They watched that one The Big Bang Theory episode.
This has happened in México too, the most famously recorded one was during Enrique Peña Nieto’s term (sorry for linking to YT). They said the flag thing was an accident, but it was during the Flag Day and everyone was angry with the way the government was handling things. The government-influenced media was angry with the military because “they made a mistake”, but we all knew why it happened.
Performative resistance from inside the machine. Cute gesture, but distress signals only work when someone’s actually coming to help. Meanwhile, career diplomats keep writing memos and processing visas while posting their quiet protests on social.
Remember when we thought these symbols meant something would change? Now it’s just content for the outrage cycle. Tomorrow there’ll be a strongly worded letter, maybe some resigned LinkedIn posts from mid-level FSOs.
The machinery keeps grinding, upside down flag or not. Though I suppose watching institutional despair go viral is peak 2025.
I disagree. Yes, this isn’t the same thing as direct sabotage or anything like that, but I think symbolic gestures like this can be extremely important for morale.
I know that it makes me feel slightly better to see that I’m not alone in my frustrations.
Oh sweetie, let me break this down in terms you might understand. When you were a kid, did getting a gold star on your homework actually make you smarter? No? Same thing here.
You’re literally getting dopamine hits from watching other bureaucrats play pretend rebellion. It’s adorable that you think these “extremely important” gestures matter - like a toddler thinking their crayon drawings will end world hunger.
Your “not alone in my frustrations” warm fuzzies are exactly what keeps you docile and manageable. But I get it - thinking is hard, and feeling is easy. Keep collecting your emotional participation trophies while the rest of us deal with reality.
Want to make actual change? Learn how systems work instead of clapping for performative theatre. But that would require effort, wouldn’t it?
Bro what? You ok?
Look buddy, let me make this kindergarten simple:
- Clicking “like” on protest posts = playing pretend revolution
- Actually changing things = learning how stuff works and building better systems
Catch my drift or need me to use smaller words?
Actually, it’s made this one of the trending posts. Which means more people see it. Which… Can lead to important conversations.
Also, the rise of the Nazi party happened because people allowed it to happen.
Most folks tend to follow the herd. (Or the flock, if you prefer.)
When people see that other people aren’t going to tolerate it…
… That can help to spark/motivate others to actually organize … To lead to a movement.
See also:
- Bill Moyers MAP Movement action plan
- Thom Hartmann on the real history of the Boston Tea Party (they organized in top-secret, and it was about corporate cross-Atlantic (global-trade supply-chains/globalization) high finance, tax exemptions for the wealthy and subsidies. And kind of like Walmart, which was driving local/Indy Tea businesses on the North American continent out from under by giving unfair advantages to the British crown’s East India Tea Company (W Military)
- books via https://bookshop.org/ which supports the Internet archive & local Indy bookstores) ::
- “The impossible will take a little while”
- The dandelion rebellion/revolution
- The power of habit
- human kind (by “a more radical/progressive Malcolm Gladwell”)
Look buddy, let me make this actually simple for you:
Your reading list is peak “I just discovered politics” energy. Throwing around Nazi references while recommending Malcolm Gladwell knockoffs? Really? That’s like citing Wikipedia while claiming to be a history professor.
Actually changing things = understanding that real systemic change doesn’t come from your curated bookshop.org shopping cart. Your “movement action plan” reads like a LinkedIn influencer’s guide to revolution.
And that Boston Tea Party comparison? Please. You’re basically saying “let me explain this complex historical event by oversimplifying it into a Walmart analogy.” The irony of using corporate metaphors to explain anti-corporate action is just chef’s kiss.
The “dandelion rebellion”? Sounds like something a marketing team came up with after their third espresso. Next you’ll tell me we should organize via TikTok dance challenges.
Catch my drift or need me to recommend some actual hands-on experience instead of your self-help revolution reading club?
You really don’t have to be such an asshole. Shit talking potential allies until they give up is not helping.
Kudos to the person who is sending the correct message. Everyone who believes in protecting the US Constitution should fly the US flag upside down.
I think we need to do more than that. The flag is a distress signal. We have to help the people who are distressed
It’s funny to think that any of these comments are relevant. Are you new to the internet maybe?. The best I can do is hope to influence. The best an American can do is contact people already working to correct this and ask them what needs doing. This leads me to wonder how all the Americans are posting in this thread, being that they are all so exhausted. Why not go to sleep? Then wake up later and get in touch and involved.
It’s almost like Americans are here trying to convince themselves there is nothing they can do.
How brave of you. What a testament to your freedoms. What a fine demonstration of what it truly means to be American: A blame shifting, feckless inheritor of a once great country. All hype. No substance, apart from the folds of blubber around their mid sections. What a legacy. All your talk of freedom backed by nothing. FREEDOM!
This is the only post that matters.
Why not go to sleep? Then wake up later and get in touch and involved.
Because that would require more effort than posting a comment online.
Because freedom is propaganda unless you fit certain demographics. Otherwise, everyday you’re just surviving.
White dudes can walk around heavily armed, try that as a black dude and see how free you are. We can’t even go for a run in a lot of places without the cops or neighborhood watch showing up.
So shut the fuck up and stop blaming people caught in this bullshit and do something to help.
No thanks. I’m done sugar-coating it for Americans. They are all too good at doing that for themselves.
You sound like either a Russian propaganda account or a clueless asshole.
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Clueless? Arevyou denying that the American president is threatening Canada? And let’s be honest, it’s more likely he is a Russian agent than I am.
No denying that.
What are YOU doing that’s useful? Besides blustering on the internet that is.
Calling for action. Could also be directed to Europeans btw, with obesity and fascism also growing hand in hand there.
When European leaders start threatening my country I will do that. Until then this sounds like fictional whataboutism.
I meant that Europe is moving in the same direction as the US is, with fascism on the rise again. European leaders are now merely reacting to what the US leaders are doing in terms of tariffs, which will increase costs and inflation for both the internal markets.
When you see your country as more important than (people in) other countries in the rest of the world, that’s just short-sighted and unjustified.
OP isnt an American…
But I’m open to suggestions. Are their “missions” to save Amer8cans from themselves? Maybe some sad commercials showing masses of dumbfuck Americans all pointing blamesticks at each other like a spiderman meme, asking for donations?
Is that the State Department flag or is it a flag near the State Department?
This is apt for the situation
There’s only one way this gets stopped. And the people that would need to do it think they’ll have a ‘prime minister’ title when the dust settles and not that they’ll be chucked out a window. It’s some weapons grade stupid and apathy letting this happen and they’re just hoping that god king chooses to keep them around it’s all so pathetic
should
Ok now… This verb does not exist in state politics. Sooner you realize it, the better.
I should myself
In most cases ‘shall’ and ‘should’ is synonymous with ‘must’ for legal purposes.
[cries in RFC 2119]
I used to regulate a local sanitary code that explicitly defined “‘should’ means ‘shall’; ‘shall’ means ‘must’” because lawyers do litigate over these terms.
Saved a lot of time and resources (and public health) where a juxtaposed word in an administrative order didn’t blow up a civil case.
So… General Strike to stop the coup?
The State is in distress. Who will answer the call? Who will come it’s aid? We have all been summoned.
Batman?
Gondor
(Super Mario Brothers music from stage 1-1 starts playing)
- Is this real
- What does it mean?
- Where are we in terms of worrying? Should I begin to start to think about worrying or something more urgent?
-
I think so.
-
That’s unclear but my take is that this is an expression of the distress felt by the employees, and perhaps the only possible outlet for their feelings. I suspect that it’s more likely the action of one or two people rather that some kind of collectively approved signal.
-
I just don’t know. I’m not even American but I feel very discombobulated.
-
The new “phone, wallet, keys”
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#3 depends where you are on the hit list I suppose. I’m trans, so I’m well past worry-o-clock and am actively making arrangements to leave the country. Someone like a cishet white male tech worker has a lot less to worry about though
You found a way to scream withouy caps–impressive I wish you the best comrade!
That looks like a PieFed bug - the leading # should normally not be parsed into a headline in Markdown unless it is followed by a space. I’ll give @rimu@piefed.social a heads up!
That said, there’s every reason to scream at this point. I wish all Americans seeking to flee the country the best of luck.
It’s a bug, yep! Will look into it.
It appears to be real. The federal government is currently in the midst of the most comprehensive purge in the history of the nation, and many career civil servants are being asked to retire early with a severance “or else”. The worrying part should have come when Project 2025 laid out the groundwork for what is happening right at this very moment, back when it was first revealed. Trump intends to replace all of these government workers with yes-men and cronies who will be loyal to him and him alone, and not the constitution or the American people they are meant to serve. The damage being done right now will probably never be reversed in our lifetimes and will pave the way for absolute executive control - in other words, a dictatorship. This is not alarmist, this was the plan all along and nobody listened.
If you don’t have a plan to GTFO in case things get even worse, I would start making one right now. You have to set an uncrossable line yourself and be prepared to act on it, because other people are going to continue to go along with this until the very end, so you can’t count on other people to be giving you signals on when to bail out.
- I see little reason to doubt it
- It means whoever hoisted it considers there to be a crisis, which is consistent with accounts of public offices being overtaken by random young white men who are rapidly taking control.
- Speaking as a non-American political scientist having worked a little with rule of law and fascism, it seems a bit late to start worrying. Think about what you can do for yourself, your neighbours, and your country, urgently or in the longer term. It’s going to be ugly for a while.
You should have been worrying for years now.
It looks like this is the end.
Does anyone else hear violins?
The house has been burning and smoking for hours and people are still thinking that the fire just started
No way. Harris getting elected would have been the end of this just like in 2020. That’s why we must attack anyone critical of her, apathetic voters, and pretty much everyone else except for the DNC.
The culture war would have taken a different direction, but the class war would continue unabated. The owners of the Republicans and the Democrats are all on the same side in the class war.
Please fuck off, thanks.
I’d prefer it if the radical liberals would fuck off so that they stop handing every election to the Republicans by running on diet-Republican policies thank you very much.
And what are you (or literally anybody else) going to do in the next two years to organize a viable progressive party with viable progressive candidates?
You sure you got the demographics right? Or do you think maybe Lemmy isn’t an accurate reflection of the nation as a whole, with respect to political ideology?
Radical liberals
Lol k
It seems like you people believe that voting for Harris (and pointing out objective reality that it was the only real choice) precludes a person from being a leftist or progressive. You alienate the people who actually probably agree with you on a lot of things because they don’t pass your purity test.
Leftism in a nutshell.
You mean “viable candidates” like Clinton, Biden, and Harris who can’t win elections and put Israel, corporations, genocide, and xenophobia before the American people? These candidates who would gladly let Republicans take over the entire government if it means they don’t have to turn their backs on fascist leaders and their wealthy masters?
The Democratic leadership are more interested in enabling the right than opposing them, which is why we all witnessed your “only choice” spend her campaign attacking immigrants and the working class and promoting human slaughter while touring around with the fucking Cheneys. This is why they crushed the only candidate who actually inspired voters in 2016 over the candidate who would get Donald Trump elected the first time. This is why they’re standing around now making empty statements of “concern” while the government is being dismantled literally feet away from them.
What the fuck are you doing to prepare for 2026 other than demanding that everything remain exactly how it is now and attacking anyone who says otherwise?
We truly are fucked if you reflect the nation as a whole because all you are is the controlled opposition arm of the Republican party. You only exist to give the voting process an air of legitimacy when the outcome has already been decided beforehand.
people need to start seriously protesting
Yeah, that is a great first step. Especially if you try to connect and network with other people during the protests to form longer lasting groups or find and participate in already existing ones.
This shit won’t be fixed with protests alone, but if they help people get a taste for what it feels like to organize and take some power back, then it is already worth it. Hell, even being around people that feel the same way is already a net plus for a lot of people who are ideologically isolated.
Yeah like every day… none of this “we will spend one hour during our lunch break on one Wednesday!” bullshit.
Their house reps, not just the president.
Yeah but we need to stop occupying sidewalks and start occupying gated communities. The fact that protest organizers won’t do this says everything you need to know about them - they prefer passive action that does nothing but maintain the status quo. I’ve been to over 100 protests everything from workers strikes to BLM to Occupy Wall St, and i’ve learned that occupying a sidewalk that the oligarchs don’t walk on does nothing but make the cause look pathetic. We need to protest where the oligarchs will be afraid, anything less is just playing into their hands.
That seems like a very bad sign. Someone wanted a message to get out to the public, but I’m not entirely sure what can be effectively done about it. Credit to the person with the balls to send out the warning, though.
I’m not entirely sure what can be effectively done about it.
History offers no control groups; there is no “right” way to proceed. What’s certain is that “nothing” is not the answer.
Maybe we shouldnt vote. Thatll show em
People should get creative. Imagine if they backed up every sewer in DC
History offers one very good “right” way, imo.
I’m not even joking but if this doesn’t happen there’s no hope for the future. we’re past the point of simply prosecuting and hoping they get some time in prison. examples need to be made so others know that just because the supreme court said it’s legal to do whatever the fuck you want doesn’t mean you’re getting away with it from the public.
I used to say “You know Monopoly is an old game, because it has rich people in prison”. The moment we stopped to hold them accountable, everything went really bad. And if the legal systems don’t hold them accountable, it’ll be the duty of the common people.
Maybe we should double down on capitalism again.
It’s the only move the US has used in living memory.
Like when Elon gets rid of “all regulations” make private bounty hunters/hitman legal again?
Anything is legal if it’s not prosecuted.
And with a dismantled government, how much can they really prosecute?
I assure you the last thing to be dismantled will be methods of enforcement on the populace.
They won’t - that’s why your military will soon be a judicial militia.
Prosecution is one possibility. Getting gunned down is another. Getting sent to Gitmo is another. Having your family retaliated against is another.
All legal, if they aren’t prosecuted either.
They won’t have to prosecute you if they just arrest you for being ‘violent’ or ‘terrorists’ and ship you off to El Salvador.
Yup. And if they’re not prosecuted for it. Then their actions are “legal” as well.
When one side ignores the rules, power is the only thing that matters.
There’s nothing that can be done. Republicans have every bit of power there is. At least for the next two years.
You could rise up. Isn’t that what all the guns are for?
No, they say they want their 2nd amendment to protect their country from tyrants. But what they really meant was: to help the tyrant.
This is the message of the enemy. I am not sure what there is to be done, but to say this:
There’s nothing that can be done.
is to give up. The only thing that we ordinary people can know is that the democratic party is unable/unwilling to form an effective resistance right now.
So we must form our own.
There is always one type of power the people have.
I know how anyone could organize something so large, But a mass strike/walkout would have more impact than anything else right now.
None of the common people go in to work until shit stain “abdicates”
Ya seem to not gwt what he is saying, let me make it damn simply. The Tree of Liberty is watered by the blood of tyrants and patriots alike, and Freedom is earned through the barrel of a gun.
This is a strong reason why I would think it would be a tactical error to mess with the elections. Elections are the pressure valve that people are willing to wait for. You can do so much harm and all is forgiven if you step down after an election loss.
Take away that mechanism, and you put all your leadership at huge risk, for minor benefit (history has shown they can get their way like 90% of the time anyway, the “left” will barely even say anything about their material goals and let them stand).
shitposting 🫵😎
Pissposting too 😅
let me help you understand.
I love that you linked this through fucking amazon.
;) very intentional on my part.
“50+ bought in the last month” hmmmmm
This is gonna be in my view history on our shared account, and my wife is gonna ask if I’m okay lmao
You can actually edit your browsing history in the Amazon app if you’d like to remove that.
Well, are you okay?
Actually, while we are asking, are any of us?
Would be weird if we are, with the state of everything recently being what it is.
You reminded me me of when I was going through my dystopian fiction phase of reading the first time…I had a big stack of said novels to buy at Barnes and Noble.
They asked if I wanted to sign up for their loyalty card and I was so taken aback. Like…no…I do not want to be in your list.
