Are you doing anything to prepare for the next few years?

Security... yes, that is another area I am starting to look at...

I went through my Twitter follows, and removed anyone not on Bluesky.  I am down to 10.  I went through the Facebook I use to follow hobby information, and removed a ton of Groups I was following.  In 2025, I am going to see which ones I actively watch and try to cut it down farther.  And then there are the sites where I post. I am debating when I should get Signal, an encrypted messaging app, and figure out how to use it.

I do have a plan to nuke my account here if certain real world events happen, as this is one of a very few places, online, I talk politics.  In circumstances such as the ones, I'm expecting, even here in the US, with the McCarthy hearings / Red Scare people saved their careers by giving up names. This beast can never be satisfied, so I don't expect this will end with criminals or "illegals." Dissenters are always on the list. And unfortunately, I do not trust all of you to not give up names of people here if your butts were on the line, and a few might gleefully turn them over to curry favor and position.  Forget first amendment free speech protections from your government, and the second amendment is there to protect the first. It will be "those people - Democrats, Liberals and Progressives are evil."  Just like that crystal list mentioned in another thread. Of course, DH posts a lot more places than me, so they'd probably still come for me anyway via him if things get *that* bad.  I am very much a prepare for the worst (although, you can't cover all the angles) and hope it doesn't come to that, person.  

History is what it is. It will happen again. Did I expect do be living in a time when the leaders of our government were saying the stuff they are? Nope. But they are, and we either listen and react, or naively just float along. The site has been here 10 years. On just inertia, there is no reason another 10 won’t pass with it still existing, and who knows where the world will be. I’m not nuking it next year.

People are familiar with the need to get their loved ones finances in order well in advance to pass the look back requirements for Medicaid and other programs if they predict they will need long term care, right? Same kind of very forward thinking. I hope it’s unnecessary, but IMO this is a very uncertain period of history.

If I could get Irish, German, or Scottish citizenship, I would. But if I understand correctly, it is only possible if your ancestors left within, say, the last 100 years. Unfortunately, my ancestors left those countries long ago-too far back. So I am stuck here. Honestly, I would relocate if I could. I don’t know what has happened to this country, but it’s bad. Reason has been thrown out of the window. And the fact that people think that Trump is a master chess player alarms me.

I hope that this isn’t true, but I suspect that our allies will share much less information with us. That is dangerous. If Kash Patel becomes head of the FBI, will he investigate threats to this country, or will he be busy pursuing Trump’s enemies? These people think that anybody can be SecDef, or head of the FBI, despite a lack of experience (in the case of Patel) in law enforcement, or, in the case of Hegseth, a history of drinking.

I am concerned that Republicans will gut health care and instead we will have their favorite fallback, healthcare savings accounts. That is not a plan. People will not be able to afford major surgeries. In short, these people do not know what they are doing. And Trumpers are cheering because they like the fact that he will “shake things up.” Yeah, he might. And not in a good way. My only hope is that they are a bunch of bumbling fools who will get caught up in red tape and law suits, and not be able to accomplish much.

Yesterday I deleted X aka Twitter. I'm only one person, but everyone counts right? I've stopped watching the "news" for my mental health. Our washing machine recently broke, but DH was able to fix it with an $80 part. We aren't looking at having to make any major purchases. I am curbing my extra spending. My plan is to somewhat hunker down, focus on family and just try to get through the next 4 years.

Why? And I *want* someone to explain beyond emotional, “That can’t happen here.”

The nominee for the director of the FBI has a list of people he wishes to target. You can Google it, as it is a public list. Snitch lists from your neighborhood HOA, to Covid lockdown violators, to Texas abortion bounty provision, also adopted by Oklahoma snd Idaho, to that crystal list the guy in Tarrant County has cooked up. Elon Musk mentioned a regular ol’ federal worker by name who was then targeted by threats and harassment. Anti-transgender legislation is on the rise.

History says this doesn’t stop with the “well-known” names like on Kash Patel’s list, and criminals. Do you not expect there to be mechanisms to report those that are undocumented? What about a reporting tool for people who help others obtain an abortion by a state that has banned the procedure, help an undocumented person avoid discovery, or are transgender or help a person who is, obtain medical care? Why might those not be other steps of escalation? Where would another step take us, 5 steps, 10 steps, what do the next 10 years look like? We’re not going to go from zero to 100 on this overnight, but the car is already turned on. Almost 77 million people voted for Trump despite everything, and many of them will expect results.

ETA: if you believe people would snitch in your local neighborhood or community, why wouldn’t you expect snitches in your online ones?

What do think the Libs of Tik Tok people were doing with all the book banning besides trying to improve their status within their sub-community? This isn’t the only place we all are a part of, and I can’t predict what validation people are receiving in other spaces. Snitching that this board is full of liberals is bad in a world where people are creating crystal list of liberals.

Aren’t their stories from the past about people from the old board invading people’s real world spaces like contacting an employer, or spouse or something. I seem to remember people referring to something but I wasn’t active on the old NSBR board.

More recently, Russia’s crackdown on anti-war movements and I recently read a profile, I wish I could remember more, of what happened in Ecuador. Neighbors turn on neighbors.

I can see where you're coming from. Many years ago, the Holocaust Museum in DC had an exhibit called "Complicit". It documented how regular citizens in Germany ignored, turned their backs or reported their neighbors. 

Additionally, Ronan Farrow has a new documentary streaming on MAX called "Surveilled". He's not prone to exaggeration/hyperbole. It's worth a watch on how we're potentially being tracked via our cellphones and computers. 

We're preparing by buying a new washer/dryer set to replace our almost 30 year old set that we've kept limping along with a $10 part from a local parts store and youtube repair videos. My brakes also need to be serviced on my car. 

I am stocking up on some food items that we import and planning to expand the garden. I've got a few neighbors in a group who we plan to share resources if needed.

Definitely stocking up on supplies for bird flu too and just because I hate being sick. My granddaughter is coming off a bad bout of pneumonia that took 3 different rounds of antibiotic to fight. It's hard to watch a 5 year old losing her breath or enduring antibiotic shots in each leg, so if I can help stave off additional illness, more power to it. 

I'd like my DD who lives in a purple state that swung red to move to my state. She's a high risk pregnancy person and if draconian laws were put in place there regarding maternal health or travel bans across state lines, I'd be dragging her family here. I'd love my son who is across the country to move closer, but luckily he's in a blue state with healthy social safety nets should he need them. 

More strength training and trying to get into real self defense classes. A crazy trumper who lives next door likes to swing around a broadsword and talk about how he's gonna kill some liberals. DH goes out of town and as much as I warn him NOT tell tell neighbors (the friendlies, at least he knows better with the trumpers) he's going out of town, he has no filters, so I plan to be prepared. God only knows how emboldened the red hats will feel once the mango Mussolini takes office. 

At best, I've got extra food to save me grocery trips, a new washer/dryer I don't have to turn the knobs with a pair of plyers or hope they don't eat more clothes and I get rid of the batwings under my arms. At worst, we hope it doesn't come to that, but I'll be a good girl scout until then. 

While taking my shower, I realized a missing link in this discussion is resistance. Do you expect to actively have to resist something in the coming years. Will that make you a target for harassment, black-balling, worse? Active resistance can take many forms. Some are very public, and likely what most people imagine. Politicians, government officials, activists, influencers. With what has already happened has extended in some places to teachers, librarians, health care & medical workers, the civilian workers in government. Who else as this continues to escalate. Quiet resistance matters too, which requires a certain level of anonymity. Would you store a banned book? Would you supply food, water, money, supplies? After the fact, maintaining a diary, even by some random person, can provide critical information to try and piece together what happened. Some of us are already thinking about that. Given that most people don't even follow news anymore, most aren't. So I am not surprised by the WTF response, but if people who study this stuff for a living weren't flashing a million warning signs, and the words coming out the new administration's mouths weren't a winning argument among the populace, I'd be a lot less worried.

Thank you for sharing this. After doing some research I think I’ve found a pathway for DW & I based on similar descendent experiences.

To add further clarity to what I said. How, how far and how fast this stuff is adopted and escalates is uncertain, but thinking about what you might need to do in the event it escalates doesn’t have to be.

www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article296685389.html

“An incoming Missouri Republican lawmaker introduced a bill this week that would offer $1,000 bounties to residents who turn in undocumented immigrants to the state highway patrol.”