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Observing American politics feels really strange at the moment (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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As an outsider (I live in Belgium) it feels very weird and dystopian to see everything happening in American politics with Trump and Musk.

On one side, it's very interesting and almost entertaining; on the other side, it's scary. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in the USA.

Americans, how do you cope? What's your take on the situation?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Shit’s pretty fucked right now, and yeah, it’s scary, distressing, and absolutely disturbing.

I live in a small, rural ex-urb. Plenty of people here definitely voted for this. I don’t interact with my neighbors and keep to myself. I live below my means and am financially sound, at least.

I can’t do much about any of this. I donate to my local food bank monthly because hungry people are angry people, and folks gotta eat, regardless is political leanings. And I donate to Wikipedia because I value information.

None of this helps with the insanity and the politics, but hopefully it helps somebody.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

how do you cope?

Panic attacks, mostly

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

As Americans, we're really good at airing out our political dirty laundry on the world stage, as well as taking every item in the news to its most extreme conclusion (especially in online circles that are too homogeneous in their political leanings).

I just try to cut through all the noise and keep perspective.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is the most positive take I've read on this topic so far. I hope it's true and it's all more circus than it seems, but it's scary tho

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of decisions being made that I strongly disapprove of, but I just want to caution that we have a tendency to overwhelm online conversations and completely lose perspective.

Real life in the US is very different than it is presented online.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

We live in a blue bubble so I'm just ignoring everything the next four years and saving money.

My biggest dream is my state along with the other western states just decides to leave the US and we create our own thing.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

A lot of it depends on if your independently housed. If so you worry about losing it, if not you worry about ever having it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Has it ever not been weird, or are people just too young to remember. Like people lost their shit when obama wore a tan suit, or like dijon mustard. He got a nobel peace price while drone striking schools and being in 2 active wars. Bush was maybe a bit smarter than trump, but he was still an idiot son of an asshole. And just overall buffoon, that gor elected twice. I was too young to really care for clinton, but we all know how this went down. But every president you read up is either just a straight up criminal, or a spiteful asshole or both. And the ones who weren't comically evil just got fucked.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Try living it. As an American citizen, I have never lived with such a high level of stress and anxiety in my entire life. I am a lifelong student of history (I have a degree in a branch of history), and I KNOW where the kind of government we have now leads, and there are NO positive outcomes for the majority of Americans. Frankly, I don't think the potential outcomes will be good for the Sociopathic Oligarchs either, but they are too blinded by their sick obsession with greed and money to see it.

I don't see us getting out of this without violence.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I absorb what i can through the media. I accept that i cant trust most information that reaches me. I keep track of what is right to me compared to what the news shows regardless if the event happened or was accurately portrayed. I try to understand how others feel about stuff too without being a bummer.

I have faith in myself to act according to my beliefs if/when the opportunity presents itself.

This is my disinformation cope. It takes the edge off of alarming news and keeps me engaged.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I don’t have a take on the situation; I’m just making sure I stay informed about the news through reputable sources and nonprofit news networks local to me and other places. And I try to combat the situation by boycotting mega corporations every single day by voting with my wallet. By prioritizing mom and pop shops and Etsy stores, we can hurt Donald Trump and his greedy pals.

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