Incisive as usual. But it *does* beg the question: Fight or flight is a choice for those who have resources, what about the majority of us who don’t? If women can’t afford to go to another state for an abortion, how can they flee abroad? Those who leave, leave us behind—no solution.
I know that is the perennial problem, and why I mentioned that elites do better in such situations - the piece was getting too long because community networks are lifesavers...that is a different piece to write.
I will point out that there are people in the USA today who walked barefoot across the American continent to try to escape oppression either political, economic, or both.
However, if you are living an okay life in the USA there is no reason to leave. Although I have my concerns for women of child bearing age. I wrote this piece to give people who would like to leave some advice on how to do this. Here is that piece.
In fact, I am willing to find resources to help people to move, as I have been doing for years. Many friends who find the level of violent crime unbearable are included in this.
Russia’s middle class had and have a similisr problem. They have it “ good enough” and don’t want to risk any of what they have. I also think that’s another reason over 50% are alcoholics and a growing heroin addiction crisis.
Ted that is interesting. How are they getting heroin, and is the government pretending this crisis does not exist? When I visited my mother's family in the former DDR after the wall came down and it opened up, I was struck not only by how many alcoholics there were, of the beer swilling type, but also how they just seemed depleted as people emotionally. It was quite concerning. I assume that this might be in Russia too, and worried about Americans just barreling through and being unaware of how depleting living under authoritarian government can be.
Russian’s get their heroin from the poppy fields in Afghanistan. The Taliban encourage it, and tax it to fund their regime. I think addiction is more prevalent under authoritarian rule. The loss and or fear to express oneself genuinely, impulsively, creatively. This takes a toll on one’s mental health. People will find coping mechanisms that are either healthy or unhealthy. Something to think about whether you are leaving or staying. Self care to protect your pysche, deal with those gluco corticoid stress hormones that rob us of joy. Remember to exercise outside, practice recreational pursuits with other people. Nurture and maintain those friendships.
Putin doesn’t drink at all, but during the pandemic he was severely isolated. As has been the president of South Korea. The internet and social media is not really connection nor the same as togetherness. It leads to some weird distorted thinking. People left alone, alone is where/when despair grows, and makes us all vulnerable to all sorts of addictions. Both News Year’s Day attackers ( suicides really) could be framed this way too. Remember from history when Hitler’s Germany took Austria, how many Austrian Jews committed suicide. They had already been isolated, treated like 2nd or 3rd class citizens, like for foreign enemies in their own land.
It also helps that more liberal governments try to treat instead of punish, or ignore.
I agree about the internet facilitating social isolation. As a teacher my colleagues and I noticed a change in the children, and we see it in our own children. They are not so comfortable in the company of others.
A scholar on Pandemics described it as a social accelerator, to individual psychology, to economics of inequality, to everything. The pandemic brought our problems to the surface and intensified them.
I was thinking about what I heard Mikhal Zyghar explain this past summer at a conference. We all can learn a lot about resistance from the dissidents from other countries living here. Zyghar was one of Nalvany’s friends, living in NYC in exile. Our domestic challenge is really a global problem too. When we learn about other Authoritarian regimes, we learn more about our own system and its failings. Knowing what systems failed, we will know how to reform it. For Russia, it was that the west, in order to loan money to Yeltsin, Capitalism was paramount, not the rule of law. This eroded institutions necessary to sustain democracy, and corruption flourished. In the US, the lobby’s with the billionaire class, changed to laws, weakening both enforcement and thus institutional norms that are eroding our democracy. It was the transition from Yeltsin to Putin, when Putin pretty much seized and nationalized the Russian news media first. Then he weakened the Duma, the governors, and corrupted the judiciary. What I fear most is not Trump nationalizing our news media. They are already pricing their irrelevance. What I’m watching closer is how he could or is nationalizing or Republicanizing social media because that is where the influencing and informing is actually happening. I think Donnie sees social media like a licensee agreement. They miss and disinform for him, and he allows them to operate with impunity so they can get rich off us. Definitely a modern fascist state of affairs.
That is why I have been saying Dems need their own radio shows, social networking platforms, and need to amplify their influencers, including inviting them to yearly Progressive Conferences in a CPAC like way. A PPAC or DPAC for youth and older Dems. A lot of youth I know would rather belong to the Green party if it were viable, and they vote Democratic. So, perhaps a more global progressive title. Invite the Brian Tyler Cohens, and other progressive podcasters.
According to Dean of Business at NYU Scott Galloway, Podcasts are going to grow tremendously in 2025. The format is more than entertaining. It’s fun, educational, sharing, connectivity with another human just being their genuine self, without the confrontation of cable news. The politics that can accomplish that can be viable.
Steve, it is always good to have thought of a place to go. I first renewed my German passport when Ronald Reagan got elected. I was so shocked that adults could vote for a movie star that I decided that I would need to be prepared to leave. You can see this plan is a long time in the making.
Thank you for your writings. Having you here in this country now helps us to stay and fight through our learning and inspiration from you and our educating others and voting
Very insightful. I read the book, "All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days' last year, about an American woman who went to Germany, became a leader in the resistance, and then was tortured and beheaded by Hitler's thugs. She was unbelievably brave and sacrificed everything for others. Most of (including me) are nowhere near that courageous. I plan to stay here and fight in small ways, helping women, immigrants, the indigent, and others as much as I can. But it is absolutely terrifying. I never thought I would see the United States elect a man like this, especially after he showed us who he is the first time.
"I never thought I would see the United States elect a man like this, ..."
It goes to show how pliable the human mind is, and how easily some can be fooled, to believe fantasy. tRump has convinced millions that he is the sole source of truth. This is devastating when that source is a delusional sociopath (ASPD). Sociopathic leaders are the recipe for disaster, as history has shown.
I'm worried about - among many other things - losing access to progressive groups organizing and speaking online. What protective actions should/could folks take now given anticipated expanded use of executive authority and potentially increased surveillance?
My family uses Signal to communicate. We have also adding on Threema, so we have a non-US platformed messaging system. I have a few friends with it, but one has to tell friends to use it so that you have people to message. It has a one time fee. Right now it is 6 Euros.
We all have Signal on our phones and Laptops, so we can use the screen to have video conferences. With Screen sharing it is hard to see the other people, but that is worth it for the sense of security to us.
One can also have Threema on one's laptop. Will say more once we are using it which might not be until later this month.
In my group we have been discussing not being cut off from communicating.
1) Get a VPN, and preferably one that is not platformed in the USA. That can help you get around restrictions of media.
2) Get a messaging system that is very protected like Signal. While Whats App has improved, one can still see who you are messaging with it. You cannot do that with Signal.
3) Also, consider getting a messaging system that is not platformed in the USA, like Threema in Switzerland.
4) Ask the people/platforms/accounts you want to keep in touch with where they plan to go if things get cut off so you can know in advance where to find them if say, Elon Musk decides that there should be no competition with X, and has everyone else shut down, for "legitimate" reasons by Trump.
Also, I have been watching a lot of shows and movies set in the DDR, so I get a sense of the level of surveillance that can happen. You can find some on MHz.
Sure. Janet, if you are in an indivisible group, you should discuss in your group. My Democrats Abroad Project 2025 Book Club, which has turned into the Anti-Authoritarian Book Club is discussing what we can do to be safer, and to be helpful. I found Strongmen helpful, and I have been watching several DDR shows and films over the break. The last one I watched was about a woman who was a DDR spy in the CIA, at the point of time when the Berlin Wall came down. I also watched a series where twins were separated when the dad took one and fled west, and they meet by chance later in the DDR. That helps look at daily life, and how it can be normal, and not normal.
Because our group is busy, we have gone from reading chapters of Project 2025, to reading articles. We read one called Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding in Journal of Democracy.
I am also reading On Freedom by Timothy Snyder, and our group is planning on reading some articles discussing the GOP Rules Package and the 12 bills they are adding on, and some articles discussing them.
Sherry, I also meant to say your list of books here looks good. I am copying them onto my reading list. Thanks.
I also meant to mention that I am looking for the Graphic Novel version of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder because I would like to see whether it will be useful for me to give to my Gen-Z and Millennial family and friends.
I'm engaging in several groups and have only recently participated in an Indivisible group. I'm feeling as though there is a certain of denial out there - I feel it myself sometimes - as this is a new environment. Some of us weren't born or were very young during the McCarthy era so it's intellectual/theoretical - and not totally real.
Janet, I understand it is not real. Being here it in the USA it feels like no one is talking about it around me. The massive deportation alone should be a big topic of discussion since a lot of my friends are immigrants, and they or their spouses might be Muslim.
All of my friends and family in Europe are treating the incoming US administration as very real. For example, as I read that Scandinavian countries had updated their civilian plans for war preparedness, I started using those, since each was printed in English as well, for preparing mine in Germany. I decided that both the city my daughter is studying in and the one I live in will be possibly bombed during any attacks, so I already asked cousins who live on farms if we can go to them in case of war. That is accepted. I have done further things to prepare, including talking to my sheltered daughter about possible places to meet up if there is a war. She wants me to rent a car and come and get her. We shall see. Might not be the safest plan. Right now I will count on train travel. When I asked relatives if we could come and stay with them, no one said, don't you worry. They all said, yes, and never thought we would have to be preparing for this again. My friend shared her plan for meeting with her daughter who also studies in another city with me.
Again, for keeping safe and laying low, it is good to see some of the films set in former East Germany. I don't know if there is so much Russian based sorts of films because they have a different propaganda mechanism. However, one gets a sense of living with a government that spies on you especially if you step out of line.
Please don't surrender in advance. My ancestors put it on the line for their country, now it's my turn. There's no running away from this, because neo-fascism is a global phenomenon. There are more of us than they're are of them. Exile is surrender!
Very interesting to read what people who choose exile have to go through. The thought has crossed my mind, but my life is too complicated medically, and I am too old to want to go through another major move (I've done two as an adult). I am all for being able to stay where I am, even if trump ruins my city, which is right on the border. Keeping a low profile is something I can do. I just hope trump doesn't completely destroy my city or the country.
I am of the ones who has to stay. I don’t have the resources to leave the extremely red state and town I’m in, let alone move to another country. Even if I had the resources I’m not sure I would leave. I’m a veteran. I spent ten years in uniform. This country and what it could be still means a great deal to me. Could I leave? I don’t know. But that’s a moot decision since I can’t leave.
I am filled with worry and dread. trump tried to take veterans disability last time and this time his minions insist on taking not only our disability compensation but our healthcare too. I try not to worry but that’s not possible. If the fascists succeed I will lose everything and end up homeless. Since I can’t change anything though all I can do is wait.
Very much so. With regard to the ACA I keep thinking of this one man at the voting station in Oct talking about how he voted against that ‘so and so Obamacare’ (I have to paraphrase) “but for the great ACA!” A few people in line agreed wholeheartedly with him, saying they did the same while a few of us looked at each other and shrugged, knowing they wouldn’t believe us that they are the same thing. (I tried telling someone that once and was threatened.) This was not the only time I heard that in the town where I live. I guess they’ll be surprised when they lose their healthcare.
I always thought the Democratic Party in every county of every red state should have paid for a full page ad that read “Obamacare and the ACA are the same thing!” Then follow that with a short explanation that the former is the nickname and the latter the regular name along with references to look it up. I suggested it to our local chapter but was laughed at.
Not always fun to be "right." I live in a blue state (with many red/purple areas) like many blue states and ran into this confusion as well. Your idea was and is solid. And there are many alternative locations to offer that clarifying explanation, even in mail-in only states like mine.
Waiting for the next administration to start is driving me crazy. I know a gay couple who are going to France this month and staying for four months and then I’m not sure what. Another gay couple I know plan to move to Ireland. My bf/partner is from Mumbai, a citizen here now but he wonders if he’ll be deported, because it feels like anything could happen. I’m a white woman who pretty recently started getting Social Security. What’s going to happen to that? Many believe “they” won’t dare take away things people already have, but the truth is we don’t know jack. Most of the time I tamp these feelings down and go about my daily business, but damn, I’m so mad the bad guy got elected.
I am so mad also. I believed candidate Biden in 2020 when he said this was a fight for the soul of democracy, well the only ones who took the fight were the House democrats. Executive, Senate and SCOTUS went AWOL for four years. We are on our own. Please be safe Ruth. Remember the spirit of liberty flows surely, silently, and insists to be seen.
One problem is that there is no place to go to this time - all of the world dictators have been openly traveling around the world having meetings for the past year. I fear they have big plans to divide the world and each take their pieces. Where is safe?
Some steps you can take are - buck up cash reserve including some literal cash, diversify the type of institutions holding funds so not all mega banks (sone local community banks, an online bank, a credit union), at least one legitimate foreign account with online access, paid off debt, establish an approved line of credit.
I froze my credit reports, my check flex, and also my work history. This makes it harder for it to be accessed.
I started being much more careful on online browsing or shopping that leaves a trail but was sure to leave enough of an innocuous one. Starting to use card masking as well.
All just gives me a little more peace of mind and maybe makes it a little harder to be a target.
Thanks, all great advice! I have put some savings in a canadian bank. I’ve been using duck duck go, I heard that is a more secure search engine but not positive. We have liquified more of our stocks than normal. Also, there’s an app called bridgefy that is supposed to use bluetooth for messaging much like apple airtags, in case cellular gets shut down. Of course it requires closer proximity of others and I haven’t tested it yet (because my friends and family don’t think the situation is dire enough to worry about). Love sharing ideas to protect ourselves the best we can!
Also, owning some gold is a good idea if things go sideways. tRump is big on crypto currency, which is not backed by anything. He might try to normalize its use at the national level. Combine this with his tariff idea and we could see hard times economically. Kitco, a Canadian company is a good source of information on all precious metals.
I think this depends on your situation. Certainly some places are safer for certain groups (women, trans, etc) than others. Almost everywhere is safer for mothers & children.
My friends in Democrats Abroad and I are reading articles about democracy and discussing what we can do to help. We decided that we share our unique from abroad perspectives about issues relevant to Americans, and support organizations within the US that are fighting for democracy.
My MIL fled Nazi Germany in 1938 when she was 19. The rest of her family perished. My husband and I left the US and moved to France a year and a half ago. I’ll be active from afar.
I like the new videos tab, Ruth, it's very fast to find dates we missed and catch up! 😎
I also appreciate your addressing this elephant in the room, "should I stay or should I go?" I'm sure this is such a fraught question for those who have the means, flexibility and/or temperament to consider it- so many options, and some fast changing. And as you brought up in gracefully opening the third way of staying and keeping resistance hidden and private, those we love may in a sense choose for us, though that can be a moving target too. While thoughts and prayers are often criticized as an inadequate response - I think that is only the case when thinking and praying doesn't move forward to listening, changing and acting. That will look different for every one of us too. Hoping the fascist team also keeps eating their own and diminishing themselves.
There are no "LGBTQ+ people" no matter how often that incantation is recited.
Many gay men and lesbians are realizing that they have few or no interests or needs in common with the T and Q sectors of that imaginary community. Many lesbians do not want to share female only spaces with men who claim to identify as women. Many gay men, and I am one of them, see their younger sissy selves in the so-called "trans kids" who are being transitioned because their effeminacy and gender nonconforming interests can only mean one thing, that they were born in the wrong body.
Then there's queer.
The inclusion of "Q" with "LGB" is taxonomic malpractice. Queer is not a sexual orientation nor is it a gender identity. Recently, certain cishet influencers have affected a queer identity to great public acclaim in their cultural bubble. Not all gays identify as queer, thank god, but enough do to be thoroughly annoying.
Queer is not innate. To the contrary, it is a learned set of attitudes and beliefs. Queer is a form of socio-political posturing. Queer is a scene and a hang-out. At best, queer gives disaffected, educated urban youth the latest lens with which to look down on squares. At worst, queer is a postmodern philosophy that is a toxic progeny of Critical Theory. It intentionally destabilizes the pragmatic meanings of sex and gender in ways that are highly disorienting to society and to its members. Queer is homophobic because queer does not recognize stable sexual orientations or relationships or the gay-straight binary. It considers them part of a grand metanarrative that needs toppling.
The very idea of queer rights is preposterous because so far, at least, holding a particular set of political beliefs, which is what applied queer theory amounts to, has never granted the believer protected-class status under civil rights laws, at least in America. One reason is because political beliefs, unlike race, sex or sexual orientation, are neither innate nor immutable. Gay people should be protected from discrimination in employment or housing on the basis of sexual orientation because being gay is part of their essence. They have no choice in the matter. The same cannot be said for queers.
Where to go? That is, for us, the issue. We spent 2 months in Costa Rica last year to see if it would be a fit. We loved the Pura Vida culture but concluded it was “No Place for Old Men”. Europe- but with rising fascism and the possibility of a Russian-NATO war. Ireland? New Zealand?
NZ: If they will even let us in. When I looked into it a little more than a year ago, my takeaway was that for people over 50 and whose skill set was not on their list of needs for their primary economic areas, they were not encouraging. Things may have changed a little since then but you have to be able to support yourself within their particular economic endeavors. Search for their immigration websites to pursue it further.
Brian - from my research an Entrepreneur Work visa is the way to start if you’re not a doctor or dentist or nurse, etc. As you read this understand that NZ$100,000 is approximately US$56,000.
…you’re an experienced business person and you want to work in your own business in New Zealand. If you’re granted this visa, you can buy or set up a business in New Zealand, which you can do either without living here permanently or as a first step towards New Zealand residence.
Criteria you must meet
You must make a capital investment of at least NZ$100,000. If your business is in the science or ICT sectors, or shows a high level of innovation or export potential, we may be able to waive this requirement.
You must score at least 120 points on our Entrepreneur Work Visa points scale.
You must provide a business plan for the business you intend to buy or set up in New Zealand.
I looked into NZ as an escape several years ago and remember that if one is retired, the entrance requirement is to have $1.7 million minimum. Not sure if that's still the case now.
Steve - I never got to the point of applying; but, my understanding is that the Entrepreneur route goes something like this: the Entrepreneur Work Visa gives you one year to get your business started and then another 24 months to get an Entrepreneur Resident Visa that allows you to stay indefinitely. Since I am already failing retirement I would not be afraid to buy or start a business in New Zealand:-) So the key is to no longer be retired!
Incisive as usual. But it *does* beg the question: Fight or flight is a choice for those who have resources, what about the majority of us who don’t? If women can’t afford to go to another state for an abortion, how can they flee abroad? Those who leave, leave us behind—no solution.
Hmm, should have read further. Apologies. But one feels among the voiceless.
I know that is the perennial problem, and why I mentioned that elites do better in such situations - the piece was getting too long because community networks are lifesavers...that is a different piece to write.
I will point out that there are people in the USA today who walked barefoot across the American continent to try to escape oppression either political, economic, or both.
However, if you are living an okay life in the USA there is no reason to leave. Although I have my concerns for women of child bearing age. I wrote this piece to give people who would like to leave some advice on how to do this. Here is that piece.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/a-plan-b-for-catastrophe?r=f0qfn
In fact, I am willing to find resources to help people to move, as I have been doing for years. Many friends who find the level of violent crime unbearable are included in this.
Great article
Russia’s middle class had and have a similisr problem. They have it “ good enough” and don’t want to risk any of what they have. I also think that’s another reason over 50% are alcoholics and a growing heroin addiction crisis.
Ted that is interesting. How are they getting heroin, and is the government pretending this crisis does not exist? When I visited my mother's family in the former DDR after the wall came down and it opened up, I was struck not only by how many alcoholics there were, of the beer swilling type, but also how they just seemed depleted as people emotionally. It was quite concerning. I assume that this might be in Russia too, and worried about Americans just barreling through and being unaware of how depleting living under authoritarian government can be.
Russian’s get their heroin from the poppy fields in Afghanistan. The Taliban encourage it, and tax it to fund their regime. I think addiction is more prevalent under authoritarian rule. The loss and or fear to express oneself genuinely, impulsively, creatively. This takes a toll on one’s mental health. People will find coping mechanisms that are either healthy or unhealthy. Something to think about whether you are leaving or staying. Self care to protect your pysche, deal with those gluco corticoid stress hormones that rob us of joy. Remember to exercise outside, practice recreational pursuits with other people. Nurture and maintain those friendships.
Putin doesn’t drink at all, but during the pandemic he was severely isolated. As has been the president of South Korea. The internet and social media is not really connection nor the same as togetherness. It leads to some weird distorted thinking. People left alone, alone is where/when despair grows, and makes us all vulnerable to all sorts of addictions. Both News Year’s Day attackers ( suicides really) could be framed this way too. Remember from history when Hitler’s Germany took Austria, how many Austrian Jews committed suicide. They had already been isolated, treated like 2nd or 3rd class citizens, like for foreign enemies in their own land.
It also helps that more liberal governments try to treat instead of punish, or ignore.
I agree about the internet facilitating social isolation. As a teacher my colleagues and I noticed a change in the children, and we see it in our own children. They are not so comfortable in the company of others.
A scholar on Pandemics described it as a social accelerator, to individual psychology, to economics of inequality, to everything. The pandemic brought our problems to the surface and intensified them.
I was thinking about what I heard Mikhal Zyghar explain this past summer at a conference. We all can learn a lot about resistance from the dissidents from other countries living here. Zyghar was one of Nalvany’s friends, living in NYC in exile. Our domestic challenge is really a global problem too. When we learn about other Authoritarian regimes, we learn more about our own system and its failings. Knowing what systems failed, we will know how to reform it. For Russia, it was that the west, in order to loan money to Yeltsin, Capitalism was paramount, not the rule of law. This eroded institutions necessary to sustain democracy, and corruption flourished. In the US, the lobby’s with the billionaire class, changed to laws, weakening both enforcement and thus institutional norms that are eroding our democracy. It was the transition from Yeltsin to Putin, when Putin pretty much seized and nationalized the Russian news media first. Then he weakened the Duma, the governors, and corrupted the judiciary. What I fear most is not Trump nationalizing our news media. They are already pricing their irrelevance. What I’m watching closer is how he could or is nationalizing or Republicanizing social media because that is where the influencing and informing is actually happening. I think Donnie sees social media like a licensee agreement. They miss and disinform for him, and he allows them to operate with impunity so they can get rich off us. Definitely a modern fascist state of affairs.
That is why I have been saying Dems need their own radio shows, social networking platforms, and need to amplify their influencers, including inviting them to yearly Progressive Conferences in a CPAC like way. A PPAC or DPAC for youth and older Dems. A lot of youth I know would rather belong to the Green party if it were viable, and they vote Democratic. So, perhaps a more global progressive title. Invite the Brian Tyler Cohens, and other progressive podcasters.
According to Dean of Business at NYU Scott Galloway, Podcasts are going to grow tremendously in 2025. The format is more than entertaining. It’s fun, educational, sharing, connectivity with another human just being their genuine self, without the confrontation of cable news. The politics that can accomplish that can be viable.
Nice article. Having been to Germany many times, I have long thought of it as a place to go if things in the US turn sour.
Steve, it is always good to have thought of a place to go. I first renewed my German passport when Ronald Reagan got elected. I was so shocked that adults could vote for a movie star that I decided that I would need to be prepared to leave. You can see this plan is a long time in the making.
Thank you for your writings. Having you here in this country now helps us to stay and fight through our learning and inspiration from you and our educating others and voting
So poignant— memories of my grandparents and their community of refugee friends who visited them. As a child, I listened in many languages.
Many writers and artists… ahhh so horrified by this in America our land of the free. Emma Lazarus said it best.
A link to Emma’s poem THE NEW COLOSSUS, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty
https://poets.org/poem/new-colossus
Very insightful. I read the book, "All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days' last year, about an American woman who went to Germany, became a leader in the resistance, and then was tortured and beheaded by Hitler's thugs. She was unbelievably brave and sacrificed everything for others. Most of (including me) are nowhere near that courageous. I plan to stay here and fight in small ways, helping women, immigrants, the indigent, and others as much as I can. But it is absolutely terrifying. I never thought I would see the United States elect a man like this, especially after he showed us who he is the first time.
I read the book review awhile back. Left me speechless.
That was an absolutely incredible book, thank you so much for mentioning it. So inspiring and much less well known than it should be.
"I never thought I would see the United States elect a man like this, ..."
It goes to show how pliable the human mind is, and how easily some can be fooled, to believe fantasy. tRump has convinced millions that he is the sole source of truth. This is devastating when that source is a delusional sociopath (ASPD). Sociopathic leaders are the recipe for disaster, as history has shown.
I'm worried about - among many other things - losing access to progressive groups organizing and speaking online. What protective actions should/could folks take now given anticipated expanded use of executive authority and potentially increased surveillance?
I agree, I'm wondering if many Zoom meetings will move to Signal for greater security.
My family uses Signal to communicate. We have also adding on Threema, so we have a non-US platformed messaging system. I have a few friends with it, but one has to tell friends to use it so that you have people to message. It has a one time fee. Right now it is 6 Euros.
We all have Signal on our phones and Laptops, so we can use the screen to have video conferences. With Screen sharing it is hard to see the other people, but that is worth it for the sense of security to us.
One can also have Threema on one's laptop. Will say more once we are using it which might not be until later this month.
In my group we have been discussing not being cut off from communicating.
1) Get a VPN, and preferably one that is not platformed in the USA. That can help you get around restrictions of media.
2) Get a messaging system that is very protected like Signal. While Whats App has improved, one can still see who you are messaging with it. You cannot do that with Signal.
3) Also, consider getting a messaging system that is not platformed in the USA, like Threema in Switzerland.
4) Ask the people/platforms/accounts you want to keep in touch with where they plan to go if things get cut off so you can know in advance where to find them if say, Elon Musk decides that there should be no competition with X, and has everyone else shut down, for "legitimate" reasons by Trump.
Also, I have been watching a lot of shows and movies set in the DDR, so I get a sense of the level of surveillance that can happen. You can find some on MHz.
Thanks so much - this is helpful though I may need to get some help from friends with better tech skills.
I wonder if groups like Indivisible are planning on making any changes. Most ACLU ideas require legislation.
Sure. Janet, if you are in an indivisible group, you should discuss in your group. My Democrats Abroad Project 2025 Book Club, which has turned into the Anti-Authoritarian Book Club is discussing what we can do to be safer, and to be helpful. I found Strongmen helpful, and I have been watching several DDR shows and films over the break. The last one I watched was about a woman who was a DDR spy in the CIA, at the point of time when the Berlin Wall came down. I also watched a series where twins were separated when the dad took one and fled west, and they meet by chance later in the DDR. That helps look at daily life, and how it can be normal, and not normal.
What books are you reading? On my list, in addition to Strongmen, of course:
Anne Applebaum, The Twilight of Democracy
Anne Applebaum, Autacracy, Inc.
Milosz, The Captive Mind,
Adam Serwer, The Cruelty is the Point
Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless
Because our group is busy, we have gone from reading chapters of Project 2025, to reading articles. We read one called Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding in Journal of Democracy.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/misunderstanding-democratic-backsliding/
I am also reading On Freedom by Timothy Snyder, and our group is planning on reading some articles discussing the GOP Rules Package and the 12 bills they are adding on, and some articles discussing them.
https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20241230/119th%20Rules%20Package%20for%20Circulation.pdf
We are also planning on Reading Ed Walker's discussion of Democracy Against Capitalism by Ellen Meiksins Wood.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/10/22/democracy-against-capitalism-conclusion-part-1/
Each week someone chooses the readings for the next time at the end, or between our meetings. It is our own version of an Indivisible group.
If you have articles that you recommend, please let me know.
Sherry, I also meant to say your list of books here looks good. I am copying them onto my reading list. Thanks.
I also meant to mention that I am looking for the Graphic Novel version of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder because I would like to see whether it will be useful for me to give to my Gen-Z and Millennial family and friends.
Linda, I think it will be useful. It is stunning and very interesting, graphically.
I'm engaging in several groups and have only recently participated in an Indivisible group. I'm feeling as though there is a certain of denial out there - I feel it myself sometimes - as this is a new environment. Some of us weren't born or were very young during the McCarthy era so it's intellectual/theoretical - and not totally real.
Janet, I understand it is not real. Being here it in the USA it feels like no one is talking about it around me. The massive deportation alone should be a big topic of discussion since a lot of my friends are immigrants, and they or their spouses might be Muslim.
All of my friends and family in Europe are treating the incoming US administration as very real. For example, as I read that Scandinavian countries had updated their civilian plans for war preparedness, I started using those, since each was printed in English as well, for preparing mine in Germany. I decided that both the city my daughter is studying in and the one I live in will be possibly bombed during any attacks, so I already asked cousins who live on farms if we can go to them in case of war. That is accepted. I have done further things to prepare, including talking to my sheltered daughter about possible places to meet up if there is a war. She wants me to rent a car and come and get her. We shall see. Might not be the safest plan. Right now I will count on train travel. When I asked relatives if we could come and stay with them, no one said, don't you worry. They all said, yes, and never thought we would have to be preparing for this again. My friend shared her plan for meeting with her daughter who also studies in another city with me.
Again, for keeping safe and laying low, it is good to see some of the films set in former East Germany. I don't know if there is so much Russian based sorts of films because they have a different propaganda mechanism. However, one gets a sense of living with a government that spies on you especially if you step out of line.
Believe me, I view it as real.
Please don't surrender in advance. My ancestors put it on the line for their country, now it's my turn. There's no running away from this, because neo-fascism is a global phenomenon. There are more of us than they're are of them. Exile is surrender!
Very interesting to read what people who choose exile have to go through. The thought has crossed my mind, but my life is too complicated medically, and I am too old to want to go through another major move (I've done two as an adult). I am all for being able to stay where I am, even if trump ruins my city, which is right on the border. Keeping a low profile is something I can do. I just hope trump doesn't completely destroy my city or the country.
I am of the ones who has to stay. I don’t have the resources to leave the extremely red state and town I’m in, let alone move to another country. Even if I had the resources I’m not sure I would leave. I’m a veteran. I spent ten years in uniform. This country and what it could be still means a great deal to me. Could I leave? I don’t know. But that’s a moot decision since I can’t leave.
I am filled with worry and dread. trump tried to take veterans disability last time and this time his minions insist on taking not only our disability compensation but our healthcare too. I try not to worry but that’s not possible. If the fascists succeed I will lose everything and end up homeless. Since I can’t change anything though all I can do is wait.
I feel for you friend. It can happen here and it just did. So disappointing
Thank you.
Yes, the future of veterans services and the ACA are incredibly concerning.
Very much so. With regard to the ACA I keep thinking of this one man at the voting station in Oct talking about how he voted against that ‘so and so Obamacare’ (I have to paraphrase) “but for the great ACA!” A few people in line agreed wholeheartedly with him, saying they did the same while a few of us looked at each other and shrugged, knowing they wouldn’t believe us that they are the same thing. (I tried telling someone that once and was threatened.) This was not the only time I heard that in the town where I live. I guess they’ll be surprised when they lose their healthcare.
I always thought the Democratic Party in every county of every red state should have paid for a full page ad that read “Obamacare and the ACA are the same thing!” Then follow that with a short explanation that the former is the nickname and the latter the regular name along with references to look it up. I suggested it to our local chapter but was laughed at.
Not always fun to be "right." I live in a blue state (with many red/purple areas) like many blue states and ran into this confusion as well. Your idea was and is solid. And there are many alternative locations to offer that clarifying explanation, even in mail-in only states like mine.
Waiting for the next administration to start is driving me crazy. I know a gay couple who are going to France this month and staying for four months and then I’m not sure what. Another gay couple I know plan to move to Ireland. My bf/partner is from Mumbai, a citizen here now but he wonders if he’ll be deported, because it feels like anything could happen. I’m a white woman who pretty recently started getting Social Security. What’s going to happen to that? Many believe “they” won’t dare take away things people already have, but the truth is we don’t know jack. Most of the time I tamp these feelings down and go about my daily business, but damn, I’m so mad the bad guy got elected.
I am so mad also. I believed candidate Biden in 2020 when he said this was a fight for the soul of democracy, well the only ones who took the fight were the House democrats. Executive, Senate and SCOTUS went AWOL for four years. We are on our own. Please be safe Ruth. Remember the spirit of liberty flows surely, silently, and insists to be seen.
One problem is that there is no place to go to this time - all of the world dictators have been openly traveling around the world having meetings for the past year. I fear they have big plans to divide the world and each take their pieces. Where is safe?
Maybe Jing, Trump n' Putin will try and rule the world as a sort of laughable imitation of the old Roman Triumvirate!
We may all have to go old school at some point. I certainly hope not.
But right now safeguarding our privacy, communications, and finances are solid steps to take.
What steps are you taking to safeguard finances?
Some steps you can take are - buck up cash reserve including some literal cash, diversify the type of institutions holding funds so not all mega banks (sone local community banks, an online bank, a credit union), at least one legitimate foreign account with online access, paid off debt, establish an approved line of credit.
I froze my credit reports, my check flex, and also my work history. This makes it harder for it to be accessed.
I started being much more careful on online browsing or shopping that leaves a trail but was sure to leave enough of an innocuous one. Starting to use card masking as well.
All just gives me a little more peace of mind and maybe makes it a little harder to be a target.
Thanks, all great advice! I have put some savings in a canadian bank. I’ve been using duck duck go, I heard that is a more secure search engine but not positive. We have liquified more of our stocks than normal. Also, there’s an app called bridgefy that is supposed to use bluetooth for messaging much like apple airtags, in case cellular gets shut down. Of course it requires closer proximity of others and I haven’t tested it yet (because my friends and family don’t think the situation is dire enough to worry about). Love sharing ideas to protect ourselves the best we can!
Also, owning some gold is a good idea if things go sideways. tRump is big on crypto currency, which is not backed by anything. He might try to normalize its use at the national level. Combine this with his tariff idea and we could see hard times economically. Kitco, a Canadian company is a good source of information on all precious metals.
I think this depends on your situation. Certainly some places are safer for certain groups (women, trans, etc) than others. Almost everywhere is safer for mothers & children.
New Zealand.
My friends in Democrats Abroad and I are reading articles about democracy and discussing what we can do to help. We decided that we share our unique from abroad perspectives about issues relevant to Americans, and support organizations within the US that are fighting for democracy.
My MIL fled Nazi Germany in 1938 when she was 19. The rest of her family perished. My husband and I left the US and moved to France a year and a half ago. I’ll be active from afar.
I like the new videos tab, Ruth, it's very fast to find dates we missed and catch up! 😎
I also appreciate your addressing this elephant in the room, "should I stay or should I go?" I'm sure this is such a fraught question for those who have the means, flexibility and/or temperament to consider it- so many options, and some fast changing. And as you brought up in gracefully opening the third way of staying and keeping resistance hidden and private, those we love may in a sense choose for us, though that can be a moving target too. While thoughts and prayers are often criticized as an inadequate response - I think that is only the case when thinking and praying doesn't move forward to listening, changing and acting. That will look different for every one of us too. Hoping the fascist team also keeps eating their own and diminishing themselves.
So unnecessarily sad.
Well done, Ruth. You are speaking eloquently in a heartful way to the deep question of whether to stay and resist, or go into exile. Woof!
There are no "LGBTQ+ people" no matter how often that incantation is recited.
Many gay men and lesbians are realizing that they have few or no interests or needs in common with the T and Q sectors of that imaginary community. Many lesbians do not want to share female only spaces with men who claim to identify as women. Many gay men, and I am one of them, see their younger sissy selves in the so-called "trans kids" who are being transitioned because their effeminacy and gender nonconforming interests can only mean one thing, that they were born in the wrong body.
Then there's queer.
The inclusion of "Q" with "LGB" is taxonomic malpractice. Queer is not a sexual orientation nor is it a gender identity. Recently, certain cishet influencers have affected a queer identity to great public acclaim in their cultural bubble. Not all gays identify as queer, thank god, but enough do to be thoroughly annoying.
Queer is not innate. To the contrary, it is a learned set of attitudes and beliefs. Queer is a form of socio-political posturing. Queer is a scene and a hang-out. At best, queer gives disaffected, educated urban youth the latest lens with which to look down on squares. At worst, queer is a postmodern philosophy that is a toxic progeny of Critical Theory. It intentionally destabilizes the pragmatic meanings of sex and gender in ways that are highly disorienting to society and to its members. Queer is homophobic because queer does not recognize stable sexual orientations or relationships or the gay-straight binary. It considers them part of a grand metanarrative that needs toppling.
The very idea of queer rights is preposterous because so far, at least, holding a particular set of political beliefs, which is what applied queer theory amounts to, has never granted the believer protected-class status under civil rights laws, at least in America. One reason is because political beliefs, unlike race, sex or sexual orientation, are neither innate nor immutable. Gay people should be protected from discrimination in employment or housing on the basis of sexual orientation because being gay is part of their essence. They have no choice in the matter. The same cannot be said for queers.
Where to go? That is, for us, the issue. We spent 2 months in Costa Rica last year to see if it would be a fit. We loved the Pura Vida culture but concluded it was “No Place for Old Men”. Europe- but with rising fascism and the possibility of a Russian-NATO war. Ireland? New Zealand?
John - New Zealand is where I would go if I could. . .
manaakitanga:
1. (noun) hospitality, kindness, generosity, support - the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.
Yes, they have similar problems; but, they do NOT have 120 guns per 100 residents!
NZ: If they will even let us in. When I looked into it a little more than a year ago, my takeaway was that for people over 50 and whose skill set was not on their list of needs for their primary economic areas, they were not encouraging. Things may have changed a little since then but you have to be able to support yourself within their particular economic endeavors. Search for their immigration websites to pursue it further.
Brian - from my research an Entrepreneur Work visa is the way to start if you’re not a doctor or dentist or nurse, etc. As you read this understand that NZ$100,000 is approximately US$56,000.
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/explore-visa-options
This visa is for you if...
…you’re an experienced business person and you want to work in your own business in New Zealand. If you’re granted this visa, you can buy or set up a business in New Zealand, which you can do either without living here permanently or as a first step towards New Zealand residence.
Criteria you must meet
You must make a capital investment of at least NZ$100,000. If your business is in the science or ICT sectors, or shows a high level of innovation or export potential, we may be able to waive this requirement.
You must score at least 120 points on our Entrepreneur Work Visa points scale.
You must provide a business plan for the business you intend to buy or set up in New Zealand.
I looked into NZ as an escape several years ago and remember that if one is retired, the entrance requirement is to have $1.7 million minimum. Not sure if that's still the case now.
Steve - I never got to the point of applying; but, my understanding is that the Entrepreneur route goes something like this: the Entrepreneur Work Visa gives you one year to get your business started and then another 24 months to get an Entrepreneur Resident Visa that allows you to stay indefinitely. Since I am already failing retirement I would not be afraid to buy or start a business in New Zealand:-) So the key is to no longer be retired!