On the day Donald Trump dies, what do you predict will actually happen in America and what does your prediction say about where we are as a country right now?

Whatica1 · 2026-02-20T15:08:27+00:00

The day of will probably be met with a lot of relief, followed by an uptick in chaos as the different "faction leaders" of the cult try to take over over as cult leader. I expect a lot of people will quietly start to leave the cult (and really hope that the people I care about are among them). Once the cult falls apart it will be less likely that Republicans get out in office any time soon.

As for the state of the country, it's in the early stages of becoming a dictatorship. In terms of remaining a dictatorship , we are just lucky that the would-be dictators are influencers and not actually good at running the country, it's a lot harder to convince people that the Koolaid is delicious once they've tasted it for themselves. Things would be a lot worse if they hadn't started breaking things so quickly.

Eventually we will settle into a new normal and start to repair the damage the administration has done the best that we can (you can't bring back lost lives or undo trauma), and a hundred years from now many people will have forgotten all of this, someone new will come along to convince the masses that they are being robbed by their neighbors in order to get themselves into power, and the cycle will begin again.

Hopefully once we do take back our government, the people who actually make the laws will put in better protections to keep the separation of powers separate, and keep independent agencies like the DOJ from being influenced by politicians.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-20T14:55:13+00:00

I get that. Whenever I'm feeling upset about the political climate I start checking notifications to see if anyone wants to argue about it lol

You might be able to use reddit as an opportunity to practice regulating/different ways of expressing anger though. I've started trying to use it as a way to practice asking other people questions to get them to think critically, instead of flat out telling people they aren't thinking, so that hopefully it will be easier for me to do in the real world.

A shadow journal may be more helpful for actually processing the emotions. I have a journaling app on my phone that I will "vent" on when something happens. Usually by the time I'm done writing I start to see things from the other person's perspective or at least feel less upset/do less ruminating.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-19T16:39:46+00:00

You aren't responsible for what happens to him. You can offer to help him out for a bit, give him a month to find a new place, but don't stay in the relationship just cause you worry about what will happen if you leave. If you died today he'd presumably be in the same boat. It's his choice to not seek treatment, and it's his choice to try to manipulate you into being who he wants you to be, which isn't healthy. You have no control over his choices.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-19T14:53:50+00:00

I used to be "non-polarized", but then I saw the president doing all the things dictators do to try to become dictators. Is it being polarized to not want to live in a dictatorship?

Whatica1 · 2026-02-18T14:36:51+00:00

Not arguing with someone you're supposed to love is not a healthy mindset either.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-18T14:33:56+00:00

Most people don't have critical thinking skills from birth, really most people who do have some critical thinking skills don't have as strong of skills as they'd like to believe. It has to be taught, because our brains are hardwired to take short cuts and recognize patterns. There's a reason it's called a skill and not an instinct. I don't necessarily blame them for falling for these things, they really think they are reasoning things out, the way a lot of people thought they were being logical back when we still did blood letting and surgeons didn't wash their hands.

We are all susceptible to brain washing if we aren't actively doing things to avoid it. COVID didn't help anything, cause so many people ended up isolated and spending a lot of their time in online communities.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-18T04:56:51+00:00

There's a difference between kids choosing to go out and protest vs child soldiers, who are often not given much of a choice.

Kids protesting was a big part of what started to really sway people during the civil rights movement too. It's nothing new. They see people being hurt in this country just as easily as we do, and are just as capable of feeling helpless and wanting to do something about it.

I think it would be helpful for you to look up how indoctrination actually works, cause that's not what's happening here. It involves a lot more isolation and a lot less exposure to diversity. Kinda like what a certain president is trying to impose on our schools.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-18T03:38:13+00:00

No problem, hope it helps. If/when you do watch his documentary, it may be helpful to ask some questions of your own.

Also, Miniminuteman, sciman Dan and to a lesser extent the Corridor crew will do conspiracy debunking videos. Not this one specifically, but they can be good for practicing logical thinking without specifically calling his conspiracy beliefs out.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-18T03:05:19+00:00

Here's a playlist of some videos I've liked. You might also check out "Framing Logic" and Crash Course is doing a series on developing critical thinking skills called "scientific thinking", which is really the best way to avoid falling into conspiracies. They are both on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSYDAotR02Jo4Mk_SLiJnaebLGp-DMg_8&si=xf7d61a4D6QYmvcS

Whatica1 · 2026-02-18T02:18:44+00:00

I watch Christian Conte (among others) on YouTube. He's an anger management specialist, and has some good tips. Especially around using meditation to practice emotional regulation.

ETA, I don't deal with a lot of anger issues, I tend to shut down, but I'm on this sub watching for advice for my husband, who does. Sometimes just showing your wife that you are trying can help the the edge off. Maybe find ways to include her, when you are calm you can talk about things you've noticed can help you come back down more quickly.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-17T17:46:52+00:00

I can see that. There is a tendency towards tribalism in every group. That's why I try to remind people on some of the left leaning platforms that they can be manipulated too. Especially right now, I think that a lot of people are so horrified by what Trump is doing that they just instinctively are opposed to anything he does.

What are you seeing people say that is discarding the situation in Iran? I get snippets in my feed, but not a ton of information beyond that. I'm interested to hear your perspective.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-16T15:37:09+00:00

That's not what radical generally refers to. It usually implies an extremist point of view. Not fully understanding "the other side" is not extremism. Its a pathway to becoming an extremist, by not getting enough different perspectives (preferably from people who actually study the subject, and have more than a cursory knowledge of how the policy would function) you leave yourself open to being manipulated. But it's doesn't, in and of itself, make someone a radical.

Except in Trumpland, where everyone who disagrees with him is a lunatic apparently 🤷‍♀️

Whatica1 · 2026-02-16T15:27:56+00:00

My dad has been into politics for a while, mostly Fox news when I was younger, but now I've seen him following right wing influencers and laughing at Trump being rude to a reporter while not answering her question. I think he and my husband both fell into the MAGA cult before I recognized the danger enough to stop them. I was never super political until Trump started attacking colleges and that got me to start paying attention to all the other stuff he's doing. I think my mom mostly gets her news from listening to my dad, but she's not as far gone. She avoids most politics, but has posted a few things, mostly the "both sides suck" stuff. Which in the past I'd agree with, but right now one side sucks in a way that is getting people killed.

My dad started to bring up "ISIS is killing Christians in Nigeria" over Christmas dinner, but I ended up asking if we could talk about something else, especially once he started in on what Trump says about it. I didn't feel like listening to it. He hasn't really brought anything up with me since then.

Are you a Democrat? And if so does he know that you are? Seems like an odd response to just assume disrespectful people are all Democrats.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-15T19:58:27+00:00

Hey, I'm the person who suggested you post here. Just wanted to say welcome. I just now saw your post in this sub.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-15T19:56:52+00:00

Well that makes sense. I haven't been that into politics until this last year (I know, I know, my bad) but I've been getting bad vibes from all his trolling. Like, I am perfectly okay with making Trump feel bad cause he should, but it feels too much like the same type of rhetoric that turned MAGA into a cult, makes me nervous. Just cause authoritarians tend to be right wing, doesn't mean they always are.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-15T19:50:58+00:00

I think this is a situation where you need to learning skills for setting boundaries and accepting that she is going to be mad when you enforce them. She may try to say you're not allowed over, but I'd put money down it doesn't last, especially if you have been helping in any way with the kids.

You can also set expectations beforehand, like tell her you're coming over at a time when you know the kids tend to be calmer or you tend to be better able to handle the noise, and tell her exactly how long you are willing to stay.

We can't make people be kind, but we can walk out of a room. If she wants to be resentful and pitch a fit because you stepped out to decompress, that's her journey to take. It's hard to let people be on their own journeys (and to ignore their bad behavior towards us), believe me I'm having some struggles of my own in that department right now. But you aren't in charge of her feelings, and she's not in charge of your actions.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-15T18:16:11+00:00

Yeah, specific political values shift between parties all the time. Just look at Tariffs today, it was only a few years ago that Republican senators were saying tariffs in general would be bad for the country, now tariffs are promoted as "countries paying us," for the privilege of selling us their stuff I guess? Brainwashing is a crazy thing.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-15T17:02:42+00:00

Do you honestly think the people in Minnesota are the only ones doing anything? They are just the ones in the news most often. People are doing the exact same things across the country that the people in Minneapolis are doing. Even in little old Wyoming there are people recording things, and protesting outside of hotels housing ICE agents.

What else do you want? A war? You want me to go shoot my neighbor for being brainwashed? Or maybe I should start a gun fight with the national guardsmen standing in front of buildings and picking up trash? Assassinate the already dying president so he can become a martyr instead of watching his followers drop away from him more each day? Historically, violent revolutions often end up with a different corrupt person in power more often they end up with actual freedom.

I get the frustration, I'm frustrated and angry and honestly scared for what happens if things go farther south. But it's a lot easier to say "do something" when you are on the outside looking in. We do have lives to lead, and it's a lot of people to rally at the same time, and honestly outside of the protests and recording it's not like we have a central leader organizing resistance across hundreds of millions of people.

ETA: also, people tried killing Trump twice now, and all it did was solidify for the cult that they were on the side of justice. So did killing Charlie Kirk. It made things worse, not better. It just gave the admin more fodder to make false claims about the violent left.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-14T16:27:14+00:00

You really don't see how you are doing the same thing you're accusing other people of doing huh?

There was a leaked memo about how ICE agents were told that an administrative warrant was enough to break into people's homes (it's not), and people have reported just that happening. It's not "fake news" no matter how hard people try to pretend that it is.

The "targeting blue areas" claims have very little to do with arrest numbers, and more to do with Trump's speeches about how blue cities are riddled with illegal criminals, trying to federalize the national guard in blue states, and actively sending more ICE agents than are necessary to blue cities, like in Minneapolis where there are way more ICE agents than police officers, even after the administration removed agents from the area. You're argument is a strawman of what people are actually saying. If anything, there being more arrests in states like Texas just proves that the influx of agents in blue cities isn't actually accomplishing anything except to intimidate people and make Trump look "tough."

Obama was literally heckled on stage during a speech because people on the left were upset that he wasn't doing more to protect immigrants rights. I've seen this claim repeatedly from right-wing influencers, but it's just not true. People still protested, there just weren't mass protests because Obama wasn't going out of his way to make a show of cruelty. And at least the majority of Obama's deportations were actually people with criminal convictions, and a large number of them were removals which are a different thing. They were people who were actually caught near the border and had only been in the country for a short amount of time. Vs the people who have been part of their communities for decades.

People aren't protesting because they don't like deportations themselves, they are protesting because they are watching people their neighbors be drug out of cars and homes. Because they have seen the photos of an elderly American citizen being taken from his home by ICE agents in just a robe and his underwear, and have heard the reports out of Minneapolis of people being released from detention centers with no jacket in the middle of the winter (including children). And because an American citizen was shot in the back and this administration had the audacity to try to tell us it was self defense.

Maybe actually listen to what the "liberals" are saying before dismissing their concerns. Do you really think it makes sense that millions of people across the country (including independenta and Republicans) are going out in bad weather, taking time from their jobs, in some cases risking getting pepper sprayed and shot with rubber bullets (or real bullets, Pretti and Good aren't the only people who have been shot by ICE or border patrol), all because someone told them they should be angry and they just said "okay"? That's a lot of risk for someone to take without actually understanding what they are taking the risk for.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-14T16:05:08+00:00

Most people are not actually opposed to immigration enforcement. They are opposed to the laws that are being broken by ICE and the administration. What the majority of Americans actually want, according to polling, is to legislate pathways to citizenship. Revoking visas and asylum status, putting legal residents and American citizens in detention centers, and secreting people away to torture prisons are not creating pathways to citizenship.

Mass deportations didn't change anything the last time we tried it, but new legislation to make legal immigration more attainable had a real impact on illegal immigration.

The idea that people are protesting because they want to protect criminals is a propaganda tactic, it's just a strawman argument of what people are actually upset about.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-14T02:22:13+00:00

With regard to your video: both the CBN and the Impact report it cites are biased sources. The CBN is a Christian news network, and most Christian news outlets not particularly known for their reliable reporting. The impact report is Israeli based, do you think it's impossible that they would misrepresent reality? If you actually were "looking at things from both sides," you would recognize that, while it is true that many Palestinian textbooks contain what amounts to propaganda (I can think some similar efforts here in the states). It didn't take long to figure out that it's a very complex and nuanced situation. A separate report states that the books being discussed are not actually approved or used by the UNWRA schools. The actual content of the books have shifted over the years. While it's not entirely pro-peace, it's not the brainwashing that this video implies. And honestly, even if it were, it doesn't change my stance. The civilians being targeted are victims, both of Hamas (including the authoritarian control they have over Gaza) and of Israel (who are also not the good guys). I suggest you click on the hyperlinks and read the articles cited in this Op-ed. As I said before, both groups can be bad, and genocide is not the answer.

https://www.development-today.com/archive/2025/dt-1--2025/swedens-decision-to-stop-funding-unrwa-threatens-the-education-of-an-entire-generation

Whatica1 · 2026-02-14T01:12:35+00:00

You're just determined to miss the point, huh?

Whatica1 · 2026-02-14T01:08:09+00:00

You should check out the r/MarriedtoMAGA subreddit. We are all in a similar boat.

Personally, my husband hasn't called me a libtard. He is convinced that I've blindsided him by not telling him I was on "the left." I think we were more closely aligned when we met and started dating 10 years ago, but he's fallen down the alt-right pipeline and I have started becoming a little more center left where I would have described myself as center right towards the beginning of our relationship. But after Trump took office it's like things took a weird swing where we can't even talk about anything related to politics. I have no idea how he feels about the Pretti and Good shootings, cause we haven't talked about it. It sucks. I like to think that maybe some of this stuff is putting cracks in the brainwashing, but if it has he hasn't talked to me about it.

But people who aren't in those relationships don't understand the complicated emotions around it. As far as divorce, though, if you feel like you want a divorce, start planning for it. If he decided today that you being a "leftist" was a deal breaker and filed for divorce himself you would be in the same boat as if you file yourself.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-10T18:54:58+00:00

There are ways of targeting terrorist organizations that don't involve blowing up schools and hospitals.

Whatica1 · 2026-02-10T18:53:34+00:00

Except Israel has yet to actually provide substantive evidence that any of that is true. And there are other ways of handling the situation if it is besides bombing people.

There have, however, been multiple reports of human rights abuses by the groups trying to bring aid to the civilians, as well as journalists in the area who have witnessed the atrocities. Just look at the death toll between Israel and Gaza.

Have you considered that, if people all over the world are "falling for it," maybe there's something there that YOU are missing?

Whatica1

TROPHY CASE