Comment on GOP Silent as Mormon Church Gunman Identified as ‘Ultra MAGA’ Trump Supporter
FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com 3 weeks agoI spend a bit of time in the US
The whole country is afraid
They’re afraid of each other, they’re afraid of faceless enemies that exist only in their imagination, they’re afraid to lose what little they have, and they’re all on a knife-edge, one bit of bad luck away from ruin or death
It’s awful to see, especially when there’s more than enough to go around
shalafi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m afraid. My wife is a legal, brown immigrant. Though Asian, she looks Mexican, and I’ve seen the racism. Not usual, but when it’s there, it’s clear. And I’m an outspoken liberal gun nut.
I am waiting for the administration to start going after people like us. America has fallen to fascism, and though I’m a middle-aged white guy, I’m on the wrong side. Our President has just signed a memorandum declaring me a terrorist for opposing him, though I’m part of no group. A terrorism charge gives the government resources and abilities they don’t normally have, and the penalties are life in a concrete box. Let that sink in. Once the “clear” enemies are thinning out, they’ll use AI to scan our comments, figure out who we are, go after us.
I cannot fly a flag of my choosing, put a sign in my yard, or wear certain clothes without inviting a fight. Since I’m always armed, a fight might turn out to be a life changing event, for both parties. My freedom of speech has indeed been chilled.
And yes, we’re on a knife’s edge of ruin. I’m unemployed, only a few more months of savings to float on. I’ve got Obamacare, free, believe it or not, but I can’t go to the dentist or the eye doctor. My wife is employed at the “best” employer in the county, but after over a year, she’s still a contractor, no benefits, no PTO, no nothing. One bit of bad luck, one poor decision, we’re ruined.
I have a gun in reach, anywhere I sit, even on the toilet. No shit. I’m practiced and reasonably competent with those weapons. (Most of my guns are for fun, the handful of self-defense guns are not.) Strange SUV pulled into my driveway today. Had my hand on my Colt .45. *How fucked up is that?!" Just a lady picking a FB Marketplace thing up from my wife. I note every car driving past my house (basically a cul-de-sace, or might as well be), constantly on the look out for ICE.
What am I to do? I’ve told her I’d move to the Philippines if she’s deported, but that means leaving my 10 and 12-yo kids back in Arkansas with their white trash mother. May not even get a passport as I owe child support. Unemployed and they want the $1,400/mo. I had paid for 5 years when I had a good job.
FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.com 3 weeks ago
Oh, I understand much of the fear
Your country was born broken, and there’s no way see things getting any better