Summary
Donald Trump’s re-election has fueled a surge in misogynistic, homophobic, and racist rhetoric among young men, reportedly emboldened by the president-elect’s history of inflammatory remarks about women.
In schools, boys have been caught using phrases like “your body, my choice” against female peers, prompting districts like Minnesota’s Hopkins Public Schools to issue warnings to parents about harassment.
The impact extends beyond schools, with activists on Texas State University’s campus displaying signs asserting that “women are property.”
This hostile climate has left many women feeling unsafe as a new far-right administration takes power.
Bruh, I hate this timeline.
I feel like I accidentally triggered some portal and walked into a TV show / movie.
Nothing feels real anymore.
It was December 21st 2012. The Mayans were right. A timeline ended and were falling into some clown mirror black hole ever since or something.
I thought everything went crooked the day Harambe died
The Cubs won the world World Series.
Naw it UGA winning back to back titles after the Braves. The lack of championships in the state of Georgia was holding reality together
Peanut is the new Harambe.
That racist ventriloquist’s racist ouppet?
What?
What the fuck is that?
Jeff Dunham’s racist puppet, “Peanut”.
For many it was when Harambe died…
For me, it was when David Bowie passed…
And for many others, it was when Taco Bell got rid of Baja sauce.
There’s a reason I haven’t put my dick away since then…
When does the current Mayan calendar period end?
Well after current human civilization ends.
I thought 2012. Wasn’t that the point?
Yeah but it’s ended before. It then starts the circle again at year 1. I think I remember that it was a really long time frame.
Yeah, next one is on March 26, 2407.
also the meaning isn’t even “end of the world” there are at least three calendars the classical Maya used on a daily basis, how serious they were about cycles, or what would happen isn’t evident, we know their religious leaders would postpone 50 year cycle holidays if it was a poor year to celebrate, famine, plague that kind of thing.
Tbh, for me, I’m realizing it’s triggering a sort of sea-change in terms of how I, as a citizen, want to interact with American society.
Laws, ethics, human dignity and empathy clearly aren’t important to people here. Money and power are. This is fully incongruent with my personal beliefs in a variety of fundamental ways. I’ve tried to aim my career at areas that are going to help better society - that’s a big part of why I work at an oncology-focused biotech now. But like… I’m faced with the realization that this country just doesn’t share my values, and doesn’t actually care that I willingly take markedly less compensation than, say, working at Meta, and it’s primarily because I want to make the world a better place.
I admit it’s starting to feel like an abusive relationship. I don’t think the world is going to become a better place in my lifetime. It’s going to get a lot worse in a lot of ways. My initial reaction was to begin taking steps to just fully fuck off from this country, and find someplace else with a society that hasn’t fully eaten itself. Try to keep my sanity and ethics in one piece by finding a new society to call home that’s not America.
But I ALSO have begun to realize in the last couple days that there’s another darker path I could take that denys the society I’ve honestly come to resent pretty strongly the my true capabilities and abusive consumption of my efforts: Malicious compliance. I could just fully jettison my ethical guidelines and engineering principles and simply min/max the absolute fuck out of comp and just retire early. Work for Meta or OpenAI or some health insurance company or whatever the fuck is the absolute most lucrative job I can find and just fully shoot for leadership metrics, not really fucking caring about the toxicity of the management class, the morale or well being of my team, the impact my work has on society, the quality, reliability, and integrity of the code I ship, or any of that ivory tower crap I’ve previously held as crucial elements to my profession. Stop trying to move the needle in the right direction. All gas, no brakes. If this country is determined to not give a fuck, why should I? Why shouldn’t I try to get to a place in my career where I can just retire, or do whatever I want without worrying too much about the personal consequences, because I can just fuck off at my own discretion due to money?
And the second, darker option has the added benefit that I wouldn’t have to essentially abandon my family here, who are definitely not considering moving away as seriously as I am. My parents are both not in the best of health; maybe I should try to at least spend some more time closer to them before I just fuckin leave - or at least, as long as I can stand it here before the “fuck off and leave” route is truly the only viable option.
America is dead to me. As a European, I already had a pretty negative view of the states, I especially hate the worse parts of American culture that seep in into our lives, since sniffing US ass is what we do best apparently. But now, what makes America any better than let’s say Russia? The fact that people have running water at home? America doesn’t even have a human rights committee! This moment for ever changes how I see Americans, a sort of no way back. It’s a nation of bloodthirsty traitors! Blessings and good luck to anybody who still has a hint of normalcy in them. May you one day rebirth your country as a force for good once again.
Please do not make us a monolith. I am not my country, I was just born here. That kind of thinking leads to radicalism and violence. I can perfectly understand caution with “unknowns” from a group you have reason to be concerned about. Honestly from a personal safety standpoint we do this all the time. But to unilaterally decide we are all one thing and write us off (or worse) is false and dangerous.
I don’t know where you are in Europe but I love the continent and have visited many countries there. I do my best to be respectful when I visit and look up local cultures and norms so I don’t stand out and be “that American.” I’m not ashamed of being an American tourist, but I don’t want to adhere to the worst of our stereotypes. If other countries’ people decide we are inherently dangerous, being annoying may be the least of my worries should I have the fortune of making another trip there.
I’m sorry to let my emotions spill out… It’s just… It’s hard to describe how fucking angry it makes me, that the country we bend over backwards for, the self proclaimed beacon of freedom and liberty, is now the beacon of rape and war! My only hope is that Trump is so exceptionally egotistical, that getting his dick sucked from every nation will result in his indecisiveness when it comes to taking firm sides. And that we finally start standing on our own two feet…
And why? Because the average American voter is too sexist to elect a woman? Or maybe because the only two parties are pathological liars aiming to satisfy their sponsors vs literal rabies infested monsters? Or maybe voters really don’t look at what candidates are actually saying. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, but America as a country mustn’t be relied upon.
You have a known and confirmed rapist, convicted felon and Russian collaborator elected as president…AND OVERWHELMINGLY SO!?! If Trump’s presidency turns out anything like Project2025 or continues down the “Russin/North Korea is our friend, gotta kill the enemy within” route, we might very well have another great war on our hands.
As an American, it’s hard to describe how fucking angry and aghast I am at both my countrymen and our one not-overtly-fascist party. I’m right there with you.
I understand (from my American perspective of course). I live in a swing state in the U.S. that went for Trump. I have the same fears and can only hope if war results from us that it is kept within the borders of this country. Obviously I would prefer violence not be the end result regardless.
Please just know that there are many many people here that are just as concerned and fearful as you are. The people I know that voted for him are either woefully uneducated or are misled by their religion (which in and of itself is a form of ignorance/being uneducated). And while they can still be dangerous, the true fascist zealots are still a minority.
I cannot excuse the people here who voted for this, at this point all I can say is that I am a human, you are a human. I don’t want you to hurt, I’m pretty darn sure you don’t want me to hurt. Let’s do our best to separate this fucking mess from the individual humans who are stuck in it and on the periphery of it, and hope to hell none of us become collateral damage.
I’m feeling the same mostly. I don’t make as much money as you, but I’m ok because I don’t have kids and I’m in a low COL area. Which means I travel much of the time and leave my wife undefended. She is open to getting a pistol and learning. I’m getting a rifle. We can’t leave because her mom is elderly and will not leave. Hell we’ve just got her convinced to move 20 miles to live with us.
Once her mom lives out her life we will have options. We can see how bad it plays out. I want to move to Uruguay or Costa Rica badly.
Good luck to you, friend. I hope you and your family can stay safe.
I originally wanted to do what you’ve done, but eventually fell on the idea that the country is essentially beyond saving. Should this hold true, the best option then is to join a grassroots movement and begin building an alternative economy from the ground up as a ready replacement for the collapse of the current system. Join a socialist organization, work for a land trust, start building cooperatives and alternative food systems, etc.