bluesky is largely convincing itself that as soon as he is elected, trump will start drone striking people who say mean things about him online, which i think is great because maybe canalizing into this belief will get the doomerist panic mongers on bsky to stop doomspiraling themselves for a bit
Two Satans Theory in action: 1) Making credible threats online during an (ascendent or actual) authoritarian regime is a bad idea and a legitimate concern, and 2) there is simultaneously a moral panic that everyone is going to get drone striked and blackbagged for every comment they ever made online
Pretty much. What it mostly boils down to is that most Americans really don’t have the faintest idea what living under modern authoritarian regimes actually looks like, and how it’s often at the same time way more boring and way more scary than they’d imagined.
Agree. Most people who aren't targeted settle in and exist. A tiny percentage of those who think they'll fight, do so. Some who say they'd fight end up actively supporting the regime. Fear occupies the mind of all.
I don't believe anyone knows what role they'd take until it happens.
Want to add: the targeted groups will be over-represented in the resistance, too. Their anger and motivation is higher when a boring existence isn't an option.
Most of the people who can live a boring life don't fight until they can't feed their families. The cost of bread led to the Arab Spring.
I remember hearing about a reporter canvasing the people in Tahrir square asking if they were going to get involved in the political process they had demanded. The answer was, "No, because we don't like political parties, and that sounds too much like a political party."
The frustrating problem is that if you have anti-institutionalists leading the revolution, they seem to then promptly decline to take a seat at the table when the opportunity presents itself.
