"I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad, "
This post is just asking: So, what are you doing about it?
My partner and I fled the US early this year. No regrets. Besides saving our own skin because I would 100% end up in a concentration camp, we’re now in a really good position to help others in our community find a way to safety.
We also love our new country and feel super welcomed
How? Did you have ancestry somewhere that let you immigrate back? Family still there? Something else?
I’d love to find a way out for my family, but don’t know of any options.
Work, school, and family are unfortunately the easiest ways to get a visa. I got lucky with my job and took the first opportunity that opened up, and I’m so glad I did because there haven’t been any more openings since then. Unfortunately I took about a 50% pay cut to move.
Considering how expensive things are in the USA, I hope you got to a country with a lower cost of living. Well, also, no amount of money is worth your personal safety.
I had to give up some luxuries but honestly, my lifestyle hasn’t really changed. I’ve always lived somewhat frugally. Healthcare no longer costs an arm and a leg either. The US is just a special level of hell.
Why won’t you mention where?
Because every time I do I get a horde of angry knuckledraggers, but you can easily find it in my history
It’s never really a good idea to share your home location online. At least nothing good can come out of it
I was only asking the country. I think that’s pretty safe.
How are you feeling about the community you left behind? That’s a big concern for us, but fleeing is a big option on the table.
Oh my God I left behind a massive community, I miss them every day. I hallucinate that I see my friends all around the city. I’m still in contact with them and have video calls with them every now and then just to say hi
I had a HUGE going away party too. About 60 people showed up.
Dope! So glad for you.
I commend and congratulate you! As a born American, it was never a problem for me. However, as a Jew I know full well the fragile and tenuous peace can vanish in a moment if any one or more ethnic groups become a convenient scapegoat for a regime. My grandparents got out of Germany literally with moments to spare. At the same time my grandparents were boarding a plane, SS were bashing down the doors to their home.
So if you are in a position that you could ever face persecution like that, getting the F out is the smartest thing to do. I sincerely wish you all the best and hope you make a peaceful life somewhere that isn’t headed down the hellish path that America is. Even being a white American, I still sometimes worry because of being Jewish. It can very easily happen again to my people, especially since antisemitism is in vogue again lately. And the biggest problem is that it’s familiar and comfortable for most people; my people are expected to have acclimated to oppression - hey aren’t you used to it?
I hope someday soon, the USA will be safe again for you, though I would further admire if you’ve made a life somewhere that is preferable even over a safe USA.
Kudos to you and your family.
I would love to do this, but my wife won’t leave.
Do you have children? That has been the argument my wife has made about not wanting to leave, the impact it would have on our kids. Especially if we were to go to a country where English isn’t the native language.
Kids pick up language really quick. They would struggle at first, but be so much better off in the long run. Being multilingual opens up so much of the world to you, even by simply giving you another angle to look at it from.
I do not have children but I went to school overseas and I think it was the best experience of my life. I think the effect on children is extremely positive.
My family is just three people now, but my wife has a large extended family and she loves to see them, especially the children. Different members come and stay with us several times a year because we live close to the beach.
Making the argument that she could fly home to see them didn’t work. Her telling me she wanted to stay where we were came as a surprise to me as we had discussed throughout our courtship and marriage, living in Europe. Once we both retired (early) I figured we had the green light. I mean just health care alone is reason enough to move there. And we have enough money for trips home when we get the urge.
I hope this doesn’t turn into a I-didn’t-escape-the-country-in-time situation. I often wonder what it was like for people fleeing fascism just a little too late.
I moved to a foreign country as a child. Best thing that happened to me.
Did you renounce your US citizenship so you’re no longer paying US taxes?
Not yet, I’m waiting for them to do it for me. But I’d like to.
How did you do it? Do you have any tips? I really want to get out, because I’ll probably end up in a concentration camp too if I don’t. It just feels like such an enormous undertaking I don’t even know where to start. Every time I look at the process to immigrate to another country it always seems like it’s basically impossible for a retail worker who lives paycheck to paycheck.
Experiencing mental distress.
Just trying to keep my head above water for the most part.
Trying to pass along kindness hoping it continues to be passed along.
And voting for the good guys in every election.
And avoiding the worst privacy offenders in tech where I can because I care about that too.
Who are the good guys? I don’t have any problem identifying the bad guys but the good guys seem pretty hard to locate when it comes to politics.
Idk about op but the vast vast majority of my voting decisions are local. It’s a bit easier to call the local guys good. Voting is about so much more than the president or governor
The problem is when you only have two to vote for. I live in a country with a population of 6 million and we have 11 parties in our parliament
I’d say the good guys are the ones supporting, or trying to support human rights. And gay rights, trans rights, the rights of immigrants and such… are human rights. A civilisation is judged not by how it treats its nobility, but how it treats its working poor. And we need to do better.
Some examples from the past week:
- Being active and involved in my worker union (we’ve had a few recent wins).
- Attending and promoting rallies and counter-rallies for various causes.
- Cantributing to tactical discussions in political party meetings.
- Small financial donations to various causes (both social and political).
- Reducing my food and plastic waste.
Assuming you mean like the political climate, I’m not sure exactly what to do as I feel helpless and incompetent to really do as much of a impact. Whenever I can and if my brother send me information about any protest (as majority protest info are on Instagram/Twitter for some reason which I don’t use any of the two anymore) I try go to one if possible.
But otherwise if it just in general of what stuff I do to help, I tend to file report whenever I see bigots on the Fediverse. So like TERFs are huge no-no and I feel if I hadn’t report them, I’m doing a disservice to instance I’m on that is a safe space for trans people. And also trying to listen to any meta related to Fediverse and try see what I can (and everyone as this isn’t a one-man band) could do to make it safe for everyone beside just people who are just full of hate.
Good work reporting bigots. There’s too many of them tolerated in mainstream forums, no need to give them ground here.
I’m not sure exactly what to do as I feel helpless and incompetent to really do as much of a impact.
That’s the paradox with collectives - With these large-scale issues, each of us can’t accomplish much by ourselves. And when support becomes large enough, it may seem like our contribution is tiny and trivial. But we know that they’re nothing without any of us! When one takes a step back, the important impact of small contributions becomes clearer; many of the biggest mass movements of all time started with a reading group or a small band of people.
(as majority protest info are on Instagram/Twitter for some reason which I don’t use any of the two anymore)
I know that feeling, add in Fascebook for my area too. I found that two of the local progressive political organizations near me share the same events they’re supporting (one lists upcoming events on their webpage so I can use an RSS feed to be notified, the other passes around a list at the end of each meeting so that only works IRL), hopefully your area has something like that.
I’m a teacher. It feels like service to the future every single day.
In my huge city we have a big homeless problem, so I volunteer with the food bank and soup kitchen.
More than that, I ask each homeless person I meet their name and I try to remember it because more than likely I’ll be able to say “Hey, Brett!” tomorrow. I don’t always have a few bills to give but I can give a personal greeting.
You give enough! Money only goes so far, kindness lasts forever.
Learned how to make thermite. Mutual aid to feed people here.
For the record, this clip from this movie is always posted out of context. Everyone posts it for its literal interpretation, but this rant happens early in the film, and the rest of the story shows how the network it aired on figured out how to capitalize on the ratings it generated. This results in a populist, sensationalist circle jerk that is very profitable for wealthy network owners. Much like how MAGA became what it is today.
but this rant happens early in the film, and the rest of the story shows how the network it aired on figured out how to capitalize on the ratings it generated
Absolutely, even when I gave the scene a quick watch before posting this, I thought about comments various writers have made about capital’s ability to subsume critique of capitalism. The contract reading scene in the Ecumenical Liberation Army house really pulls it into the forefront.
Started writing a website in my native language to oppose chat control
I go out to march with others, hang out and watch/record. I have gotten away from much of what folks consider normal. smartphones, windows, subscritpions, buying shit. Basically non complying and being a nuisance.
Avoiding spending money whenever I can. Always going with the free options whenever they’re available and educating others on how to do the same.
It’s an uphill battle, but I’m doing my part.
Doing org work (albeit light for now, hoping to increase next year).
Trying to get a bit stronger and more ready for whatever awful thing every day. Activism with political parties and politicians that can potentially win, although that still feels like trying to piss out a forest fire.
I think about how things could get worse, how I could prepare. But in the end I conclude the uncertainty is great. Interesting times.
