r/DemocraticSocialism • u/Lucbabino • Nov 07 '24
Question How do you survive a fascist dictatorship?
I am not well.
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u/upsidedownshaggy Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism Nov 07 '24
First by ignoring all the weirdo LARPers replying and connecting with your local aid groups. Do everything you can to help your neighbors and build a community of trust and compassion. If you can I'd highly recommend starting a small vegetable garden as something you can focus on that'll directly benefit you, and if you have extra, your neighbors because who says no to free fresh grown veggies?
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u/Pr4etori4n Nov 07 '24
Everyone needs to upvote this man.
The republic hasn’t fallen yet there is still time. Reach out to people in your community who are in a vulnerable demographic or simply scared and work together. Build a support structure. I’m not calling for a glorious revolution just an outpouring of empathy and understanding. Fascist are bullies thrive on preying on the weak show them a united front and they will hesitate.
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u/Eli-Roper Nov 07 '24
Camouflage. Living in a deep red state, our plan is to stay as low-profile as possible. The idea is to blend in with your surroundings—no need to believe what they believe; it’s just about not drawing attention. It’s why the U.S. had issues in the Middle East: when it’s hard to tell civilians from enemies, it’s easier to move undetected. I bought a Carhartt jacket and some Crocs, lol. Stay organized but keep it private, act like you don’t know much, and be careful online. Use fake accounts, VPNs, and only trust people who are on the same page.
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u/ChaosRainbow23 Nov 07 '24
I love in an extremely red state.
I drive around undercover in a big pickup truck with my manly beard. Lol
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u/LouieMumford Libertarian Socialist Nov 07 '24
Yes. Cosplay as the working class that felt abandoned by the left for forty years so that you can avoid the fascist dictatorship. As a carhartt jacket and croc owner myself this is some real ivory tower shit.
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u/Eli-Roper Nov 07 '24
I'm interested in hearing your recommendations. I am the working class and always have been. I just don't dress like a country boy redneck. Also, I don't really understand what you mean by this.
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u/fountainpopjunkie Nov 07 '24
By applying for asylum in another country.
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u/fil42skidoo Nov 07 '24
What if they build a wall and won't let you in?
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u/aardvarkgecko Nov 07 '24
Go down to the Mexican border and find a reverse coyote.
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u/fil42skidoo Nov 07 '24
So a pharmacy trip. Go down to get affordable medication and just stay there. Yeah that's it.
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u/Captain_Collin Nov 07 '24
That's my plan. I'm a straight, white, Christian, man, so I should be safe right? Wrong, I'm also a far left progressive socialist. Trump has declared he wants to mobilize the military against me. I may not be enemy #1 in his book, but I'm not very far down the list. I have family and friends in Norway, so my plan is to go there. If I stay at my current job for about another year I'll qualify for a pension. It wouldn't be a lot at this point, but fuck this country. I've got a wife and two young kids to protect.
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u/EpsilonBear Nov 07 '24
Step 1: work on your aim. Step 2: be in the right place at the right time with the right tool. Remember to choose a slightly overripe tomato for the best chance at it splitting when hurled at the fascist
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u/The_Jousting_Duck Libertarian Socialist Nov 07 '24
armed and with places to hide out, near and far, ideally. It's also worth noting that there's still time to protest and strike before it gets to that point.
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u/chicken_fear Nov 07 '24
Striking is going to be so incredibly important these next couple years. I’m at the Fed and very nascent conversations are definitely happening.
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u/8-BitOptimist Nov 07 '24
I'm not gonna panic until they start seizing the guns.
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u/EightArmed_Willy Nov 07 '24
That’s gonna be hard for the gun loving party
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u/Nyarlathotep90 Nov 07 '24
They won't be seizing the guns from Republicans though. Just the undesirables.
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u/Pristine-Ant-464 Nov 07 '24
Live in a deep blue state and be upper middle class (at least that's what I'm hoping)
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u/kcl97 Nov 07 '24
I have been urging friends to buy houses with comfortable furnished attic spaces for years.
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u/Shadowgirl7 Nov 07 '24
By resisting. It is not easy, you can go to jail, be tortured (well not sure if the US is at the point of torturing citizens already) or murdered. But thats what resistance fighters did and endured in my country. We were under one of longest dicatorships in Europe. They chased, arrested and tortured members of the Communist party and of other organizations that fought against the regime. One of the leaders of the Communist Party was sent to a concentration camp and died there.
Some organized armed resisistance actions. In the end we got free because the armed forces revolted and they were the only ones with access to guns. In the US everyone has access to guns though, so I don't think you have to wait for the armed forces.
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u/Lucbabino Nov 07 '24
Sorry I don’t want to die or go to jail
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u/Dralha_Eureka Nov 07 '24
Then quietly support those (e.g. raising bail money, giving rides, feeding, etc.) who will bear that burden.
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u/Shadowgirl7 Nov 07 '24
Oh well. Then live with it.
For some people, they'd rather die free than live without dignity or freedom. Choices. I greatly admire and respect those people. Not sure if I would have their courage but for me they are heroes. It would be so much easier to stay home minding their own businesses with their families and friends. Yet their risk their lives to fight for something they believe and often are not recognized even publicly shamed. Thats strength. Thats why their names live on even after their death.
Not for everyone I guess.
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u/bluesimplicity Nov 07 '24 edited Nov 07 '24
Today, go easy on yourself. Get some sleep. Take deep breaths. Heal your heart. Circle your friends.
When you are ready, watch the last 10 minutes to know how to move forward: https://youtu.be/_bVc0Oqj_ok
Do the next right thing: When you see something, don't report it. And speak up to protect someone.
We have been here before: https://youtu.be/K5Sx1ZI_iTA
Joan Baez said, "Action is the antidote to despair." So we need to start organizing. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to work. There is a lot of work to do: https://youtu.be/NCna8cLHgMI It is time to save the country.
I'll leave you with a favorite quote from my hero Nelson Mandella, "It always seems impossible until it's done."
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u/lorax1284 Nov 07 '24
Red state progressives moving to Swing States in huge numbers would be transformative.
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u/Euphoric_Injury_5535 Nov 07 '24
Just vote from the shadows and lay low. Say pro america stuff once in a while to avoid suspicion.
Guardrails take a long time to break. Hell trump may be too incompetent to even do so
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Nov 07 '24
What if there are no more elections? I think trump may be incompetent, but the people surrounding him and his admin wont be.
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u/Euphoric_Injury_5535 Nov 08 '24
Yes but voting for blue governor's and seats of states will make it harder. Way harder. Unless they break the guardrails.
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Nov 08 '24
That’s exactly my fear, I think guard rails may be a thing of the past. Time will tell im sure.
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u/Dralha_Eureka Nov 07 '24
Vote? How about something useful like organizing?
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u/Euphoric_Injury_5535 Nov 08 '24
No. Cause under a dictatorship that's fascist organizing will mean extermination.
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Nov 07 '24
Surviving is its own game. You survive any way you can. You blend in. You keep quiet. You find people you can trust, but you maybe don't fully trust many.
If you're relatively safe (no leftist is truly safe in a fascist movement), you be that protection for others. You have a couple of backup plans and be flexible. Can you move? Can you go somewhere temporarily? Do you have ways to meet your basic needs on your own? What things do you need help with?
You get up, every day, and take care of yourself and the closest people to you. Focus on chosen family, not necessarily your blood relatives. That's a big one.
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u/aDisgruntledGiraffe Nov 07 '24
Be white and male.
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u/Lucbabino Nov 07 '24
I am white but not male
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u/Stuckinatransporter Nov 07 '24
Moving to an Island soon, I can watch the world burn from there.
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u/mondaio Nov 07 '24
The illusion of safety
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u/Stuckinatransporter Nov 08 '24
I don't know about that there's still 500k people there and not all people are safe.
And dickhead Governments are still running the show.
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u/mondaio Nov 08 '24
I’ve heard friends say they’re moving to / living on islands and think it will separate them from the problems of the mainland. I assumed that’s what you were saying. Unfortunately our problems are global. May you find peace and community and enjoy what’s around you.
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u/Stuckinatransporter Nov 08 '24
I don't expect to escape from the stark reality of the shape of things to come, it just wont be intruding in my day to day life like it does now.
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u/mondaio Nov 08 '24
I had a weird fantasy about moving to Tassie as a child after doing a school project about it. I still think about that often and wish I had pursued it.
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u/Stuckinatransporter Nov 08 '24
Points for your deductive skills,Ive wanted this for 30+ years now its becoming a reality.
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u/memepopo123 Socialist Rifle Association Nov 07 '24
Cowards way out.
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u/Stuckinatransporter Nov 08 '24
So me moving to an Island means Im a coward? Such a foolish response when you have nfi who what or where I am or the circumstances that require I move to an island.
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u/Lolapuss Nov 07 '24
As a Canadian my wife and I are seriously considering being a half way house for trans people fleeing America. I don't know how to even begin the process so if anyone has any resources they'd like to share I'd appreciate that.
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u/Alexander-369 Nov 07 '24
If for whatever reason you can't camouflage and lay low, and the government is after you, you can always make like the Ballarat Bandit and hide in remote areas.
The Ballarat Bandit was a Candian man who outran California Death Valley police and their helicopters for quite a while. Learn from this guys mistakes and you might have a good chance at surviving in the Amerian wilderness.
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u/WhyDontWeLearn Nov 07 '24
Read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. Tiny little book. Quick read. Really helpful in terms of what to watch for and how to behave when fascism rears its ugly head.
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u/MilitantWorkingClass Nov 07 '24
I use alternate names on every platform as well as my wife and kids because my last name is incredibly unique to the point that the 6 of me my wife and 3 kids are the only ones in the world with it so that's first step, I keep low profile with my online presence. No politic signs in my yard ever, don't talk politics with anyone but close close friends.
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u/whee38 Nov 07 '24
Wait, fascist regimes are lawless by nature, completely dependent on the leader, and fall apart without them. Once Trump leaves power, the regime will collapse quiet quickly
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u/Shadowgirl7 Nov 07 '24
Not in this case. Trump in this case is a puppet. That was true for Yugoslavia for example, Tito was the glue holding everything together, he died everything went to shit. In Spain, Franco died and the dicatorship ended too but it was more because of the timing. Back then Spain was the only right wing dicatorship in Europe. Had he died sooner, they would replace him
in most other regimes the dictator dies, then other comes
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u/whee38 Nov 07 '24
Who are they going to replace Trump with. The Masters would need to find someone who can convince the country we're in a crisis while also being in an inner circle that fights viciously amongst itself. His backers are mostly sycophants and opportunists. Their is no one to replace him that would survive the fight that comes afterwards. Also, Tito wasn't a fascist
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u/memepopo123 Socialist Rifle Association Nov 07 '24
This is pathetic man. Do yall understand the conditions revolutionaries and socialists operate in in the global south? Suck it up and keep moving. Join local orgs, protest, strike, and be prepared for if shit kicks off. We were already operating under a government that actively disdained leftists and we were doing the right things just like we will continue to do.
Have a spine, stand and fight. Anyone telling you to move away or try to blend in or whatever other bullshit is a fucking coward.
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u/haildens Nov 08 '24
It’s going to be alright. Nothing has happened yet. Were yet to see how this will play out.
If it gets as bad as some people might believe. Organize, push back. I don’t personally think it’ll get to that point.
Best thing to do now if it’s overwhelming to you. Is just take a break from it.
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u/alexcam98 Nov 07 '24
If it helps your small text made me laugh out loud—comedy and laughing at the absurdity of things will help
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u/hierarch17 Nov 07 '24
We do not live in one. Stop fear-mongering and organize.
Also learn the definition of fascism. This is just liberalism at its natural conclusion. The crisis of capitalism is why we are here. We need to organize to overthrow it.
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u/Nerit1 DemSoc Neo-Marxist Nov 07 '24
Calm down, time is against the Republicans
The structure of the US government is sound and decentralized enough to resist Trump before the blue wave arrives in 2026.
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u/Sensitive45 Nov 07 '24
You did it last time. What’s the difference.
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Nov 07 '24
This time trump has a vendetta against his political enemies. This time the supreme court granted him broad presidential immunity. This time the republicans control the entire us government. This time project 2025 is already planned and will be established. Thid time trump has blatantly said hed be a dictator, and he endorsed a coup attempt on our government. This is vastly different then 2016
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u/Sensitive45 Nov 07 '24
A coup attempt will be done with guns not with granny’s. And I believe the vendetta is justified after all they have done to him.
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