From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
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@ChrisMayLA6
The situation is, if anything, worse and more serious in many places than indicated by media. However, I would caution ppl not to use a "slipping toward civil war" framing in their mind to understand things.US is a very, very large place. Conditions are heterogenous. You read/hear about the worst places.
More encouraging trends are harder to see.
This is something different than "civil war". Thinking it is will only blind ppl to the full dynamics and processes happening.Yes I wondered about that - its it limited to a smallish number of areas... but on the other hand what's to stop it spreading?
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@ChrisMayLA6 The situation is indeed grave, and the gravity of it is being minimized by much of the major US media (NYT, WP, etc.). The Trump administration can fairly be called "lawless." Its representatives basically claim now that might makes right.
There is resistance, some of it organized, regional, and it is peaceful, so far. We know that violent resistance only would be used as a pretext by the regime.
Foreign countries should isolate and boycott the US.
@d_a_n_a @ChrisMayLA6
What encouragement would be necessary for, say, California to secede? -
From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 To have a civil war, you'd have to have government bodies willing to fight the Nazis. That is not happening, nor is it realistic.
An uprising? Well we might be headed towards that hella fast. But it ain't gonna be a "Civil War" because the lib establishment will surrender before they start shooting.
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From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 The situation is indeed very grave however a civil war, an organized civil war, is unlikely.
* We are spread out both geographically and in terms of common, binding values.
* We are heavily sedated both medically and recreationally.
* Finally, the people who are out on the streets are - for the most part - dedicated to some form of the principles of non-violence. We are not committed to, nor do we take pleasure in, vicious acts of violence and control - unlike ICE and those who hold and loose their leashes.Of course, I don't have a crystal ball
to see the future and how this will ultimately play out. I have my hopes for a positive outcome but in the meantime there's a lot of suffering.
#uspol
#ice #civilwar -
@ChrisMayLA6 since he came to power this time I have been sure that by the end of his term they would be at war and he would pause the elections until it was "resolved".
"I'm just doing what Ukraine did and you all supported that .. "@Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 that's my fear too
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@ChrisMayLA6 To have a civil war, you'd have to have government bodies willing to fight the Nazis. That is not happening, nor is it realistic.
An uprising? Well we might be headed towards that hella fast. But it ain't gonna be a "Civil War" because the lib establishment will surrender before they start shooting.
@AnarchoNinaWrites @ChrisMayLA6 worse, they might decry the violence of self defence, as they are wont to do.
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@ChrisMayLA6 Those opposing ICE and such have not moved to violence…..yet. They have been using peaceful means like whistles, noise, recording and exposing who and where ICE are. But I think ICE are escalating, regardless. Their brutality has the backing of Noem, Homan, Millar and such. Laws and boundaries are being ignored. Republican political unease is being ignored. Trump and his administration are pushing for an autocracy/despot regime. If it goes to Civil War it will be very very bad.
@HarriettMB The USA has been in a persistent civil war since a century before its foundation. Mostly against non-white people, but also against working class people.
It is labelled as a "civil war" only when the endemic war on non-white America and poor America is turned onto chunks of white middle-class America.
But don't let the colonist labels deceive. This is not the start of the American civil war. This is just an intensification of one front of the continuous civil war.
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Yes I wondered about that - its it limited to a smallish number of areas... but on the other hand what's to stop it spreading?
@ChrisMayLA6
The active violence is in a small # of cities - at one time. The active conflicts are more like rotating instigations. But the awareness, anxiety, and opposition is def spreading big time thru US.
The numbers and time do not favor the violent oppressors - and they know it. Big long run conflicts like wars or revolutions take time, skilled leadership/people, and logistics & materiel.
This won't be quick, I fear. -
@d_a_n_a @ChrisMayLA6
What encouragement would be necessary for, say, California to secede?@guardeddon @ChrisMayLA6 secession attempts would cause outright civil war. Remember that the federal govt. is heavily armed.
I believe we'll see interstate agreements to do things that the federal govt. used to do. If things fall apart completely, these associations could become the basis of regional entities.
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@d_a_n_a @ChrisMayLA6
What encouragement would be necessary for, say, California to secede?@guardeddon California will not secede until the humongous gravy train of military spending dries up. That's not a sufficient condition for a #CalExit, but it's a necessary condition.
Also, Silicon Valley is now so strong that there is probably no secession without #techbros in the driving seat.
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@Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 that's my fear too
@EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He can’t pause elections lawfully. US has held elections during all wars including the Civil War. He can prevent people from voting by scaring them enough to stay home but even this may not be enough to end voting as courts can extend voting to counter certain issues. Trump wants you to worry.
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Yes I wondered about that - its it limited to a smallish number of areas... but on the other hand what's to stop it spreading?
@ChrisMayLA6 @econproph Few civil wars involve an ongoing punch up on every street. Mostly, they are localised.
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@d_a_n_a @ChrisMayLA6
What encouragement would be necessary for, say, California to secede?@guardeddon @ChrisMayLA6 A couple of book suggestions vis a vis secession:
Peter Heller, "Burn" (2024) (Maine secedes)
Brian Hart, "Trouble No Man" (2019) (West coast post secession of a large area described as "The Preservation")
Both are grim food for thought.
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From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 I feel that is exactly the case. It is terrifying, and I’d kinda hoped y final years would be a bit more peaceful
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I'm interested in the idea of self-correction - from here it looks like the forces with & behind Trump are seeking to ensure such a self-correction is not possible.... are you saying that is a misapprehension?
@ChrisMayLA6 @lukeryanps I think we will be very fortunate if there are elections this year, and too many people are still clinging to that as of things are normal
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From this side of the Atlantic (the UK side) it looks like the US is slipping towards civil war, goaded on by a President wanting to invoke the Insurrection Act as a way of militarising his political power.
I'd be interested if followers of these posts in the US think the same or whether the media's distorting mirror is deceiving us about the gravity of the situation...
(Civil) analysis & contextual answers boosted & thanks in advance for sharing.
@ChrisMayLA6 From a certain historical perspective, the US Civil War never really ended, it went underground. The attitudes were cultivated and channeled into institutional racism and Jim Crow laws.
The 20th century "Confederates" (fascists) never forgave the US government for Civil Rights and equality laws. The 21st century Confederates are trying to unmake the human rights advances in order to institute a white Christian theocracy. (Blame John Calvin.)
All empires eventually fall, as hubris takes its toll.
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@EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He can’t pause elections lawfully. US has held elections during all wars including the Civil War. He can prevent people from voting by scaring them enough to stay home but even this may not be enough to end voting as courts can extend voting to counter certain issues. Trump wants you to worry.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He owns the supreme court. He can do what he likes.
The only barriers to what he can do are what will finally tip politicians over the edge (assuming they don't wait too long and lose that power too), and at what point the country goes up in flames.
Given even the "opposition" party is basically executing on "but we're a different kind of nazi" that seems pretty grim.
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@EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He can’t pause elections lawfully. US has held elections during all wars including the Civil War. He can prevent people from voting by scaring them enough to stay home but even this may not be enough to end voting as courts can extend voting to counter certain issues. Trump wants you to worry.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 not only that but from what I understand don't individual states administer their own elections? So Trump doesn't have power over how they're held. The controls he has are things like USPS (making postal voting harder) and terrorising people from showing up. But he can't directly do anything to stop them happening.
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@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 not only that but from what I understand don't individual states administer their own elections? So Trump doesn't have power over how they're held. The controls he has are things like USPS (making postal voting harder) and terrorising people from showing up. But he can't directly do anything to stop them happening.
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 Amanda's Mild Takes on YouTube is very clear on this. https://youtube.com/shorts/cIHkd0YutTA
She points out in another one that even when Hawaii had martial law after Pearl Harbour, elections still happened. -
@alex_p_roe @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 He owns the supreme court. He can do what he likes.
The only barriers to what he can do are what will finally tip politicians over the edge (assuming they don't wait too long and lose that power too), and at what point the country goes up in flames.
Given even the "opposition" party is basically executing on "but we're a different kind of nazi" that seems pretty grim.
@etchedpixels @EvelineSulman @Mattrog @ChrisMayLA6 Yes, that he exploits his pet #SCOTUS in some way is a possibility - they may be able to find some obscure law or case and twist a decision in Trump’s favor. Trump and his evil cohorts will no doubt be scheming as we discuss this.
