Anyone else worried that we aren’t gonna come back from this?

The problem right now is there's too many MAGAts and racists in law enforcement, the people who are supposed to protect us. I didn't really understand BLM until 1/6/21.

OP, Yes. It is the bottom line fear I have of the whole thing. We are basically going to be living in some kind of corrupt terrorist state.

I think there could be a lot of potential deaths on both sides until these terrorists are destroyed.

Military is going to have to be ever present and security is going to have to change in the government and government complexes.

The necessity for heads to roll was obvious 20 years ago.

Do you mean social media as an entire entity disappearing? Conservative content creators and the like are being purged.

If 230 gets repealed you can count on social media becoming severely limited. Reddit and other type of comment-based platforms will cease to exist. However, I don't think that this would occur under a Biden-Harris administration. With the mass silencing of conservative voices the unintended consequence may lead to them acting out (explosively) or flocking to other sites. Gab, for instance, is still alive and well but it is an absolute cesspool and will become even worse now that they feel slighted and provoked. A powder keg as OP said.

I hate what social media has done to our interactions, our commerce, our relationships, and our lives. A true cancer.

I honestly don't have any idea what will happen due to this situation.

Not to worry you know the problem: the profit and ratings driven media that has space to fill and time to kill thrives on division and repetition. How many times was the George Floyd video shown or how many times did Tom Cruise jump on Oprah's couch or how many times did Bill Clinton say that he didn't inhale or George Bush say "read my lips no new taxes"? It's all so disproportionate. No one I know ran out of toilet paper last year but how many people stock piled it? Unfortunately, people on social media have keyboard courage and vent and yes meet up with like-minded people which is different from just 25 years ago. I didn't watch a single news report all last week as opposed to some people who were clued to the TV and getting anxious. And I know what's happening and what could I or any of the millions who watched have done about what was unfolding in DC?

I actually feel like what happened on Wednesday hurt the deplorable movement. Now everyone is scrambling to throw them under the bus. I think they have been pushed back for at least long enough to get a new administration and strengthen institutions.

[quote] too many MAGAts and racists

They need to be quarantined into special areas— the USA needs to partition itself into two states like India did with Pakistan in 1948.

OP, of course.

Things will "get better" eventually - a combination of things cooling off and simply us getting used to the new reality. But, before that happens, we're gonna see just how deep all of this runs and things will never be like they were before Trump and the Capitol Insurrection.

No because we out number them. We can’t be afraid of them. Need to be treated as any other terrorist organization.

The average Capitol rapist looked like a 40-ish southern white Anglo-Saxon Protestant heterosexual. Obsessed with guns, God, "Freedom" and people trying to take America away from him. A few arrests in his background. Doesn't read. Facial hair. Likes to wear caps. Owns a motorcycle. Not into fashion. Has a blue collar-type job like a trade or warehouse or cars (though changes jobs from time to time). His daddy made a decent living working in a factory, but those jobs are gone. Smokes dope, drinks beer and occasionally dabbles in harder stuff. No retirement savings, lives basically check-to - check.

As long as it’s a two party system then the country will be split in two. There’s no grey area. If there was for instance a libertarian party and a Green Party and a progressive left party and more power-sharing and a less clear alliance between parties and certain social groups then this type of pre-determined hatred wouldn’t exist.

Zapping twitter was a huge win for the country. That almost didn't happen. That is making huge impact. Let's hope it holds. They are are being rounded up and arrested as we speak..

They have those parties in the UK and it hasn't stopped rampant Trumpian fascism over there, r11.

Mary OP, I am equally as [bold]CONCERNED[/bold] as you are!

R13 Do you live in the UK?

America hasn't recovered from a lot of things, but it's still a country and hasn't been destroyed, at least not yet. We never really recovered from Manifest Destiny and Native genocide, slavery, the Civil War, Vietnam, the Depression, 9/11, McCarthyism, Hurricane Katrina, and more. We may not recover from either COVID or Trump, either. We as a country don't deal with crises, we cover them up or wave some flags and move on, then "forget" to put them in history books or whitewash them if we do.

I know that's cynical but I genuinely feel this is a pattern that we can't break out of.

There’s going to be violence. I don’t entirely understand what energizes the MAGAs, but there is a lot of emotional energy tied up in their cult.

I am holding out hope that the past four years have put the spotlight on things that need to be changed: term limits for Supreme Court justices, no kids in senior staff positions, candidates required to disclose financials to show no foreign debt, better, more enforced divisions between president and AG, etc. I didn’t realize before how many things were subject to a “gentleman’s agreement “ and/or just not the done thing until Trump.

The racist, white trash rageaholics aren't going to give up their guns. I am sure it will get worse before it gets better. It's absolutely imperative that everyone involved in this faces the most serious consequences. It won't deter the most extreme lunatics, but it would send a message to those who got swept up in the movement because they assumed their cult leader and his enablers had greenlit everything and would keep them free from accountability.

I know that I don't feel like riding this out...I am packing my bags and ready to gtfo, at least for awhile.

YOU’RE not coming back from this, OP. I on the other hand will be more fabulous than ever!

Unfortunately, I feel this will be their way of handling things from now on. ReTrumpian ideology

No, they can't hide. People are being put on the no-fly list and are refused at the airport and can't get home., The FBI has every hotel guest list with names addresses even credit card numbers. They will be found. First Washington need to expel those involved.

MSM needs to subvert and marginalize these hooligans and tie them inextricably to Dump. Face it, this unholy union will not end well since Dump can't stand them. He'll once again yearn for the NY high life and these country hicks will grow to hate Dump's guts (if they don't already!). If we're lucky enough, they'll "neutralize" him for us. End result=An unfortunate footnote in American history.

Of course they can get home, R22. As long as there are buses and rental car services, they can get home. However, if they've been ID'd, law enforcement will be waiting for them.

Social media is a huge problem. It seems archaic to go back to the way it was before but this monster has gotten completely out of hand and everyone - everyone - knows it. Hive minded individuals worked into a frenzy with a lit match. It is a cancer among society, among our children, for our safety. I know I will get pushback on this but I don’t care. Get rid of it or severely limit it. It’s trash.

On the bright side, the Biden administration will prioritize the dismantling of domestic terror organizations. He will have the support of the entire Congress to pass the necessary legislation. The Dept of Homeland Security will treat white nationalist, anti-government groups just like foreign adversaries -- a move Obama resisted. Trump has made plain the threat posed to our nation by these groups.

The country came back after the Civil War. I think we got this.

R14 After Wednesday, I really never want to hear the words "concern troll" used again.

I realized we as a country have gone too far when Trump supporters agreed with him that if he lost the 2020 presidential race, that the election had to be rigged.

We also need to weed out the white supremacists in LE. Police reform? Lots of work ahead.

Americans have too many freedoms. Building personal arsenals? Collecting Nazi/Confederacy memorabilia? Civilians with riot shields, pepper spray, hand grenades and bulletproof vests? Acquiring enough combustible material to blow-up Downtown Nashville without making an FBI list?

Not anymore.

[quote] The country came back after the Civil War. I think we got this.

Only after the North abandoned Blacks to a century of repression.

No. With water and food shortages, lack of or no medical, housing, livening wages, covid, climate change, fascist Republicans, racism. No, I do see us surviving all of this at all.

An interesting piece in the NY Times by Ben Smith, who used to be the editor of BuzzFeed. One of the MAGAts who stormed the Capitol (Anthime Joseph Gionet, aka "Baked Alaska") used to work at BuzzFeed. He seemed to be driven less by politics per se (he was a Bernie Sanders supporter before supporting Trump) than by the need to do whatever he could to "go viral" and get Internet attention.

Some excerpts:

[quote] One of those friends remembered him as a sad character who didn’t really express political views beyond the broadly bro-ey and insensitive culture of Vine, and who confided that he was haunted by a lonely childhood in Alaska. He seemed, three of them said, to be missing something — to be hollow inside.

[quote] As the 2016 election took hold, he started to flirt with a political persona. He first put a Bernie Sanders portrait on his desk, two former colleagues said. Then, he moved on to wearing MAGA hats around the office, which raised eyebrows among his more progressive, if fairly apolitical, co-workers, though that was when some people still imagined the far right could be “ironic.”

[quote] The only through line was his desire to build an audience. He was boosting Bernie Sanders before he was chanting anti-Semitic slogans in Charlottesville, Va., then temporarily recanting those extreme views and later committing violent crimes to get views on YouTube. He built an audience among coronavirus deniers and then, when he apparently contracted the disease, posted the screenshot of his own positive test to Instagram with a tearful emoji.

[quote] “His politics have been guided by platform metrics,” reflected Andrew Gauthier, who was a top video producer at BuzzFeed and later worked for Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential campaign. “You always think that evil is going to come from movie villain evil, and then you’re like — oh no, evil can just start with bad jokes and nihilistic behavior that is fueled by positive reinforcement on various platforms.”

Before social media, most people had almost no way to express themselves or attract attention, other than writing a letter to their local newspaper or speaking at their local city council meeting. Now, any bozo with time on their hands can create a YouTube channel, a Twitter account, a podcast, etc., and build a worldwide audience. And the more provocative and outlandish their posts or videos, the more hits they'll get and the more popular they'll become. The Internet rewards the bizarre and the extreme.

When I read about these deplorable losers, I'm shocked to read that many of these mentally unstable misfits are considered "influencers" or "media personalities" with thousands or millions of followers. There is now a whole segment of society that won't read the NY Times or watch CNN (Fake news!) because they literally get all their information about what's happening in the world from idiots who dress in Viking horns or paramilitary garb or live in their parents' basements. In the 1960s and 1970s, people gathered around their TV set to watch Walter Cronkite give them the news. Today, you have people who go to their phone or computer to watch "Q Shaman" give them the news. I don't know what the solution is.

While I think the fundies haven't really changed their tune, I do think the coup will cause them to go underground; the hard core ones will stop at nothing, but the others will fear a backlash from employers, neighbors & business associates.

[quote] the others will fear a backlash from employers, neighbors & business associates.

Next time, they'll avoid posting on mainstream social media sites. They won't record the riots and post them online. They'll take steps to hide or disguise their identity. But that will make it more difficult to find and arrest them. I'm not sure what's more dangerous: insurrection and hatred out in the open, or insurrection and hatred bubbling underground.

It all makes Limbaugh look a little quaint at this point.

I admit to being overly dismissive of just how far Trump and his minions would go to delegitimize the election. However, I still believe Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th and Trump's descent into irrelevancy will continue.

Despite the hyperbole surrounding the events of January 6th, which certainly could've turned out horrifically, the US has experienced far worse in its history! Hell, in 1954 Puerto Rican Nationalists opened fire on House members debating an immigration bill, so it's not like blood has never been shed in the Capitol.

Social media has fanned the flames of radicalization and hyper-partisianship, but draconian laws restricting the Internet would be implemented before the US government was allowed to collapse. Also, despite what happened last week, Congress still convened and certified the election results. The Constitution has been stress tested in a way it hasn't been in years, but just because things seem the worst we've experienced doesn't mean they're the worst its ever been.

Great points, R39.

Even now the loons are being given more attention than they deserve by us and by the media. They absolutely need to be watched, but there is no need to go overboard. A recent poll showed 75% of American want Trump gone - that's all Democrats and Independents and half of the Republicans - so the top level of the MAGA core is 25% and in reality the number of those who will actually do anything other than moan and share memes is very small. Again, absolutely they need monitoring and it doesn't take that many people to create local havoc, but they can be dealt with and things will subside..

Agree with R39, but to OP's point of coming back... Come back to what?

The U.S. is still No. 1 in GDP, though China is close and moving swiftly and steadily and, with reasonable near certainty will take that spot soon. The U.S. is still No. 1 in defense spending and in that spot it can afford to lose a lot of traction and maintain that spot. The rest of the desirable No. 1 spots were lost, often long ago without Americans giving any notice. The bragging rights about Democracy and all that business about lighting the way for freedom in the world? The favored destination of talented immigrants from around the world? A center for technological innovation? An exporter of ideas, or entertainment, even? A peacekeeper and key player in international relations and negotiations? The things that the U.S. took for granted long after its positions had been eroded have now been exposed inside and outside. The U.S. will be the center of the world for Americans more in the way that Hungary is the center of the world for Hungarians.

I think political parties are at a point of fracturing from two to many, with parties forming to focus on ecological issues, educational issues, health care issues, progressive reforms, flag-waving yahoos, fiscal conservatives, and other of what Americans see as single-focus issues compared to its established two parties. The focus will shift from talk of "across the aisle" to nervous, tentative alliances and strange short-term bedfellows. Single issues will become more important and party alliances less clear and fast. You will come back, but to a different position in the world than the U.S. thought it enjoyed, and to a different political world internally.

I feel like the US becoming an authoritarian dictatorship is inevitable. We can kick the can down the road and try to fight back at them, but it’s a matter of time.

[quote]There is now a whole segment of society that won't read the NY Times or watch CNN (Fake news!) because they literally get all their information about what's happening in the world from idiots who dress in Viking horns or paramilitary garb or live in their parents' basements.

Some of that is because Viking Guy puts his "news" out for free, while good journalism is behind a paywall, frequently in longform or 2500 word op-eds, and if it's mentioned on social media it's some brief 10-word sentence that doesn't explain what the article is even about. Viking Guy yells "WOOO MAGA LOCK HER UP!" and it's instant understanding, excitement, gratification.

Also, social media is pushing people toward extremes on purpose, because it increase engagement and therefore their revenue.

I watched the NBC New Year's show on YouTube a couple weeks ago and within a few hours was getting a dozen recommendations for far-right dipshit 30-somethings jabbering about vitamin supplements and MAGA. On Twitter, if I click on any trending topic or headline, I'm served up far-right lies and propaganda in the top of my search results.

And the thing is, I block all of these accounts, so their algorithms should know full well that I'm not interested, but they keep trying. Someone who hasn't been on the internet every damn day since 1992 like I have (a life wasted? probably!) would have no idea what's going on and they'd get sucked in easily, and get radicalized quickly.

Then of course there's all sorts of lies and propaganda masquerading as news, even from solid news sources.

Here's an article from 25 years ago identifying the problems ahead and warning about a greedy, profit-minded press corrupting itself. It was true then and even worse now. Until that cycle is broken, we're fucked.

I 100% agree with you R25. And unlike something like drugs, it can be turned off with the press of a button.

Glad I’m 50. And on my way out. I feel sorry young people.

We need to eliminate the presidency’s powers. No one person should have that much power.

R4[quote]Conservative content is being purged

This is a very, very dangerous and completely incorrect point. It is a point that extremists make to rise the ante, to defend seditious language and actions.

Conservatives, both those that are appalled by the President and the Radical Right, and those that still defend him, are fully present in all media. What's being purged is language and people who will incite emotions that cause violence, that advocate for attacks on people. "Conservative" has nothing to do with it. And to pretend it does just is further duplicity that pushes people to the extremes.

Look, if someone says removing violent plans for insurrection and hate crimes is "removing conservative content," then that tells you he thinks conservative content is inherently treasonous by its very existence.

Trump's supporters are not a monolith. We see the rally going, cosplay confederate flag waving, out for trouble cultish true believers. They can and will be dealt with. But there are millions more. Many are middle class "genteel" racists. Meaning they would never use pejoratives, you won't see them marching or wearing Trump gear, but they support Trump because he represents a bulwark against brown and black people taking roles of leadership and power. Then there are the educated, and well to do, even wealthy supporters. They like his tax policy and their stocks, and having regulations axed. that's what they care about. Too many factors at play to know whether this "movement" will die down. Chief among them the complete inadequacy and obstruction Congress has created to deal with Trump.

What I mean is that getting Trump out of office, cracking down on the loons, won't do the job. We will have to see where we are in a few years. If Biden can get the pandemic under control (god knows how with the dimwits in this country)and get the economy going, while repairing what Trump has done to the federal gov there is a good chance we can recover. It will require Congress to work with him.

Meanwhile the DNC needs to concentrate on building and mobilizing its voter base. Deal with voter suppression and make it a mission to win. Every election allows more Trump types into national, state, and local office. That is a great problem than needs to be dealt with.

"As long as there are buses and rental car services, they can get home."

There are limited funds there. I'm sure the $600 checks enabled this trip for many.

Unless you've been diagnosed with a fatal illness, 50 is hardly "on your way out," R46.

I'm afraid you'll have to struggle along for the next 30 or 40 years.

[quote] Then there are the educated, and well to do, even wealthy supporters. They like his tax policy and their stocks, and having regulations axed. that's what they care about.

They're the worst of the bunch. They're always willing to look the other way whenever horrible shit happens. Worse yet, many of them are actively egging on the confederate flag-waving deplorable trash and encouraging their batshit conspiracy theories. They've aligned themselves with the trashiest of the trash in order to enrich themselves.

Not without healthcare we won't. 58, only a short time left.

[quote]Then there are the educated, and well to do, even wealthy supporters. They like his tax policy and their stocks, and having regulations axed. that's what they care about.

Not to mention the ones who are educated, wealthy, AND fascist.

We've let the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum and politicians and media who thrive on division run the show for far too long. It's probably too late.

Social media could control this if they wanted to. The problem is that their platforms turned into news and publishing platforms - but without the restrictions that actual news outlets like newpapers and TV have to deal with.

There are no retractions being served, no responsibility for content whatsoever.

And they could ban puppet accounts and Russian trolls if they wanted to. It doesn't take that much technology to identify these accounts and block them. But no - they don't do shit.

Zuckerberg gets a lot of blame for the current state of affairs - a HUGE amount.

Thank you Tulsi @r56!

Both sides??? Wtf is wrong with you, r56? One side just attempted to kill the second and third in command of this country, and that’s your answer. Sorry your moral compass is broken.

[quote] We've let the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum and politicians and media who thrive on division run the show for far too long.

Oh, no. Here comes the "both sides" bullshit. Soon to be followed by the "What about ..." bullshit.

And the other side would if it could, R59.

Trump broke this country pretty badly. If we can come back it will take decades and new generations. In other words I won't see it. And yes I'm glad I'm not young anymore except for the sex. An old person said this to me back in the 70s. 'I feel so sorry for young people today.' And I thought I'm young and I look forward to a lot of things so don't feel sorry for me. Now after tumultuous relationships and corporate careers that were soul crushing you can have all of it except for making love and having a young body.

All of this is on Republicans. All. They have been chipping away at our rights, healthcare, mental health services, education , everything for years! For profit jails, racism, homophobia. They hate democracy!

It’s greed. We have a very young platform to share with one another. We’re trying to make it into a magic bag-of-tricks that answers every need.

Face facts: your identity is attached to your activity on the net and you will be held accountable for your behavior as it affects others. We have to spell that out in a way that is understood and accepted by 16 year-old drivers.

This country? We say our country is about whatever will help us skate for another day. I’m pretty sure every other country does the same.

R62 Trump broke this country pretty badly? Are you fucking serious? Trump is not the problem. He was the facilitator and the symptom of the problem. He and his goons just brought this all to the surface. And I say amen to that.

Having said that, I fucking hate threads like this. Of course we will come back. In spite of everything this lunatic threw at it, democracy held. The laws and the constitution that were put in place actually saved us from this monster. People put country ahead of party. Judges did their job. It was kind of amazing to watch. We have a long way to go. But yes we will survive.

In the next 4 years, over 7 million people over the age of 65 will die. And 20 million people will reach voting age for the first time.

Time is on our side. However, we wouldn't have any problems if people under 35 actually voted. Even in the last election, just barely 50% voted which was up from 40-42%. But it's not like the 70 -80% of the population over 50.

R65 Republican Congress is right back to their house of lies and cynicism. I'm not sure how things will shake out.

The rot goes deep. Trump is the result of the rot. The cause is still there.

We will. It will be difficult. We came back from all the fucking asshole republicans after Watergate. This is much worse by far, but it will take time and we will be dealing with the fuckery for years.

We'll come back, and stronger, if we take our cues from the likes of Stacey Abrams and organize politically, and demand that our leaders not fetishize "unity" and "reconciliation" with lawbreakers and seditionists. We outnumber the reactionaries.

The "both sides" trolls have been hella busy today.

But our next President "fetishizes" unity.

We must get republicans and big donor money out of politics, and tax these big corporations. Tech companies need taxed and regulated. Tax the hell out of churches

R73 Sure Jan. Good luck with that. Back here on planet earth we will work on actual solutions rather than democratic talking points.

These things are a big reason why we are where we are, asshole.

We won't, OP.

We may have a return to some level of normalcy, but we will start to see sectarian violence in this country like so many places we went to "save."

Joe Biden, I would imagine.

Yes OP - I don't see how this can all be repaired. For something to be repaired it needs to have a conclusion. I see no conclusion - just two sides who are angrily resolute, unforgiving and unwilling.

Something that is worrying is that so many politicians and influential talking heads have come out in the last couple of days and said that they didn't see this coming. They must be lying because the riot on the 6th was foreseen by so many and even the Capitol police were specifically warned about it. They let it happen.

But worse - remember the storming of the Michigan statehouse and the by armed MAGA supporters protesting Covid measures? What worries me most is how close we came to having armed MAGA supporters enter the Capitol and kill hundreds of Congress members and Capitol staff. Imagine how terrified members of Congress were lying on the floor in the chamber not knowing if the terrorists storming the building had guns and lying on the floor waiting to die.

That really could have happened if they had turned up with their guns. The police literally folded and let them in and many of the MAGA nuts said the police seemed to be on their side. Imagine the damage that could have been done. None of them are sorry they did it and they want to do it again.

What happens next time?

Our troubles run very deep, they go back to our founding, and there will always be terrible moments like this. We always come back; we like to forget the past and we like to enjoy ourselves. But unless we address racism and our deep economic inequalities, it will all happen again.

Racism is the cancer that will kill America. It was present at our birth and 244 years later it has proven fatal.

Racist behavior is right out there in the open now. It never went away but now it’s stronger than ever.

Trump created a whole culture of cry babies who want to take back the country, but they are too lazy to govern or even go to a free community college. So they just bitch and whine.

My fear is that bombings in the United States become normalized as more and more deplorables find it’s their only way to “do something.”

It might get better if you swapped blacks and whites in jail for 20 years and gave Blacks a chance to really be on equal footing for 20 years:

The planet though should be concern #1. All of this is a useless distraction from the division which is artificial and whipped up by evil social media.

Look around the world, people. It's not just America. England may never recover from Brexit, as well as from BoJo. France is a mess. Russia is run by a dictator. India is run by a religious fanatic. China has taken back any freedoms it once granted. Brazil is governed by a man who makes Trump look good. Italy is falling apart. Germany has been held together by a n exceptionally good leader, but she is leaving soon. It will follow the lead of the other countries.

It isn't just the U.S.

It's the world.

This.

From the outside (the UK), I’ve always thought that America was incredibly resilient, and would shake Trump off and carry on. Now I’m not sure.

Trump launched an attack on Congress last week. Choose whatever definition you want, but he launched a physical assault on the Capitol, aided and abetted by a fifth column in the police and security apparatus, and amongst the members of Congress. Terrifying as that is though, the reaction amongst elected Republicans is what concerns me. There are a few who are obviously actively pushing for race war, dictatorship and fascism. They might win in the end.

The biggest group of Republicans, made up of careerists and cynics, seem to just want to keep their jobs. They are obviously terrified of him and his followers, and want to sweep this all under the carpet. Pretend that the lynch mob looking for Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi didn’t exist. Turn a blind eye to the gallows erected in front of the Capitol. They will try to thwart any retaliation, in which case those who attacked will just hold a weak Congress in greater contempt, and try again. A government which won’t defend itself is asking for trouble.

In the UK, we have had our own troubles over the past few years. We may have voted for economic decline. However, despite the bitterness and the battles over Brexit, our democratic institutions held out. People argued over the tactics used for victory, but no-one disputed the election process. That’s a major injury that Trump has inflicted in America. He has called democracy itself into doubt, and will continue to do so. He’s a cancer on democracy.

R84, That was the first time it ever happened and it was shocking. I've lived through the Vietnam War and the protests but during that time, politicians were more civil with each other, there wasn't the animosity like it is now. In a way, what Trump did was expose the cancer that's in the political system, that it's too toxic, that extreme views and partisanship stalls the government, will not get anything done and is really bad for the country--- and the economy. It was allowed to happen because the GOP made it their mission to win at all cost with voter suppression, disenfranchising black communities and propaganda which Social Media helped. It was also the greed behind it, there's dark money supporting the GOP. Ever since the Supreme Court voted in favor of Citizens United, the GOP has gotten it's way.

Trump went too far. I don't think he will have the power that he once had. People are FUCKING MAD that this happened to our Capitol. The last time it occurred was since 1812. Our democratic institutions did hold despite what you think. Our judicial system held firm and tossed all his lawsuits out. And fortunately, the Dems barely got control of the both the House and the Senate because we reinforced safety measures in the Election system because of what happened in 2016. We made sure that Russia did not interfere again, no more voter purges, a paper receipt with each vote cast. Whenever more people vote, they usually vote Democratic which is why he made a fuss about mail ballots.

The problem was the Lies, fostered with the help of Social Media and Fox News. I am old, I've lived through a kit but I could not believe they would allow a sitting POTUS to continually lie like that. The insurrection at the Capitol was the last straw. Twitter and FB, You-Tube-- they have to be more controlled so we can hamper down on LIES and conspiracy theories. I think people are realizing after devastation how fragile our Democracy is and the majority of American citizens realizes this.

Trump is being ostracized and muted, if he has power, it will be with the lunatic fringes but we have to make sure this never happens again. The problem was that Dems didn't push back hard enough to his lies. We still have to deal with racism and bigotry that is the root of the problem. The main thing is to get the people with extreme views-- the Alt-Right-- out of government altogether, they're a blight on our country,

R17 - fear and anger is what energizes the MAGAs. Fear of change, anger at what has changed and how it has negatively affected them.

Trump brought a lot of division between people. He liked creating chaos. So glad he will leave soon. As far as the MAGAts, if they want to fight, they are now considered terrorists which they don't like. They thought they could get away with shit because Trump empowered them. They have been muted but we will probably see some violence and bombings. Biden will have to put money in a division to fight domestic terrorism.

[quote] fear and anger is what energizes the MAGAs. Fear of change, anger at what has changed and how it has negatively affected them.

I don't disagree, but there must be a lot more motivating them than just "fear of change." The world is always changing, and I don't think the change in the past few years has been any greater than at any other time in U.S. history. If anything, the pace of change seems to have slowed down. And the election of Joe Biden doesn't scream "Change!" so much as it represents moderation and stability.

Also, how has all of this supposed change "negatively affected them"? For all of their bitching, can any of them actually explain how Nancy Pelosi or Black Lives Matter or Antifa has had any real impact on their pathetic everyday lives?

So, I just found out there are Canadian MAGAts who are posting shit like youtube links about 20.01.21 "demonstrations,. White, super Christian, gun lovers that live in fear of anything outside their little boxes who don't even realize they are not American, I guess. I mean, what the actual fuck??

I don't think they're responding to the change of the last few years. I think the fear and anger has been brewing since they were Scarlett O'Hara's po white trash, that it grew in the disaster of the Civil War and Reconstruction, grew again after WWI when mechanisation hit the world and the KKK reached its height, grew again throughout the 50s until the Civil Rights movement and the anti-War movement exploded and terrified them, grew with the liberation of women, with the liberation of gays, and with the vicious Reaganomics which sent them back to the gutter if they'd managed to get any higher.

Trump and the evil toads in and behind the GOP, plus Fox News, the NRA and social media, just harnessed and directed all this fear and anger much better in the last 15 years than it ever has been since the Civil War. The right wing's insistence on holding power by promulgating fear has been going on for at least half a century and is heavily responsible.

One of the MAGAts was walking and shouting, "Praise Jesus, In the name of the Lord," A lot these people are Fundamentalists that use religion to feel righteous about their "cause" whatever that is and they feel Trump was chosen by God.

I think a lot of Religious leaders will have to take responsibility and tone down their rhetoric.

We're simply not used to observing Darwinism right before our own eyes. These deplorables have proven their utter uselessness and inability to evolve into better beings. Much like other creatures that have gone out before, instead of their actions working to elevating themselves, they only serve toward self-annihilation and destruction.

R85. And I agree that Citizens United (Justice John Roberts' basterdization of free speech) is at the very heart of the matter. He knew dark money from foreign entities (namely, Russia) would hence legally be able to fund any number of candidates under the ruse of "free speech". Somehow, the USA must have had delusions of trust that our enemies would not be so brazen. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, we were ultimately wrong.

We have established that the previously powerful NRA functioned as a funding spigot for any Repug willing to sell out their country for cash. There is no honor among thieves. However, once we unveil the fact that most of these Repigs sold out their souls and our country and took this money, we will reveal how foul and corrupt they really are. As such, these Congress members, along with the traitor/seditious DJT should be tried and punished for TREASON. These subhumans will never go against their master Dump because he will publicly expose them for the traitors that they are.

The sooner we can prove this monetary link and the ensuing source of blackmail, the sooner we can rid ourselves of all of this confounding subterfuge. This will occur when we can obtain the contents of the original, intact Meuller Report that was do desperately hidden from us all this time.

When they start carving up living creatures the future don't look too good...I gotta say.

R3 The necessity for heads to roll was obvious 20 years ago.

Yes, an earthquake killed 800 innocent citizens.

[quote] Florida officials are looking for whoever vandalized the manatee with U.S. President Donald Trump's name.

Oh, the huge manatee!

I see what you did there R96.

R94 , the sight of that that abused manatee was chilling. What were the chances of seeing Obama, Clinton, or Bush carved into an a gentle creature? None, zero.

Trump elevates and exploits fear and anger. He models sociopathic behavior daily. Think of the imprisoned families and kids at the border. Think of his defense of Rittenhouse and white supremacists, think of the pardoned military killers. His most devoted revel in anger and cruelty, they love his impunity and disregard for norms. I don't think we will see a uniform armed uprising after the Inauguration. But there will be sporadic events which become normalized, much like mass shootings have.

I can't make a call.

Yep, it feels pretty dangerous and pretty far gone.

What worries me most is the tens of millions who voted for Trump but aren't as bad as the hard core Maggots. How did they do it? That frightens me because knowing everything they did, they voted Republican - which meant voting Trump. This time, you can't separate the two.

But...

I am a great believer in normalization. I think it is possible Biden can normalize the centre again and much of the angst will turn. People are stupid and people are sheep. They respond to what is ahead of them.

I believe Trump's influence wanes in the year ahead as the truth of Jan. 6th emerges... it will be far uglier and more dangerous than we knew and that is going to shock a lot of people into feeling differently. Already the WaPo/ABC poll shows higher disapproval than the last poll. And we don't even know a quarter of it yet.

There will always be an ugly, stupid core who have no hope, few brains, and a steady diet of greatest country on earth. They aren't a majority in normal times. Normal times seem poised to return.

Ominous quote from Carl Sagan, 1995.

No, we are NOT going to “come back” from this; we are going to learn some hard lessons, become wiser and stronger, and move on to a new era in America.

Plus, who in their right mind would want to “go back” to systemic racism, hatred, and greed?!?

Trump is not immortal and will die. His offspring are dolts. Yes, we will come back.

Sagan's pretty chilling but he taps into what I have long believed was the curse of modern commerce: the consultant. Their job is to change things to be more efficient and, most of all, profitable. They do not own or manage, they come in, look around, analyse and tell you how to dismantle. Every industry I have worked in has been fundamentally changed by the consultant class, as has politics and government.

They are more destructive than markets. Market demand. Consultants teach how to comply.

There needs to be more viable political parties. Right now if you question how far the Republicans are sliding what is your alternative if you refuse to be a democrat? If you don't think Democrats are far left enough, you're certainly not going to be a republican. The zero sum game is great for corporations and the media but terrible for our society.

Getting rid of that thing in the White House was a necessary and crucial first step, but we are nowhere near done fixing our many problems. It’s interesting how so many societal crises gained in visibility once the pandemic undermined our everyday lives and routines. Ultimately it’s for the best that we acknowledge and address these things, for the good of everyone, but it hasn’t been fun and won’t get easier any time soon. Hopefully we can eventually make improvements and move toward a more compassionate and equitable society. It will require a lot of soul-searching and effort, though, and human beings generally don’t like either one so I’m not so sure we will take it on, at least not willingly.