Maybe it's time to revisit this metaphor.

[Atticus]

Imagine that you are a player in a football game. Your team, the Progressives, is a pretty good squad of hard-hitters who do their best to play the game according to the accepted rules. The opposing team, the Trumpsters, is basically a gang of arrogant misfits whose only rule is "whatever it takes to win".

As you take the field, you are astounded to hear your opponents and their fans screaming obscenities, racist pejoratives and threats at you. As the game progresses, the Trumpsters often have 3 or 4 "extra" players on the field, use illegal blocks and late hits, are "off-side" on every play and yet, somehow, are never flagged for a penalty.

When your captain protests the obviously biased officiating, he is flagged for "delay of game" and a yardage penalty imposed. When your coach protests that penalty, he is ejected from the game. The gleeful Trumpsters, having been assured that they can openly disregard the rules, start lining up without even trying to conceal their brass knuckles and billy clubs.

Isn't this where we're at with this criminal regime?

I am not suggesting that we "fight fire with fire" and adopt their tactics. I am suggesting that it is time to "stop the game" and call the cops. So long as we continue to pretend that this is "normal" and we just have to "try a little harder", we will continue to bleed while they smirk.

[anarch]

1. stop the game and call the cops...but what cops?

Nobody is going to save us. It's not like some space aliens are going to come down here and tell the thugs and kleptocrats of the world to play nice.

At the end of the day, nobody has any "rights" and we're all on our own--unless and until we restore constitutional democracy and stability to our government, which means ousting all of these criminal fuckheads and taking back the Senate and the WH, and at this point I doubt the nation will make it to 2020, and even if so I'm expecting some kind of shady shit out of the Russ-publicans, and I don't see anybody doing jack shit to secure our electoral infrastructure.

I don't know. I keep thinking of that line from Billy Jack: "When policemen break the law, then there isn't any law...just a fight for survival."

There is nobody to save us...except us.

[Atticus]

2. I can't be any more specific than "Maybe WE need to be the cops". If we "stop the game" by calling

for a national strike---even if only for a day---and stop buying anything not vital to our health and safety, stop flying, stop eating out and stop attending or watching sporting events (yes, even the Super Bowl!), maybe the billionaires will call the cops for us.

[anarch]

3. sadly, except for the "not working" part, that sort of describes my ongoing existence

And if I don't work, my family doesn't eat. So it's hard.

Don't get me wrong, I would fully support a "general strike," but I don't think it would have the same impact nowadays as it used to--if absolutely everyone (or you know, enough of us) truly managed to make absolutely no financial transactions--or maybe if all of us stop paying our rent/mortgage, and all our bills, en masse, and just say "fuck it, if it works for the people at the top, why not the rest of us?" for an extended period of time, it might get their attention...but probably they'd just declare martial law and have the fuckin army come and collect what we "owe" the landlords or whatever.

I don't know, even just a day of "no commerce" if it was backed up with a message of "fix this situation or else this continues!" might help...but it would have to be a hell of a lot of us at once, combined with marches, etc.

Anyway, I'm on a pretty longstanding "strike" if you want to call it that as far as not buying things that aren't essential to existence...now right now, that includes things like internet, car, gas, etc....so not really necessities...but necessities for modern life. So far the billionaires haven't taken notice....

[Atticus]

4. I know that this will do nothing to ease your situation, but I do understand your situation somewhat

I am one generation past a dirt floor shack with a pot-bellied stove for heat and a well with a hand pump for water. It is why I am a Democrat and I hope we, as a party, can remember that the best thing we can offer people is the opportunity to live with the dignity that should be the birthright of all Americans, especially those who go to work every day.

Like I said, that does nothing for you right now, but I hope knowing there are people who do give a damn helps a little.

[pansypoo53219]

5. the gnewz media is the damned namby pamby refs in this. rember whitewater? the blue dress?

the media is colluding w/ the monster they created.