The posts are ominous.
“Pick a side, or YOU are next,” wrote conservative talkshow host Dan Bongino on the Truth Social media platform in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s 34 felony convictions.
The replies were even more so.
“Dan, seriously now,” one user wrote in response to Bongino. “I see no way out of all this mess without bloodshed. When you can rig an election, then weaponize the government and the courts against a former President, what other alternative is there? I’m almost 70 and would rather die than live in tyranny.”
That’s a common version of how many people on the US right reacted to the ex-president’s verdict, drawing on a “mirror world” where Trump is seen as the selfless martyr to powerful state forces and Joe Biden is the dangerous autocrat wielding the justice system as his own personal plaything and a threat to US democracy.
Calls for revenge, retribution and violence littered the rightwing internet as soon as Trump’s guilty verdict came down, all predicated on the idea that the trial had been a sham designed to interfere with the 2024 election. Some posted online explicitly saying it was time for hangings, executions and civil wars.
I remember watching movies as a kid where the children were these clever little heroes and the adults were morons or bad guys they had to deal with. It’s fun for kids to see the tables turned and watch the children in the movie save the day or outsmart the dumb adult.
I got a very strong vibe like that (but worse) while reading this story. These people are caught up in a fantasy they’ve been sold where they have to save everything they love from evil. They seem to live in a fantasy movie world where if you feel like the righteous underdog, and other “good” people tell you the same thing, then surely you are the hero! You can’t listen to evidence and reason from outsiders, they’re just trying to trick you!
Nonsense. They aren’t mobilizing. Loud pundits are telling them to mobilize.
Where are they gathering? They weren’t even outside Trump’s trial in any sizable numbers.
This is some fearmongering bullshit based on stupid nonsense people like fucking Dan Bongino of all people on said on fucking Truth Social. Even most of MAGA world isn’t on Truth Social.
Where are they gathering?
I would check Waffle House.
The plumpest ones are at Cracker Barrel.
i mean, they already mobilized and attacked once. January 6 was not a spur of the moment thing. if you watched the hearings for it you’d know that the fbi knew about j6 for months and warned everyone they could.
presumably there’s much the same kind of planning happening right now.
That entire “revolution” was halted by a single gunshot. Hopefully they don’t injure innocent bystanders when they check again if they’re brave enough for terrorism.
That planning was coordinated, in part, with the administration in power. Which can’t be done this time.
Tell me again who currently controls the House of Representin?
Currently the Republicans, hopefully a couple of them will have aneurysms and drop dead, which would give Biden the house and Senate.
Tucker Carlson, the rightwing media heavyweight, waxed apocalyptic: “Import the third world, become the third world. That’s what we just saw. This won’t stop Trump. He’ll win the election if he’s not killed first. But it does mark the end of the fairest justice system in the world. Anyone who defends this verdict is a danger to you and your family.”
Seriously wtf. These people are trying to get people killed.
These people are trying to get people killed.
Ofc they are … because they don’t think it’ll come back to bite them in the ass.
You guys don’t understand, this time they’re double-super-mega-serious, not like all the other times these overly fearful ammosexuals talked a good game from behind their screens but completely failed to follow up in the real world.
They’re probable talking heads trying to spin up stuff to make forget that trump actually was convicted on a shitload of things.
And anger make you forget that, and maybe get you out and vote too …
IMO it’s programmed and a lot of bots.
Would we even notice if they followed through? From the people who brought you domestic terrorism its… more domestic terrorism.
Would we even notice if they followed through?
January 6th. Though that was massively helped by Trump preventing organizations from preparing beforehand and preventing action during.
Guy in a MAGA hat, running: “…the US is under threat…”
Goose, chasing: “under threat by who, motherfucker??”
No one is mobilizing shit, people are still fed and clothed, housed and have jobs and still have their entertainment…these loudmouths aren’t going to do shit. They just talk a lot but at the end of the day, they’re not going to start shit.
The irony.
The Republican crowd has done more in recent memory to mobilize than anyone leaning center-left has. We’re the ones that talk a lot and do little. The Right is dangerous, stop giving them a pass by presuming they won’t do anything.
They…will…not…start…a…civil…war.
I don’t know how much clearer I can be. They’re loud, but the amount of people who even turn out for these rallies is a joke.
Doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous. Especially since they know most of us typically turn our heads to avoid confrontation. While there are reasons, some of them good, I have no doubt that group has felt emboldened by the lack of stalwart opposition these past few years.
Didn’t say they weren’t, and less and less of us are lacking arms. I’ve got around 85% of my friends group who are on the left now carrying or owning firearms. Trump should have shown everyone on the left you shouldn’t ever give up your arms.
They wouldn’t wear a paper mask to save their own family. They’re not going to drop 100 pounds and die for their asshole king.
No one ever stormed the capitol… /s
1k people do not make a civil war, and those people went back with full bellies and talking shit online.
And after talking shit online, some found a comfy new home for a short stint
They kinda are, though. Some mobilized on Jan 6. Some have been going out and showing open displays of nazi hate, complete with sieg heil salutes. Some have been threatening drag queen story hour at the libraries by standing outside with guns strapped to their backs and hips (because we all know that libraries are the most dangerous place for these guys – too many facts in books i guess). Some are open-carrying at polling places during voting.
Some are shooting up Planned Parenthoods. Some are setting pride centers on fire. Some are going after non-christian places of worship.
It’s all happened.
But when they do this stuff – when they show us who they are and try to intimidate us and terrorize us, believe them. They are dangerous.
Small tiny groups doing shit like that is not going to start a civil war though. Yeah it’s fucked up they’re doing that shit but they’re not going to be creating a rebellion.
I don’t think most people are seriously worried about civil war. However some horrifying examples of domestic terrorism is possible and unfortunately likely.
O the terrorism part I am not denying at all, that’s a very plausible reality, but this entire theead has been people worried about a civil war and dipshits on the maga side acting like they’re going to do something right after they finish off the 3 baconators.
I’m almost 70 and would rather die than live in tyranny.
Go ahead, then, put the barrel to your head and pull the trigger.
Oh, it’s actually about oppressing others and not living under tyranny? Thought so.
And then he drove back to his McMansion in his F-250, hitched up the boat, and went to the lake for the weekend.
I’m not really sure it should be up to 70 year olds whether we have a civil war. It’s the young people that will have to live in it’s wake, should it happen.
You can apply that logic to most decisions this country makes.
Why the hell are we letting 70 year olds dictate energy policy? They’re not gonna see the full brunt of climate change.
Why are they involved in foreign policy? They’re not going off to war.
Economics? Most of the people they talk to are retired or rich. tf do they know about making rent in 2024?
Honestly, this may sound controversial… but if we deny teens the vote, I’m not certain why the hell we allow retirees to vote.
Can’t vote for the first 18 years of your life? Can’t vote for the last 18 either (based on average life expectancy), just watch how things improve dramatically if such a measure is put in place.
Same logic with holding elected positions, if people younger than X can’t be elected then people older than (life expectancy - X) can’t either. And yes, I realize that it leaves very few years for men to become president in the US’ case and that’s not a bad thing at all.
Anything that motivates increasing the national average life expectancy is a good thing
You don’t want Bernie to vote?
I don’t want anyone that won’t live with the consequences of their political decisions to be in a position where they get to decide for those who will.
It would mean losing a few progressive voices, but also losing a ton of far right and center right voices and opening the door to people who actually have a reason to care for what’s going to happen in the next 50 years because it concerns then directly.
I don’t want anyone that won’t live with the consequences of their political decisions to be in a position where they get to decide for those who will.
On the flip side, young folks vote influences things like social security and medicare. Given that everyone of all ages is subject to various government policies, often uniquely, you cannot have a system where you can identify a subpopulation that ‘shouldn’t count’ by that logic.
And young folks influence it in their favor for the long term which also benefits people that are currently old instead of old folks pulling the ladder after them.
Don’t forget the generation of radicalized vets from desert wars.
Is there any valid evidence of this radicalization? Anecdotally, I’ve been in the Global War of Terrorism social circles, and they seem to be pretty even with their political distribution, maybe a little more right leaning, but I think that’s due more to lack of higher education than military experience. What I think happens is that the right likes to make logical fallacy appeals, so they exploit radical veterans by giving them a louder voice.
It reminds me of a scene from The Big Lebowski.
Walter Sobchak: Those rich fucks! This whole fucking thing… I did not watch my buddies die face down in the muck so that this fucking strumpet…
The Dude: I don’t see any connection to Vietnam, Walter.
Walter Sobchak: Well, there isn’t a literal connection, Dude.
The Dude: Walter, face it, there isn’t any connection.
Rather than be a rational level-headed support like The Dude, the right exacerbates their struggles to exploit them.
I lived and worked among many over the last two decades. So, just anecdotal experience. https://www.rand.org/news/press/2024/04/09.html
Yeah, it seems like misplaced anger that is masking underlying pain and sadness to me. The right-wing leaders take advantage of their mental health issues for their own selfish goals. It’s disgusting.
That is the story of the right. My father-in-law is sitting on his couch with his drug addicted son, who has never had a job, railing against Hunter Biden. My grandmother is 80 years old and is worried that we are days away from going door to door and pulling Christians out in the street. My mother is full up on social programs and benefits but it’s the “others” that are making her life worse. Mental health issues, sadness, inability of reflecting…lots of excuses.
I hope the country does reconstruction properly after Civil War II instead of coddling traitors and letting them put roughshod Confederate statues in town squares.
I’ll just say what George W. Bush liked to say during his presidency. “Bring it on.” If you try to kill me, you best not miss.
I’ll give him this much: Dude really knew how to dodge a shoe.
And the look on his face is priceless
The human race is so dumb. We could be building spaceships and exploring the stars and the depths of the oceans. Instead we are being manipulated by propaganda to fight with each other while nefarious forces wrestle for power. This timeline sucks….
Let’s start with housing? I’m all for exploration, but we don’t need 3 or 4 billionaires wasting resources, and innovation with non-compete contracts, when one central agency would be more efficient, freeing up resources to fix the logistics of feeding everyone, and housing everyone.
Lol silly Americans.
I’ve never wanted someone to die from aggressive pancreatic cancer until Trump
Everybody dies. Many painfully, deserved or not (though pancreatic is really bad). Trump needs to see the inside of a jail cell. Thats the only way back from what he has done. His death won’t solve anything.
Trump seems to bring out the worst in everyone.
“It’s not you I hate, Trump. I hate what I became because of you.”
“Oh, wait, no, I do also hate you.”
My vote is for bone cancer. Just do an image search and you’ll see what I mean.
I disagree. During the middle of one of his rambling, windbag rants at his largest nazi rally, he needs to have a Grand Mal seizure where he visibly pisses and shits himself, immediately followed by a near-fatal stroke that leaves him as a drooling vegetable on life support. May he be fully conscious while completely incapacitated and unable to speak as a team of brown-skinned, LGBTQ±and-proud-of-it nurses take turns being forgetful about emptying his colostomy bag while an AI bot scours the internet reading aloud every legit criticism of his entire pathetic life until, after enduring many, many years of this treatment, an obsessed fan finally works his way onto the night janitorial staff so he can get in the room alone with The Donald and live out his fantasy of making a human-centipede-like union by engaging in a “perfect” 69, causing DJT to die while asphyxiating on crazy janitor cock which, in turn, causes the janitor to choke himself to death on Don’s pathetic dick resulting in the final act of indignity as the janitor releases his bowels directly onto Trump’s face just before he finally loses consciousness.
May the last thing Trump ever sees, as he chokes to death on smelly cock, be an extreme closeup of the hairy, unwashed ass of a MAGA lunatic as it pisses down Don’s throat and reenacts “2 Girls, One Cup” directly into his eyes.
Y…you ok, bruh?
“When you can rig an election, then weaponize the government and the courts against a former President, what other alternative is there? I’m almost 70 and would rather die than live in tyranny.”
- Ivan, Moscow
I guarantee there are some genuine conservative asshats who fervently hold that belief.
This is why “fervently held beliefs” are fucking stupid meaningless nonsense.
Probably, but I wouldn’t expect them to be able to spell half those words.
His luck; the government has the working tanks.
