The idea that, if all Trump supporters simply had access to better information, if they all had better education, if they were exposed to the right argument… then they’d see the light and turn into democrats - is a supremely liberal idea. We need to understand that no amount of epic slams, no amount of late night talk show roasts, no amount of facts and logic will steer us out of fascism.

Well said. And honestly, it’s even counterproductive, because that assumption is a core reason why people view the establishment Left as patronizing and elitist.

It also reminds me of one of my favorite Onion videos: https://youtu.be/lpzVc7s-_e8 (I like Judith Butler, and I’ve even read some of Gender Trouble, but the premise and execution just gets me in stitches every time.)

Lockpicks. One day the bathroom door somehow locked from the inside without anyone in there, and I really needed to pee. Really came in handy. Turns out you could just use a flathead screwdriver, there wasn’t an actual lock cylinder, but don’t take this from me!

My passport got “corrected” to M after being stuck in weeks of bureaucratic limbo and waiting hours at the passport agency. One of the agents even told me I should just accept it so that way I’d be able to leave the country.

Yeah, I dreamed of EZIC.

what happens when you ignore a court order? remember, he’s absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for official acts. he can pardon anyone he wants to. he controls the military. his cult of personality dominates the Republican party. Alito, Kavanaugh, and Thomas show absolute loyalty to him, and even decisions that should be slam dunks are 5-4 now. he’s cleaned house in DoD and IC, and replaced the generals with sycophants. he has increasing control of social media, and an extensive network of allies.

I think he could successfully lead an outright coup at this point. but what’s the rush? safer for him to follow the plan.

they’re both. they’re trolling us, and they’re deadly serious. it’s the “haha jk unless” approach to manifesting Overton window shifts with irony, aka meme magic.

my comment here analyzes it more: https://lemmy.ml/comment/17320556

it’s legislative shitposting/meme magic. one of them gets an idea for the meme: adding “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness to troll the libs. it provokes a reaction in us, because it’s 2025 and for all we know the damn thing might pass at the rate the fascists are consuming the state, and the Republicans’ base feeds off of our panic and grief, fueling their schadenfreude. Republican voters are the real trolls; these legislators are just their proxies.

basically, this is the meme magic formula that took 4chan from “ironic” Nazi trolls to an outright fascist resurgence across the West, that took Trump from a meme candidate to the Oval Office, that took the 51st State rhetoric from obvious hyperbole to deadly serious. it’s “just a joke” when you’re defending it, it’s “just trolling” when you’re pushing it through, and it’s “owning the libs” when you’re executing on it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Newsom pulls a Tulsi Gabbard and switches sides. He had Charlie Kirk (of TPUSA) on his podcast where he “completely aligned” with him on trans rights (i.e. eradicating us), then had Steve Bannon on. That’s a bit much even for the Liz Cheney flank of the DNC.

I suspect Newsom doesn’t see any future for his party, and is bailing out instead.