The man who stormed a Mormon church with an assault rifle and left four people dead was a self-described "Ultra MAGA" Trump supporter, a former Marine, and a father of one.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/46999374

But as photos and social media posts surfaced showing Sanford in a camouflage Trump 2020 shirt that read “Make Liberals Cry Again,” and a Trump-Pence sign still visible on his front lawn just months ago, the political implications became harder to ignore.

So far, Republican leaders have said nothing.

  • FistingEnthusiast@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    6·
    6 days ago

    I spend a bit of time in the US

    The whole country is afraid

    They’re afraid of each other, they’re afraid of faceless enemies that exist only in their imagination, they’re afraid to lose what little they have, and they’re all on a knife-edge, one bit of bad luck away from ruin or death

    It’s awful to see, especially when there’s more than enough to go around

    It’s easy to pander to this fear, to set people against each other

    I don’t see any way out of it though, it’s too ingrained

    • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      6 days ago

      I’m afraid. My wife is a legal, brown immigrant. Though Asian, she looks Mexican, and I’ve seen the racism. Not usual, but when it’s there, it’s clear. And I’m an outspoken liberal gun nut.

      I am waiting for the administration to start going after people like us. America has fallen to fascism, and though I’m a middle-aged white guy, I’m on the wrong side. I’ve studied AP Modern European History, 2 years. I know what’s coming.

      Our President has just signed a memorandum declaring me a terrorist for opposing him, though I’m part of no group. A terrorism charge gives the government resources and abilities they don’t normally have, and the penalty is life in a concrete box. Shall I submit, or have they just told me to fight to the death? Let that sink in. Once the “clear” enemies are thinning out, they’ll use AI to scan our comments, figure out who we are, go after us.

      I cannot fly a flag of my choosing, put a sign in my yard, or wear certain clothes without inviting a fight. Since I’m always armed, a fight will turn out to be a life changing event, for both parties. My freedom of speech has indeed been chilled.

      And yes, we’re on a knife’s edge of ruin. I’m unemployed, only a few more months of savings to float on. I’ve got Obamacare, free, believe it or not, but I can’t go to the dentist or the eye doctor. My wife is employed at the “best” employer in the county, but after over a year, she’s still a contractor, no benefits, no PTO, no nothing. One bit of bad luck, one poor decision, we’re ruined.

      I have a gun in reach, anywhere I sit, even on the toilet. No shit. I’m practiced and reasonably competent with those weapons. (Most of my guns are for fun, the handful of self-defense guns are not.) Strange SUV pulled into my driveway today. Had my hand on my Colt .45. How fucked up is that?! Just a lady picking a FB Marketplace thing up from my wife. I note every car driving past my house (cul-de-sac, or might as well be), constantly on the lookout for ICE.

      What am I to do? I’ve told her I’d move to the Philippines if she’s deported, but that means leaving my 10 and 12-yo kids back in Arkansas with their white trash mother. May not even get a passport as I owe child support. Unemployed and they want the $1,400/mo. I had paid for 5 years when I had a good job.

      Not going to lash out, only on defense here, but can we see how someone closer to the edge might? Say, a Marine vet, likely suffering PTSD and being told by the right his only choice is to kill those who oppose?