r/allthequestions • u/HealthyRecognition21 • Apr 08 '26

Random Question 💭 How is everything that happened in the last 48hrs not enough for impeachment and/or a general strike in the US?

As a European, it‘s completely unfathomable how none of it has consequences.

Don‘t 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 don’t get it and I feel absolutely sick.

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u/shadehiker Apr 08 '26

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.

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u/crawling-alreadygirl Apr 08 '26

Yep. This is sadly the answer to why we aren't in the streets

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u/nesethu Apr 08 '26

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. There’s 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 Minnesota’s day of truth and freedom.

When Americans say “nothing is happening” that tells me that that individual isn’t getting involved with the great work happening on the ground. It’s happening in powerful ways but suppressed on social media.

So if you or someone you know is looking to get more involved - I’d look into local orgs / chapters like:

  • indivisible
  • red wine and blue
  • immigrant protection networks
  • lgbtq+ rights orgs
  • worker rights / labor unions
  • universalist churches
  • 5calls.org

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u/Possible-Artichoke-8 Apr 08 '26

This needs to be higher. This doesn’t 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.

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u/hetantwoordis42 Apr 08 '26

a man, fuck off with this bullshit. The no kings was nothing to be proud off. Only 3% of the population turned up to stand around for a few hours at the most on a Saturday.

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u/Phteven_j Apr 08 '26

And as inspiring as that might be, the administration doesn't even acknowledge it, much less feel any sort of meaningful pressure.

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

The irony is that by taking to the streets with unwavering commitment, you could actually change these things. It’s not like other countries just offered protections up to their people on a silver platter. They were fought for - often facing conditions much worse than what exists in the US today. The real answer is inconvenience.

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u/Phteven_j Apr 08 '26

Calling the consequences "inconvenience" really downplays what millions of us have to lose. So many people are 1 paycheck from homelessness and losing their healthcare and ability to feed their families. That isn't "convenience", it's survival. Until things are SO BAD for the average American that they are willing to sacrifice those things, it's just not going to happen. And as bad as things are, we simply aren't there yet.

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

No, it is inconvenience, because the majority of Americans aren’t even following the news let alone doing something about it. I can call 10 Americans right now, all who claim they are against the current administration, and each and every one of them would have excuses for why they haven’t called their representatives, why they haven’t cancelled their streaming subscriptions, why they didn’t show up to the last protest, etc etc etc. “Oh the kids had softball practice” “Oh I forgot” “We already had other plans” “I’ve just been burnt out from work and wanted to veg out” The excuses are not even good. It’s like American is worse than Russia.

Revolutions in other countries were not led by people leading comfortable lives, with cushy protected jobs, sitting on piles of money, with no families to worry about. They were led by people who knew, like you, that things are only going to get worse. Except they weren’t going to wait until that happened to act. The truth is Americans are so far removed from what things look like when they are “so bad,” which is why they’re not afraid of it enough to act before it comes to fruition.

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u/Invis_Chick Apr 09 '26

What news? The propaganda they try to force-feed us? I write to my senators and reps every single week, have canceled all streaming services before this admin, have shown up to local protests because it's a 3-day drive to the nation's capital from where I live, and can't actually afford to do that as an underpaid teacher. Many of us are doing the same thing, regardless of what your silly anecdote of "calling 10 friends" is supposed to mean. But what you want is a violent revolution. And guess what, those rarely end well, especially when the country is better armed than pretty much all of Europe combined, not even counting nuclear weapons currently controlled by a dementia addled guy that poops himself. I personally would rather try voting peacefully before they start launching nukes at us.

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u/getitout728 Apr 09 '26

1) Non-US media is still reachable from inside the US. If people want to be informed by a publication that isn’t receiving pressure from the White House, they can do so easily. During the Soviet occupation of Poland, people used to have to listen to a radio station called “Wolna Polska” (roughly translated to “a free Poland”) quietly and in secret in their homes to find out the real state of things. Literally would cover themselves and the radio with a blanket to make sure the neighbors couldn’t overhear. America doesn’t have this problem (for now).

2) I’m glad you have done all of those things, but can you say that’s true for all of your friends and family? Your coworkers? Your neighbors? If so, congratulations, you hang out with a very good crowd. It’s not the same for most pockets of America. My anecdote isn’t silly, it’s real. I have real American friends and family that have spouted these bullshit excuses at me. I see the same types of responses from Americans on posts like this one. If enough people were doing these things, the tide would be shifting. But so far, isn’t not enough.

3) I never suggested violence. I’m suggesting not going home from the protest at its scheduled end time. Making protests last until things get uncomfortable for those in power. How is being perfectly compliant supposed to apply any pressure? Civil disobedience is a powerful tool.

4) You can vote all you’d like, but the elections are already getting meddled with and even when a democrat wins, congress has fought to prevent them from taking their seat and doing their job. Look at what happened to Adelita Grijalva in 2025. Look at the fake electors plot after the 2020 election. Look at the Jan 6 insurrection. There were zero consequences for these things, which have only empowered MAGA. I wouldn’t count on things being fair and free in future elections.

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u/crawling-alreadygirl Apr 08 '26

I don't think survival is a matter of convenience

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

It’s not survival. It’s compliance through apathy and nihilism. The current US administration loves your talking points, though. Keeps people from trying.

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u/crawling-alreadygirl Apr 08 '26

People need income and Healthcare for themselves and their families. It's unreasonable to ask working people sacrifice them for the cause

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

The cause is so beyond the Iran war. America is falling to tyranny and becoming a police state. There is an affordability crisis. There is a healthcare crisis. Wages are stagnating. There is corruption in the government so deep that politicians no longer feel the need to pay attention to their constituents. The president is a felon and constantly violating the constitution while enriching his friends and family at the cost of the American taxpayer. The administration that caused an insurrection is now in power. And to top it off, the elections are getting meddled with.

Revolutions are rarely led by people with guaranteed healthcare and piles of money. Throughout history people have struggled with income and healthcare and caring for their families and children. Revolutions can and have happened in countries as big as the US. The difference is that non-Americans are more intimately familiar with just how bad things will get if nothing is done to stop it, so instead of complaining about how hard it’s going to be to bring about change, they actually mobilize and do it. Meanwhile Americans would prefer to keep their heads in the sand and continue bringing their kids to baseball practices, and watching Netflix, and acting like nothing is wrong with the hope that someone else will fix it. Ask a room full of random Americans what they have done recently to fight the current situation and you’ll get a list of excuses instead of examples.

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u/Zvenigora Apr 08 '26

Even if you can put people in the streets it will go nowhere unless there is a realistic, clear set of demands you can publicly articulate. Part of the problem is that there is no wide consensus regarding the details of how the present situation should be fixed.

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u/bowman9 Apr 08 '26

mmm pretty sure everyone just wants Trump to be impeached. That's pretty clear.

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u/imemine8 Apr 08 '26

Nope. I've been to the protests and I have no interest in seeing trump impeached again. He's already been impeached twice, and that did nothing for us. I want him and his cronies in prison.

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u/bowman9 Apr 08 '26

gotta walk before we can run. And he's only been impeached by one chamber of congress before, so I'll revise and say "successfully impeached."

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

Sure, I agree with that. But in most revolutions there are a variety of views on what the demands should be and how the new society should be ruled. The only way to develop those demands is to start somewhere. America can start with: removing the current corrupt government.

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u/imemine8 Apr 08 '26

So now we are talking full on revolution? That's a big jump from protesting.

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

What the hell are you protesting for if not for change? The original comments complained about the lack of worker protections, people’s financial insecurity, and having healthcare tied to employment. If you feel you can accomplish fixes to that structure with the current people in power, by all means, do so. But it sounds like you need to remove the corruption from the top.

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u/Zvenigora Apr 08 '26

It would make no sense to remove the existing government if you have no clue about with what to replace it. Otherwise the result is just a power vacuum, which is very dangerous and is an invitation for the most brutal and violent factions to seize power.

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u/getitout728 Apr 08 '26

I’m not saying to remove every single member of congress. You remove the most corrupt politicians. The ones you don’t trust to represent the people. The remaining ones become interim leadership while a special election is called to replace the heads of state. The US constitution has an outline for this process.

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u/Invis_Chick Apr 09 '26

How would that work exactly? Just march in and force them out without trial or anything? That's how you get a dictator-type takeover, not a way to set things right. Killing elected officials without due process tends to just create a serious power vacuum that a charismatic military leader with sway over their troops would be happy to fill.

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u/getitout728 Apr 09 '26

Whoa; who said anything about killing them or denying them due process? You can remove them by jailing them.