Nah fam, blaming the voters.

Trump wasn’t some “We never knew what he was like”, we had him as president for four years, and yet somehow in four years we went through a fugue state and reelected him as a country. So… yea… blaming the voters on this one. ANYONE surprised is a mouth breathing idiot.

Oh I get it completely. There’s a bunch of subreddits I miss, my industry I work in which is very niche, leatherworking, heck even the motorcycle community in Lemmy is… lacking.

On the other part you brought in… OH BOY! Unhinged TED talk time.

So I live relatively close to the Royals and the Chiefs stadiums. John Sherman, gas magnate, the owner of the Royals decided he wanted to move the stadium to downtown, where things have been picking up. Specifically he wanted it in the Crossroads where there’s a lot of local community shops and everything, because he wanted it near Power and Light district where there’s bars and the like which… oh right, he owns a lot of. Troubles came up that the stadium proposals took foooooooorever to even come up, looked like it was drawn on a napkin instead of anything serious, and wanted a tax levy to be put on the city to continue one that still hasn’t been paid off for the last time the two stadiums were built. The whole time saying “Look how the stadiums bring business in!”… the area around the two stadiums have managed to keep a Denny’s and a Taco Bell alive, the big resort hotel couldn’t even survive. Yea… real great for business.

Another trouble is… as I say, I am one of those who actively detests sports… I wish I could find the post, there’s an old Reddit post describing what not liking sports was like and used archeology in how it invades everything around you so it’s easy to go from “I couldn’t care less” to “Okay, I hate this thing now. It is insufferable.” I say all that to say, just paying any attention to the news I knew at the time the Royals was the second worst team in the MLB, they were that bad. So they knew they couldn’t get this move off the ground so they went to the Chiefs who was the most recent superbowl winner which of course was happy to get money their way, and the ad campaign went out. And despite the Royals/Sherman being the push on getting this going, it was all Chiefs all the time. I literally even got a flier in my mail “The liberals are trying to take away our teams!” paid for by the team push, so yay politics even drug in. The whole time threatening “Well if you don’t vote it in, we’ll move. Maybe to Kansas (right over the border) or hey, even Tennessee.” Thing is, the state remembers St. Louis on the other side had the rams, built them a stadium and whoopsiedoodle they packed up and moved to California leaving a city with a stadium and fuck all to do with it.

So we’ve got all sorts of issue in state and local level, but holy fuck all the political pressure since the voters turned down the tax is “How can we keep these teams in Missouri!” And it’s funny, I said I’d be more okay paying for it if we got ANYTHING out of it… I don’t mind paying taxes to keep our zoo going and it’s nice I get a hefty discount when I go, but the Royals and Chiefs are giving a nice hearty “go fuck yourself” for us paying taxes so the billionaires have their teams.

On to the “Why are you a fan?” question you brought up. I don’t question it… but I’ve never understood it. I grew up in Arkansas that never had a pro team so college sports was big… I got to hear the “calling the hogs” my entire life and never comprehended the why. Probably because dad was not a sports guy and had the opinion “Why do I want to watch people play a game?” even though he played in high school and I’ve been pretty much the same. I get the community stuff, and that’s fantastic. I’ve just found a community outside of sports so it doesn’t resound to me. The reason I’ve become so against sports beyond it’s completely impossible to ignore it it’s so inundated in culture, is the sheer amount of money that goes into it in all levels. High school, if you’re one of the “football” schools, your school only has 3-4 sports, all the big stadium ticket getting team sports, the smaller less prestigious schools get more sports like wrestling and the like… guess which situation I ended up in? And watching schools dump money into the sports above all other things like theater, labs, etc. “But it brings in money for the school.” Cool cool… so why are we getting asked for a tax levy so the school can build yet another stadium? Repeat this for the college level so the “Hogs can have a proper place to play!” and now the city with pro teams level. And I hear the ticket prices and think I wouldn’t pay those prices to see my favorite band… and again, those ticket prices and yet we have to pay for their shit?

I’m not a sports guy, I’m pretty anti-sports actually (I can go on absolutely unhinged TED talks about how the local teams are trying to drain the city for taxes… I want to continue, so feel free to ask but not doing it here.) But I agree with you on the niche hobbies and local flavor.

I still have to use Reddit because there hasn’t been a good community for local on Lemmy (yes, I know everyone going “it’s user generated” but I’m like 1 of 5 instead of the hundreds still on reddit) and small hobbies in a lot of the crafting world is non-existent on Lemmy.

I don’t have an answer on this one, just sucks. It’s the trouble of being one of the first ones in the door.

Look, US here. I’ve been saying this for years and turns out as normal I’m fucking right.

A leaning majority of the gun nuts are the ones cheering for this and wanted a fascist regime. The other half has always been cosplayers wanting to look tough. The 2A crowd of our country has always been cowards that was willing to sacrifice children to protect their precious sacred cows.

God I hope so. Don’t hope for the US to learn.

We didn’t on guns after Sandy Hook so get some popcorn for the horror show to come for us.

First… I’m not reading all that

So… seeing as I wasn’t actually talking to you, beginning like that I’d like to know how the fuck you actually thought you’d get any message across beginning like that.

A good chunk of the post had absolutely nothing to do about the red/blue states or voting so go off I guess.

However

but are you aware that there are 2 congressional districts up for re-election this week to replace members who accepted cabinet positions

And how did that work out? Oh. People still voted Red? Double digit victories? I’m shocked I tell you. shocked.

I appreciate it. I really wish I weren’t in my situation either and if I had the means I’d be getting me and my parents the fuck out of here. But stuck with it and just trying to figure out the best way to help those that will be in more danger than I. I’ve got at least the luck of looking like the people that are taking over (the downside is that’s why I can discuss the way I do, I get to hear it from them because they look at me and think “Oh he’ll be on our side.”) but I know I will never be safe.

When you say part of it will be reality, that’s the point I’m really going down. Even with the wall of text, it still looks neat and tidy how the battle lines will be drawn, and the US has a bad habit of thinking like that, all our wars have been pretty “This side vs This side” even back to our civil war. But what will be coming is a war where the sides will be best expressed as a “gagglefuck of people.” Hopefully when blood is spilled there may get some sense and we figure out how to pull out of the nosedive, but to have hope would make me an optimist.

At least I did laugh about the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate you not sending any more. Thanks to the Republicans after every shooting we have so many that we’re swimming in them.

I really would love the kicking the Trump admin in the ocean, but living in a red state that is cheering for this, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Collapse, that’s far more likely and will look rather middle east 2.0. Our biggest states money wise are on the west coast and more politically aligned with Canada than anyone, and our east coast is more European minded. There’s a reason in the US a constant whining is “Coastal elites” so the political fight is going to go after them, especially if they resist any wars for expansion which is going to be the case. If things get bad enough, they potentially would secede which would lead to another civil war, which was caused by the last batch of secessionists.

The thing is, the people who are aligned with this administration are the ones that still support the southern secession, now if the Republicans didn’t have double standards they’d have no standards at all so I don’t expect them to take the will of blue states breaking off as “See, we were right all along” and instead go for an attack instead.

The trouble with… all of that… and why I say it’ll look like the middle east is when that goes down, we’re going to lose our nice dividing “red/blue Republican/Democrat left/right” divisions… which normally would be great, except it’s going to be all sorts of ideological areas in active combat. Those that have fully shoved the current administrations rhetoric down their throat will be pro-expansionisitic. They’re actually a pretty tiny minority, I’m surrounded by Trump voters at work and when I tell them about the “51st state” or annexation of Greenland rhetoric they’re horrified. Partially because the draft has always been in our mind and now they’re considering their kids going to war with a former ally… these guys mock Canada, but invading has never been in the thought process in our lives to the point that most people forget the war of 1812 happened.

But the largest church in the United States is the Catholic church, which until the last decade has really seemed to have been politically out of it, but now it’s been putting pressure on Rome to the point the Pope has called it out. I’ve been waiting to see if we’d end up with a US Anti-Pope. The trouble is, the MUCH MORE politically powerful church is the second biggest single church in the US, AND the biggest of the current religion in the US, Protestantism, headed up by the Southern Baptist Church. The Southern Baptists were created pre-Civil War literally over the purposes of slavery, and while they have shut up about slavery they keep their southern roots and having grown up down there… they’ve been ready to go to war for years against the “Mary Worshipers” and “Jesus killers” (Catholics and Jews) to turn the country into the “Rightful Christian country it should be.” So now we potentially might be getting a nice religious civil war going down, we’ve got waiting in the wings the Mormons, they’re an odd bunch, very insular. One of their tenants is to be prepared for the end times and build communities together, effectively it’s a religion of doomsday preppers. They’re by far a smaller group, but far less infighting and as I say, are prepared for “The Collapse”. And the biggest concentration of them is in Salt Lake City, Utah… where the great salt lake is drying up and the dirt under it is toxic and being blown over the city. But that’s fine… their holy land where they expect Jesus to descend is just East of Kansas City in Missouri… where the reason they’re not really there in force is because Missouri literally had a law to legalize hunting Mormons in the 1800s, so surely no bitterness there. The Southern Baptists is biggest concentrated from Florida to Texas, the Catholics have the biggest gathering in Chicago so that nice North/South thing will come up again, now with a potential holy crusade in the middle from a third group.

OKAY, so we’ve got the religious fights I’ve been hearing rumblings my entire life going, but religion is taking a back seat, lets see what else we have happening. The South wants to bring back Jim Crow against the blacks, but surely that’d be localized, the South has never attempted to pressure states to do what they want to do (see the Fugitive Slave Acts to see how dripping with sarcasm that is.) Frankly the South has been ready to restart its Civil War for the past 160 years, and I’ve been saying the Trump administration is them winning it, so you’ll have a racial war going down in the same time, and if you look up the Tulsa Race Riots, you’ll see the US really knows how to go all out on a race war.

Now just political ideology wars. Sure, as I said, only the most hard core MAGAts want to go to war with other countries, but this country has been spending the last 20 years splitting the political ideologies from each other to a point I have no idea how we can come together. I have had to keep my mouth shut politically in jobs because I’m always outnumbered and retaliation can happen. Because of such I get to hear such wonderful things about how they believe Democrats are pedophiles and believe the Pizzagate thing. Now of course I think Republicans are unforgiveable fascists… but holy fuck it’s not like I don’t have a massive pile of evidence on that one, but that shows even the bias of I have no idea how I can ever trust one again. For the most part, the left is in the cities and the right is in the country. So of course the right wingers keep saying “Fine, we can cut off cities out of food” but dont’ realize the numbers of people and guns do outnumber in the cities, and when people start starving they will invade. It won’t save the cities, people will die if that goes down as people in this situation tend to not think in the long term and will destroy instead of trying to grow… and but the country folk won’t make it through any better… yet seem perfectly willing to think they can try.

And finally, the one that’s more theoretical as I only have some historic perspective to work off of, but I’ve heard no rumblings about it, however movements seem to show it. Company towns. We did have some history of towns owned entirely by companies, where you were paid in company scrip and the company owns your home. I grew up in the hometown of WalMart, and I’ve made “jokes” about the Walmart military being the security, but Arkansas has weak gun laws, walmart has a massive security operation, has made it a point that if you want to do business with them you have to move to their home area and has made sure to clear out any competition. There are surrounding towns that papers are finding that the Walton family ends up owning 75%+ due to shell corporations to buy up the land of the towns. Amazon has been trying to take over towns with their distribution centers, running anything out and running on low taxes but they’re really decentralized, and President Musk has outright stated wanting to bring back company towns. Now, there aren’t many willing to fight and die for a company here. Left and Right, most people hate these major corporations (but not enough hate to stop giving them money and power), but thinking about Bentonville, if things go down like I’m predicting above, you’ll have these very powerful companies that have consolidated land and people and has enough money to effectively buy a military… well security becomes a “militia” to protect the stability of the town, now people can get on board with that. Once the militia has stabilized the area around where it’s not in danger from the fighting… now what? People belong to that company. And then while the others are fighting, they can expand. We may see a rise of feudalism within the US.

I realize this is all tin foil hattery, but this is a perspective of someone in the middle of it watching some of my tin foil hat predictions coming true and listening to what people are willing to yell about. This would probably be “entertaining” as in watching a train crash entertaining for all of you across the world, if it weren’t for the part I never mentioned… the US military. Their ideologies are as split as the US… so all of the above will be trying to scoop up the military. Even companies have been some of the biggest hiring of former military for security, both digital and physical. Again, probably not so bad if we weren’t bristling with nukes and at least a couple of these groups I mentioned in fighting are outright doomsday cults.

Thoughts from someone who lives in a state where the general populace, police and political leaders all are in agreement with the current administration and the nearest bastion that isn’t completely surrounded is over 500 miles away. I’d say send help but if we get to that point, I’ll be in the ground before yall get here.

No, I live in the US and in a red state.

Seriously, the news is trying to spin it as “Oh they changed their plans” but seriously they’ve been hyping the fuck out of the visit and suddenly it’s “JD is joining but they’re only going to a military base”

Even the dumbass republicans are going wtf.

I’m from the UK and the general feeling is not just distrust of the US government but also the complete disbelief that the American people could vote that fat traitorous wanker back in yet again. It is completely unfathomable.

I’m in the US and I have the same feeling. Surrounded by coworkers who have.

I honestly have lost all faith in the people of this country.

Canada… we had the same sort of thing with our Conservatives. Tom Cotton comes to mind and he’s still in.

Please please please do not make the same mistake and roast her.

they just show up and everyone’s gotta be pretend they’re welcome.

US here, do you? I mean I know your politicians might, but I figure the populace can do a good job showing how “welcome” they are… (seriously, if you somehow chuck them off the island without a boat I’ll be cheering for you.)

There’s a weird moment where it’s “Fuck, here we go aga… wait… it’s not our fault this time?”

I’d like to remind we’re only 3 months in and that’s the scenario we’re looking at.

I don’t have the imagination for what the country will look like by December.

US here.

I’m betting we’ll be outright giddy this year compared to next year.

I’m stuck in a red state and surrounded by them…

It’s not great!

I mean, the bar isn’t exactly a high one to cross in our situation. The ONLY good thing about Trump is his five year old with a shotgun strategy in he’s as likely to fuck up a bunch of Republicans on his way of hurting everyone else. Trump is for Trump and no one else.

Vance at least will believe in the party… when I say competence I don’t mean in running the country. I mean competence in when being in control if not a tyrant, but a good enough puppet that he won’t tear down the foundations of the reign.

Understand, when I say competent… that’s the worse category.

I’ve stopped asking about States Rights to do what, they just sidestep it. I just ask them about the confederate constitution.

Article I, Sec. 9(4), Article IV, Sec 2(1)(3), Sec 3(3) (I’ll give a hint, it’s where the CSA federal government outlawed states enacting laws to outlaw slavery. States Rights my ass)

If I get the sputtering boat of “butbutbut” after that it’s what are the secession declarations of Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

At that point either they really didn’t fucking know… I grew up in the South and I was an adult before I knew a lot of these, it certainly isn’t in the education system I’ll tell you that… but if it isn’t the really didn’t know category, then they’re as much a lost cause as their myth.

Someone else pointed it out, Freedom Convoy was effectively the next “States Rights” Don’t argue with them in good faith, they don’t argue in good faith themselves.

They’re the ones that cry “2A” about guns but worship the ground of Ronny Reagan who enacted gun legislation to go against the Black Panthers. This is the group that also talks about 2A and would storm the capital attacking police but calls Black Lives Matter riots and cheer when police show up. Hell, they cry about 2A when they worship Trump who said “Take their guns first, due process after.”

They talk about “Freedom of Religion” but it’s always their religion. War on Christmas, how dare they take down the ten commandments, while cheering for the guy who wanted a Muslim ban, attacked Sikhs post 9/11 because they couldn’t even get the religion they were mad at right, and want to force their religion into schools and courthouses.

They talk about freedom of speech when they scream about being able to lie, but cheer that Musk will throw people off that will actually fact check. The party of “Fuck your feelings” cries how they’re being attacked and needs protected when it’s turned around on them.

They cry about discrimination with Affirmative Action, but it’s simply the new Southern Strategy post Obama. Had a black president, racism is over, wave the flags. Oh, still helping minorities, RACISM! But they still stand with people who wave the swastika and the confederate flag and manage to say with a straight face they are not racist at all.

They made use of the social contract of tolerance, that we’re all supposed to get along as a society. They have done so by spitting in peoples faces, enacting violence, screaming epitaphs and being the worst people ever, then run back to society every time it’s turned on them.

Do not give them the good faith they ask for. Do not treat them as reasonable human beings, they are not. When they can act with basic fucking decorum that is required to be a person, then they can be treated like members of society again.

You’ll have to rinse/repeat a lot with this administration. Vance will be marginally better/worse. Basically he won’t be absolutely unpredictable, but he’ll be competent.