Terrified of USA

[ToastMarmiteButter]

Anyone else pretty scared for the world?

USA gone completely rogue. It's terrifying. This massive nuclear powerhouse that was once a big brother/dad/bodyguard for the free world has now gone rogue. Like your loyal German shepherd or Rottweiler deciding to turn on the family. From protector to aggressor.

Trump is ripping up the rule books, trampling all over law and order and wreaking havoc with the world.

What is worse, is that he cannot be stopped.

There is literally no way anyone can do anything about him. I am strongly of the opinion that by the time his official term ends he will have got the USA into some kind of war and then will halt elections because 'its wartime'. He's very quickly becoming a dictator. The only saving grace is his age and the possibility natural causes will prevent world wide catastrophe.

This man has no respect for law or convention. I can't believe he just does what the hell he likes against his own country's actual laws.

And ... There are people that defend him and his actions, that are getting sucked along. It's 1930s Germany again, but this time the country involved has nuclear weapons and much MUCH more power and military might than Germany had in 1930s. When I look at Trump defenders. His inner circle, and those that sing his praises it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I'm reminded of the Nazis all over again.

I am genuinely very very worried for the state of the world.

I'd like to move to New Zealand which I think may be safe and act as a sanctuary from the rest of the world. But DH says no!! AIBU to want to stop the world and get off?

I agree. But there’s not much we can do.

What is wrong with people on here?

Are you serious, OP?

I’ll come to New Zealand with you. I also want to move there, but my DH also says no!

In the meantime all we can do is live our lives as best as we can. I’m not sure Trump is any more of a threat than other nutcases in power. He’s just rather loud about things.

Agree !

I never imagined that I would see the day where I wished a military coup in any western democracy, let alone the United States, but I can see several potential chains of events where it would be the most desirable outcome.

Well you're on here, and I'd say, if you're not concerned you might just be the one there's something wrong with.

@ToastMarmiteButter

I'm American and I'm extremely concerned. The world seems very precarious right now.

Absolutely.

Why?

Kind of agree

China will be eyeing up NZ and Australia

Trump has packed the top of the military with his acolytes and simps, so it's unlikely a military coup would net a better result at the moment.

You can move to NZ. Lots of people do!
But at the same time it’s worth cutting down your media/news consumption, otherwise you’ll find yourself digging a bunker.
Maybe worth visiting one of the prepper boards or reddit?

I feel for you. What is the feeling among the public in America? Are there any attempts or groups or structures that are trying to do anything about Trump? I guess nothing can be done :( but I'd hate to be living in the USA right now :(

I wonder how it felt to be living in Germany when Hitler rose to power. I guess it depended on who you were, your ethnicity and appearance and religion, your moral compass, and your job. I can see why some choose to side with the bully rather than face his wrath. But I could never side with him (I like to think).

I'd rather watch the machinations of a Trump USA from a country that isn't sitting on a one in four chance of a mega quake that could rip the country in half over the next forty years. Clearly you are a lot braver than I am.

I have lived in NZ before, and also Japan which is quite quake prone!! I think I'd rather risk a natural disaster than a full on war. But I take your point!

Is there a country I can escape to, that is safe? (ideally where I don't have to learn another language because i am crap at languages! Really crap! And Japanese was bloody hard for my frazzled brain to learn! Not sure if I'd be able to repeat the experience now I'm even older and slower in the cog department!)

I genuinely thought when Trump got in the first time that the US would have a contingency plan for a nutcase getting into the White House - CIA assassination or some sort of poisoning maybe? Sadly, I've watched too many political thrillers that have given me an unrealistic expectation that someone like Trump wouldn't be allowed to do exactly what he's doing. I have zero hopes that he'll be neutralized this time around.

We actually live in the UK at the moment, but are still very much American, and still have a house there, although in a blue city in a blue state.

Being very honest, it's not great. More people in the country didn't vote for him than did, which I guess is hopeful in one way, but a lot of people are pretty disengaged. The right wing media ecosystem, primarily Fox News for the older people and X, TikTok, and podcasting (Joe Rogan) for the younger ones have created a very worrying culture of lies and disinformation and I'm not sure how we get back from that.

The Democrats are like dead fish at the moment, and the congressional Republicans, who are ultimately the real force that could put a stop to things, seem completely unlikely to step up. I guess we just have to hope that Republicans see the light, voters get angry and Democrats find their purpose.

Sorry to say, I'm not feeling too optimistic at the moment.

thanks

All sounds a bit hopeless :(

I know. Horrendous isn't it.

I feel so so helpless over Gaza and the West Bank. I've also lived in that neck of the woods and this situation rips at my heart everyday to the point that I'm struggling to continue engaging and reading about it. But I'm forcing myself to because the people there have no choice. But it's devastating. The world is doing NOTHING and Trump has emboldened Netanyahu now anyway so he has free reign to ethnically cleanse and murder at will with no consequence. It's sick and evil (and I don't even believe in evil!).

I hate the state of humanity at the moment.

It's scary to think that the fate of so many people world wide rests in the hands of a mere handful of psychopathic, narcissistic, hate filled, wealthy, power hungry, men with no conscience, empathy or humanity in their hearts. The enablers are almost worse because without them, these few men could be overthrown or stopped. But with the enablers a whole army stands against humanity and in support of evil. How can we fight that? We can't.

Yes, it is very scary.

Rapist Trump inviting rapist McGregor to the White House on St Patrick's day, complimenting his chest tattoo, that clearly resembles a fascist emblem. It's all very scary indeed.

I really think Trump, Musk, and the Proud Boys militia want to let third world populations die out, it's just a land grab situations with a bunch of bully boys and their puppets in charge.

Fox News, Rogan, Carlson... it has turned into a cesspit, hasn't it? I came across Candace Owen's interviews about Brigitte Macron. It highlighted to me how disinformation (and slander) works: you take something factual that shocked many people - myself included, I do struggle with their relationship when he was a teenage boy- and turn it into something truly truly grotesque and monstrous. Owen's got a huge platform. People like her are really trying to brainwash decent ordinary people into believing liberal democracies are led by Satan worshippers. It's gone sceptic now.

I haven't let myself see anything about the Owens interview, and yeah, the beginning of their relationship is icky, for sure. But coming from supporters of an administration that's lionising the Tate brothers, it's unbelievable.

I don't know if you're familiar with David French? He's a first amendment lawyer who writes for the New York Times, former Republican, he's quite socially conservative and lives in Tennessee. He says that he's been completely shunned in his town and his church for coming out against Trump, partly because the people around him are so brainwashed they actually believe that Democrats are satan worshippers and child abusers and no real news about what the administration is doing can break through.

Yes, I have heard of him from an old friend who lives in Tennessee... She is secular, and as anti-Trump as it comes but I've detected a clear reluctance to discuss politics nowadays. It sounds genuinely tricky for her and anyone who believes in liberal values.

The next thing I would say might really end up in the firing line is books. Knowledge is a battleground. There is a creeping censorship across schools and public libraries. One thing to look out for is e-book libraries. I don't think this is a politically motivated move but it's worth bearing in mind that Kindle will stop allowing downloads of purchased books onto a local hard drive. That has implications for ownership. Basically, you will only 'own' your copy going forward as long as you use an Amazon device. My concern is that the inventory of available books may get 'sanitised' little by little, so if there are any controversial titles on your kindle, it might be a good idea either to source hard copies or to download them whilst it's still possible.
Personally, I try and encourage independent book stores. I don't want to only rely on digitised versions sold by corporations who support this regime.

YANBU that Trump is crazy and it is worrying, but I think YABU to want to move to NZ over it. I think maybe you need to reduce/change your media consumption? Yes, the situation in America is very sad, but the reality is that there have always been illiberal mega powers in this world (China, Russia) and another one doesn't mean that world war 3 is about to break out.