sanctioned brutality requires state level mobilization of forces willing to oppose that. And then, yeah, it’s a meat grinder of attrition, destruction, and innocent lives in the crossfire until, hopefully, the aggressor capitulates. Then whoever is left does their best to rebuild and learn from the lesson.
You live in a country that has long lived on the border of a ferociously aggressive neighbor and bled to maintain its independence. I live in one that was once the underdog, tore itself apart over the debate about human rights, and has gone on to be both anti-fascist and fascist af. Diplomacy and trying to limit the fallout of full scale war is great, but eventually there’s opponents who have the power, have the resources, and have the support that will only be stopped when enough people lace up their boots, accept their terms, and say “no”.
deleted by creator
I read what I thought was a pretty solid review on the current situation. European leaders seem to be holding off on hard lines because, like many Americans, they keep hoping the next election cycle will put a comfortable, familiar ally back in command of the US’ resources. Nobody wants to fight Russia in a full out war, their oligarchs are willing to bleed their nation dry through attrition and worst case they go scorched earth.
But I’m telling you as an American, whatever we were to Europe in the 20th century, whatever right side of history we were on, whatever armies we could muster or nuclear holocaust we could stave off because of mutually assured destruction; we are not that nation anymore and we are not an ally that any European should think will be anytime soon. We are either going to continue to collapse until we’re our own version of Russia, a cabal of oligarchs propping up a strongman and sowing misery internally and abroad that no one stands up to, or we’re going to rip ourselves apart again in a bloody spectacle that the rest of the world sits back and watches in horror. We ain’t voting our way out of this, no outside force is going to aid us, and we’re either going to abide our decline or die trying to stop it.
Ukraine is getting pummeled regardless, and it’s not going to stop until Russia either gets checked or turns on itself, and I don’t think the latter is going to happen. You guys need to be planning for what to do when Trumpism drops cosplay fascism and the US openly embraces what we all know it already is. China knows, why do you think they’re so quiet and patient while the western powers flex where they can and dilly-dallies on how they respond to each others disregard for established etiquette?
deleted by creator
It’s pretty shitty over here because it’s a slow boil. It feels like Trump has cranked up the speed but we’ve been heading this way a while, and it’s been so normalized that every escalation isn’t a surprise, we as individuals who are disgusted by it are really powerless to do anything about it because our institutions are corrupt and between the cops, the courts, and our hateful neighbors, a one person stand against the injustice isn’t going to achieve anything. It like you pointed out with Russia, unless it starts breaking at a state to state level, there’s not much that can be done to break the federal power. We’re far too big, far too populous, far too resource rich, far too isolated, far too powerful and important to the current global economy to ignore, and the people in power know that so they just keep doing as they please.
I’m hopeful that our midterms this fall will be the breaking point, the final straw that removes all doubt for both foreign and domestic leaders to recognize America is cooked because they’re going to rig this election as a trial run to ensure they’ve got it sealed to rig the next presidential election. Boycotting our products and encouraging your leaders to withdraw from trade with us is working, the cost of living and the quality of life most of us working class folks enjoyed is skyrocketing and hurting us. But that’s what it takes. Make our privileges suffer and hopefully it’ll turn into enough discontent that eventually manifests as a revolt. I have a slight hope for us. For all our acceptance of populist tyranny our self-mythos of rugged individuality, self-determination, glorification of violence, and personal gun collections is bound to come to a climax at some point. That’s the difference between us and Russia, I really hope for our sake and the world’s sake we don’t end up like that.
deleted by creator