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Comment by 015a | Hacker News Reader

The number of republicans in a fifty mile radius of you, or even across the country, did not change between yesterday and today. What happened during your local government elections yesterday? State government?

There is nowhere to run to. When the Right felt like they were losing the soul of their country, they stayed and they voted. When Democrats feel the same, you want to run? I hear this everywhere and its literally the sensibility destroying America; not because the right is going to destroy America, far from it, but because any unchecked side will.

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>When Democrats feel the same, you want to run?

They want to run because the right is using violent language and saying they are going on a revenge tour. Why is that weird to you?

Do you have examples? I'm genuinely asking. Just started reading online after going to bed last night.

Not sure why this is being downvoted, also curious

At CPAC, Michael Knowles said:

“for the good of society … transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely”

Trump banned trans people from serving in the military. More broadly, trans people routinely lose their jobs.

Trump has repeatedly called for socialists to be destroyed. For example:

"We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that lie and steal and cheat on elections...”

Trump has called for socialists to be deported:

“Today I’m announcing a new plan to protect the integrity of our immigration system. Federal law prohibits the entry of communists and totalitarians into the United States. But my question is, what are we going to do with the ones that are already here, that grew up here? I think we have to pass a new law for them.”

They're saying their plan out loud on TV and people still don't believe it. It's maddening. It's not that your Republican neighbor is going to bust down your door and string you up, it's much slower and subtler than that. Institutional subjugation is much easier to pass and for people to quietly ignore. Elimination from public life was literally part of the Nuremberg Laws! And Florida right now has a law on the books that on paper bans transgender people from being in public if they ever felt safe to enforce it.

Calling Trump Hitler gives Trump too much credit, but the political conditions of 1930's Germany and economic anger giving rise to a desire for national purity and scapegoating minorities is pretty dead on. And it's not like Germany is unique, we're really not much more advanced than ritual sacrifice of people taken by demons to bring about a good harvest, err economy. This has been a persistent bug in Human we keep hitting.

Would you mind sharing information about this Florida law which bans transgender people from appearing in public? I tried Googling for it, but only found one which restricted access to transgender surgery for minors.

I don't perceive this to be happening in any systemic way. I think (in fact, I know) that social media is really good at magnifying the extremes, and the extremes of the right are scary, mean, and evil. That doesn't remotely represent the majority of people in the country. Less than 28% of US adults voted for Trump this election, its a single-digit percentage of even those individuals who would even consider acting out the rhetoric, and let's be real: They're mostly in those very isolated parts of the country like the west or apalachia which does have internet but, sadly, not much else (least of all, good public education).

Roughly the same level of support that allowed the Nazis to rise to power. Even if it doesn’t end up happening in a systemic way - (a) there is no way to know that right now - powerful republican factions have clearly signaled they want to go in that direction; and (b) it won’t be any comfort to those targeted, because there is quite a bit of non-systemic discrimination inherent in another Trump term.

Trump himself has said these things, and he's now going to be president. How much more systemic do you need?

When the right felt like they were losing the soul of their country, they weren't being told they would be exterminated. They were afraid they wouldn't get to hate other people the way they like to.

Who’s talking about exterminating people?

If a visibly armed convoy of folks that oppose your vote and your existence slow-rolled past your house, you might consider options other than staying and voting.

Has this happened in a non-isolated fashion? Please cite examples.

It's okay to rely on feeling and vibes alone. Feeling and vibes are real, important and precede outright indiscriminate violence

Your feelings are within your control. So: be an adult and control them. In this case that oftentimes means: Do research. Consume media from as many sources as possible. Do research. Try to find the good. Do research. Channel your feelings into improving the world, not retreating inside yourself or to somewhere else.

It's also okey to not share the feeling that the other person on the internet is having. Just saying. I would even argue it's mildly impolite to dispute the feelings of other people when your have a different vibe about the situation.

You're misunderstanding my motivation.

I am a progressive. I'm obviously dissatisfied with the results of this election. But I'm even more dissatisfied with the reaction I'm seeing from the left. I cannot and won't respect the "vibes" of "we're all gonna die, there's roving gangs in F150s in the streets, I'm leaving for Canada, the country hates me". I won't respect that. It is not indicative of any reality outside today, or in the immediate future (and I live in an extremely right-leaning place).

The reality that I want the left to adopt is: Its not that bad. The world isn't going to end. Both Trump and Kamala received fewer votes this year than in 2020. Progressive policies are majority-popular in the United States. Kamala was just a (very) bad candidate. Don't let that energy you're feeling go to waste by planning your escape to Thailand or laying in bed all day wrapped up in a cocoon. Educate the people around you. Be out in your community. And prepare for an even more important election in 2028.

You are deluding yourself. This country is finished. Why on earth would they allow there to be legitimate elections in 2028? You know they have "elections" in Russia, China, and Hungary, too.

The people who voted for Trump want people like you and me to die. (And fair enough, I want THEM to die!) You can choose how to respond to that, but you cannot deny it. For me, I don't think I have good prospects for leaving the country, but I am investing in a weapon. "Be out in your community" -- fuck that. I am acting for me and mine alone at this point, EVERYONE else can go to hell.

I think you misunderstand.

A number of people from marginalized groups literally fear for their lives right now. That's based in reality, coming from Trump's bigoted rhetoric and the people he allies himself with. Whether you think they should feel that way or not, it's the way that they do feel and it's valid.

It's a reasonable reaction when you believe your life is in danger to try and get yourself out of that situation. You saying "it's not that big of an issue" and "where's the evidence" is both tone-deaf and beside the point. This person is scared. They have bigger problems than your opinion that they should stick around and vote. Help or stay out of it.

I remember when Obama won, plenty of Republicans expressed an interest into moving to Australia. We don’t want them.

We're talking about the right to life here and you're trivializing that.

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