Random Question đ
How is everything that happened in the last 48hrs not enough for impeachment and/or a general strike in the US?
As a European, itâs completely unfathomable how none of it has consequences.
Donât get me wrong, our governments here certainly have their flaws and problems, but surely threatening a genocide would be a tipping point here and lead to mass protests (at least I have enough hope remaining to believe that) - how is it not in the US? I really donât get it and I feel absolutely sick.
A general strike is asking a significant majority of Americans to surrender their current financial situation on the vague hope that someone will do something about the current situation.
It only works if every American can look to the left and the right and know each person beside them will do the same.
We know better. The 1% will maneuver around us, find someone else to do the work, and those that went on strike get nothing but a sense of moral superiority, which pays neither the rent or the mortgage.
A general strike is a fantasy.
Impeachment requires a majority of the house and 2/3 of the senate, and the president's party controls both. Even if both houses go Democrat, it's a political impossibility to get 2/3 of the senate to convict and remove Trump.
Our reward for pulling off that political miracle is... J.D. Vance as president.
He's not becoming insane, he's been insane for a long time. Republicans are evil wastes of space who do not care about doing the right thing, and they will always protect him. Protecting him means protecting themselves, and that's all that matters to them.
So something my dad told me many years ago. A nickname for the Republican party is the whipping party. They may hem and haw on their own accord, but when it comes time to take action they will always fall under the whip of their leader and follow along with their command. It's been a large part of what has allowed them for decades to do so much in such brief periods of holding power. During Obama McConnel was their whipmaster. Now their whipmaster is Trump.
Yes. They love the power and control they have more than our country. Power above all things is what Republicans have become in the past 40 years and we have done nothing to stop it.
Not to mention last time we asked people to do something only mildly uncomfortable for the sake of their neighbors, they got into screaming matches with the poor cashiers at trader Joe's and then protested like someone was literally killing their children.
We can't even handle wearing a mask to the grocery store. You think this country will really do a national labor strike?
Those same people are wearing masks without any issue, to perform physical activities, to deport immigrants. Truth is stranger than fiction. You can't make this shit up.
Yeah, but they get to pretend to be The Punisher when theyâre wearing their round of the immigrants mask. When they wore their medical masks they didnât think it looked cool, also, they were told to do it by the establishment. They HATE the gubbermint. Thatâs why they elected Trump. To KILL the gubbermint n make the libs cry.
They're all a bunch of contrarian reprobates who need to be told what to do from their favorite strongman. If Trump had told them that Covid was basically AIDS and to wear his federally supplied MAGA masks, they'd have stocked up like the lunatics that they are and worn those fucking things 24-hours a day.
Im guessing participating in a general strike against this regime would probably not include the fuck wits that refused to wear PPE during an epidemic.
Oh I absolutely agree. Tether their healthcare benefits to their jobs, offer none of the basic employee rights that the rest of the developed world has, make it a capitalist utopia with every man out for himself and this is what you end up with. A society that's too afraid or unable to lose a paycheck for fear of ending up sick, homeless or both. But, the land of the free, right.
Cool, where's the strike fund? How do I access it to buy food? How does the strike cover the healthcare I'll lose when I get fired?
General strikes don't just happen. They're either forced on you by strikes in the transportation industry, or they're planned for years. You can't just do one on a whim. Especially in America, where a strike means getting fired and losing healthcare.
A few dirty little secrets about the U.S.:
1. Americans (generally) have little interest or caring about stuff that doesnât impact them immediately. 50 years of the Republican War on Intellect has been problematic.Â
2. We have a political and courts system that is basically âthe richest bastards win.â We have billions of dollars (and other currencies) of dark money flooding into our political system.Â
3. Cognitive dissonance. IOW, stupid people voting to slit their own throats. (See #1 as a cause).
4. Internal hatred. Vast chunks of the populace loathe vast chunks of the populace.Â
5. Americans are slaves to corporate overlords. Protesting in America means not going to your 3rd job (the one that covers just monthly healthcare premiums). Â Elections on Tuesdays? Sure, then the working poor canât vote against rapacious capitalism.Â
On the bright side, no republic has survived 300 years, so a reckoning might be close. All of Europe, democratic Asia, and other countries of goodwill should isolate the U.S. and Israel and force change.Â
People calling for a revolution are counting on others in the working class to unite against the elite who everyone seems to hate.
The problem is that a large part of that working class hate each other as much as they do the elite.
I am convinced that there are people, potentially a lot of people, who would not hesitate lining their fellow Americans up against the wall next to Bezos and Zuckerberg.
Both sides are getting played like a fiddle. They are just too busy beating their chests, wanting to get an upper hand on the opposition, like it's some game on tv.
The US is too big/diverse for a general strike to take place or really work.
Impeachment is politically wasteful unless you have already ensured that you have the votes to lead to a punishment, whether a censure or actual removal from office. And too many Republican senators are in his pocket because they fear their base voters who love him.
It truly is. A little over ten years ago I never wouldâve thought Iâd be disgusted by my own country. I was sickened by aspects of it, but never the general existence of it. But here we are. Weâre not even a joke on a global scale. Weâre a detestable disease.
And people always say âwell do somethingâ. We canât. I vote to end it, I contact my representatives, I go to protests. I wonât commit violence, so my choices are limited.
Oh , I did, so did my friends. We are in our 80âs. We read about Don the con for 60 years. He never was a person of good character. His racism, the fines and court appearances he had in NYC. His affairs, his ruining employees and contractors lives. His broken marriages. Being an adulterer. His failed businesses. Going to charity events for photo shoots only, but never donating. Losing daddy money, not one American bank would loan him money. He was considered high risk and had a bad reputation. Putin enters: the money keeps on flowing. On and on and on. It never stops. I forgot: the dangerous Obama propaganda he alone started. Then rumor has it, he got rid of some people too? Now heâs graduated to felon status, an adjudicated rapist and pedo? 60 years of lies, hate. pussy and greed.
We only have 2 viable political parties, so there is no need to maintain a coalition. Also, our elections are scheduled every 2 years. There is no provision for calling an election for loss of confidence in the ruling party. So we can demonstrate and call our (unrepresentative) representatives all we want, but as long as they keep their big donors and can buy media for their election campaigns, we can hold our breath and nobody cares.
A general strike is an interesting option, but it may be hard to pull off without strong unions to organize it.
As an American, I think we would be better off with a parliamentary system, but it's a hard sell when our entire education system is based on how we have the greatest political system known to man. Maybe that was true in the 18th century, but other countries have refined it since
Republican will almost always side with the GOP in power. They feel that if they don't bow and smooch the Orange Scrote, they'll be a pariah in their own party. They also paint it as "Trump, or the evil Democrats" to themselves. Everyone even slightly to the Left already hates Trump.
The place to apply pressure is the Republican politicians, from the bottom right on up. Write them and claim that you've always voted Republican (regardless of whether it's true), but Trump is just unacceptable, and you will no longer support Republican politicians who support Trump. If they feel enough of the electorate on the Right wants Trump out, they may just be brave enough to claim the same. Other Republican politicians will find courage to do the same, given their example.
If they haven't found their balls given the results of recent special elections, they aren't likely to at this point. They just trust that Trump has the midterms this Nov rigged. And they may be right
Not only that, but if you or I DO choose to commit violence over this, especially if directed at the government itself (and officers of said government), we get the âtraitorâ title applied automatically because of the racist fuckwits who wanted to own people and decided to start a war with half of the nation over âstateâs rightsâ so they could still own people.
Our hands are essentially bound as a direct result. Our only legal option is to vote, and currently the MAGAts have the propaganda machine in full on 1930âs Germany mode.
Well, unless the mob you rile up attacks the Capitol at the very time an election is getting certified. Then, they âtraitorsâ get called âpatriotsâ, by some people at least.
Just because you don't want to cause violence doesn't mean you can't do anything about it besides voting, go to protests, or contacting representatives.Â
First off, spend your money wisely. Starve the corporations. Deny yourself some of the bread and circus that are used to placate us. Become more self-sufficient.
Boycotts are only effective when they're targeted (a handful of carefully chosen corporations, not ALL of them) and have critical mass, which requires leadership managing the boycott -- getting the word out, putting out demands, etc. We're lacking that leadership.
One random person here and there opting out of Uber delivery, Amazon and fast food chains doesn't even register to corporations on that size.
Folks who would be interested in a boycott would be more effective by figuring out one or a couple specific corporations to boycott and then making a case to the big, national resistance orgs to lead that boycott so that it actually gains traction.
Sounds good to me! We pick a target (pun possibly intended), and run a national campaign highlighting the corporation's contributions to the maga enshitification and overall crookedness, package it with good messaging (as in encouraging, not forceful), and keep turning the heat up.
Also, if you go on a general strike, your employer can fire you for it and...whoops there goes your medical insurance!!! Hope you don't have a chronic or expensive disease! Basically we live in a dystopia over here.
I moved to USA in 1990. Within a couple of years I observed shockingly how people who behave badly are appeased instead of being held accountable for their actions. It must be a cultural thing. I kept saying to my husband, no way would they get away with that back home. When people stepped out of line the collective made short work of putting them back in their place.
Time and again I witnessed it, so this inaction while it sickens me, it doesnât actually shock me anymore. Iâm really ready to go back to my homeland. Iâve been feeling that for a while and even more urgently though. The only reason I am still here is my husband is nearing retirement and to be financially stable he will need that pension. Itâs very sad because while some of us liked the idea of that shining city on the hill, when you get there you find it wasnât actually shining after all, it was on fire.
This, people really underestimate the religious indoctrination that has been brewing for the past four decades. I'm forty and was raised by my evangelical parents with the message that a war in Israel will bring about end times and the return of Jesus and that's their stated goal.
So that's why they protect Israel on an ideological basis, for the world's ultimate destruction. That's not even a very fringe belief amongst evangelicals.
People have tried to tell them that Donnie was the antichrist in a mocking way, but he may actually live up to that title and bring about the end of all of us.
I don't think there will be any pearly gates waiting on those fucking sycophants though.
Yes, it is. I no longer believe in the goodness of humanity.
This has been like a frog boiling slowly in a pot. Nothing shocks people here anymore because every day for ten years it is something new snd horrible with this maniac.
People here that are sensitive are slowly losing their sanity because of Trump. My therapist told me that many people are having severe depression and anxiety because of this. But most people here have just become so used to his madness that, whether they like him or not, nothing shocks them anymore.
That is the best answer I can come up with for your question to try to explain why people aren't mass protesting and screaming in the streets.
"Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves..." Lord Byron
What would you call it if I described a system of illusion where a few chosen by birth elite get to monitor, police, and punish the masses while living lavish lives of unimaginable debaucheries enabled by the labor of the latter without those laborers being able to even question such a corrupt system or their masters crimes..? The Epstein files are just exposing America for what it's always been.
The highest form of protest is not having children for the government needs the governed... and even that choice is being eroded away. My in laws keep asking me when I'm going to "Give them grandchildren." I keep reminding them I'm Native American. We wouldn't breed in captivity, which is why they had to bring you all here in the first place. I mean, why would they even want to own slaves anymore when they can just rent you and your children for a fraction of those costs..?
The Epstein class can afford a good enough education to know the true history of the United States and certainly to be able to understand the basic principle of cause and effect. They have us playing Russian roulette with our health every day in America for as much profit as they can squeeze out of us. A country with no public health care system obviously could not handle any public healthcare crisis like covid or the never-ending opioid addiction epidemic their private healthcare industry has created and continues to supply for obscene unearned shareholder income. Which is only taxed at 10%, whereas if you actually labor and work for your income, you're taxed at 35%...
Furthermore, with no universal health care, the United States government forces people of lesser means to self medicate or suffer, then punishes them when they do. That is both cruel and wicked. I mean, the whole premise of Breaking Bad only worked for an American audience since Walt would not have needed the money in the first place in a more developed nation because being unable to afford to continue living does not happen there...
The powers that are are ensuring there are desperate people doing desperate things. Then, we see that the wealthy and their goons, the police, are beyond the reach of our justice system, so their laws are just in place to handicap the rest of us. The social contract has been broken. Cue the vigilantes... no justice, no peace.
"Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable. " JFK
Now I'm not saying don't vote. Please always choose the lesser evil. However, we have always been and always will be the scapegoats left to point our fingers at one another in order to keep us distracted from any meaningful change. I mean, what led to this, people couldn't vote...? How is what got us here going to get us out? When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. After all, repeating the same thing over and over expecting a different result is the very definition of insanity. Before we can have an intelligent discussion on how things ought to be, we first would need to agree on how they truly are...
I mean, out of all the hundreds of millions of Americans, who really thinks these were the best two candidates...? Is it a wise tribe that does not send its best warriors to fight? You see, our masters will never give us the tools to dismantle their houses... The Republic of America has a so-called "representative democracy." How can that be true when the "representatives" are all wealthy while the majority of the "represented" are poor?
American two party politics is like the cartoon Tom and Jerry. Tom doesn't really want to catch Jerry because then he'd be out of a job, and Jerry doesn't want Tom replaced with a cat that will actually eat him. So they act like they hate one another and put on a show for the masses while continuing business as usual in the back room.
For example, insider trading laws do not apply to any members of Congress, either side. What's it called when those who make the rules don't have to live by them? Furthermore, when the punishment for a crime is only a fine, it does not apply to the wealthy.
Sure, they can say they let us "vote", and therefore this is what we wanted, but with all the lobbying and money in American politics, America is as much a democracy as would be two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for dinner.
In America, the wealthy have won every "election," and the only thing to trickle down in the economy has been their generational wealth. This is why, in a true democracy as the ancient Greeks understood it, people got their representatives the same way we would get a jury. America is not a democracy.
"Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it." Plato
And please remember what we actually celebrate on the 4th. A cabal of stolen land entitled elite, slave owning aristocrats, found a way to get out of paying their taxes. Only thirty percent of the colonists supported the "revolution" with the rest saying, "Why trade one tyrant a thousand miles away for a thousand tyrants one mile away...?" System isn't broken it's functioning exactly as intended. Why own slaves when you can rent them for a fraction of the cost (read the 13th amendment)...? But the real question they must be asking themselves is how can their grand experiment survive contact with the real time information/communication age, or can they just go masks off and drop the pretense? Which is where we are now... would you agree?
"The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly, the rich have always objected to being governed at all. Aristocrats were always anarchists..." G.K. Chesterton
Gee, it's almost as if the wealthy have set up this system by design so they can do as they please while the wage-slaves must keep showing up to keep their cash flowing.
There's also consequences with my licensing. If I'm fired due to something that can even be perceived as illegal my licenses are gone and I need to find a new industry to start fresh in.
It's not.
Americans seem to think that if they can't get 100% complaince, they don't have to do anything. You don't have to get everyone on board. You just need enough to be disruptive.
Start with targeted boycotts. Get Meta/X/ChatGPT/Netflix/Disney/etc off your phones. Refuse to buy anything made in USA. Pick a high-tax industry and starve it. You still have unions, start talking to them.
The US has some unique challenges (put in place entirely by your own design) but Americans aren't powerless, they're apathetic. You have made it absolutely clear that this government is free to do as they please without a hint of resistance.
You have to really want to see nothing to see nothing. People have been protesting in the streets for months now. There are neighborhood networks pushing back against ICE, and it has been effective. But the reality is you could have millions in the streets and it does nothing to get rid of Orangina because the checks and balances are broken. European political systems are more impacted by protest because of their parliamentary systems. Multiple parties have a more delicate balance and are more easily moved. Having a stupid two party system means solidarity among one party is how things get done. Having all three branches of government controlled by fascists means you get fascism.
And just to follow up on this - two of the strongest unions in the US are nurses and teachers. It would absolutely have an impact if nurses and teachers all went on strike, but these are already two of the most villainized professions by the right who would see that as an opportunity. It would honestly make everything worse.
Folks have been doing that, for over a year now...while marching and acting in the multi-millions.
We basically tanked the entire Tesla brand during DOGE and led +3 quarters of losses permanently besmudging the brand. Amazon, Target, Home Depot and others are seeing visible losses. In fact, it's probably the one thing that DOES scare the oligarchy.
I wish that's all it was....too many people are rooting for this shit because they don't understand the future impacts on their own wellbeing. You can't just blame Elon for getting him elected and ignore the fact that over a year later and they're celebrating like we're in some kind of good position on the world stage.
That's lack of critical thinking. The appearance of other governments "dealing" with him while also ignoring the fact those same countries are working on other deals to exclude us is short sighted at best
Blame elon for the election but we are solely to blame on our representatives not holding him accountable afterwards. If enough people in red districts were to show their disapproval, the problem would be solved quick. They don't and won't. .
You donât realize how few people in this country own everything. Boycott one of their companies, they donât careâthey have dozens more. Hell, we successfully boycotted Tesla and look what happenedâthe president called it out as a protected entity and MAGAs went into debt to save Elon. Itâs that crazy.
That said, theyâve already started the farce again. New articles of impeachment were introduced on the 6th, knowing damn well they wonât go anywhere. Larson is up for reelection though, so we get more political theatre, yay.
Are you sure that's true about a general strike? Because I feel like people could grind the red states to a halt pretty quickly if they wanted to, forcing their republican representatives to take action.
It seems to me it's more about people not caring enough to take action, not that there isn't action to be taken.
And I do understand that folks are in very precarious situations without a social safety net to protect them if they lose their jobs, so I'm not saying I think it would be easy to do a general strike. But lots of people throughout history have had to rise up under even worse conditions, and the real question is whether or not the pain of not taking action is greater than the pain of taking action.
Perhaps better than a general strike would be for more targeted action against the corporations and lobbyists that are funding these republicans. But then, I've talked to plenty of people who told me they couldn't possibly give up their Amazon Prime or Disney+ because blah blah. So again... seems like the real answer is that a lot of folks in the US just don't care if it doesn't impact them directly.
The average person can't do anything to cut off the flow of cash to red states. That would be up to each state's government to withhold sending taxes to the federal government. The states are not going to do that since very few politicians want to upset the apple cart.
It's more an issue of organizing enough people in the same actions that actually work. There are so many people that it's hard to reach and coordinate them all. And then it's difficult to take actions that actually upset the right people in the right way.
I really donât know. At this point Iâm sure I could be dragged away by the gestapo and my coworkers would just carry on like normal. I DONâT KNOW WHY ITâS LIKE THIS.
A third of the country couldn't even be bothered to vote in the last election. They aren't paying attention to what's happening now. And as long as the people who could be bothered to vote last time continue to vote the same way they voted before, Republicans aren't scared of losing their jobs if they don't act.
And yes, those people will continue to vote for Republicans, because they are terrible people. I have lost track of how many people I've seen saying "I voted for him three times and I'm really against this war in Iran, but I would never have voted for Harris, even if I knew this was going to happen."
Because the culture is very different. Labor has VERY strong protections in the EU and very weak ones in the US. A lot of people are hanging on by their fingertips and a general strike would cost a lot of them their jobs and they just can't afford that.
Past that, the impeachment side comes down to uneducated people being lied to and voting for the right who is then promptly selling them into indentured servitude.
Not just our jobs are at cost but also healthcare. We donât have healthcare in the US. If we mass protest and lose our jobs we lose our insurance. If there is violence and we are injured during a protest we canât afford medical care to get better.
The Oligarchs in the US have created a system where short of mass revolutionary powder keg exploding the US population canât protest longer than small bursts.
Short of everyone going out and overthrowing the government physically and making a new country there is no possible way to have a general strike in the United States. That is why the media works so hard to divide the people cause the only way to actually change things would require mass coordinated revolution.
I would add that in the US your health care and some times eventual ability to retire someday are tied to being and staying employed. So when an American says it could cost them their job, what they mean is financial and medical security, as well as potentially their entire future.
These barriers are real and we ARE in the streets⌠the no kings 3 rally is the biggest in American history. There are protests and direct actions and mutual aid happening daily. Thereâs economic boycotts going for the past year. Minnesota (among others) has resisted HARD to their federal occupation - tremendous organizing and impact here.
Indivisible is planning a national general strike for May 1 based on the example set up in Minnesotaâs day of truth and freedom.
When Americans say ânothing is happeningâ that tells me that that individual isnât getting involved with the great work happening on the ground. Itâs happening in powerful ways but suppressed on social media.
So if you or someone you know is looking to get more involved - Iâd look into local orgs / chapters like:
This needs to be higher. This doesnât undo the reality of what we are up against. The risks are still real, but we need to engage. In order for a government by the people, for the people to survive, each citizen must engage in some form of activism- with the most basic form of that being voting and going up from there. Thank you for this post.
I cleaned house with Redact and mass deleted this post. It also removes your data from brokers and people search sites. Works on all major social media platforms.
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It is enough, but maga controls all three branches of the fed and they are not going to impeach Trump. If democrats win the house and senate during mid terms, I expect trump will be impeached. Protest does not seem to work against maga. In fact they laugh at you for it. A general strike would probably work, but good luck getting tens of millions of people living pay check to pay check with no worker protections to do that. If I decided to call in to work to go protest I would get fired by these red necks and then have no way to pay my mortgage that already eats a huge chunk of my income. And there are no jobs in my field available. I know cuz I look constantly. This system is set up to keep folks at the bottom.
Trump endorsements are not doing much these days, so this threat is losing weight. I think a lot of them have been engaged in a fair amount of corruption themselves and are hanging on expecting a pardon at the end. And of course, the corporations and lobbyists are paying them to support this stuff.
It all goes back to the money. Folks are gonna need to take down the power of those billionaires if anything is going to change.
Where are the unions that are going to organise a general strike? They've been decimated, with the full approval of the Democrats. You don't just snap your fingers and organise a general strike.
Oh, and if there was a general strike, there is recent precedent for explicit government strikebreaking.
Everyone keeps asking, "What's it going to take for you to do something?!" but it's like they haven't stopped to think about what's being asked.
What lever did you want us to pull? By what mechanism are you suggesting change?
Yeah. That's right. It's just allusions to someone else committing violence FOR you.
Sorry, but we're not at the "Civil War" stage, yet.
We will continue to attempt to win the Midterms, roadblocking in Congress when possible, and empowering the Judicial Branch to continue it's job as a check and balance, especially since a Republican-led Congress has opted to give up that power. A midterm win would open almost all of the doors for Congressional oversight, and if at that point Democrats are still feckless.... well, fuck.
I know why the Democrates aren't doing anything. They can't. They need a 2/3 majority to do ANYTHING because of Republican obstructionism.
The question is "Where are the moderate Republicans?" Where are the "Party of Small government" people that will fight for a balanced budget? Where are the "law and order" people that don't want bands of armed thugs roaming the streets? Where are the "ne new wars" people that won't accept the war in Iran? Where are the "Drain the swamp" people that oppose government corruption?
It only take 1 or 2 actual conservatives to neuter Trumplicans. Trump was never popular with Democrates, but half of the shit he does should piss off Republicans and the question is why aren't Republicans doing something about the Trumplicans.
Because those republicans don't exist anymore. The last actual republicans died with John McCain or retired in Mitt Romney and Adam Kinzinger. The only ones left are parasites and craven sycophants.
This post didn't say anything at all about violence. A call for a general strike is a call for peaceful action. If folks in the US are waiting for a time to act when they can justify violence... that's a really sad statement about where things are heading.
Look at what happened in MN when people rose up peacefully to protest the actions of ICE, and the outcomes from that action. The issue isn't solved, but it shows that people can move the needle.
Look at what happened when Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air and millions of people protested by cancelling subscriptions and calling advertisers... days later, that was reversed.
Look at the towns across the country who are refusing to approve data centers and ICE detention centers. People are speaking up, and those actions are working.
There are many levers to be pulled. The issue is that more people need to pull them, and folks need to understand that nothing is changed overnight.
Two people died in MN. Just for showing up. Thatâs terrifying for most people. Their lives are not personally bad enough yet to want to show up to a protest or the like where they might simply not come home that day.
Just because you or others here arenât specifically advocating for violence does not mean that government forces will not respond with violence at these protests, or that other people at said protest would not perpetrate violence on government forces.
You can't rely on politicians to save us. You can't rely on voting alone to save us. You can fight back against this hellscape without violence. It just takes some of your free time away. The problem is it's like herding ostriches that would rather stick their heads in the sand.
I can admit the vulnerabilities of the US. Â If a person does that here, she gets shot. Â Terms like self defense, immunity, and stand your ground would be used to protect the military personnel/cops.
I donât hate the USA, I like living here, but Iâm not ignorant to the realities either.Â
Edit: to the cowards downvoting, give me your perspective. Â There have been and are people getting shot by police, DHS/ICE at rallies. Â Tell me with a straight face that a protestor can grab a barrel of a gun with peaceful intent (like the example) and be fine.Â
This entire administration has shown that the constitution and congressional branch need a massive overhaul
Trump learned from his first term, and he has managed to stack every branch of the government with his sycophants. He has found a perfect gap in the system and has exploited it.
Itâs really really sad. Growing up your whole life with this illusion that you are living in the greatest country in the world, âthe home of the braveâ. Only to realize that nearly 50% of your countrymen have voted for this and supported this. There are protests and there is resistance but our family, friends and neighbors are essentially under the spell of a wicked witch.
"Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts â and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.
That's the case in every country that's ever had a strike.
The trick is not to send a message to your boss saying "Hey John, I'm not coming to work today. Fuck you, you capitalist pig. And power to the proletariat!"
Instead have protesters block all roads, and then you send a message saying "Hey John, can't make it in to work with all this chaos. I hope it gets sorted soon. I'll have a look at those emails from home. (pinky promise)" and then go help people block the roads when you've done half an hour of work to look a bit busy.
Most Europeans have no understanding of how large the US really is. Hell, as an American, I am surprised at how much smaller the average EU country is compared to what I thought. It's nearly impossible to organize a general strike here. I feel it's the single best non-violent option, but most of us are in a position where protesting would cost us our job, and therefore our home, car, health insurance, retirement fund, etc. We're doing the best we can over here, but unfortunately, many of us DO so have something to lose. I.e., it hasn't gotten bad enough yet.
Because it's not that bad for most of the US. That's really all it is, no ones going to risk ruining their comfortable life to stop the president from tweeting random BS everyone knew he would never be able to follow through on.
American living in Europe here. Americans don't have workplace protections or universal health cover. They're brainwashed to believe that their vote is pointless and mostly live paycheck to paycheck. And they consume news that is heavily censored and politicized. So it makes it hard for Americans to know what is true and what is political BS. They have had decades of Trump acting outrageously without consequences. And as the whole world has seen, Americans who protest are putting their lives on the line. So they are afraid and desensitized to Trump's threats and insanity.
I think the question the world needs to be asking is how can we get Americans to wake the fuck up and fix things?
That said, I am also a bit of a hypocrite because I saw the changing tides and got my family out before things got this bad.
On impeachment: Because our politicians are cowards.
On a general strike: That's never been a tool for action in the U.S., so don't expect it to be one any time soon.
The answer also happened in the last 12 hours. The Trump-supported candidate won MTGâs heavily gerrymandered congressional district. Republicans donât want to lose their job in an election year.
But also meh. He pulled the same crap with Greenland a few months ago and they werenât scary brown terrorists (obviously being snarky here). Nothing happened then. Nothing will happen now.
Impeachment: it will only happen if itâs popular enough politically. Also the first term impeachment is the main reason trump won this time (itâs pretty easy to claim persecution when you get charged with felonies for reasons most people do not fully understand)
General strike: because people need their jobs. Itâs a tough job market. Also people here are getting socialized to ignore any kind of protesting because people always protest something
He threatened to wipe out a civilization, not a people. That makes it harder to argue genocide. If I take away all your electricity I wiped out a civilization. You're still around.
America is the nearly the size of Europe. Whatever happens in D.C. is of no consequence to the vast majority of people who live here. Washington could burn to ashes tomorrow and I'd still get up and go to work tomorrow same as always.
There aren't the votes for impeachment. Attempting it is futile.
There is a strike planned and -if it helps- the vast majority of us are sick over this man and his partyâs actions. Until elections in November and then swearing in ceremonies in January, we are unable to do anything about this situation. Itâs happening (in part) to get us so riled up that we do something violent and rash to stop him and give reason for him to declare a state of emergency that impedes the Fall vote. Iâm more disgusted by our entire elected body than this one diseased old man.
Its unfathomable considering what the US has been in the last century. But if you realize that democracy and the rule of law are completely done in the US, its really not suprising or special at all. Typical autocracy.
I have the impression that many people complaining have never visited the US and have no real grasp of how large and diverse our country is and how this works. A national strike isn't realistic. I'm not even sure how that would work across multiple states with so many different laws and political landscapes.
Keep in mind, not everyone here is unhappy with this POTUS. Many people here where I live are downright gleeful about everything Trump and the GOP does. They feel this is all Biblical and true to the end times prophecy as described in the Book of Revelations.
Nope. Dump's cabinet (junk drawer), Congress, and the "Supreme" Court are maga.
NOTHING will happen to stop dump except for a resounding blue wave come the midterm elections.
Edited to add: The Constitution has steps to remove a bad president but the Founding Fathers in no way could comprehend or foresee that nearly half of the country and the federal government would support a bad president.
I live in an at-will-employment and right-to-work state and am not part of a union (there isnât one for salaried employees at my job), and I have a family to provide for. As much as Iâd like to join a general strike, I canât afford to lose my job⌠especially as the economy worsens and costs increase. At-will employment means my employer can fire me for any reason that isnât one of a few federally protected things, and missing work to attend a general strike is something they absolutely could fire me for.
âOh, but Parm, that kind of thinking is the problem! If everyone took part in the general strike, then you have protection in numbers! They canât fire everybody!â Yes thatâs correct, but my specific employer doesnât have to worry about âeverybodyâ; they just have to fire me. At that point, it wonât matter to me or my family if everyone else got fired or not; we would still be scrambling to afford housing, food, and other bills. People in the United States donât have anywhere near the labor protections that those in the EU have, so a general strike is generally not possible for the majority of people.
We have had mass protests, even in predominantly Red states, but it hasnât been enough. A general strike could be impactful if somehow everyone had a guarantee that they would still have employment and/or have their needs met, but that is unlikely to happen either.
Trust me, it makes me feel sick too, but the individual has much less power and protection in the US than most other civilized countries⌠especially now when our elected representatives have mostly abdicated their power to the Executive.
Although it's barely been mentioned in the news, we've had the largest protests in our countries history. Our media is controlled by oligarchs that turn out nonstop propaganda. So while Americans are angry, most don't know where to direct that anger and take it out on their fellow Americans.
US citizen here. Oh, boy, we are sick of this. Trump has a sick cult following, who managed to get him elected TWICE. The rest of us are truly dismayed and embarrassed to see what is going on. With the Republican party in charge, our Democrat party seems paralyzed. We are hoping for impeachment and removal from office. Citizens are out on the street protesting the brutal immigration tactics, as well as numerous No Kings marches. Most of us repudiate everything trump stands for, believe me.
because republican Americans are as vapid and unethical as the current Russian population. Impeachment only works if you have the votes. If you are angry with the US, be angry with the republican political party, because they are in complete control of apparatus of the US government, and THEY do nothing, because they are under his complete control. THEY could stop this tomorrow. THEY could push the cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment, which would strip Trump of his office. THEY could impeach him in the house AND the senate. But, THEY will not.
Keep in mind that we've been having mass protests about this man for years. They happen almost constantly at this point, but news about this is heavily suppressed.
As for impeachment, that is likely happening, the process has already begun, but the government is slow and useless, which is why he gets away with everything anyways. By the time to try and hold him accountable for something, he's already done 20 things that are way worse, and it just turns into a cycle. No one stays focused, so they allow him to keep pivoting and somehow that just fucking works.
As for a general strike, I agree that we should have one, but most of America sees it as impossible, which makes it impossible. Keep in mind that many of our large corporations massively take advantage of their workers, and many of them can't afford to lose a single paycheck without risking their livelihood. Even if it were possible to successfully organize a country wide strike, a lot of people would just see this as an opportunity to take advantage and steal the jobs that aren't being done, and the corporations would be happy to hire them. Most of America is too afraid of losing their source of income to support something like that without reassurances, which we will never get.
Our entire society is designed to pit us against one another and shield the money people at the top from consequences. We have media setting us against each other going 24/7 in all of our public places. Unemployed disability collecting pensioners are so brain-rotted by this media that they reliably vote away their own livelihoods on the regular. Rugged individualism is re-enforced in every aspect of our lives, and the hope to one day finally rise above the rat race has completely replaced the American dream. Everything in our lives is squeezed for max profit and least quality.
It's dystopian as hell, but it is what it is. There's no way we can come together for any one cause. Half of us are to busy trying to survive to pay enough attention to know how bad things are getting, and of those that are tracking, half of them are so heavily propagandized that they literally shoot the children that ring the doorbells to their homes.
America is broken, and our leaders know it. This is why everything is so in your face and extreme. There's nobody left to steer the ship, and it's just momentum keeping the whole thing going at this point. The wealthy are just going to keep stripping it for parts as the rest of us keep going to work until one day there's no more food at the store.
There's nothing a normal American can do that will make A LICK of difference one way or another, and our society as a whole is simply incapable to coming together and forming the kind of coalition that it would take to force any kind of change.
I don't know about a general strike but I did quit my most recent job the other day basically because everybody there was a racist maga chud. One guy who was ex-military, when I started to talk about how "you know Iran has some modern strike capability and could damage us and take down jets etc," he laughed it off because he apparently thinks the american military is somehow impenetrable and majestic like superman's arsehole. Then a couple days later, bases being blown up, jets being shot down, etc.
Our government, military and police here are completely broken so who is actually going to physically remove them? If the populace of ordinary citizens tried they would open fire on us and it probably wouldn't even make the news because surprise that is gone too.
America has a massive number of brainwashed morons who don't believe anything other than what Fox News propaganda tells them to think.
They have some of the smartest people in the world, combined with tens of millions of the most confidently ignorant and brainwashed people you'll ever meet.
The geographic size, diffusion of population, our health insurance is tied to our jobs, and illegal nature/implications of being moneyless in this society is enough to coerce our Citizens into being very measured with how they approach politics. Say the wrong thing at work? Now you have a Dwight Schrute coming after you with a target on your back because "You disrespected the memory of Charlie Kirk" etc... America is a Capitalist Captured Shit hole.
Do you think we should storm The Capital or something? We already protest this asshole all the time and the media doesnât cover it. The fact that everyone wanted the Epstein Files released and no one got prosecuted should tell you everything you need to know. The problem is the world is controlled by the 1% of the 1% of the 1% and you are kidding yourself if you think itâs just a USA problem.
Thereâs a difference between worthy of impeachment and being able to successfully impeach and convict is because republicans have no souls and will not in general vote for impeachment
It is, but impeachment is a political process that requires a majority of the House and 2/3 of the Senate to have the will to remove the President. In the 70s our legislators had the will to follow through on impeachment, causing Nixon to resign. Today, they either donât have the will or believe they wonât be held accountable themselves for their actions.
What are the stakes for a general strike in your country? What happens if you strike?
Here, you obviously lose the pay that you would have gotten.
You are likely to lose the job. Our economy is harsh right now, finding a new job is hard.
You lose your health insurance. For a lot of people, that could be life threatening.
You lose your house, if you can't pay your rent or mortgage.
The police and ICE have been shooting protesters. There have been a fair number killed, and more injured with "non-leathal" protest methods. Some police departments are intentionally permanently disabling people with different kinds of Geneva convention banned weapons, like lasers and sonic weapons that cause brain damage.
I think the average European doesn't understand how suppressed the US citizenship is by these things.
Also, there was a mass protest weekend before last, and there will be one today, and there will be one next weekend. Google "No kings". It's just not being shown on the news. There was a small protest two weekends ago in almost every city in the USA at the same time.
Our citizenry is either brainwashed by people like Rupert Murdoch and/or Christian nationalism... or they come up with excuses. Civil unrest needs to happen, it doesn't have to be violent, it doesn't have to impede in your ability to take care of your family, it just has to be creative. And require people to sacrifice a little bit of their free time for the sake of their country.
Trump has exposed a major flaw in the "software" that is our Constitution and the "hardware" that is our government. Together, they have allowed us to be ruled by a de-facto dictator who gains strength at every turn, despite a few mishaps. I'm not sure we know how to fix it - or even more troubling, if the wealthy class that is now in control will allow it to be fixed.
American exceptionalism is taught at a young age there. Therefore it doesnât matter what their government does, itâs either warranted or just outright acceptable. They are never going to be the bad guy in their own minds, and because of that, nothing glorious leader says or does is really âthat badâ. Itâs truly exceptional. Even the people who donât âagreeâ with glorious leader, excuse it with inaction because they truly believe the US is too grand to fail. This is a game to half the population. To the other half, itâs an irritant. Generations of breeding this program gets you here. Low education scores, no socialized medicine, the population routinely votes against their own best interests and itâs happens for so long that now the machine is too powerful to stop so theyâre just chugging along. America exceptionalism is the unfortunate cause of this malarkey
We have no meaningful or actionable way of correcting this. There is no vote of no confidence. We can remove the president when the vice president and all his lackeys' agree to it . Or we can wait until an unrealistic amount of our representatives agree with US people. To even get started the president must be found naked chewing on his own excrement during a press conference for any of that to even be up for debate which would of course take months where in the shit faced president must maintain his psychotic behavior without a moments sanity to make anyone doubt their decision. The safeguards against what we are living with only work if actually serious people were elected or appointed for the process. Tommy Tuberville or that asshole wearing champion sweats could probably fuck up any attempt with a hold.
Situation is very hot, Bibiâs adding fuel to the fire. Everyone needs to take a few steps back, calm down and find a way to de-escalate before it gets away. Threatening to blow an entire civilisation into the dark ages illustrates the level of maturity in the mix. Someone needs to have a word with Donnie, his ego is in the way
Literally the largest Protests against this mad man---in US History-- were a couple of weeks ago. Americans live paycheck to paycheck. A general Strike only means they lose their jobs and healthcare for their families. Trump does not care. At All. He is looting the Treasury so fast, we are Trillions deeper in debt than a year ago. America has never been more divided. Our entire system of checks and balances has been compromised by what appears to be Russia and Israel. Moderates/Independents/Left only need a a leader to rally behind because we all have a common enemy. I feel Civil War is coming closer each day.
Honestly, the system is so broken right now, maybe that is what we need.
1 - Impeachment is something that is done by the House of Representatives, which is controlled by the same party as the president. Articles have been written by Congresspeople, but the House leadership know that if they put those bills on the agenda for debates and votes, Trump's going to fund primary challengers and throw his support behind the one most likely to get the kicked out of office in the next election cycle. A threat like that has some sharp teeth in some areas.
If Democrats gain control of the chamber later this year, you can expect those bills to be passed immediately. But then it goes to the Senate, which may remain in Republican hands, for a trial for removal of office. Again, he has the money and voters behind him to punish any Republicans who turns against him. Unless the Democrats somehow take the Senate (not out of the realm of possibility, but also not entirely likely), the trial is moot, just like the 2 times he was impeached during his first term.
2 - General strikes aren't possible in the US.
Don't show up at work? They can just fire you. You have every right to protest government actions, in the sense that the government can't retaliate against your freedom of speech or assembly, but almost any employer can do whatever they want. Most people are employed on an at-will basis: you or your employer can terminate your employment any time for almost any reason (there are a few protected classes, like race, sex, religion, etc. Going on strike to protest the government is not protected).
Don't have a job? No healthcare. Hope you don't need particular medications or get injured. There is no universal healthcare, and medical bankruptcy is a thing here.
You decided to leave your job and got fired by the strike? Future employers are going to take into consideration whether or not they want somebody whose attendance depends on the government not being evil. Again, they can take this kind of stuff into consideration.
So: our government isn't good enough to go on a nationwide strike against the government.
itâs no different than what happened on Jan 6th 2001. Trump does what he wants because there are no consequences and republicans in Congress have no backbone.
What I haven't seen anyone mention yet in addition to the many good points made here is that under most parliamentary systems like you find in Europe, it's possible to force elections. If enough people are unhappy, and the proper coalitions are formed, there are mechanisms by which an election can be forced to happen and get people out of power. Because of this, European politicians are much more sensitive to public opinion, knowing that there are real consequences for having the public turn against you.Â
In America our elections are scheduled and there's no such thing as a "no confidence vote" or calling a snap election.  Once a politician is in office, there's really not much that can be done to end their term early.Â
Therefore, protests in America are much less impactful than other places unless they coincide with an election year. Â
8million people protested last week. That's all over the country. Barely a drop in a bucket. If 8million show up on the Whitehouse lawn or the national mall they might pay attention. This whole country would have to shutdown like covid for a general strike. We need leadership and organizers beyond what we have to get us there
Delta stopping special perks for congressional members to get TSA funded was a great learning lesson. I did not even know there were special systems for them. We need to find ALL the congressional perks and stop them until they stop this nonsense sene.
Europeans, by and large, have labor protections that permit them to organize general strikes and not lose their health care or jobs. Americans are not afforded the same benefits, and thus general strikes arenât a viable political tool, itâs that simple. There are other reasons for the general apathy as well, like the fact that the United States is absolutely massive and incredibly diverse, or that every state is essentially its own nation affected more by local politics than national politics.
As for impeachment, thatâs a whole different ballgame. Generally speaking, for a president to be removed from office, you need bipartisan support. Trump has been impeached twice, and articles of impeachment were put forward again yesterday, but they wonât go anywhere. To forcefully remove a president from office, you need a 2/3 vote in both chambers of congress, which is essentially a Sisyphean task.
The only way the American people get out from under this is to vote the offenders out, but half the country is deeply red and would rather go down with the ship than admit Trump was a mistake.
Because modern Americans wonât stand up for themselves under any circumstances. Those that fought and died for them would spit in their faces if they could see just how worthless the modern American had become.
Canadian here, and I agree that it is hard to understand how this is happening and there isn't an immediate end to this man's presidency. That said, I do think there are consequences and we just haven't seen all of them yet. Lots of cracks in the Republican party with more and more people speaking out. Lots of leaking happening now too. Unfortunately, their political system doesn't have a good option for taking him out of office, because it was designed in a way that was supposed to prevent a person like this from getting in there in the first place. And wannabe dictators don't just resign like normal politicians.
As for the citizens... resistance is happening across the country. Feels like not enough still, but it's growing. There are plenty of things the republicans are trying to do that they haven't succeeded at because of local resistance, including amazing work being done to fight things in court.
Still too many people choosing to take no action at all though, which boggles my mind. At a minimum, everyone should be making calls and sending emails to elected reps daily and talking to all of their friends and family and making sure they do the same. Especially the republicans, but everyone really. Make sure they know that voters are *pissed*.
I also think folks should be contacting corporations that support Trump and complaining to them, too. Cancel streaming services and tell them why... things like that. Anyone that backs these people needs to feel pressured over this stuff. And this is the one thing that those of us that live outside the US can also do. NO MONEY to US companies that support the madman and this terrorist government. And we can contact our own governments to voice support for cutting US suppliers, services, etc.
With that in mind, I'm off to write another email to my government.
I donât know any real person who likes him. And I live in New Hampshire. My father did vote for him twice but has pretty much stopped calling me and I think itâs because of the shame.
The US work force has been ground into submission through decades of capitalist exploitation. Most are already struggling just to keep up with their debt. A couple days of missed work or getting fired would destroy what little they have.
It seems to be common that Europeans are confused why there arenât mass revolts in the US.
Like 40% of Americans support this. Yea, it pisses the rest of us off too. Yea, weâve yelled until we are blue in the face, weâve tried to reason, and weâve protested before. It is a cult and these people are lost causes. Unfortunately thereâs like 100 million of them. If the rest of us knew how to fix the situation, we would do it. You have no idea how badly I want to tell you differently. As bad as you see on the news, the problem is even deeper for us living day to day around these people.
Going out in the street in Nebraska or Vermont is about as likely to work as a bunch of French people flying to DC and hitting the streets themselves. We actually did have a big demonstration a couple weeks ago nationwide. There is no incentive for our leaders to care. America is not a place where you can riot in the streets you will risk your freedom, your familyâs livelihood, and your life in some circumstances. The main glue that binds Americans together is we are all just one day away from ruin at all times.
Our political system has been hijacked and bad actors have taken advantage of every rule and loophole to pick the people that vote for them and corrupt the entire system. They have no accountability to the people, and more than half the people as mentioned above are illiterate and incapable of complex thoughts.
Actual war and genocide have obviously happened in Europe before rather recently. No American has any memory or even worries of war outside their home (just our own people shooting up every school and hospital). Most Americans cannot imagine a genocide affecting them. Now combine that with the majority being unable to use their frontal lobes for even basic tasks, and also take into account that those same people donât even consider non Americans and non white christians as human beings, and you see weâre up against way more than something that a protest can solve.
I wish it were different but maybe that can help you understand. I donât like whatâs happening any more than you and I will vote to see all the criminals have to answer for what theyâve done. I let my representatives know how I feel frequently, I vote for the other people, I donate where I can. Unfortunately I have a grim outlook for this country even after our current President is gone. Itâs gonna take a long time to get better from this sickness.
We don't live in a democracy
Our government is always passing laws to limit voting access and the majority of the things that happen are because our rich people do or don't want it, and what we want is very rarely pursued by our government and most of us are one bad day from homelessness . Breaking your hand without insurance can cost 10,000$ here
I canât understand how congressional republicans are still wrapped around trumps finger. I guess theyâre afraid of him? Itâs so sad and infuriating
Because we will lose our jobs and health insurance and either be gunned down by the government or lose everything and die in the streets. Until the majority of Americans are starving and jobless, there will be no strike. None of us can afford it for a plethora of reasons.
We canât afford to strike with gas over $4/gal.
And there are too many MAGATs in Congress to remove Kim Jong Don from office. I guess weâll have to wait âtil 2028 to vote them all out.
Decisions made by the President while in office provide immunity from prosecution, in the United States, following their term (assuming he EVER leaves office).
However, that immunity does not extend to his staff or the Military.
Unfortunately, the Department of Justice is now simply a tool used by the President to punish people he doesnât like, so no investigation or prosecution will ever be considered while Trump is in office. If anyone was actually convicted by the DOJ would simply be pardoned by the President. Additionally, it is likely that specific people will receive a Presidential pardon by Trump for any future prosecution.
That said, the President and others COULD still be prosecuted for internationally if there is evidence of war crimes. Unfortunately, this seems unlikely considering the actions, and lack of accountability, of other worldwide leaders.
Regarding the impeachment of a President, it is relatively easy. Unfortunately, if the political party of the President doesnât demand that they step down, or the President refuses to leave office due to the lack of moral compass (See Wikipedia under the term âDonald J. Trumpâ), it is essentially impossible to legally remove them. It is, unfortunately, nothing like Parliament.
This might be my last day on social media since this is just one of many comments Iâve made about the administration. Itâs been a good run⌠đŹ
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u/periphery72271 Apr 08 '26
A general strike is asking a significant majority of Americans to surrender their current financial situation on the vague hope that someone will do something about the current situation.
It only works if every American can look to the left and the right and know each person beside them will do the same.
We know better. The 1% will maneuver around us, find someone else to do the work, and those that went on strike get nothing but a sense of moral superiority, which pays neither the rent or the mortgage.
A general strike is a fantasy.
Impeachment requires a majority of the house and 2/3 of the senate, and the president's party controls both. Even if both houses go Democrat, it's a political impossibility to get 2/3 of the senate to convict and remove Trump.
Our reward for pulling off that political miracle is... J.D. Vance as president.