oatscoop
The states have limited power to defy the feds.
Case in point: legalized marijuana. That said, my fear in regards to states defying laws is:
- Targeted attacks by MAGA terrorists, particularly regarding anything LGBTQ+ or reproductive healthcare related.
- The fed withholding federal funds to punish states that don’t fall in line.
The former is particularly concerning as police and the national guard are predominately right-wing. My state passed the SAFE-T Act to address abuses in the police/justice system. Naturally, various police departments weren’t happy about this, and through obtuse interpretation of the act they’ll claim they can’t legally do vital parts of their job – something I’ve seen multiple times first hand. Refusing to do their job competently in response to MAGA terrorism isn’t hard to imagine.
The later gets tricky. Most of the states that would push back against unjust federal laws are also states that pay more in federal taxes than they receive in aid. The “obvious” solution withhold tax dollars going to the fed to make up the difference … which would be next to impossible in practice. Even if states mange to do it they’d be playing into Republican hands by defunding essential federal services.
There’s “knowing” on a theoretical level, and knowing having experienced it. As the generational knowledge of people that have experienced fascism dies off the younger generations have to learn the hard way. Seems to happen every 100 or so years.
The idea of “European exceptionalism” is no different than the idea of “American exceptionalism”. People are fundamentally the same regardless of where they live – we all have the same base instincts, the same hard-coded tribalistic tendencies, and the same fears. Every population on the planet is susceptible to fascism because it preys on the aforementioned.
internalized pressure and overthinking
Yes, exactly that. What I’m saying it’s it’s a lot more common than it has any right to be – at least in the USA. I’m legitimately happy if you’re insulated from it and/or have the self confidence to see it for what it is and brush it off. I’m of the same mind on that in that I have the confidence to laugh at it and ignore it.
I’m talking about the men that don’t, and how unfortunately it’s a huge problem. My experience has been the opposite: I’m in a “skilled” male dominated blue-collar job: the amount of dysfunctional, toxic masculinity I see on a daily basis is wild. Even when I was “white collar” it was there, if to a lesser degree.
A lot of guys of all ages are deeply insecure and are falling into the “traditional manhood” grift to the detriment of themselves and those around them. The extreme examples like incels, Andrew Tate, right-wing ideas on “manhood”, “trad” idiots gaining momentum are a symptom of a far more widespread problem.
So there’s nothing you think twice about doing because society (specifically other men) will probably give you shit about it?
Sure, a healthy and confident person learns to ignore it – but it’s dishonest to say it isn’t a pervasive thing. Maybe you’re fortune enough to live in a place where isn’t it’s not as bad as elsewhere, but not everyone does.
Especially bad when you consider the elevator shouldn’t have fallen in the first place.
Elisha Otis invented his automatic elevator brakes in 1853 – designed to instantly stop cars from falling if the cables snap … and the Empire State Building used Otis safety elevators.
Given how dead simple and reliable the safety mechanism is something must have gone horrible wrong.
