“What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted,” Obama told Jay Shetty on his podcast “On Purpose.”

“The fact that people think that government — ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ — and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.’ And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she said.

“The bars are different for people in life. That I’ve learned,” she said.

Without naming Trump, she continued: “Other people can be indicted a bunch of times and still run for office. Black men can’t. You just learn to be good. And in the end, you benefit from that extra resilience.”

  • TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    119
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    11 months ago

    Me too and I’m not even American, dissolution of NATO, serving Ukaine on a platter to Russia, possibility of more war in Europe with Putin getting bolder.

    No pressure Americans but your elections are kind of important for the future of the world.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      39
      ·
      11 months ago

      There was a rider attached to one of the latest appropriations bills (which is now law) that restricts how future Presidents can pull the US out of NATO. It can’t happen now unless Congress passes an act authorizing the President to do so, or with a 2/3 vote of the Senate (the same mechanism as ratifying a treaty).

      So at least on this issue, we’ve put in some safeguards in case we elect an idiot again.

        • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          24
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Yes, they did. He’s not in office right now because of those rules and laws

          • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            11 months ago

            They stopped some of his bullshit, but they also failed to stop a lot of it. If he’s allowed to run for president again, that will be a huge example of rules not stopping him.

    • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      arrow-down
      10
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Yeah but a bunch of white college kids who don’t even know what Mer7aba means have decided that the way to serve the Palestinian cause is to let the guy who handed Jerusalem and the Golan Heights to Netenyahu back into office to teach the establishment a lesson so we’re fucked.

      I’m starting to think they’re actually just right wingers who know that saying what they ACTUALLY want will get them dumped by all their cool allies club friends. Probably why they keep insisting on dumb fuck takes like “bErNiE wOuLd Be A cEnTrIsT iN pOlAnD!” and “AmErIcA hAs No LeFt!!!”

        • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Ok but really objectively consider that statement though.

          Policy by policy the Dems flank left of most of Europe’s old guard of social democratic and socialist parties. Dems tend to be more in favor of new and expanded welfare programs compared to their European counterparts, they’re less likely than said counterparts to adopt right wing policy and talking points to try and appease alt-rightified voters, and on social issues there is no contest, just say the word “Roma” and watch Europeans range from saying that pulling that card isn’t fair because “that’s different” to saying that what the fascists did wrong was lose before they finished the job on the Roma.

          The metric by which America has no left is one by which the western world at large has no left, and at that point what value is gained at all by insisting on it?

          • Eldritch@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            Policy by policy the Dems flank left of most of Europe’s old guard of social democratic and socialist parties.

            In what bizzaro world!!? We don’t have basic singles payer health care like all other major western nations. Not to mention millions of other things.

            Dems tend to be more in favor of new and expanded welfare programs compared to their European counterparts,

            Not even. They’ve passed maybe one thing in nearly the last century that approached it. As flawed as it was. And on top of that. Large amounts of Dems have happily voted for eligibility exclusion on even pre existing social welfare programs. Making them more and more useless.

            they’re less likely than said counterparts to adopt right wing policy and talking points to try and appease alt-rightified voters,

            Hello, last 40 years? Hello, third way Democrats? Hello, bipartisanship over principles. Even to this day Biden still waxes poetically about how we need Republicans and how they are good.

            and on social issues there is no contest, just say the word “Roma” and watch Europeans range from saying that pulling that card isn’t fair because “that’s different” to saying that what the fascists did wrong was lose before they finished the job on the Roma.

            There are multiple groups who would elicit similar reactions throughout the United States. Including black, Muslims, trans, gays, and even Democrats. Oh and by the way those fascists and Nazis you were talking about. They got their start by checks notes oh, they literally got their start by emulating the United States. Not only that, around topics of which the United States still hasn’t resolved properly yet to this day. You’re batting 0 here.

            • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              11 months ago

              You seem to have mastered the art of using many words to not say a thing, except maybe for how little you understand European politics compared to American other than “but their actual fascist parties that have elected seats have healthcare.”

              • Eldritch@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                11 months ago

                You seem to have mastered the arts of deflection and not being able to address a single point made. I’ll take my skills over yours any day.

          • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            at that point what value is gained at all by insisting on it?

            Make this argument in the other direction to prove your sincerity.

            • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              11 months ago

              The value gained in there not being a fascist for president because white college kids decided not to vote strike?

      • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        m starting to think they’re actually just right wingers who know that saying what they ACTUALLY want will get them dumped by all their cool allies club friends.

        So you all lost the 2016 general election all on your own then?

        The absurdity of your perspective is that you believe there is a large group of voters who didn’t show up for HRC while also apparently believing not one of them is sharing their reasons why in anonymous forums.

        • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          11 months ago

          The absurdity of yours is that you’re pretty obviously one of those people who thinks a millions of votes lead in the primary race is “the DNC establishment shoving her down our throats” and not “we have to be dragged kicking and screaming to even vote for the guy we supposedly support!”

          • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            I mean it’s either that or “a bunch of selfish pieces of shit voted for Biden specifically to fuck over progressive or leftist efforts”. You sound like the kind of person who would do just that.

    • Clbull@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      11 months ago

      If America pulls out of NATO, I wonder if NATO would disband and if the EU militarizes.

      • bedrooms@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        You made me wonder if Trump would pull out of NATO and ask a few NATO members to move to Russia-US alliance instead.

        • dhork@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          11 months ago

          I think this is coming. Trump and Putin will invite the world to a Friendship Union. We can call it “FU World”…

    • ZK686@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      You’re spending too much time on Reddit and Lemmy. Republicans will always support Ukraine (they hate Russia too!). The issue isn’t about support, it’s about limits. We have to have checks and balances when financing a war, this isn’t a free for all. The Republicans are just making sure the money is being spent how it’s supposed too. All of a sudden, they’re called “traitors” and “ass-kissers.” Which is just ridiculous. How soon we forget Ukraine was once considered one of the most corrupt countries on Earth.

      • TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        11 months ago

        That’s not what Trump’s actions suggested the last time in office, I have no doubt republicans hate Russia, maybe even more than Democrats, it’s Trump specifically I’m worried about.

        • ZK686@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Trump won’t pull support for Ukraine, that’s just a scare tactic from the Left. The entire government is united on the issue of stopping Russia, Trump alone can’t do much about that. If anything, he’ll just crack down harder on how/where the money is spent. Again, I hate this “just give them what they want!” mentality coming from the Left. There should always be questions, concerns, limits…etc…when giving billions of dollars to any country.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Imagine the worst outcome you can think of on the issue that’s most important to you, and that’s probably likely no matter who we elect. Both parties rule as conservatives, and conservatism in recent memory has meant a slow-burn of lost liberty.

      Don’t worry though. No matter who we elect they’ll still run us further into debt in order to fund the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, because it’s making our legislators and their backers obscenely wealthy. War is one of the shitty things for which there’s always bipartisanship.

      • Custoslibera@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        11 months ago

        You’re part of the problem.

        There is no ‘both sides are bad take’ here.

        There’s Biden who at worse maintains the status quo and then there is Trump who will become a literal dictator.

        No I’m not exaggerating. You fucking centrist morons can’t see you’ll be on a train for the gas chambers if he is elected again and will be shocked when it happens.

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          LOL

          I’m a Green.

          Though you’re partly right. It is the centrists who truly paved the way for fascism in this country. 40 years of lesser evils really added up.

            • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              11 months ago

              They’re not the centrist though. They want someone to the left of Biden. You want someone to the left of Trump.

              You’re the centerist here. And yes you will be the death of the Democrat party and probably the entire country along with it.

              • Custoslibera@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                11 months ago

                I can’t vote for the American president.

                But if I could I would still have to vote for Biden because of first past the post voting. Third way candidates are a wasted vote.

                Would I want to vote for Biden? Of course not.

  • Leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    56
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    11 months ago

    I’m not American but what’s happening in the US and what will happen when/if Trump gets re-elected definitely worries me. It’s difficult not to sound overly dramatic or hyperbolic about the situation but it really does feel like the US is uncomfortably close right now to a christofascist state. And if you just rolled your eyes at that word, take a look at who’s currently second in line to the US presidency.

    If Trump does win, I really fear for American democracy. Do you really think a man who encouraged an armed insurrection to support a subversion of an election will pause to think twice about removing the few rights large sections of America currently have? And if the process prevents him, do you think he’d think twice about dismantling the process? At gun point if necessary?

    • vexikron@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      39
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Hi, American here.

      American domestic politics is absolutely fucked right now.

      The Republican Party does not really even have any policy proposals for serious issues at the Federal level.

      They spent years saying ‘Obamacare bad’, saying they could do healthcare better. Basically it is a decade later and they have no plan, not even a proposal.

      Taxes? We still have morons like DeSantis basically saying ‘I dunno, maybe a flat tax?’ to applause during stump speeches and debates. The flat tax proposal is absolutely insane for a large number of reasons, but the Republican base eats it up.

      Look, there are something like 50 million + Americans that believe in all or most of the QAnon conspiracy theories, that believe God himself appointed Trump as President.

      Trump stacked the Supreme Court.

      The Republicans have functionally made abortion illegal in about half the country.

      Meanwhile the economy is /apparently/ recovering, though the prices of basically everything you need to routinely pay for have risen fairly dramatically while wages have remained basically stagnant. Wealth inequality has spiralled to obscene levels, rent has basically doubled in about half a decade.

      As I write this, I believe that polls of Biden v Trump are still showing Trump ahead.

      Even if Trump does not win, and even if the MAGA QAnon types do not do a bunch of terrorism (again), they still exist, and are hopelessly living in basically an alternate reality where anything that goes against their worldview is fake, a conspiracy, of the Devil.

      It was about 3 years ago now that I told my friend group that the QAnon problem was so serious that we would need some kind of analogous concept to the de-Nazification program as was implemented after WW2 in West Germany to deal with it. They either laughed at or ignored me. None of those people are my friends any more.

      We are fucked.

      The only thing that motivates most Republican voters is hatred. Any politician who says Trans people bad, Critical Race Theory bad, Immigrants bad, Homeless People bad, anything like that receives applause from the audience.

      And I write this /as a homeless person/ who will almost certainly not be able to vote in the upcoming election. I will be /lucky/ if I can even find and qualify for an actual apartment after basically a bunch of crimes that happened to me in the course of last year caused me serious physical injury and the loss of all of my possessions, ruined my credit score, placed my in incredible debt, lost me my job and my ability to do any other job until my physical injuries are healed, which I simply have to handle myself, while homeless, because the cost of engaging with American healthcare system to handle my problems now would be sufficient to outright purchase a modest home (outright) less than a decade ago.

      Meanwhile, Trump has outright stated he would like to implement basically concentration camps for the homeless. He has stated he wants to eliminate the vermin leftists. He is very concerned with the purity of the blood of the nation, and has outright stated he will be a dictator.

      And he is currently leading in the polls.

      Again, this country is fucked. So, sorry Europeans, I would love to be able to assuage your fears, and become an activist or something.

      Maybe send me some of your healthcare and I’ll get right on it.

      Or maybe I am extremely tired, have no hope for this broken country, and could use the services of someone who can smuggle me into Canada or something.

      • Stovetop@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        If you are homeless, reach out to a shelter to see if they would be okay with you declaring them as your residence for the purpose of mail/voter registration. You can obtain ID from the state and have it sent there, and then that enables you to register to vote. Or if you have a bit of cash, you can also register a PO box through USPS for your mail.

        It may be too late for you to vote in the primary depending on where you live, but you’ve still got plenty of time for the general election in November.

        I can only encourage you to keep trying, because disenfranchising the socially vulnerable means that the Republican strategy is working.

        • vexikron@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          9
          arrow-down
          11
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          All of the day + night shelters are full. Beyond full. Waiting lists for a year+ full.

          The vast majority of shelters in America for single adult men are overnight only, and where I am now, having had to travel halfway across the country to find somewhere I can afford to stay that is /safe/, it will be about 5 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.

          Almost none of the overnight shelters allow you to use them as an address. In my experience, they are also full of many fentanyl addicts, murderers and thieves.

          I will continue staying in motels, with heating, comfortable beds and showers that allow my serious ligament, muscle and bone injuries to heal, as opposed to staying in an overnight shelter where I would be forced to wander around in freezing weather during the day, seriously injuring me further, even if it means I cannot vote.

          Honestly, fuck you. I would rather be /alive/ and not in horrific pain than possibly have the ability to vote.

          I would rather have privacy and security, though it be costly, than be at risk of literally causing my injuries to exacerbate so seriously that I would be permanently disabled at best, murdered or collapsed from a torn ligament in the freezing cold and dying at worst.

          I do not care to follow your laughably inadequate advice to prioritize voting in a broken system over my current survival.

          Maybe you could actually do something functionally useful to address homelessness in your area or something, instead.

          • Stovetop@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            16
            arrow-down
            6
            ·
            edit-2
            11 months ago

            Honestly, fuck you. I would rather be /alive/ and not in horrific pain than possibly have the ability to vote.

            I would rather have privacy and security, though it be costly, than be at risk of literally causing my injuries to exacerbate so seriously that I would be permanently disabled at best, murdered or collapsed from a torn ligament in the freezing cold and dying at worst.

            I do not care to follow your laughably inadequate advice to prioritize voting in a broken system over my current survival.

            Maybe you could actually do something functionally useful to address homelessness in your area or something, instead.

            Well if this is how you treat people who try to offer a shred of advice or compassion, then I hate to say it but maybe you deserve your circumstances. I can’t help you more than this.

            You know nothing about me, but you immediately come back with open hostility. I am only trying to offer the same advice that I would for the refugee and immigrant populations that the organization I work for supports.

            Your priorities may not be the same as everyone else’s, but there are people literally dying for their vote and it is just as awful to belittle that or say that they aren’t prioritizing things that make a difference. Because it truly does to many people, and I would say it does now more than ever.

            • vexikron@lemmy.zip
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              11 months ago

              I am only trying to offer the same advice that I would for the refugee and immigrant populations that the organization I work for supports.

              Your advice is ludicrous for any single adult male anywhere in America right now, so your organization must not be very competent.

              Suggesting that a single adult male, right now, in America, who already told you that they have serious injuries, should go seek a dangerous shelter which in all likelihood /will not shelter them/, which one either has to do on foot, or by wasting hours and hours searching the internet, for the aim of being able to vote, is absurd.

              What should obviously be prioritized is the physical safety and security of the individual.

              And I know this /because I used to work for a non profit helping the homeless/.

              Telling an injured person to prioritize unsafe options that will waste their time, nearly certainly actually not result in acquiring shelter, for the purposes of being able to vote, that this priority is more important than /actually being alive/ is perfectly indicative of the attitude that many liberals have toward the homeless.

              Which is basically: Do literally anything other than remedy the actual issue, you know, homelessness, which causes injuries, trauma, starvation. And then, if any of them give you any lip about this, tell them they deserve their predicament.

              You are a ridiculous person. You are exactly like many of the people I used to at first work with, and then became reliant on until I realized hey could not help me: Wasting the time of the homeless with absurd hoops to jump through that can literally result in their death if your suggestions prove inadequate, and also they trust you and diligently follow their advice.

              All I had to do was tell you that your advice was laughable, and be angry about how bad and useless this advice was, and you have now decided that I am rude and offensive to everyone trying to help and that I deserve my situation.

              I am not in fact rude to everyone trying to help me.

              I am rude to people who suggest I do things that /will endanger my health and safety/.

              You are an awful human being.

              If you do really work to aid the unhoused, you and your organization are morons. Your advice would be even /more/ ridiculous for immigrants and refugees who often cannot speak English well or at all.

                • vexikron@lemmy.zip
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  11 months ago

                  I appreciate the sentiment, and I completely understand your situation.

                  By basically dumb luck, I managed to wander past a shoddy low rent motel … that offers monthly leases.

                  Its got a comfy bed, a fridge, a microwave, a working toilet and tub, and most importantly, I can afford it.

                  Knowing that there is /somewhere/ I can afford to stay at, and will not have to figure out some new place to stay every few weeks is a massive improvement.

                  The near constant state of mortal panic is now lowering. All I have to do is basically not talk to anyone else who stays at this place.

                  /Now/ I can finally start to figure out how to replace my Drivers License and other important identifying documents, as most of those got stolen from me months ago at a shelter in another state.

              • Stovetop@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                3
                ·
                11 months ago

                Apologies if there was confusion, I just ask that you please read what I wrote again. I was not advocating staying at a shelter per se; if you have better accommodations, as a lot of unhoused residents do, then that’s great. You are better off not staying in a shelter if you don’t need it.

                I was speaking more to the fact that organizations which run homeless shelters will typically offer additional levels of support when it comes to mail and ID procurement. They may be able to assist with getting you documentation directly, or may be able to help put you in contact with another organization that can.

                But if this is the way you respond to people who just suggest possible avenues of support, I’m guessing that’s not something you’d be willing to do, so I’ll just leave it here. You seem to know what’s best for you, so good luck.

            • Nelots@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              11 months ago

              Well if this is how you treat people who try to offer a shred of advice or compassion, then I hate to say it but maybe you deserve your circumstances. I can’t help you more than this.

              Gross. Nobody deserves to be homeless, even if they’re being a dick.

    • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      11 months ago

      Even if Trump dies tomorrow, the problem still exists. Trump is the worm in the apple, but half the apple is rotten.

      • Leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        ·
        11 months ago

        That is true, no disagreement here. That’s the truly scary thing about the man - he clearly does represent a lot of people.

        But right now, he is the immediate danger.

      • tacosanonymous@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        11 months ago

        I’m not sure anymore. He got so elevated by some people but they hate so much. Idk if anyone could just slide into his place. I think they could be lost enough with the infighting that would try to fill in that hole. As in, that confusion could give us the gap to secure our processes and/or elect reasonable people.

        • vexikron@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          The problem wit this reasoning is that it does not understand what Trump actually did.

          It is /worse/ than being a charismatic maniac.

          It is that by being a charismatic maniac… he revealed the entirety of the American society and political system to be a cruel joke.

          He essentially normalized extreme hatred and bigotry to the point that nearly every single other Republican had to either emulate him, or at least shift heavily toward his positions and rhetoric.

          Infighting is and will continue to happen, yes. But Trump transformed the Republican party into what is essentially fascist in all but name now.

          And the problem with this is that electoralism alone cannot defeat a rising fascist movement which shows no signs of slowing down.

          We, with history as a guide, /cannot/ defeat this only via voting.

          As much as it pains me to agree with Tim Pool on anything, to any degree: A civil war of sorts, or at least massive social unrest something akin to the Pre-Bellum American society is already happening.

          The core voters of the Republican Party are now driven by QAnon style insano-anti-thinking. There is no known cure for this, and it is very easy for any random dumbass that wants to be a politician to appeal to these kinds of people, /so there will be more and more of them/.

    • bedrooms@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      I live in Japan and I’m sure Kim literally considered nuking my country during that dick measurement contest Trump held.

      • Stovetop@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        11 months ago

        I was in China and the time and there were a scary number of people who were saying they hoped that would happen. East Asia is still so contentious, last thing we need is Emperor Cheeto making it even worse.

        • bedrooms@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          11 months ago

          I feel bad for those brainwashed to their core by the CCP (and they actually hate the party).

          Anyway, I have no idea whether Japan can retaliate against nuclear attacks, due to our naive pacifist constitution.

    • GoodbyeBlueMonday@startrek.website
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      11 months ago

      It’s difficult not to sound overly dramatic or hyperbolic about the situation but it really does feel like the US is uncomfortably close right now to a christofascist state.

      To add to this: while it may sound hyperbolic to some folks, for plenty of us we’ve seen this brewing for decades. White evangelicals and right-wing politics unified in the 1980s in a way that was a clear danger to democracy, and they’ve only solidified their power since, given how mainstream their views are now.

      IMHO Frank Zappa said it best in 1986: he got called out as being hyperbolic, but he clearly saw the writing on the wall. He’s of course not the most scholarly source, but damn it Jim I’m a biologist, not a historian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlePLLlfH4Q

    • PRUSSIA_x86@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      11 months ago

      Another American here, currently stuck living in the great state of Ohio. I keep a bag under my bed with a change of clothes, a few cans of food, a wad of cash, a pistol, and a passport. I may be fucked, but I’ve got some friends in Quebec that might be able to save my ass.

  • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    49
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 months ago

    I feel like this is so understated in this context it is almost physically painful:

    Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted

    Stop talking about trump like he’s just another bad candidate. Jesus Christ.

    • Lesrid@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      If they acknowledge the depth of his depravity then they go too far in tarnishing the office. They desperately want to maintain prestige so they’ll never go as far as they ought to.

      • Omega@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        20
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        If you talk about it in the way that you should, you will sound alarmist.

  • Hackerman_uwu@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    30
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 months ago

    I’m fucking convinced you guys are going to vote that chud in again. Or let him be voted in again. There is nuance but it’s the same outcome.

    • 𝕱𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      The people who want to spite Biden’s genocidal support by not voting for him don’t realize that the alternative is a fascist dictator who actively relishes in the prospect of killing brown people. If you think Biden’s treatment of the Gazan war is bad, wait til you see Trump.

      Same with the Ukrainian war. If Biden is milquetoast, Trump will guarantee your toast is forever black and inedible.

      • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        People like you want to have your cake and eat it too. During the primaries you swear up and down we should be okay with Biden winning the primaries because we can push him to the left. Then when that turns out not to be true you say we need to vote for him anyway.

        You can’t keep doing this. You’re liars. You’re gaslighters. You’re enablers of the Republican party. You are the bad guys. You need to change.

  • Akasazh@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    11 months ago

    Unfortunately to Trump supporters this is a grandiose endorsement and exactly what they want.

  • rusticus@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    11 months ago

    As much as I share the same concern with Michelle, I would selfishly respond to her that if she just fucking ran for president she would win in a landslide and put an end to fucking Trump. Barack can spend the entire 4 years ridiculing the orange bezoar as first man.

  • ZK686@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Oh brother…her and her elite inner circle will be fine. When I say BOTH sides are guilty of using scare tactics to get votes, this is what I’m talking about. Democrats and the Left want to scare people into thinking the world will end if a Republican becomes President. They all said the same thing when Trump became President in 2017.

    • ArxCyberwolf@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 months ago

      “Both sides” is a tired old argument that doesn’t hold water. If you haven’t seen the damage Republicans have done in the past 8 years on the Federal and State level, you need to look harder, my dude. The Democrats aren’t amazing, but they aren’t actively stripping people’s rights away and trying to erase minority groups from existence. There is no Democratic “Plan 2025”.

      • ZK686@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        It’s a balance. I don’t agree with everything that the Republicans do, just like I don’t agree with everything the Democrats do. However, both parties are flawed and both parties are doing things in the interests of different groups.

  • Fizz@lemmy.nz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    15
    arrow-down
    16
    ·
    11 months ago

    It seems like most Americans are gonna vote for trump and he might win. Democrat voters have to blame their side if trump wins. They’ve run such a dog shit pr campaign. Biden has done good on the policy front but you’d never know because the media doesn’t cover it and the right-wing media only covers his mistakes.

      • be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        12
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        It seems like most Americans are gonna vote for trump and he might win.

        The problem is the electoral college. We have dipshits, but not enough of them will vote for Trump for him to win the popular vote.

        Democrat voters have to blame their side if trump wins. They’ve run such a dog shit pr campaign.

        This is true every time. Not disagreeing with you. When Dems win nationally it’s usually in spite of all the ways they tried to fuck it up.

      • 2fat4that@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        11 months ago

        Yeah it wasn’t even close in the end. They even lost fucking Arizona and Georgia I never thought I’d see the day…

    • 2fat4that@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      I don’t understand why you think that. The last election wasn’t even close and Trump had the post office in shambles.

  • spyd3r@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    11 months ago

    I’m terrified of the outcome no matter who wins… Our system is seriously broken if these are the best candidates we, the supposed bastion of freedom and democracy, can come up with.

  • mydude@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    16
    ·
    11 months ago

    “government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.” Government is not the same as democracy… Democracy is what D’s and R’s try to sufficate so the government can continue to be run by private companies. There is a word for this…

  • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    18
    arrow-down
    34
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Im gonna be real with y’all. Fascism in the US is already here and it’s only getting worse. Whether you vote Democrat or Republican you are voting to maintain a system that actively harms and kills millions. These days voting Democrat only means minorities in the US get a little more rights if they’re nice while everything else stays the same or gets worse and honestly I can’t tell if it was ever any better. It makes me genuinely sick that I have choose between two of the worst people I’ve ever had the displeasure of observing and any consideration of an alternative is met with active hostility or dismissal. I cannot fathom how people can accept being forced to choose between two genuine evils

    My vote will accomplish nothing because there is no one to represent me

    • Leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      14
      ·
      11 months ago

      I understand that. Neither option is ‘good’. But one of the options will (in my opinion) have a bloody good go at removing your ability to have the option at all in the future.

    • be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      17
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      11 months ago

      I cannot fathom how people can accept being forced to choose between two genuine evils

      The word forced is right there in your sentence, what’s hard to fathom? A third party vote is effectively a vote for Trump. I’m not going to argue with you if you still feel morally compelled to vote third party - but let’s not pretend otherwise.

    • Icalasari@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      In this case, people accepting being force to choose between two genuine evils is because one of the two evils plans to make it so there is no chance at change and would likely turn to slaughtering people who don’t fall in line with the regime

    • Hackerman_uwu@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      This sounds an awful lot like a the old ‘both sides’ boogaloo.

      Fuck that.

      America under the democrats is a vile bully that pokes its nose in where it doesn’t belong and causes a great deal of suffering across the planet.

      I grant you that, but America under MAGA unleashes the true evil in the hearts of men. The malady caused by four years under Trump lingers on in so many aspects of life.

      Comparing the two is a massive mistake.

      • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        11 months ago

        I’ll give you that republicans are genuinely worse yes. I do not doubt it. However, there is not a single Democrat president in my lifetime I would not also deem to be a war criminal

    • 2fat4that@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      11 months ago

      What makes this time in America’s history so terrifying is that the difference between Democrat and Republican has only been greater one other time and it resulted in a civil war. You can’t say “both sides are evil” because it’s not even close. Democrats haven’t really changed and that’s not the progress they claim to represent. However Republicans have abandoned the concept of the US as a whole and are actively attempting to corrupt our voting and end democracy state by state. Republicans are so close to crossing a line that cannot be uncrossed and it will result, at best, in states operating as independent nations. In other words, a fucking disaster.

      There is only one “evil” side right now.

      • nyar@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        11 months ago

        I mean, we’re still caging children at the border and a genocide is happening right now and we have given the ally who is perpetuating that genocide more weapons. Both sides are evil.

    • vexikron@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      You are correct of course. As has played out historically, the liberals have been utterly ineffective at combating the rise of fascism.

      It was not until what, about 12 to 6 ish months ago that finally, you could actually tell a liberal that Trump and the Republicans /are fascists/ without a bunch of hoity toity himming and hawing about tone policing and catastrophizing accusations.

      A sad, sad joke.

      We are a historically ignorant country, still high on our own supply of American Exceptionalism, unable to grasp that It Can In Fact Happen Here.

      We ruled by geriatric politicians who have not been able to connect with the actual politics or material concerns of anyone under the age of 40 in a way that would effectively improve their lives. The mechanics of our political system are ossified and incapable of being changed to even /allow/ for changing into a system that would allow for more effective representation of the many, many poor. We will never have ranked choice voting on a large scale, nor reform to the electoral college, nothing like that. Not that those things would even work in a society where over 50% of possible voters have the literacy level of 7th graders.

      We are ruled by corporate overlords who do not give a functional damn about any social justice issues and only feign it as a brand and marketing strategy to lull those who might otherwise actually do something useful to address those issues in society into inaction, as they can pay for the conspicuous consumption of media and more animal friendly foods or eco friendly cars or whatever to allow them to /feel/ like they are helping to solve the problem, when in reality they are just continuing to fund it.

      I hope I am wrong and some actual good change will happen. But I do not think it likely at this point.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        Ελληνικά
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        Biden is a career politician who has backed a lot of shitty decisions in his time. He’s cutting blank checks to Israel while they are commiting a genocide.

        Despite all this, he is unequivocally better than trump right now. It’s not even close. That’s how fucked up it is. I would abstain from voting if literally the fate of LGBTQ, non-Christians, Migrants and women were not hanging in the balance on this election.

      • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        I shouldn’t have to choose between evil and slightly less evil. My vote is already useless in the state I live in because it’s been gerrymandered into dysfunction so it’s hard to even find a reason to bother

    • bedrooms@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      8
      ·
      11 months ago

      I think voting, while important, is ineffective for fixing a political system. One man having the correct idea can’t change anything by one vote.

      I’m climbing my career ladder and starting to control good portion of company resources. At least, it has more potential than a single stupid vote. How to make use of that power I need to figure out, but as nobody knows the solution, the only route is to think while trying.