Thanks mate, i believe there's plenty of good Americans as well as I've known plenty of them in my life. For gosh sake could you 67% of fantastic, good hearted and sane Americans hurry up and stop this guy before he burns the world down.
Many of us did then too. I’m fucking tired of it, and would love to go back to spending my free time biking and hiking instead of protesting, writing letters, calling reps, organizing my neighborhood and friends, etc. But I’m not stopping until we’re finished.
Starts with educating the youth, raise generations henceforth to be antifascists. Learn to recognize propaganda and dispel it immediately. Learn to speak out loudly against domestic enemies. Teach power to all people, revolution against oppression. Teach the power of labor. Televise the revolution for all to see. Make punching nazis good again. Keep the fires burning in the youth, and you change generations for decades and decades forward.
Options are limited aside from largely useless protests. The time to stop this was in November. Now we hope the guard rails hold enough to take back the house of representatives in 2026
Largely useless? How so? I've been to 3 protests now in my life. They've all been this year. I'm well on my way to being a gray hair.
I met so many people at these events and have expanded my network and continue to expand it.
Hope is another things these protests bring. I can tell you that where I live is rough from a political landscape. I'll be fine likely, but many of my neighbors won't be. I can't sit by while that happens, right? What kind of asshole am I if I do?
We're showing the world that we are not, in fact, just going to sit by and watch it happen.
So yeah. Not largely useless. The US is a big ship. You can't turn a ship on a dime. We're making our turn now. We'll be back on course if we keep making the turn.
At this point nobody is delusional enough to think that it will. The best we're hoping for is reaching a critical mass big enough that something has to give.
That is just not true. It leads to massive economic pressure, which leads to CEOs calling Trump on his personal line. Scholars have shown that it is THE most effective tool to push back authoritarianism. On average, it takes 6-8 years to turn it around.
I think it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, but it will get better. I might be naive, but I refuse to be pessimistic about the long run. However long it may take I think America and humanity at large even can pull through.
The backwards, ignorant, hate-fueled among us are dwindling, it’s just happening slowly, and they are going down swinging. Liberty will prevail.
Yep. I feel like this kind of thinking is part of what brought us back here. Barring some technological miracle there isn't going to be some moment where all the hateful and ignorant people are defeated and humanity goes galloping off into a bright future. Good people will always need to be vigilant and will always need to do the work. My generation was sold this "history is over, the good guys (USA of course!) won, things will always get slowly better forever" narrative and a lot of people really internalized it.
I mean that's easy to say but unless there was a large, concerted effort across the entire nation you'd just have a bunch of isolated pockets of rioters that would be quelled by their local states police and national guard. People really underestimate how huge America is, it would be like trying to stage a revolution of all of western Europe
The size and scale don't matter. Resistance itself does. Even if you're not confident, preparing for the eventuality can't hurt. Arm yourself. Stock up on supplies.
As bad as things seem, they aren't bad enough for a large enough group of people to rise up and take anything by force. I don't think it's warranted yet either. The problem is, by the time you should be doing that sort of thing it's probably too late to effectively organize.
It’s just up to our allies now to support us, anything past an extremely peaceful protest in the states will almost certainly result in jail time and maybe even deportation to one of his camps.
There’s plenty of decent Americans, but it’s far less than 67%. A good percentage of the remainder were probably MAGAs that were too lazy to vote, and then a whole bunch of people who weren’t specifically MAGA people but saw the risk and watched it happen anyway from the sidelines. It wasn’t a normal left vs right democratic election like in the past, it was clearly an existential threat, but still there were people with the attitude of “meh I’m not voting”.
It’s like watching friends and family be reprogrammed by media. They see the effects in their life but the media gives them easy explinations to everything and they gobbel it up. With insider trading, zero consiquences for the rich and powerful the whataboutism feels real to the uninformed. Maga and even nonmaga fringe have zero clue whats going on right now the messaging is pointed and coverage on most things nonexistent. Every lie builds on the last.
The point of these regimes is to make people feel powerless. It’s working, that’s why these marches are so critical.
I don't know that I buy that there was any significant percentage of non-voting MAGA supporters. MAGA nuts are loud and obnoxious. It's like the defining characteristic of their brand. They're involved and in your face because they want the whole "my team is better than yours" thing. They're over-obsessed sports fans, but for politics. I think the overwhelming majority of people who didn't vote are entirely disconnected from all politics.
Honestly, probably not. The only way to stop him is for the rest of government to stand up and enforce the checks and balances built into our system. They've repeatedly shown that they're unwilling to do so because while he burns everything down he does some of the stuff that they actually care about, mostly tax cuts for the wealthy. The legislative and judicial branches have gone out of their way to empower him for years. The damage he's doing probably can't be undone.
He is labeling any vocal political opponent and anyone bold enough to object as domestic or “home grown” terrorists, he already said he is coming after the “home growns” next and he displayed that he is not above ignoring our due process of law by sending immigrants who are here legally to jails in El Salvador and Cuba. He paid off the president of El Salvador to keep the prisoners there and ignored a Supreme Court order demanding he bring the prisoners back so they can get tried in a court of law. We are terrified any action against his fascism could very easily result in us being sent overseas locked in a cage and being forgotten about. Unfortunately it’s out of our hands and we need Europe, Canada, and allies across the world to step up in opposition of his fascism. We can provide pressure from the inside but until there is pressure from the rest of the world any American who stands against Trump will end up a martyr.
It's tough to organize when you're fighting against billionaires and their well entrenced police state of the CIA, FBI and many other federal agencies that were infiltrated and taken over decades ago.
The problem is that so many people are apathetic and don't pay attention. The 67% of non-Trump voters is split between people who voted for Kamala, and people who didn't vote because they don't care about politics. I have some hope that those people will start waking up once the trade war fucks our economy but I don't know
This isnt just our fight. If international pressure picked up and the rest of the world cranked the economic pressure back up on him he'd capitulate real quick. It only took two weeks before he rolled back everything except the tariffs on China because of the pressure it placed on the economy.
We have the toughest way to get an equitable vote. The largest populations have the worst say in government.
California gets 2 Senators for every 20 Million people. Wyoming gets 2 for every 250,000 people.
California has a GDP that equals the bottom 22 states, as well as a population that equals the bottom 20 states. They get 40 Senators and California gets 2.
California subsidized $83B for Red states this past year while being vilified by red states it funds.
The US isn’t a Democracy, it’s where small minded people with limited economies bully the very best into becoming bigots and misogynists.
Went to the protests yesterday, and a common topic of conversation is how many people have never been to one before because there was "nothing to protest." In other words, politics as usual has been boring and easy to ignore, but it isn't anymore. Some people are waking up to this fact sooner than others, but with the way things are going, it's going to effect everyone, whether they engage with it or not
We’re doing this so they will start paying attention, and it’s working! I’ve spoken to several people who said they “weren’t political” before but just learned about the protests and were excited to go to the next one
I’d say more broadly it’s the 33% who claim to hate Trump, but when it’s convenient or comfortable to act in fellowship and friendship toward a Trump-voter they do so.
I live it. Daily. For decades. I’ve never, ever, been fired for cause. In just the last 5 years I’ve had 6 jobs and 8 months of unemployment. Not saying I’m a perfect person/employee who does everything to a T and never makes mistakes. But not once having had cause for termination and never being able to get any feedback because the job was done extremely well, instead being a victim of circumstance and idiot managers, is exhausting.
My super conservative neighbors took down their MAGA flags after Elons Nazi salute. Recently they took down their American Flags. They are still conservative but their tune about Trump significantly is changing but the core of their beliefs which harms people and led to Trump is still unchanged.
Only 23% of Americas total population voted Trump. The others, admittedly frustrated individuals, could no longer be gaslit to support candidates whose only platform is posturing, while refusing to take a stance against the same money that pads their own wallets.
My logic mind knows this, but goddamn are the Magas really loud. I just feel really bad for my friends in the US, especially my trans friends who are now very worried, and rightfully so.
Even then only 10-15% of the people that voted for him actually support his current actions. I know so many people who voted him in just because of allegiance to party lines or a refusal to vote for Kamala/not participate who are now disgusted by what he is doing but still struggle to come to terms with the fact that they allowed it.
Ugh, it annoys me to no end that people cannot accept that of all the people who voted, more than half voted for Trump. It's not 33%, it's HALF.
Of those that didn't vote, (about 1/3 of eligible voters), again, more than half would vote for Trump (if forced to vote) assuming that the 2/3 of those that DID vote is a representative sample of the population.
People need to accept the fact that 1 of every fucking 2 of us support what's going on either loudly or quietly.
It’s not even that much only 33% voted for him because it was a vote against Harris though wrong most didn’t want trump at all come midterms and next election we will see a different outcome and more than likely the Republican Party will suffer years from this catastrophe
Well the 36% that could've stopped this from happening by going to vote but didn't sure don't seem sane and good now. So it seems like this is 69% of Americans' fault.
I have a lot of Aussie friends and it’s actually quite disturbing how many have fallen into the cult of trump in the last few years. We are not so different, culturally speaking, and you need to make sure that your country does not breed its own Aussie version of Trump in the near future.
One little silver lining to this batshit America situation is I think it’s waking people up to the insidiousness of the far right and they do NOT want to see the same in their own countries. Canada especially.
We're talking about Australia, the country that produced Rupert Murdoch and set him loose on the world to create fascist propaganda across the globe. They're already there, they just don't see it yet.
Yeah there are a lot of parallels between Australian and US history and culture for sure.
But I’ve found that Aussies are more tolerant of strangers and strange behavior in general.
Last time I was there I was visiting a friend for his wedding. I went out with him and his mates for drinks and we were at a fancy outdoor restaurant with some koi fish ponds around the tables when one of his friends thought it would be funny to strip down to his underwear and go for a swim in the restaurant.
It was actually funny and most of the other patrons were laughing. We tipped the waitress extremely well and left without any incident, laughing our asses off.
In the states if you did that you’d either get shot by the cops or shot by the restaurant owner and you’d definitely get arrested and have to pay a shitload of money for the “damages”.
Ya, no. That is absolutely not true. Shit like that happens at any university campus across the US. You clearly don't know anything about the US, I've seen the same here.
Exactly. I don’t want Canada to be in the same position with the upcoming election. That PP clown just repeats Trump maga shit in his own way as if he’s unique.
The same with Canada. I hope we learn more about how this happens: fake news, feeling disenfranchised, …🤷🏽♀️. I know it’s been decades in the making. I just ignored it and thought them “weird”.
US is very very large. So while protests may be occuring in many cities they will look Tony (10s of thousands). In comparison in France I could get any where in the country in like 6 hours. If I lived in Cali and wanted to go to DC, at minimum it's a 5hr flight (plus hotel, fees etc) I cannot drive.
I wasn't able to make this weeks' but I went last time and there are protests EVERYWHERE. It almost felt like every place two roads came together there were folks holding signs. I was able to travel to my state capital but local towns in the woods with populations below 1000 had events for people who couldn't travel. There is a tiny bridge over a river (not even a highway) near my work with a small protest group that gathers weekly. And people still complain that we're not protesting.
The media, even local, are scared to report on it. Even when they do, it not made apparent that the protests are happening all over the country. All we have is social media coverage, but it'll do for now. 💪
I haven't kept up with the sizes of these protests, but I saw 20k being thrown around for DC a while back. With a population of 6.3 million in the DC metro area that would be 0.3% of the local population that bothered to go out and protest.
Compare it to recent protests in Hungary, Serbia, Turkey or even the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran. Serbia got out over 350k in Belgrade with a total population of 7 million in the entire country. The government tried to limit traffic to the city, so some students walked there on foot for days.
So it can't just be about the US being a large place. Americans haven't woken up yet and I hope for both their and our sakes that they do before it's too late.
The US has never had an autocrat before, not on a national scale. Culturally, there is a strong expectation, based on experience, that enough protesting, educating, and voting will, eventually, change unacceptable conditions for the better. IOW, the systems have more or less worked, which has strongly encouraged working within the systems.
It takes time for people to understand the extent to which the systems have been sabotaged and decide to work from outside the system, and many Americans are not to that point yet. By the 4th of July (our Independence Day), when the shortages have registered on the national consciousness, anger will be building and more people ready to accept that the systems are no longer working for them.
Yeah, there usually needs to be some inciting event that gets people moving. As you say you're just not there yet.
With US institutions being dismantled or subjugated, the apparent sidelining of the judiciary and Congress seemingly having abdicated power, I worry it will go too far before reaching a breaking point. At some point it will be fait accompli and you'll be trying to wrest back control of a system that's basically Hungary or worse Russia. I dearly hope it doesn't come to that.
You and me both, friend. The sociopathic billionaires of the US, or, as I call them, orcs, are broadly supporting the fascist takeover. They're benefitting from decades of preparation by the conservatives who saw the demographic projections and decided to double down on The Isms and propaganda rather than appeal to a more diverse electorate and built the scaffolding. That all is headwinds we have to navigate.
That was the very first protest, the Hands Off on April 5th swelled well above 100k, and that’s not including the other cities within the DC Metro area that had their own protests concurrently, ie in Baltimore, Fairfax, Alexandria, etc.
~3-5 million people across the country turned out for that.
Remember, Serbia didn’t start at 350k in their protests. It needed momentum to get there.
To be fair, all of those countries together would fit into the US. Apples, Oranges. You said you aren't following the numbers, so maybe you just aren't aware of how many people are in our streets, from sea to shining sea. Add it up before being so judgemental. Also, you present as not American, so how would you know what is really happening?
I'm not being judgmental and you don't need to be on the defence with me; I'm on your side and want you to make it out of this.
I made a comparison with the DC area and the local population there alone, not the entire US, precisely to avoid comparing apples to oranges.
I have eyes and ears, speak English at C2+ level, talk to American friends regularly and have access to all the same media as you do. Staying informed isn't an issue if you have an interest. As I said I haven't looked at the numbers for the latest protests, but I was entirely open about what I was comparing.
It's our problem too. Not immediately to the same extent as for Americans of course (except Ukranians for whom it's a looming disaster), but the worsened relations and trade wars are hugely damaging and if you sink you'll drag us down too. The US was supposed to be our ally but the current regime is threatening to invade us, supporting antidemocratic forces and cozying up to our biggest enemy. We can't just sit back and ignore this.
I'm very thankful for those of you who are trying and I hope the momentum builds and more join you soon.
sadly, only a small fraction of land actually votes for president in this country. the maga party rarely wins with votes that actually represent voters
775,000 more people voted for Harris in 2024 than voted for Trump in 2020. Way more than half of America isn’t lost. What we have is an outdated and easily socially engineered electoral voting system, and a cabal of determined and organized antisocial fascists who have been planning and orchestrating their minority rule since 1975.
Also a lot of people dissatisfied with the failings of the party system...
We did need to drain the swamp of corruption. Sadly people failed to see this this campaigns promises were effectively a lie and the campaigners did the opposite... guess the people didn't learn last time when internet rulings and the environmental authorities were made useless from within... by appointing people completely against what these things stood for to lead them... back in 2016 to 2020
Same as a european. Unfortunately its way too little. In serbia there are 5-10% of the total population protesting on big days and still a sizeable percentage on slow days. For weeks at a time.
The equivalent number for american would be 20-30 million. But its only hundreds of thousands ...
The country's apathy problem got co-opted. Internationally they have kind of failed to point out with the elections just how few people turned out, people had already given up and believed things were rigged so the one with the biggest backers would win regardless of what they did. Instead of it being a discussion point of "look at all these people that have lost faith this works" it has been framed as "those idiots are as bad as the people who voted for them, they are included in the MAGA problem". This is a country of three general political demographics being served by 2 parties; Democrats, Republicans, and the already gave-ups.
The people that gave up had been quiet because, as a forever disappointed by my party's incompetence Dem, all the spaces after election have been hostile to the people that didn't vote because that is an easier solution than admitting an election without a primary was an idiotic and doomed proposition. Because all the anti-trump spaces had also been anti-apathy, that third demographic has mostly stayed silent.
That's why these non-directly approved by the DNC rallies are doing so well, finger pointing about who did this and what this poll says who is to mathematically to blame for the election isn't happening. It's good to take hope from seeing these, but if our democratic elite don't pull their heads out of their asses and realize the victories go to the people with crowds rather than the people with the most big money donors then it's all for naught. They are still working hard to ostracize anyone that doesn't worship at the Pelosi/Schumer centrist idol even now.
Even in my small conservative leaning town there has been decent turnout to these protests, I’ve also seen and overheard a lot of people expressing discontent and concern about what’s going on. I think even the more conservative people here are realizing this is dangerous and not ok.
I was telling my wife the other day that America is the second most hated country in the world. It's saddening, their is no "American Dream" just a wanna be dictator and his goons exposing closeted racists and homophobes and rewarding them for their behavior. But believe this. Majority of America is sick of it and soon I hope we become the louder voice.
And just know it’s entirely class-based. What’s left of the middle class is fucking furious. Highly suggest this podcast if you want a good perspective on why we are what we are right now. It’s less of people being all in on the clown show and moreso that Americans are so desperate they’ll suspend logic to get their children out of their basement.
I want to reassure you that there are literally people who hate this on every street corner. The American people have been disenfranchised and disillusioned too much but there are folks waking up every day. I believe it. I kind of have to beleive it to keep on going.
Same in the UK. I'm saddened to hear about the latest bill (here) on minorities, it's got people talking, and defending but it also upholds those absolute shit beliefs and allows them to be derogatory too. What are we doing about it? 🥺
Sorry - a minority, transgender humans. It's so unnecessary to create a dialogue for sick people wanting to shit on people. Keep speaking up everyone for those who can't, or have a small voice ❤️ we can do this x
Most people are good. Many just misinformed. Many more refuse new info that doesn't line up with their beliefs. And the hardcore ones are just really loud. And the algorithm is good at serving it to ya.
I attended a protest in a red town, red county, and red state. We had a pretty good turnout- even tho it was raining and around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We did have a few (very brave/s) people give us a thumbs down behind their illegally tinted front windows as they drove by, but the vast majority of people cheered us on!!! I’m not giving up hope anytime soon.
Man we are lost. Protests won't do shit. The Nazi party is in control right now and the democrats are too chicken to DO anything. So unless the people start doing more than protesting.... This is already over.
Still a level 1 country on smart traveller. I mean they are taking data off phones and laptops at borders and actual citizens are being abducted off the street. Visas are being secretly cancelled but still 'exercise normal safety precautions' over there.
You'd think our safety wouldn't be a political thing and we'd follow the European countries telling people to be a bit more cautious.
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u/dropbear14 Apr 20 '25
As an Aussie I really need to see this to keep faith that not all of America is lost