Interestingly, when I try and upload it as a png, lemmy doesn’t like it.

its a png with a transparent background of a finger pointing at a pregnancy test.

Not sure why its being blocked.

inb4

does the hose reach?

I’m struggling bro. But unlike most of lemmy, I make up some of the 5% of people in the US who actually have served in the US military. I know a path that leads through, in some small way, difficult.

And yes, just being physically capable makes a huge difference. It makes a difference to your mental well being. Its something you can do, tonight, tomorrow, this morning. Being physically capable of just… things. Of standing for long periods of time. Of lifting heavy things. Of running from, or into danger: being physically fit can make all of the difference.

Functionally, I’m trying to empower people with things that are accessible, that they can do right now. There are those privileged enough to have safe havens where they think they can run for cover. For most Americans, thats not an option. There is more, far more that I do advocate for. But I’m not going to do that here. Not out loud, and not right now, and probably only in person. I need you to interpret what I’m saying now as code.

But in lieu of that? Bruh you can run. You, or any one else reading this, you can run. Or walk, or crawl, or wheel yourself. You can become stronger than you are. You can read things, now. Important things. Things we might now have access to in a week. You can learn basic electronics. You can learn basic chemistry. YOU, reading these words now, are a capable and worthy individual.

And what these fucking spineless fuckers convince you of, is that you can’t. That you are too weak. That you aren’t enough… And that is what I’m here to oppose.

Look the last time this shit went down, being in a small down didn’t mean you escape it.

As important as protest can be (especially in getting people involved), its ultimately performative. There are however things you can do. Do something, anything.

Bruh. We were given one. It had none-stop coverage for weeks and completely dominated the news cycle.

At the end of the day, all are flesh and bone.

I was there with my fellow veterans watching the capitol get stormed (on live stream). At the time the only thing we thought that could stop it, should it go any further, was the joint chiefs.

You and I aren’t doing anything without joining a state sponsored militia. That’s just how the game of history is played. I opt out. I’d rather live in the woods than fight in a civil war.

You make the decisions you feel like you need to live with.

I did not unfortunately, however, my partner did.

I stayed at home and am in the process of panic-downloading all of the relevant data for 4 grant/ research projects I’m associated with, maybe 60 million dollars in funding total.

In an alternative timeline, I could just expect these data to “be there” and would be able to access them at our leisure. In light of whatever fuckery this shit tsunami represents, well… we might lose access at any point.

I thought we’d have two months or maybe more to get this far.

I’m banking on hours/ days, not weeks/ months.

We need a guide for helping people de-google, de-big-tech, encrypt, VPN, and to secure themselves.

Sounds like you are on it. I am too. We’re in this together.

we have about two weeks until an armed resistance

Bruh you need to be on it today.

I keep trying to explain this to people I’m in direct contact with. I’ve been trying to explain this to them since March of last year when it was clear that Biden wasn’t capable of winning. We got a glimmer of hope in August before the convention when Harris was the assumed nominee and she hadn’t actually campaigned yet.

IF you’ve ever got your ass beat. Or if you’ve ever, like, really fucked up doing something physical in the wilderness or in an extreme situation…

Keep… your… feet… moving.

The power of the darkness is overwhelming. Its debilitating. It freezes you in your tracks.

You have got to keep your feet moving. We can’t do this alone. No one knows where we are headed. But don’t let anyone diminish or blunt your pain. We need that pain raw.

Pain tells us something is wrong. It reminds us that we are still alive, that we are still fighting. Pain is the clearest proof that we haven’t given up, that we haven’t accepted the inevitable.

But you have to keep your feet moving. You can’t stand still. If you’ve broken your arm falling down the slope and woke up in a debris field. Its not the fall that killed you. You woke up didnt you? Its the hypothermia that sets in from wallowing or panicking.

And if your feet aren’t moving yet, consider this a kick in the ass, and get going. Buy a drone. Get a P100. If you are out of shape, start the process of getting to the point of being able to run at least one mile (2000m), without stopping. I’m sorry team, we’re not going to be able to garden or shit post our way out of this. Its time to get moving.

Hmm… you know lady, I’m kind of a big deal in the comments.

I thought she was just lonely and extremely awkward.

bold_strategy_cotton.agedlikemilk

What honestly gets more more than all else was the UTTERLY DERANGED level of apoligism we saw, at the time, for what were clearly, objectively bad strategies, on social media, but especially here on Lemmy.

All of it. The right wing shifts. Hiding waltz. Liz fucking Cheney. The draconian border bill. Pretending she was doing well when objectively polling was saying she wasn’t. Pure Hopi m being mainlined and when you pointed it out, you were called abot or worse, a Trump supporter.

What’s most important to me isn’t necessarily that we figure out what what wrong, but that the collective morons pull their heads out of their asses when it comes to living in a fact based world. There were a handful of posters and commenters here who got it right. Who got it right early and consistently throughout. And Lemmy worked itself into a fever pitch casting them as pariahs. And it came from moderation or at least was fueled by it.

The act of living in delusions is what truly cost the Democrats this election cycle, and if you can’t handle people being critical of your party, especially from within, get the fuck out of this game. It’s not for you.

Rules for thee but not for me rule.

Purely performative. Got it.

100%

Well this is a fucking disaster waiting to happen.

My understanding of bird flu is the shit really hits the fan if some one catches the seasonal flu in combination with bird flu.

Although there would be poetry in delivering Trump yet another pandemic to preside over.