Can I ask honestly what you think we should be doing? I’m a traditionally Democratic voter in California, I have 2 kids, I don’t own guns. Should I go buy guns and wage a 1-man war against a military with tanks and drones a thousand miles from my house? Should I tell my kids “sorry, I know you like going to the park with me, but I have to go on a suicide mission because the principle is more important than the chances of success.” I think the concept that Americans have rolled over to fascism is pretty unfair; we’re a country as big as other continents and just because a strategic selection of districts were targeted by the minority in a way that “won the game” doesn’t mean people aren’t on the precipice of participating in something that actually looks like it would have a chance at success. There are no options for resistance right now that feel like the would even come close to be worth the risk to my family.

I’ve lobbied, marched, donated to causes, had honest talks with people on the other side trying to convince them empathetically rather than berating them, and to be honest, getting anything I’ve done hand-waved away by passive aggressive comments is as defeating as anything else. I’m pretty sure a big reason fascism is taking over is because people get their energy out by making increasingly vitriolic internet comments which is as inconsequential as it gets. Americans don’t organize until things get truly intolerable, and this frog boiling going on hasn’t crossed the line enough for people to reach critical mass.