Elon Musk and now Steve Bannon. Are they just trolling to “own the libs” to get a rise out of us, or are powerful men in this country actually publicly announcing their nazi ideology?

I keep thinking back to the n*zi regime and how it was only stopped when the allied forces stepped in. Is that the only way this can end? The checks and balances our country was founded on are effectively gone, media is silent, and protests have done laughably nothing. Are there any other reasonable outcomes?

EDIT: not trying to draw a direct equivalence, just been hearing a lot of comparisons to the two leaders’ first days in office. No, we are nothing like 1940s Germany, but if we’re beginning to look like 1930s Germany, that’s where I start getting scared.

I heard about the bills that would make it a life sentence if you were found to be illegal and how they want to repeal birthright citizenship for native Americans. This seems to target POCs, that coupled with the bill to give billions of dollars towards private prison companies is making me feel like they will try to enslave people in work camps for life, am I right? Am I overthinking it.

My husband is having a severe mental health breakdown, and everyone thinks I can handle it. This breakdown came out of nowhere, and I am terrified. It is quite literally like someone flipped a switch in his mind. This began happening Wednesday, and I was able to ground him back in reality each time. On Saturday, I was able to get him to agree to see a psychiatrist. This morning (Sunday), he was completely gone. He told me that I was conspiring against him. He broke tons of his personal belongings. He hinted that my wall tapestry was a spy device. He ripped my wall tapestry down and refused to talk to me about it when I asked why he did it. He was seeing things that weren't there and making connections that didn't exist. He then said he was going to live in our garden shed and left.

I was so scared. I am still scared.

I called our local crisis hotline, and they agreed to send 2 social workers out to speak with him. The social workers were 2 hours away, but it was better than nothing. While waiting for the workers, I tried talking to him again. He was even worse. There was no hint of him in his eyes at all. I've seen him anxious, but this was different. He said that I was a "snake in the garden" and that I was leaking his information and/or spying on him. He recounted every single thing I had said that morning and interrogated me for double meanings. I was so scared. I left him, went back into my house, and locked the doors. I didn't tell him about the social workers.

After 30 minutes, he took my car. I thought he had left his keys in the house. Now he has my car, the only copy of the key to our spare car, and the key to my house. I can't leave. I can't stay. I am scared. I'm considering asking my sister to drive me to a hotel, but I'm afraid to leave my pets. Isn't that the most stupid thing to worry about?

I called a few family members for emotional support (the only one who lives in the state is my sister). They all seem to think I can handle this. They make it seem like this is no big deal, and I can bring him back to reality. I've helped him while he's having extreme anxiety or depression, but I can not handle delusions. He said he actively saw lights in our walls and looked into the eyes of God. This is above my pay grade. Everyone seems to think I can handle it but I really need their support getting him into a facility or convincing him to get steady help from a professional.

UPDATE: It has been a long day, and I am not going to be able to respond to all of these comments. I will try to address everyone's concerns in this update. I made this post after calling my in-laws for help. They didn't really seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. As some people guessed, his family has a history of mental illness. I heard a lot of "If you think he's crazy, just hear about this thing grandma did." Their responses made me feel like I was overreacting, and I hated it.

After my husband took the car, I called the crisis hotline again to let him know he left. He did not have a phone, so I had no way to contact him or track him. The social worker (she was on her way to my house) discussed next steps with me. She said that I could call 911 if I was in immediate danger, but highly suggested calling the crisis hotline again if he was not in a destructive or violent state so that they could de-escalate him. She promised that the night shift was very close to my address and would be able to respond quickly.

I saw a lot of people suggesting I call 911, and just as many debating on whether calling 911 is a safe move. In my area, 911 is not always a safe move. First, I live in the boondocks. My neighbor called 911 when she was actively being robbed and did not see an officer for 2 hours. When the officer arrived, he made a joke about boondocks people usually taking justice into their own hands. Second, my local police do not have a great track record with people undergoing mental health crises. They don't have the training or the resources to do much other than traffic stops if we are being dead honest. They didn't even issue a BOLO for a man who broke into a house and tried attaching two women with an ax a few weeks ago. I felt like the crisis hotline team and the social workers were my best bet.

The social workers sent me documents detailing my husband's legal rights and some other information. I read through them while trying to get my life together. I Slacked my boss to ask for some time off work. After that, I looked through my credit card history to see if he had fueled up. My car was low on gas when he took it, so I knew he'd need to stop somewhere if he were traveling. There were no transactions at all, which worried me even more. I called a few of his friends to see if they saw him, but no one had. While this was happening, my smartwatch buzzed a few times to let me know my heart rate had been over 140 for 10 consecutive minutes. I was exhausted, mentally fatigued, and felt like crap. I looked outside and saw that it was dark. It felt like it had only been an hour since he left, but it had been much longer.

I began debating 911 again when he knocked on the door. First, he knocked on the front door, then he knocked on the back. He begged to be let inside and promised that he was calmer. We talked through the door more, and he said that he wanted to talk about going to an inpatient mental health facility. I let him inside, but only after I grabbed my pepper spray from my purse. We talked a few moments face-to-face, and he genuinely wanted to go to an inpatient facility. The social workers I spoke to earlier mentioned that there was a 24/7 clinic close to me that could take him in if he chose to go that route. We packed up and drove there. He listened to bluegrass on my phone at full blast and chain-smoked cigarettes while he cried. I tried not to cry. I didn't ask him where he had been while he was gone. I was just glad he was back and was willing to seek help.

I couldn't go into the facility with him, but I watched him go in. I cried in the car and stopped at a What-a-burger. I didn't realize until then that I hadn't eaten all day. I cried more after that and will probably cry more tomorrow. Maybe I will update the in-laws tomorrow. It all depends on if I have the mental energy.

There were also some questions about his age. My husband is in his late 30's. He always was a tiny bit paranoid, but he was more of a light version of Dale Gribble. If he was paranoid about something, he was open to discussing it and listened when people said he was looking too deep into an idea. It wasn't until very recently that he began making weird connections and creating insane conspiracies that were not open for debate. I think the final trigger may have been US politics. All he saw was doom and gloom anytime he opened his news feed.

Someone also mentioned getting an MRI. This is so interesting because my husband had some sort of fainting incident at his job before he quit. He began thinking his coworkers were talking about him behind his back soon after this. A few times he mentioned he was worried his fainting incident was a ministroke, but refused to visit a doctor. He eventually went to the doctor for something unrelated a month later but did not tell the doctor about the supposed ministroke.

Also, don't be like me. I was anxious and could not keep track of time or anything while this was happening. I let time get away and did not proactively call 911. I was lucky, but I was also dumb. If someone is behind the wheel of a car when they should not be, please call 911.

My teen is level 1 autistic and barely stable even with an antidepressant and mood stabilizer. If he can’t have his meds I don’t know if he will be able to function. How scared should I be now that RFK is HHS secretary, and how much time do we have before we feel the effects?

I am not concerned about them for myself because, despite desperately needing medication for anxiety, depression, and ADHD, I've been off my meds for nearly 3 years due to cost.

My biggest worry is for my children. I have 3 kids. The oldest takes medication for ADHD, middle kiddo takes meds for ADHD and anxiety, and my youngest isn't on any meds at the moment but is Autistic with high support needs. I can't find much in the news about the proposed camps being used for ADHD and anxiety meds and antidepressants, but I know that I've heard it directly from RFK multiple times now that that is goal. I feel like I'm being gaslit by the news/media and don't know what to believe. Will my kids still be able to get the meds they need? Could they be taken from my custody and sent to these camps if I try to refill prescriptions?

Hi. I am very scared about the future of America. If you haven’t noticed there are a lot of very scary, very real things happening here. If this all goes the way trump and his supporters want it too is anyone/country going to help the people who are at risk or don’t want to fight?

We are witnessing a fascist takeover.

Are we going to see a holocaust of everyone who is not a MAGA white male?

I’m so scared. I feel like I need to keep a low profile as dissidents will be targeted.

I’m so scared. I just want to be myself. Ive never hurt anyone. I work helping homeless people for gods sake, and before that I worked helping sexual assault survivors. I just want to help people and be okay.

I’ve seen people on this sub telling people that it’s going to suck but they’ll survive… but I’m so frightened that theyre going to put me and everyone like me in a camp or in prison or just kill us. I’m just transgender. I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I just want to be me.

I’ve been transitioning for 10 years now. I can’t go back into the closet. Not only would it kill me… I also just physically could never pass as a girl anymore. I just want to live my life.

Edit to add: I am too overwhelmed to respond to people but the outpouring of support (and commiseration from folks in similar or even scarier positions!!) has been so helpful to me. Thank you for those of you promising to stand up to keep me and my community safe.

As for people in the comments being transphobic, telling me I’m mentally ill (yeah buddy, it came free with living in a world that is actively hostile to my very existence), or even psyched at the possibility of my death, just so you know, someone is doxxing you online and posting pics of you. It isn’t me, but if you go to the Wikipedia page for “Bony-Eared Assfish”, you’ll see a photo of you!

To allies arguing with idiots in the comments, thank you and do whatever you want, but I recommend you don’t feed the trolls. Please spend that energy talking those same points to people whose minds you have a chance of changing! Tell your parents that trans people matter! Tell your friend’s boyfriend, the guy you always see walking his dog, your aunt’s cousin’s landlord! Downvote assholes to oblivion, and don’t give them anymore energy than a clown emoji if you really want to. They’re not worth the time it takes to read what they wrote, let alone respond to it.

Throw away account. I’m a newly FtM trans man. I look more gender neutral than female or male so regardless of the bathroom I’m in I get clocked as not cis. I have a few questions, feel free to answer regardless of gender.

1. What do I do if all the stalls are full? Do you just stand there or leave?

2. Similar question, what if I’m at a concert and there’s a line into the bathroom but I need the stall? Do I wait in line?

3. I know contact in there is very minimal, but what do I do if someone says something and I can’t respond because of my voice? What if they clock me as trans and call me out?

My main fear is that the stalls will be full and I don’t know what to do in that situation.

Edit: thank you everyone for your kind words and help. I feel a lot more confident and hopefully the comfortable will come soon. I really can’t thank everyone enough for everything you all said. I read every comment and made sure to interact. I can’t respond to everyone but just know I heard you and I thank you.

I was washing my hands in the bathroom at a store. A woman exited a stall and walked up to the sink next to mine. Then she kinda made a surprised sound. I looked up at her and she was holding her ear. Then, blood started SHOOTING OUT OF HER EAR CANAL. Like a whole stream. Immediately ran to get her some help, and I left to… clean myself up. Eventually she went away on an ambulance. Don’t know how she’s doing, obviously I’m hoping she’s okay. I’m a little traumatized and horrified. So I’m just wondering what would cause that to happen?

Love all the protests that are happening and also terrified it will give cause for martial law. I keep calling all of my reps and senators. Read today that it will take decades to fix what has happened in less than a month. It just seems like we are spiraling downward quickly into a full blown dictatorship and losing hope that anything can be done in light of the newest EO about Trump and the AG stating what is the law.

I'm trans and disabled, reliant on federal aid and care that is getting targeted nonstop by this administration. I'm tired of protests that don't work, I'm tired of calling my reps. I want something that is going to protect and restore my rights. Maybe I'm looking for a unicorn, maybe I'm looking for an answer that isn't in the TOS, but I'm sick of this. I don't want to stand by while people downplay the danger (btw if you're here to do that show yourself out). Never again is now.

I'm unfortunately physically disabled and can barely walk with a rollator and rarely leave the house, and I don't have much money. So I know what I can do is already limited. But I just...what is a realistic path to stopping Musk and Trump and the Supreme Court? Is there an option other than just..."resetting" the government and starting over?

I have to go to a gynecologist appointment for the first time on my own as an adult. I'm at college, so nobody I know will even be going with me (the previous times I've been my mother was always in the lobby waiting for me). Could I bring a small stuffed animal just for an item of comfort? I'm very scared/anxious over this but I dunno if it'd be inappropriate

Update: Thank you so much for your answers. I knew I technically could, I was just worried over it. I think I'm going to bring a plushie keychain on my purse, and try not to wig myself out too much. Again, thank you :)

I have a family member who is a trans man. He has his gender and name changed on every document - social security, birth certificate, and ID. How will the new executive orders about trans people affect him since his documents are already changed? He does live in a blue state, so I assume for any state level documents he will still be okay, but is the federal government able to reverse gender changes that have already been made on federal documents?

If this isn't the right place to ask, I apologize. Please be kind!

I'm scared about H5N1/bird flu. Imagine something with even a quarter of the cases that COVID had, but now there's a 50% chance of dying instead of 3%.

Seems like way too big of a deal to just go "well we still don't know if it's the next pandemic, risks are low right now 🤷"

I live in the US. I am in PA, which is technically a swing state but it feels like it might not get a chance to swing blue ever again. What should I be doing right now to prepare for… whatever the fuck is about to happen?

I’m married. We have a mortgage. We have four kids. I’m about a year away from finishing a bachelor’s degree in special education which feels like maybe not the best career path in light of recent events. My husband is also a teacher. The teachers unions here are very strong. We are broke but making it. If worst comes to worst I could go back to bartending.

We are both involved in local politics and action groups. We pay attention to school board meetings. We have found a really wonderful community for ourselves and our kids.

I am extremely scared of what the next few years are going to bring. How can I best prepare my family to weather this storm?

We have been married for over 12 years and have been through a lot of growing pains. Almost 2 years ago I brought up the idea of divorce and he did a 180 on his behavior. He stopped yelling at the kids, he stopped slamming things when he was angry multiple times a week, he started helping some with the kids (though still doesn’t change diapers, most recently allowing our toddler to be in a poopy diaper for over an hour until I could be available to change it), all the things I had been asking for for years. He still has some hiccups, like getting upset if we go more than 2 days in a row without having sex, he still hasn’t added me to the bank account despite saying he will for months, and he had started getting upset with me because our older children (pre-teens) disrespect him but don’t do it to me, and I don’t defend him and make them stop. (Example: one of them was explaining to me that my husband had done something mean to her in the past and she was still upset about it. Husband later told me I was allowing her to “talk shit” about him. I am simply not going to discourage her from talking about hurt feelings, even if it was me she was talking about.)

All of that to say: as much as he has improved, I am over it. I want to be done. The only thing stopping me is the fear that he will explode when I tell him. I REALLY want to say it over text, but that seems like a dick move. How am I supposed to ask for a divorce from someone I am borderline afraid of?

Hi all, I made a recent post about how I tend to faint when I get bloodwork. The fine people of Reddit gave good advice.

I got the work done at a lab instead of a doc’s office because I figured they do bloodwork all day so they could handle me. This one did not require fasting, so I ate extra beforehand and hydrated more to try to prevent any struggle to find a vein. I told the front desk that I have a tendency to faint, and they did not act like this was strange. I got alcohol wipes to sniff and I covered my face with a sweater while I laid down. The lady was very nice to me and told me all about her children. Multiple members of the staff congratulated me afterwards for not fainting and told me that also have family who are scared or faint. I got 9 vials of blood taken and now I’m back home rehydrating and eating nuts.

You too can overcome your fears 💪

I am usually very very politically aware but i've been trying to stay off my phone since inauguration... I'm Hispanic, a young adult, and LEGALLY HERE. But i wasn't born here.. i was adopted and made a citizen before i was even half a year old. Will any executive orders target me or have the potential to harm me besides just profiling me potentially? I live in a red state as well and am in school so I cannot leave.. I don't want to leave , everyone I love is here.

My apartment has a shared laundry machine and it needs quarters. My landlord said that I can get quarters in rolls from the grocery store across the street. Do I go to customer service? Or a cashier? How many rolls is reasonable? Do I need to buy anything too?

I’m autistic and would just really like to know what to expect, I know it’s probably really basic but I’ve never had to do this before and I need to wash my clothes.

UPDATE: I did it! I went to the bank like you suggested, it wasn’t my bank so I withdrew from the ATM and went in and asked for 2 rolls of quarters. The teller needed more from the back so I waited for them and he asked me if it was laundry day and then I left. It was really easy, thank you all so much.

i'm especially thinking of monuments to remember marginalized people, the quilt project to remember victims of the AIDS epidemic, etc. there are many such monuments. what will happen to these things? im afraid of them being defunded, forced to close, or destroyed.

I'm trying to think how it even would work. There's so many people who would want to try and be a part of the resistance in some way or another, but it just seems impossible. Millions of people to try and organize, plus try to keep it a secret and not let the other party in, etc.

I'm also trying to figure out how it even worked in the actual civil war. Maybe less population total? Like, I'm just imagining it would be extremely hard for it to have gotten enough traction before it got shut down and leaders killed, everyone else jailed/slaved or whatever.

My (22nb) government isn't approving any new passports or renewing passports for trans Americans. Not even with birth gender markers. What is the best way to get out of the country when things get worse? Is it just a waiting game for Canada or Mexico to open their borders?

While my education was shit, I can still see this is history repeating. We have a Nazi for president who is going to put 30,000 people on a lawless island that was a prison for terrorists. That held 680 people at its height.

It's progressing so fast, and I don't know how to get away from it.

I’m in my early 20s and have quite severe anxiety and panic attacks, but flying is usually fine for me. I’ve been on dozens of flights and I get a little bit anxious beforehand but I honestly find flying relaxing. I have time to unwind with no internet, no obligations, and I know that air travel is very safe.

With the recent increase in plane crashes and fatalities I’m starting to feel a lot of anxiety about a flight I have coming up in a few days. I know it’s always when things go wrong that it ends up in the news and that thousands of other flights have gone smoothly, but it’s still scary. I KNOW that air travel is still generally safe, but I’m sure the people on the flights that have crashed recently thought that as well. I have to take this flight for work so I have no option to cancel and I’m so stressed.

Can someone explain to me why/how I should still trust that my flight is still safe?