Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Dave Rahardja (drahardja@sfba.social)'s status on Sunday, 01-Mar-2026 06:25:05 JST Dave Rahardja

   in reply to

   And so it’s normal to see USians sit around and wait things out, instead of going out and protesting and demanding accountability—because this is how things have always been. The normal thing one does is hope that the shit doesn’t reach one’s doorstep, because NEW SHIT IS CONSTANTLY OUT THERE.

   I think wealthy, white, Protestant men, especially, feel NO THREAT from ICE, from the Epstein Files, from illegal invasions and coups, because that’s how things have always been around them. They assume they will not be affected, like they haven’t been affected for centuries (they in fact benefit from the lawlessness), so they go about their day as if nothing happened.

   For those in the margins, e.g. middle-class nonwhites like myself, it’s tempting to believe that we’ll be safe if we huddle close to the preferred class and passively watch the carnage from behind the garden gates, but I hope that illusion has been well and truly shattered by the atrocities committed by the Trump administration.

   • Embed this notice
     Dave Rahardja (drahardja@sfba.social)'s status on Sunday, 01-Mar-2026 06:25:06 JST Dave Rahardja

     I think people wondering why US citizens aren’t more outraged by the wanton constitutional disregard committed by the US government need to realize that the US government has ALWAYS BEEN committing transgressions—just not against its white middle- and upper-class citizens.

     From its founding, the US has treated certain populations as having less rights than its preferred class: the wealthy, white†, male, Protestant. It is NORMAL for the US to ignore its own constitution to oppress and exploit people. From African slaves, to displaced Native Americans, to Chinese railroad workers, to Banana Republics, to occupied Hawaii, to CIA-backed coups in Asia—UNCHECKED POWER IS THE DEFAULT.

     IMO things finally changed for the better after the Civil Rights Act, thanks to the relentless sacrifice of its champions. But for CENTURIES prior, exploitation was the norm. Realize that what Trumpists want to do is to REVERT to how things were before the CRA.

     †The social construct of who gets to be “white” has changed over time.

     Steve's Place repeated this.