Some various examples of actions and how they have panned out.
In the 1970s a group of lawyers and law students were growing fed up with the more leftward bent of the courts. The Burger Court had decided on Roe v. Wade and Lemon v. Kurtzman (among other things) and they wanted to shift things.
So in 1982 they founded the Federalist Society.
Which today is one of the single most powerful entities in the US and hand-picks judges for Republican presidents.
In 1914 the Colorado Coal and Iron strikes—lead by the unions at the time—came to a head which resulted in the Ludlow Massacre and the Ten Days War. It involved a long-running strike of 10-12k miners.
The anti-union NYT reported in the day that the actions against the miners were "worse than the order sent to the Light Brigade into the jaws of death, worse in its effect than the Black Hole of Calcutta."
They lost the strike, brutally, but part of the result was the 1935 NLRA.
If you truly think that this is a disaster and there's nothing to be done, then that's a great sign that the thing to focus on are your loved ones to enjoy the time you have left.
If you think you actually can't change it, then why obsess about it?
If you think that the only solution is to flee, what might that look like for you? What concrete actions can you take in furtherance?
Flatly: this is part of why I choose to continue to be employed where I am.
I don't like doomposting. Venting has a place, and sure even doomposting, but in the end I'd argue it needs to become something and it needs to become something that you will find meaningful.
Or not, it is your life, and it is your choice what to make of it.
But movement is better than stagnation. Like how you deal with trauma responses: food, movement, touch.
Eat. Move both mentally and physically within your capability, shake it out, decide on what next. Pet a cat or hug a partner.
Take care of you. Ask "how is this serving me." Ask "if my fears are true, what can I do in this instant that will help?"
If you thought an asteroid was going to wipe us all out tomorrow, what would you do? Not in the sense of "live today in that way," but rather as a thought experiment: you can't change the outcome, so would you spend your time doomposting about the asteroid on mastodon?
Would you go out and party with your friends?
I'd sit on the phone with a loved one and pet a horse.
Maybe I'd spend some time meditating in the hopes that my next cycle as an amoeba or whatever is a good one that can eventually reach enlightenment. My tradition has a story of a pigeon reaching enlightenment, so why not.
Whatever it is, it needs to be meaningful to you, and it needs to be an action. Something to do.
Let's say you think that Trump is definitely going to win in 2024 and that nowhere in the US will be safe.
What actions would you take? What action would you take today?
@hrefna I'm not American, nor I live in the states, so I can't do much. But if I was? I would help one of his opponents run its campaign at whatever level I could. (Which one would depend on who I trust to screw us the less.)
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