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A Coup Is In Progress In America (www.techdirt.com)

submitted 2 days ago by ooli2@lemm.ee to c/usa@midwest.social

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[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (7 children)

I hate that I'm typing this...

People need to start buying weapons right now. It's not that I think we're at the "take up arms" phase. It's that I think we should be ready before they keep us from being able to.

With all the shit they're pulling with federal databases, I expect people are going to start being added to NICS (background check database) for political reasons.

When you get a NICS denial, there's no explanation of why it's was denied, but you can't buy a gun.

And it will alert the FBI that you tried.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Yeah they will absolutely try to deny gun ownership based on political affiliation

[–] TelxonHacker@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 23 hours ago

As a Libertarian who voted Democrat in the last several elections, I agree. tRump is not as pro 2A as he claims, he's fine with "his" people being armed, but I could totally see him trying to block others from gun purchases, especially if he sees them as "enemies" to his cause.

[–] piccolo@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If that happens. Theres going to be a huge influx of gun shows.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

FYI, the "Gun Show Loophole" isn't a real thing. Dealers still have to fill out a 4473 and run a background check at gun shows. There's even a checkbox for it on the 4473.

What there is is a private sales loophole, where individuals can sell a gun on the secondary market.

That doesn't require a gun show.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Stop being pedantic. The only reason there is so many dealers at them is because of all the private sales in the first place.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

They are a common meet-up place for private sellers, but it does nothing for dealers. The secondary market is bad for dealers.

You really don't seem to know what you're talking about.

[–] piccolo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Private sellers are not required to do background checks according to federal law. States are free to require private sellers to do background checks, but half of the states do not require them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loophole

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

That's what I said. Prialvate sellers are not dealers, and private sales don't have to be performed at gun shows.

And there are still legal requirements. For instance, it's illegal to sell or gift a person a pistol if they live in a different state.withput going to a dealer and transferring it through them with a background check. You also cannot sell or give away a firearm that isn't legal in the state in which the transfer is taking place or in the state of legal residence of the person taking ownership of the firearm.

When I was in firearm sales, we had spreadsheets for every gun in our inventory listing the states of residence in which it could be legally sold.

Additionally, you have to follow the transfer regulations of both states. So if someone from New Jersey wanted to buy a hunting rifle from the store where I worked, we had to run a New Jersey background check, fill out New Jersey paperwork, and review their New Jersey firearms license. If there was a waiting period in their state, we had to honor it.

If private sales are banned (NICS check requirements are private sales bans because civilians don't have access to NICS) in someone's home state, buying it privately in a different state is a crime.

Fun additional fact: In Texas we also had to report to the feds anytime someone purchased more than one semi-auto centerfire rifle of 22 caliber or greater in a 5-day period, or more than 1 handgun in a 5-day period. That's a regulation only in effect in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

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[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

From Trump’s POV it’s actually a heist. He’s going to take everything that’s not bolted down.

[–] djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone 32 points 2 days ago

The coup happened decades ago. They're now comfortable enough in their power that the mask can come off.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 122 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Part of the issue is that elites have already bought into the coup. You don't eviscerate the US government without making sure the rich are on side first.

That's why so many CEOs publicly made gestures of support for trump just before and after the election.

The only way to stop the fascists who already have control of the courts, the government and the rich would be mass mobilization of a significant % of the population, or a military counter-coup.

[–] M137@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I feel like some of those CEOs must have done so out of fear or even blackmail. I really think some of them dislike Trump as much as many of us, but they were invited to the white house and were told something like "If you don't show support, by words and money, your company won't have a place in America ". I know that some, like Tim Cook, are even part of groups hated by Trump, LGBTQ in this case. I just don't see him and some others doing it out of their own choice.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 1 points 17 hours ago

I'm sure that some of them choose to participate in fascism only reluctantly. Nonetheless they determined that fascism was ultimately in their best interest and threw their support behind it. That's as much "their own choice" as anything is.

[–] Tja@programming.dev 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

People voted for the coup. People were warned, they were told it would happen, it was all documented in writing, they had a fucking website with the "we are going to do a coup" plan. People had a beta version 4 years ago. People still voted for the coup. And if you look at the world outside of lemmy, people don't care about the coup.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Less than 35% of the country voted for republicans in an election where PACs alone spent 5.6 billion dollars to lie and buy votes, and that doesn't include the amount spent on election interference by us and foreign oligarchs.

[–] Tja@programming.dev 5 points 1 day ago

The 30% who didn't vote made a conscious decision, so I don't buy the 35% argument. You could also say that less than 33% of the country expressed their disagreement when asked.

[–] FolknForage@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago

“Democracy…If you can keep it”

[–] sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 23 points 2 days ago

Business Plot, take 2.

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[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 104 points 2 days ago (2 children)

This is an emergency, and it demands emergency response from every American with power or influence. The window for effective resistance narrows with each passing day. History will judge harshly those who had the capacity to resist but chose instead to wait and see how things develop. The time to act is now, before the mechanisms that would allow effective resistance are completely dismantled.

The alarms are being sounded, and not just from this publication. If nobody that has even a shred of power does anything... well fuck.

[–] Chocrates@lemmy.world 47 points 2 days ago (17 children)

What can I do? Shit posting hasn't helped.

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 26 points 2 days ago

What can I do?

Depends on how much you you value you freedom/life, cuz the things that need to be done could put both in jeopardy. Leave your cell phone at home.

[–] felixwhynot@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Post harder?

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[–] glitchdx@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

If nobody that has a shred of power does anything

why would they start now?

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Its going to take more than a protest march or office meeting with representatives to undo it. May as well face that fact and prepare

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Well who gave them the foot in the door? Some decisions are not so easy to walk off huh

[–] RagnarokOnline@programming.dev 71 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

Top comment from Mike Brock’s blog (where this diatribe came from):

Right now it feels we have a growing chorus of people raising alarm, but very few people proposing any specific actions that are commensurate with the scale of the crisis? I appreciate your work and I don’t mean this flippantly, but do you have any proposals more specific than “resist” or “do something”?

This comment is my thought exactly. Brock isn’t wrong, but he’s just blowing real hard and hoping the house falls down.

All this blog did was piss me of, but it didn’t point me in a direction.

(But thanks for posting, OP.)

[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Its because its against TOS everywhere to say what must be done, and people are too afraid/divided/poor to do it.

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

You're not allowed to speak the obvious answer.

[–] MothmanDelorian@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

The founding fathers would have you join a mass of people outside the homes of the legislators demanding they take action or suffer consequences.

[–] andyburke@fedia.io 22 points 2 days ago (7 children)

Because there is still time for people in power to stop being cowed. That is what this is calling for: do something before it is too late to avoid it becoming an illegitimate government, with all that brings.

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[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Supposedly we have mechanisms to counter what's going on. The people in DC need to be pulling those lenders yesterday. Every person in politics should be fighting back.

If you're looking for advice on what citizens should do, that's not who the people sounding the are talking to.

[–] PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat 18 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

Yeah. The instant this bullshit started happening, last week or ideally earlier, go to a federal judge. Ask for an injunction to allow you to physically put a stop to it, using some specifically named authorized law enforcement or military assets. Have something prepared for why it justifies that level of response, lord knows it wouldn't be hard to come up with.

It might not work. They might not grant the order. All kinds of things could happen if they did. But fucking try. That's the level that is required at this point. You can show up, with a physical piece of paper signed by an authorized judge and with deadly force at the ready, and if one of these tech-bro goons in a suit and a slick haircut bars the door with his 2 security people and tries to say "No that's not how the constitution works anymore, Trump said so," you'll have however-many trained military personnel whose ear will perk back up to some things they heard in their training.

I don't know, man. All kinds of things could go wrong. But if it doesn't work, at least you can say you fucking tried before moving on to something more drastic, or else getting out of the country while the getting is good. Going on TV, or threatening to use your debating even debating-er, is clearly a waste of everyone's time right now.

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