What Now?

As we slog towards accepting reality, it really did happen, fascism has come to America whether it has immediately exposed itself or not, the question now is what to do next. We mourn the loss of a century of progress, we mourn the real damage donald will do to our fellow Americans, and we rage against that which made it happen. The republicans were playing the long game when they took over states in the midwest weren't they? Our neighbors out there in the provinces really were just chomping at the bit to strike a blow for whiteness. Every prediction about authoritarian followers came to pass, they could ignore every flaw in their caudillo as long as he flattered them, reinforced their prejudice, excused or legitimized their aggression, and supported their self-righteousness.

I'm not much for hope, but there are things that could happen to reverse this. Every one a very thin reed and none have much expectation of success. First, there could be evidence of election tampering or hacking that would change the outcome in some state or another. Second, there could be a number of electors who grow a conscience and vote for the winner of the popular vote. There could be some last minute move to nullify the electoral college altogether. Barring that, we could have a military coup of officers who actually take their allegiance to the constitution seriously in light of Russian involvement and prevent donald from taking office. Fourth, President Obama could just refuse to let donald take office.

After you stop laughing from that comedy routine we'll continue.

Of course it's ridiculous to expect any relief from above. Of course, to actually resist would require organization, an existing institution that could accommodate the majority of Americans who either didn't vote or didn't vote for donald. What would that look like?  One of the big takeaways from Thomas Frank's Listen Liberal was that Democrats don't actually care about winning elections. It's all about looking professional, acting professional, and being seen as professional by their peers. That might be too broad of a generalization, what good is it if you are seen as a gracious loser if the republic is lost? And who are you posturing for? Are people preparing for their frogmarch into political prisoner status with dignity? Gosh, it's all so confusing. But the Democratic Party is now a hollow shell with no power and effectively no organization. It's only role in the new order will be as scapegoat for all republican failures and cruel policies the republicans will implement. I can just see Paul Ryan, "The zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin" blaming Democrats and liberals for his draconian budget when it starts to really hurt the republican voters. No? Somehow a failed businessman, pathological liar, and overt racist couldn't draw attention from a mainstream media obsessed with emails.

So now that the unthinkable has happened, what is next? We have to be prepared for anything. I can't think of anything that could be out of bounds. It is not being alarmist to be prepared. The irony is thick though, that everything Alex Jones and the conspiracy theory crowd is now a possibility. Hate to say it but we shouldn't assume anything will stick around in the new order. Do you see anyone attracted to and getting into a trump administration as giving a warm squirt of piss about quaint things like civil rights, due process, the rule of law, free and fair elections, and all the other traditions of the American republic?

We have to proceed under the knowledge that we are an occupied nation. We will have to start thinking like guerrillas. Not in the sense of fighting or violence, but in the sense that our government is no longer, in any sense, a force for good. There is no longer any possibility or expectation of fairness or impartiality from any aspect or agent of the government. Just like that Ronald Reagan's derpy one liner about the most feared phrase in America "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" has been inverted and applied to anyone not on board with the new order, and it will probably end up biting a lot of those who gleefully signed up to make america great again.

I understand the need to vent through protests and demonstrations, but make no mistake, nothing good will come of these. Take a look at the comment section of any news story covering the protests, the republican assholes are just laughing at you. And there are a hell of a lot of decent people who saying that they don't like the protesting and that we have to play fair. Quick question, did any amount of protesting make even the slightest difference against all the war crimes and cronyism during the dubya years? Please tell me how, because all I saw was a bunch of rednecks and couch potatoes calling protestors traitors, anti-American, lazy, whiners and no appreciable difference in the conduct of government. Very soon, it will be advisable to limit your exposure. Don't make yourself a target and start to think of yourself as a valuable asset to restoring the America we care about. Again, I don't want to be an alarmist, but I have spent too much time studying dictatorships to think you can get away with too much. Remember, the bush criminals trampled on the Constitution with impunity and this new order will only push harder. Expect individual rights to go the way of the dodo, and if some are able to stick around, good, but there will be a big asterisk after any laws guaranteeing your rights.

After the unbelievable things trump got away with during the campaign, can there be any expectation that he or members of his administration will care about you or your rights? Limit your exposure, act under the radar if possible, and above all remember that we are an occupied nation. The "rogue" elements in the FBI that sank the Clinton campaign are probably working the facial recognition software overtime to catalogue everyone destined for a camp. It might be worth considering to start deleting personal information on social media or anything that could be damaging. Not worth the risk. We have about two months to get our shit together before it gets real. I for one am really going to miss President Obama and already consider the last eight years of frustration and obstruction and harm to my own career and that of friends and colleagues to be a golden age of sorts. Fond memories of when government wasn't actively persecuting its constituents.

Good night, and good luck.