America needs to suffer

[edhopper]

I am not saying I want to see this, but the only way I see the veil falling from the eyes of all those who don't see Trump and the Repukes as the evil fascists they are is for wide spread suffering. High unemployment, high inflation, loss of healthcare, loss of services. Maybe then they will wake the fuck up.
Because it doesn't appear that the loss of reproductive rights, or giving Putin access to our national security means squat to them. Along with the character or competence of anyone in power.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Yes it has to be a steep learning curve for lessons to be learned.

Human nature is that people have to learn things the hard way.

People in Europe think the reason Americans are so backwards about safety net,
gun violence, human rights, etc., is because Americans didn't suffer enough in WWII like
Europeans did.

[bdamomma]

5. Yes

that's true about Europeans, some of them lived with death and destruction with their own countries. I don't know if some could relate to this (excluding DU'ers, we are pretty knowledgeable), but Europeans are quite astute with political topics more than Americans.

Again, we took everything for granted, and paid no mind to "that it can't happen here". But I think those who think they are going to get away with their sick greedy plan will get their comeuppance,

[Irish_Dem]

13. Yes we lived in a sort of golden age and didn't know it or appreciate it.

We took all the advances and privilege for granted.

The greedy billionaires and corrupt politicians were not happy, they wanted more and more.

Americans helped build the most powerful democracy and richest country in the history of the world.

But that was not enough for the power and money hungry elite.

The politicians could not have total and permanent power with a democracy.
And could not scam the public with an existing rule of law and ethics.

Billionaires could not become trillionaires.

So it all had to be dumped.

I sincerely hope the disgusting GOP and billionaires learn some lessons.
But we will be forced to learn those lessons the hard way as well.

[meow2u3]

67. Nothing is ever enough for the greedy billionaire elites

Not even becoming a trillionaire will be enough for those wealth hoarding addicts. They'll try to enslave everyone on the planet to own absolutely everything, even God if that were possible.

IOW, what they need is an intervention, not another billion dollars.

[Blue Full Moon]

77. They won't stop until they have every last cent.

Money is their god. I think they will turn on each other. There can only be one. I remember a tale about I believe that it was jews. That the ruler was greedy. So the people just started sending him all their money.

[Irish_Dem]

88. Nothing will ever fill the holes in their souls.

All the money, power, deviant sex, drugs in the world will not do it for them.

They will always want more.

It is an addiction and they will destroy the world trying to satisfy their sick needs.

[Blue Full Moon]

92. Always thought this song summed it up

?si=bj6lUWeu-Q9OgwAu

[Evolve Dammit]

74. well said

[Evolve Dammit]

73. or a "big swift kick in the ass with reality."

[johnnyplankton]

48. Sad but true. Most alcoholics and addicts won't get sober until they hit bottom...

America has an addiction to idiocy.

[Irish_Dem]

59. I don't know if the MAGAs hit bottom they will learn anything.

They will still blame everyone else.

[state of stupid]

68. Then they have not reached bottom.

I have tried to help people in 12 step programs by going with them to meetings.
You have to go to them to really understand what is going on and how you can help.

1) You cannot drag them there and expect it to work, because it will not. They are not willing.

2) You cannot defend what is not defensible, all the lies and manipulation the person will do
to feed the beast destroying them.

3) For the real hard cases. Rock bottom is when they are sitting at the bottom of the hell hole they
dug and there is nobody left. They have run off everybody who tries to help them. All their enablers
have finally left leaving them sitting in a very dark place, all alone. One of three things will happen,
they finally look in the mirror and realize they are the problem and that they are the solution to
their problem. Only then can you help them.

Or they sit at the bottom still blaming everything that has happened on everyone else and live a
miserable life to whatever end comes. Usually, they just keep on committing slow suicide.

Lastly, they finally drive themselves insane and seeing no hope they do commit suicide.

And that is the saddest part of all of it because their family and friends want to help but have to
watch a slow-moving train wreck happening and are unable to stop it. That is why it is called tough
love.

[Irish_Dem]

81. I think the MAGAs will sit at the bottom blaming everyone else until they die.

I was a therapist for over 40 years and know that some people are on a self destructive path
and nothing will ever get them off, no matter how much intervention.

[Mariana]

86. It's a cult.

They will never blame Trump for anything bad that happens, never. It doesn't matter how strong the evidence or how obvious where the fault lies. They will always blame someone else. It's a cult, and religious beliefs aren't rational, by definition.

[state of stupid]

94. I agree wholeheartedly. After 40 years of being a therapist, I am not sure I would want to hear

the things you heard. Just those 12-step meetings were enough for me to want to
pound my toes with a hammer so I would have something more painful to think
about instead of the headache and the heartache watching someone you care for
slowly destroying themselves. I am in that situation right now with my nephew.
According to him life is wonderful, according to his family he is ruining his life and
theirs, especially his mothers. She is the only one who cannot let go and just keeps
enabling him. If I confront him, he will just blame his family members and seek his
revenge on them. All I can do is stand by and watch for any sign where I can offer to
help, but I been down the road enough to use caution on when to jump because he
may have figured out I am on to him and will try to manipulate that situation to his
advantage. Do you have any good ideas how to put all these addicted to Lumpy fools
and Mindless Assholes Groveling Around Trump's Shit people on a big enough couch
for deprogramming or do we just sit back and watch them eventually fall apart and
enjoy the show even if we are going to have to suffer thru it ourselves? Maybe we can
form up some support group like Al-anon to help all of us since we are their victims.

[Irish_Dem]

95. I truly loved my job.

I was so lucky to have a job that was challenging, fascinating, complicated and never boring or mundane.
And I like being useful and providing a service.

If we cannot leave the planet a tiny bit better than when we arrived, what the hell is the point
of being here?

Anyway yes you don't want to know every thing I learned and heard.

[Irish_Dem]

97. What to do about the Trump cult?

That is a big question and important one.
I am not sure we have thought about this enough.

It is probably going to take more than one person to come up with a plan.

That said, cult research shows that with every truth bomb, some of the cult peels off.
But some of the cult doubles down.

So perhaps as Trump does more and more damage, his adoring crowd
will begin to wake up.

But as I said, some Nazis in WWII didn't wake up until staring at the barrel of gun pointed at them
by American GIs. And looking at their obliterated country.

Oh we do need a support group.
We are afraid and also grieving the loss of our democracy, rule of law, freedom.

On your nephew can you support the enablers and help them with tough love instruction?

[Irish_Dem]

83. Some Nazis changed when looking down the barrel of a gun held by an American GI.

And sitting in a country blown to bits by the allies.

[Cirsium]

98. What did they change though?

They changed sides to save themselves, it because they actually changed.

They weren't changed, they were stopped. They were stopped when looking down the barrel of a gun held mostly by Red Army soldiers, but also some from the US and Britain and many courageous resistance groups.

[Irish_Dem]

100. Good point.

Germany changed, and enacted tough laws against Nazis.
But did they do it on their own, or because the allies insisted?
Yes perhaps it was more that they were stopped, not really changed.

For example psychopaths like Trump and Putin will never never change.
They can only be stopped and prevented from harming others.

[Cirsium]

104. Most walked

Most of the perpetrators walked. As the Red Scare got rolling in the US, that was the end of any serious attempt at holding the war criminals accountable. "Anti-Communism" was the excuse for putting Nazis back in power., and fast tracking many war criminals and Nazi collaborators into the US.

[state of stupid]

99. Are you sure they changed or did they change into camouflage and go underground?

I get what you are saying but this has been bubbling beneath the surface for a very long
time. It may be in their nature so to speak. A little blast from the past that holds true
today. The old becomes new again and again and again.

Sorry, I did not see your reply soon enough. Yes, I have told every one of them. The only
one listening is my niece, she understands but the rest are just going to keep trying anyway.
Especially dear old mom, it is her son, and she will not let him go ever. He has been playing
for years and she knows it. None of them have told him I know yet because they know me.
If he comes to me truly wanting help I will help according to my rules period. If he comes to
me confrontational I will absolutely let him know exactly where I stand on the issue and what
it will take to get my help. I will also make sure he knows for sure that if he screws it up, I am
done. I have a life I am still living, and he is not going to drag me down with him.

[Irish_Dem]

102. Yes good point, they are back.

So we only made them go into hiding. Only to pop up again.

Can we will change human nature?

There will always be a battle between good and evil.
It is the iconic human condition.

[Evolve Dammit]

76. there is that. Was all Clinton's fault or Obama's fault or Bidens' fault. RW smear 24/7 all over radio and "social"

media for last 40 years with no counter. We will pay the price of letting it metastasize.

[Irish_Dem]

84. It's all the fault of people who pee in the wrong bathroom.

Or women who cross state lines.

[electric_blue68]

111. Let's Not Forget, even if it was not done well enough to prosper, and continue past a few years...

there was Air America on the radio.
It's where Rachel Maddow was recruited from.
Was I mad bc I couldn't afford cable TV where she went.

[Evolve Dammit]

119. Listened all the time until they folded. Still getting Democracy Now! on a local radio station. Wish there was more.

[yankee87]

82. Agree with you

There is always someone else to blame. Now we have the trans panic. In the 80's the Satanic Panic. Who knows what panic will be next to blame their problems on?

[0rganism]

2. And so we shall, and the rest of the world with us

Bartender, a round of suffering and degradation for all!

[rubbersole]

43. Make it a double.

And a bowl of peanuts and syphilis please.

[in2herbs]

3. I agree and disagree. Our lives are a time to learn and make mistakes, but do mistakes have to

involve pain and suffering in order to learn our lessons? My answer is no and pain and suffering occurs when we have exercised our free will in a negative fashion.

[bdamomma]

6. "negative fashion"

yes indeed.

[edhopper]

8. Well America just exercised their free will

in a very, very negative fashion. So what now follows?

[MLAA]

24. It would be a lovely world if that were the case, but I'm skeptical.

One non political example is my sister was an alcoholic for many years yet was functional until she wasn’t. She did not seek help until she hit rock bottom and I told her she was no longer welcome to stay with us until she went into rehab center I’d arranged for her. That level of tough love was hard on both of us. She’s now 5 years sober and seems very happy.

[Meadowoak]

42. half of our country is extremely selfish and has absolutely no empathy for anyone else. They couldn't care less, until

it effects them.

[bdamomma]

50. It will affect them.

I'm also thinking will the felon's own supporters turn on him????? when things start going bad on them??

[Demobrat]

78. They think their lives will change on day one.

Gas will be $1.89, eggs .99/carton, good paying jobs will pop up everywhere, and housing prices will go down 75%.

There will be deportation roundups and crying brown children on TV every night for entertainment.

They really believe this. How long will it take for them to become disillusioned? That depends on how quickly he decides to shove his middle finger in their faces and laugh, as he has done to working people all his life.

I don’t think it will take long. He enjoys other people’s pain, and he is too contemptuous of his cult members to wait long to let them know it.

[0rganism]

69. "do mistakes have to involve pain and suffering in order to learn our lessons?" - not always, but these mistakes will

Of that much I have little doubt. My question: "Will we actually learn anything from the impending pain and suffering, and, if so, how long will it be until Americans forget said lessons and need to learn them all over again?"

[Scrivener7]

4. I hate to agree but I do. And the worse it is, the quicker it will be over.

[inwiththenew]

7. Be careful what you wish for

Because if you look at history those types of events and turmoil often precede the rise to power of fascists and authoritarians. You're making a big assumption that people will reject them when people could in fact be pushed further into their camp especially if some group or something else can be scapegoated.

[edhopper]

10. We already have the fascists in power

But I see nothing else that might awaken people to what is happening.

[Cirsium]

12. People aren't alseep

The potential opposition to MAGA often seems to be snoozing or in denial, but the MAGA supporters are alert and awake. They know what is happening, and they love it. They will be seeing others suffer, and are very happy about that prospect. They are willing to overlook their own suffering, just so long as others are suffering more.

[Beck23]

25. Some will take it as a sign...

...that Jeebus is coming and they will be OK while watching their enemies burn.

[bdamomma]

58. oh

the extreme religious factor will play a big part unfortunately. But they are NOT religious at all, they are more like a cult.

Why do I keep on thinking about Handmaids Tale???

[electric_blue68]

112. The thought Has crossed my mind....

(damn good TV show, tho)

[kkmarie]

63. And if

there are no more elections. It won't matter if the magas suffer and change their minds about trump and the new republican party.

[Prairie Gates]

9. How to Win Friends and Influence People

[Cirsium]

11. That might not work

Unfortunately, it often doesn't work that way.

Read what William Shirer discovered when interviewing everyday Germans after WWII. Every German city lay in ruins and millions had been killed. Had they learned their lesson? Were they sorry they had supported the Nazis?

"There was so much that was true that did not make sense: the monumental apathy of the German people and their deep regret, not that they had started the war, but merely that they had lost it; their whining complaints at the lack of food and fuel and their total lack of sympathy or even interest in the worse plight of the occupied peoples, for which they bore so much responsibility; their boredom at the very mention of the Nuremberg trial, which they were convinced was only an Allied propaganda stunt; their striking unreadiness for, or interest in, democracy, which we, with typical Anglo-Saxon fervor and blindness, were trying to shove down their throats."

― William L. Shirer, End of a Berlin Diary

[Beck23]

30. Some Germans even...

Complained that the bombs were keeping them from going on vacation.

[SWBTATTReg]

41. And this will be the way if something should happen to tRUMP, he passes away from some ailment of the stomach,

after eating a cheeseburger. They won't complain about the damage tRUMP did to so many during his 2nd term, but they'll
gripe mostly that tRUMP died too early, who would have gone for a 3rd term (despite it not being legal).

And they'll continue their endless whining about not getting a bigger share of income despite not working for it, and their total lack of sympathy or even interest in the worse plight of the people that tRUMP tried to rip their social security or Obama Care away.

Always moaning too that still yet, despite the tax cut of 2017, that he and his rich cronies are still paying too much tax on their incomes/wealth, despite so many being destitute in this Country (tRUMP - they don't deserve anything!).

-Just watch them put out a new tax cut bill. And not pay for it;

-New health care bill to replace Obama Care? Nope, they still can't come up w/ anything new still!

-Watch them (and this will scare some DUers coming into their hard-earned social security dollars when they finally retire during tRUMP's term), try to piddle and downsize future social security payments for those finally starting to withdraw their paid in social security benefits.

The GOP had in the past already chopped off $500 billion before, and now, we will see them cut untold billions more from future payments to social security, to food stamps, aid to blue states, you name it. Sharpen your blades and tongues, we will have to use our wits to prevent the gutting of these benefit plans to benefit the 1%ers, despite them getting so much wealth over the last decade or so.

[WinstonSmith4740]

51. I watched a documentary a few years back.

It was about the Allies getting into the camps to free the people who were left after the Nazis took off. It was of course, horrific. They made the townspeople and mayors come in to witness what was going on in their names, and to bury the people who had died and were still literally where they fell. Their response? They had no idea this was happening (I knew nothing!) and besides, (brace yourself) the production of the gas used to kill the prisoners created jobs for the townspeople.

[Cirsium]

96. They knew

They all knew.

[WinstonSmith4740]

101. Oh, hell yes.

"I knew nothing" wasn't just a line from Hogan's Heros.

[maxsolomon]

14. I heard this same argument on Election Night 2016 from a Millenial.

It's not going to wake Americans up. They kind of woke up in 2020, but only for a little bit before slipping into a coma.

Voters are brainwashed by the Right's ownership of the Mediascape: Radio, Cable News, Local News, Podcasting, & social media. Their corrosive messaging is relentless.

Liberalism, frankly, has no counter.

[not fooled]

21. Yep. red don killed hundreds of thousands

by incompetently handling COVID-19, yet a few years later it didn't matter to Americans who voted to re-elect him. If they can brainwash people into not remembering or caring about that, they can do so about the depredations to come.

[jgmiller]

60. I would ammend that and say "truth has no counter"

There are plenty of conservatives who hate Trump and his followers but that is because they belive facts and don't consume the stupidity and lies that spew forth. We should never lose site of the fact there are good conservatives, we might not agree with what they want on policy but that doesn't make them automatically part of the the cult.

[thebigidea]

15. I don't think the suffering will teach anybody anything, all we can hope and work for is a pendulum swing

The JVL argument makes surface-level nihilistic sense, but conservatives will just blame Dems and minorities as per usual. It's not like they ever learned anything before.

[Johnny2X2X]

16. Propaganda

I think right now America is under the spell of relentless and instense propaganda.

Biden produced the best economy in generations, but people got convinced by the media everything is horrible. I think the reverse will hold, things will go into the tank and the propaganda will convince people everything is awesome.

I base this on some odd polling I've seen the last 4 years. Polls on the economy and finance were highly sensitive to how the questions were asked. The majority of people would say the econmy was bad and that they were worse off because the economy was so bad. But when asked about their own personal finances the overwhelming majority of people would say, "Oh, well I'm doing better financially and so is most of my family." There was a clear disconnect. Doesn't mean some people weren't struggling, doesn't mean we didn't need to try to help those that were struggling, just means that the impressions of the economy were peculiar.

And I think now people will say the opposite, "Well, sure, I lost my job and my house, and most of the people I know are struggling, but I'm better off in the long run because the economy is so great." People will say that even if UE hits 20%.

[Skittles]

79. when you have to decide between rent and medicine

the economy is perceived much differently REGARDLESS of what the stats say

I agree Trump is RIDICULOUS but paychecks have NEVER kept up for decades now and it is really hurting people - they are squeezed tight and on top of that they are supposed to fund their own retirements.

Oh, and I don't believe ANY polling - nope.

[Johnny2X2X]

89. "Paychecks"

That's simply not true. Paychecks more than kept up under Biden, wages grew more than prices. And who did more to lower the price of medicane than Biden? No one in the last 50 years.

Some people were still struggling, absolutely, but somehow those people all the sudden got 100 times more attention under Biden than they did Trump.

And look at Trump's first priorities. Priority number 1 is getting rid of price controls for medicine and getting rid of the cap on Insulin of $35. So struggling people will soon be paying $100s a month for the Insulin they need to survive. Of course when that happens, the Ologarch controlled media will be nowhere to be found to bring even mild attention to it.

[Skittles]

90. for DECADES I said, not since BIDEN

keep up

and I agree Trump will make things worse but Americans have very short attention spans indeed

[Johnny2X2X]

114. Fair enough

Yeah, I think the deck was stacked against Biden. You had 40 years of Conservative economic policy and he completely turned the ship around, but it would have taken another 40 years for working people to get back what they had taken from them.

Still, he didn't get credit. My whole life I have been told, "Rich people get richer, and poor people get poorer." That actually reversed under Biden, the bottom 90% saw real income gains and the top 10% actually saw their real income decrease slightly. The bottom 50%'s share of the nation's wealth actually increased. The net worth of the bottom 50% broke records. But so little of this was reported.

I remember an article that got several threads here about living paycheck to paycheck. It said something like, 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck under Biden. Well, I actually pulled the data from the same pollster and that 70% was actually an improvement, it was like 78% under Trump. Yet it was not reported that way, even here on DU, the headline should have been "less people living paycheck to paycheck under Biden than Trump. And that's not even getting into why that's a bogus poll question to ask. I know many people who say they're living paycheck to paycheck, but they have $10K or more in their savings accounts.

Biden did more for the middle class and the working poor than any President in my 52 year lifetime. Tangible benefits to help people take home more and spend less. People saw record net worth growth, record savings, and robust real wage growth. But 4 years wasn't enough time to undo 40 years of Reaganomics, so we're giving all those gains back because Trump is takling everything for the rich because that's what he thinks he was installed to do.

[kimbutgar]

17. When life gets harder for them and they are suffering they'll still listen to right wing media who will tell them it's

President Joe Biden and the Democrats fault when they will have no power. And the stupid brain washed idiots will walk off the cliff with their maga monster 🍊 💩 🤡 and never realizing they have been hoodwinked by lies.

[hatrack]

115. Blaming someone else is always easier than thinking . . .

And tens of millions of Americans fucking hate even the idea of the latter option.

[RockRaven]

18. I don't think people will wake the fuck up, they will find more different bogeymen

to blame for their problems.

But Americans certainly are the author of their own suffering -- whether through active participation or apathy the majority of Americans have repeatedly chosen to make America the way it is. Different choices were always available to be made; they were not.

[Redleg]

110. I tend to agree

The animating force for MAGA appears to be hatred of certain others. Perhaps people oustide of MAGA who voted for Trump might wake-the-fuck-up but I just don't know.

[jeffreyi]

19. WTFU

I like it,
Not much changes until that happens.

[dlk]

20. It was mentioned in another post, the descendants of the confederacy are back

They have been bubbling under the surface for a very long time.

[Bobstandard]

22. Suffering will only make MAGATs crazier, more volent

They’ll be more inclined to blaming and punishing their perceived enemies. Case in point, Germany in the lead up to WWIi.

[Takket]

23. I posted something similar a few weeks ago

You know after 2020 I thought we’d cement Democratic rule for a long time. I believed that even one hundred years from now that Democrats running for office could paint their opponents as another drumpf, and the stigma of that name would be enough to convince the electorate to never go back to those dark times.

That naive believe did not even last ONE election and not only did we elect a drumpf clone. We elected drumpf himself. I fear no amount of suffering under the crippling weight of the right wing media and social media will ever convince the majority of voters that the Democrats aren’t to blame for everything working in their lives.

[Mr.Bee]

26. Hard For Them To Wake Up

Being fed FoxNews Propaganda daily.

[Americanme]

27. I'm afraid you are right

When Dems work their butts off to ease the suffering, voters will say "trump ain't so bad, what's the big deal?" Nothing changes without suffering.

[AverageOldGuy]

28. Read "Dying of Whiteness"

MAGAts don't care how much they suffer because they know "those people" are suffering as much or more than they are -- making "those people" suffer is the point of the game.

[Martin68]

37. That's not necessarily true. I know MAGATS who are snowflake whimps holding onto blind faith that Papa Trump will

save them. But even those who have truly suffered could start to realize they've been conned when the pain gets seriously worse. C'mon, these are people who voted against Biden because prices rose due to Covid supply chain issues. They will squeal in pain when it gets seriously worse due to across-the-board tariffs on all imports goods and Trump doesn't know how to ease off inflation the way Biden very successfully did.

[Blue_Tires]

38. EXACTLY

MAGA will happily burn it all down and turn America into a real-life Mad Max movie as long as they are comforted by the fact that people of color are suffering worse...

Of course by that time, the billionaires and their offspring will be living on their Martian libertarian paradise.

[whathehell]

29. You first..

[Scrivener7]

72. There's no "you first." It's going to be all of us. But it is inevitable.

[whathehell]

93. Yea, actually there is..

You see, I don't belief in "collective guilt", nor the need to 'atone", especially not for the sins of the smallest majority to win a presidential election in 40 years. I'll leave you guys to enjoy the breast beating.

[Scrivener7]

105. You misunderstand. My comment has nothing to do with collective guilt or atoning. This has to do with the

fact that shit is going to rain down on all of us no matter how we voted.

And I think the point of the OP had nothing to do with collective guilt or atoning either. I think it has to do with the fact that, until those who vote for the felon feel pain, they will just continue to create more pain.

[Martin68]

31. Yes, I'm beginning to think Americans need to suffer before they come to their senses and reject MAGA.

[3825-87867]

32. The dumbing down of America has suceeded!

Those who voted for Stump, graduated summa cum lotto!

Who said the Republicans can't get anything done?

[appleannie1]

33. And when they complain simply say "I didn't vote for him so don't b***h to me"

[Blue_Tires]

34. Trump will simply double down and blame it all on

the ethnic or socio-economic scapegoat du jour; Faux News will run with it, Elmo will add his own bullshit conspiracy twist to it, and the next thing we'll see on the news is another angry white kid shooting up a black church or an El Paso Wal-Mart...

Trumpers are cultists for a reason and they'll never turn against the billionaire overlords playing their stupid asses like pawns.

[milestogo]

35. People in prison suffer.

Some of them come out better after that experience, but a lot come out worse.

[fierywoman]

36. The MAGAs will just blame it all on Biden.

[NoMoreRepugs]

39. The Deplorable voter wants what he/she are TOLD to want - no amount of suffering is going to change a thing.

[WinstonSmith4740]

40. Sorry, not sorry.

These folks need to feel the pain they've been inflicting on others for years.

I love my sisters dearly, & we get only get a chance to get together once a year, so we tend to stay away from politics. They're all Republicans, but 2 out of the 3 would not vote for Trump in any election. However, the youngest is pretty hard right. We're getting together in a couple of months, and I don't know of I'll be able to hide my schadenfreude when her retired fighter pilot significant other finds out that he's losing his disability income.

[Macrophylla]

44. It will have to affect them personally

They have no ability to understand anything that isn't personal.

It doesn't happen until it happens to them and than they get it....but ONLY because it has affected them.

[AllaN01Bear]

45. let it all go down. all go down and then they will whine and pine on how good they had it. my late mom

[bmichaelh]

46. Trump 2.0 could be worse

I will not be surprised if things are much worse under Trump 2.0

For example, the COVID crisis could have been much worse.
Trump wanted to repeal ACA 3 years before COVID.
He failed due to the Democrats, some Republicans in the House, and 3 Republicans in the Senate.
What would have happened to the hospitals in this country, if you had patients with COVID symptoms showing up with no insurance.
Some COVID stays have lasted weeks if not months.

I am afraid there will be very little, if any, Republican opposition to his current nominees.
None of the current healthcare nominees would have got us out of the last COVID crisis; they are anti-vaxxers, anti-lockdown, and proponents of herd immunity.

Will all of the Republicans rubber stamp every Trump decision.

[perdita9]

47. Agree! Facts and reason aren't working because....

MAGATs didn't 'Facts' or "Reason" themselves into their worship of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Once the consequences hit their wallets and insurance policies, they'll have to abandon their illusions.

[Kaleva]

49. Climate change will make sure we will suffer

Along with everyone else in the world

[egduj]

52. You're not alone in your thoughts.

Going on 250 years, many people across the globe have felt the same way.

[GPV]

53. Ralph Nader mentioned that way back when. I know

ppl here hate him, but I guess he wasn't wrong.

[Stargleamer]

54. Whatever success powerful right-wing propaganda has in convincing Americans

that Democrats are to blame for their suffering in the upcoming years, that success will undercut the force of your argument. To wit: it's not climate change or global warming that is causing California fires, but bad Democratic forestry management (even though roughly 40% of land in Calif. is on federal land). Also, it was Biden's fault for inflation not coming down, even though inflation at the time was a global phenomenon. Always a way to make things the Democrats' fault.

In essence: they will be told by Fox, Sinclair, Trump, etc., etc., "If you are suffering, t is either 1) the Democrats' fault or 2) your own fault.

Minds are being controlled/manipulated in this country, and truth is being obscured everywhere. It's 1984 40 years later, and in a capitalist country.

Plutocratic power is dominating everything.

[Keepthesoulalive]

85. Only certain minds

People who believe they are superior to others, on the other hand they believe something is being taken away from them. They are the victors and the victims at the same time. Suffering will not move the hardcore but maybe those people who sat out the last election will grow a clue.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

55. Much of America already does.

[Paladin]

56. Glad to see somebody's wish is bound to come true. (nt)

[lapfog_1]

57. I agree but

let me die first.

Or win the lotto.

[PortTack]

61. Agree...but, those of us who understand what's coming can take steps now to mitigate the pain and suffering

Be extremely cautious with money- big purchases. Stock up where you can
Keep maintenance up on vehicles and homes
Don’t engage the magats
Volunteer for the Dems if you can, and give money, if you can
Keep a positive attitude, seek help if needed
Keep up with health routines and exercise
Take a news break if and when needed.

[TexasBushwhacker]

62. Some will wake up

Some will just die off. The oldest Baby Boomers are in their late 70s. Folks 80 and over, the most Republican of all age groups, just won't be around that much longer, especially with cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Furthermore, Republicans have nothing close to the margins Democrats have in the under 50 crowd, and those voters aren't dying anytime soon.

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/age-generational-cohorts-and-party-identification/pp_2024-4-9_partisan-coalitions_4-01-png/

[patphil]

64. The Republican campaign against being "woke" is their way of masking their intent and actions.

They want their base to be asleep when it comes to what's going on in the United States.
They want their zombified base to allow their rulers to tell them what to see, what to hear, how to feel, what to believe, how to act, and, most importantly who to hate.
And these zombified Magats are more than willing to surrender their consciousness to their Republican masters. It's easier to go through life if you don't have to make hard decisions, and have ready made scapegoats to blame when things don't go well in your life.

So, suffering is inevitable when you give up any chance of actually living your own life. For many of them, truth can only break through when their pain overrides this desire to have others live their lives for them.
This is a lesson of love that so many people have not been able to learn. For them hate is easier, and, when others direct your hate, it feels so consequence free.
But then the actuality of life is patient, and can eventually break down those barriers, forcing many people to confront their false realities.
I should point out that, as far as Magats are concerned, most of them will never wake up, and effectively die long before their actual death. Zombie life is so shallow.

[cer7711]

65. Indeed! 100%

The one thing, broadly speaking, that I have noticed re: the empathy gap between righties and lefties is that righties never feel empathy for anyone else unless it hits them PERSONALLY.

Until an issue directly affects them or their families, it's BS bloviating and regurgitation of cement-headed right-wing talking points.
It's a shame, really. They are failing as human beings.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

66. Anything bad they blame on Democrats

[Evolve Dammit]

70. Rec

[CountMyVote4Reality]

71. Not sure America will connect the right dots.

Didn’t we already suffer under 45? And look how the fascists are throwing out blame for the LA fires. There are fewer guardrails every day. Sorry to say.

[hadEnuf]

75. Agreed.

People need their noses rubbed in the shit pile called the Republican party that Democrats have been saving them from time and time again. Unfortunately, they are so out of touch (brainwashed) that they are totally unappreciative, they blame Dems for things the Republicans want to do and are doing to them and, in many cases, credit the Republicans for the good things Dems have done for them.

People need to experience stuff that will reveal Fox news and the rest of right-wing media as the lying, fascist propagandists that they are.

lt will hurt everyone, but I really can't see what else will get through to people at this point.

[ThePartyThatListens]

80. I agree OP

Sadly, too many people seem to be clueless as to what these bastards are about.

Seems they need to feel the consequences of giving them power.

Democrats, however, need to play hardball and don't pussy foot around the issue either, or their liable to blamed for "enabling" them.

[erodriguez]

87. This sounds like it comes from a position of privilege

[edhopper]

109. Or somebody

who knows they might not make it through.

[czarjak]

91. In Jesus' name though. So...

[Ocelot II]

103. We will, whether we need to or not.

[JohnSJ]

106. What people fail to grasp is any suffering that happens will be blamed on the Democrats, and unfortunately under fascist

regimes they will control the MSM and talking points.

Much of that media is falling right in line.

[Oopsie Daisy]

107. That is correct. Sadly the most vulnerable people will suffer more than the rest.

But then again, many of those vulnerable people voted for Trump. So fuck em.

[Martin Eden]

108. One way or another, tens of millions of voters need to learn the lesson that

They shouldn't vote for face-eating leopards.

[electric_blue68]

113. Well... "Needs to"? [sorry, Earl G]...Screw U, OP... if that draws your ire...fine.

Non-Magat vunerable groups don't "need to" effin' "suffer"!!!!!


Too flabbergasted to have said more right then. ETA:
Why would you say that knowing that so many other people, including I'm sure a whole bunch of DU'rs, and/or people they care about are going to suffer along with the MAGATS.

What the heck is the matter with rest of you who agree?!

[Kid Berwyn]

117. America has suffered enough.

Something tells me our suffering comes from those who don’t like free and fair elections.

[edhopper]

118. My second sentence;

"I am not saying I want to see this,"
But, how else will we rid ourselves of these fascists?
A smart candidate with an agenda that benefits most voters doesn't work.

[travelingthrulife]

116. Sadly i agree. Once the MAGA fools satisfy some of their hate lust against

everyone else, they may wake up to find the place worse than they remember and they will come for the wealthy with all their guns.

We just need to make sure that we point them in the right direction.