Thanks so much for the post.

Bookmarked!

The Republicans think we're weak and prone to panic. Let's not prove them right.

There has been a ton of FUD and falsehoods spread around social media since then. It probably cost us the election.

are telling me we should be scared out of our minds right now.

Don't worry be happy was a number one jam
Damn if I say it you can slap me right here

-Public Enemy


It's not the time to be shutting people down...

Thank you.

that are indeed backed up by reliable sources.

That said, I generally agree with your post. Not ALL of the scary things that are currently floating around SM are being accurately described in the scariest posts about them. We need to discern what is real, and what isn't. But we need to prepare ourselves for the stuff that is real.

It also depends on one's position in society, how scared one should be. I'd say certain non-whites have good reason to be quite scared, and if they have "proper papers" make sure they have those secured and extra copies and easy to get to. For the rest of us, rational fears probably relate to financial markets and loss of reliable access to critical goods and services. (YMMV as to which goods and services are critical.) A slightly but not crazily far-fetched concern is "what the hell is Elon Musk and his Muskrats doing with the data on OPM computers?" That one came from a reliable source (that something is happening) but, we don't know exactly what yet. I might stop worrying about that one when I am convinced it is a benign reason, but so far I haven't come up with any benign reason for what is being reported. So rationally, I should be concerned until I have more information, while avoiding being frozen with fear. (even if the most likely explanations are rationally fear-invoking, freezing in fear generally is never helpful.)

Honestly if you wait for something to be verified by journalists it has already happened and it is too late to do anything about it. The horse is out of the barn and we are just reactive. We have to anticipate what the enemy is trying to do if we are going to stop them. That requires some speculation.

At least regarding self-protection and self-preservation, we need to prepare for the worst, while still keeping in mind what is real vs. what is still only rumor or speculation.

To be honest, I never expected that the real threat was Musk taking over the government, which appears to be where we are going. (HCR's post from yesterday lays it all out - if no one has made an OP on that yet, I will shortly). I think for most of us, the "how bad can it get?" potential is still only dawning on us. We thought it would be bad. But not "turn the government over to a mentally competent actual evil genius*" bad. Nope. I for one did not really see the headlight on that train. (Probably because said headlight was turned off and the engine was in quiet mode.)

* genius at doing evil, and having some knowledge to back it up. vs. "practiced skill" that TSF has at manipulating people (which I think many of the opposition have always underestimated - more by wanting to believe people aren't really that gullible. Uh, news flash ...)

being hit with is intendedto keep us confused, upset, overwhelmed. It is real, it's effective and it takes many forms. It can be off the wall nonsense like "theyre eating the pets" or it can be frighteningly plausible. something that very well could be true. The point isnt necessarily to get everyone to believe the lies (although of course too many people will) but also to keep the rest of us confused and unsure about whats really going, to wear us down so we give up.

Im finding that if my first thought is "this might not be real" that does help (a little!) to keep from feeling quite so overhwhelmed. As OP points out there are more than enough troubling things going on that are real.

Or Daddy? Nobody here is your child so please stop treating us as such.

There has always been an ebb and flow of panic posting on the internet, especially here at DU.

If there ever was a time in DU's 24 years for panic posting...

THAT WOULD BE NOW BECAUSE THE USA'S GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE ARE UNDER ASSAULT BY AN UNELECTED NAZI.

Having said that, I agree folks should at the very least update/correct their OP's when they are informed that they are false. But those posts happen almost daily around here and are rarely taken down or corrected.

Of course when it's someone's opinion - there is no substantiating MSM story to confirm it - after all this is a discussion board, not the "News."

Irony can be hilarious. Thanks for the laugh.

🤣😂🤣🤪

He made that clear much more politely than I would have.

He isn’t finger wagging. But it does happen plenty.

People who don't have the same level of risk are often comfortable telling others to calm down. It's patronizing.

And someone doesn't seem to understand what irony means.

Two of these type OP's in two days during severe political and societal crises that affect literally MILLIONS OF AMERICANS.

There's a word for it...

Asking for someone to check if the info is posted on a reliable source is NOT to much to ask.

matter, I couldn't possibly agree with you more. There are very vocal types here spreading ridiculous doom and it's very off-putting to most people, and it makes us all look silly when others find it. It shouldn't even be allowed. Not to even mention, some people appear to rarely venture out to other places to investigate some of the garbage posts. These people get very scared for absolutely no reason. To me it's almost purposefully irresponsible to be spreading some of this stuff.

I don't think so.

others out there. And, by the way, I'm from Missouri too.

Behind a locked door...

We will find out soon enough, what this degenerate is doing without any accoutability!

TSF’s ex wife said the one book that he kept next to his bed was on Hitler. These shock and awe techniques are out of the Nazi party. The man ransacking the federal government is a man who gave a Sieg Heil salute weeks ago. 1,000s of workers and their work are being terrorized and obliterated. Destruction of medical research that will put us on our back in medical research competition with other countries is being destroyed. The FBI and DOJ purges are just beginning and so are the military purges.
Panic and fear is normal but so is anger and fight. This is a 5 alarm fire and this is not time for ostriches.
We need to see as much fight from all of us or we lose the Country and it could happen rapidly.
I respect you MM but there is an urgency here. Showing fight will end panic and fear because we can then focus on the battles. I am hopeful that Martin is a good choice but we need to see some blood curdling rage from our side.

A Vanity Fair interview with Donald Trump’s late first wife Ivana Trump has resurfaced in which she alleges that her former spouse used to keep a book of Adolf Hitler’s speeches in his bedside cabinet.
The article from September 1990 has reappeared in the wake of the Republican presidential contender coming under fire for saying that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” in a speech at a New Hampshire rally on Saturday.
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-hitler-speeches-ivana-poisoning-blood-b2466500.html#

Although I appreciate a high level of scrutiny of DU posts for accuracy (I think the self policing of the jury system is pure genius), I don't like scolding posts from other DUers. If I see something that is factually incorrect, I alert. Also, I have no one on ignore and I haven't seen a lot of inaccurate posts myself.

Have I seen posts I disagree with? Yes. Have I seen posts that seem too emotional for my taste? A few. But that's none of my business if they want to vent or state an opinion I don't like.

In the past few days, I have seen only one post with a factual error that the OP refused or didn't correct. I assume that someone alerted because the poster was called out several times, but it is still there.
To me, that's a sign of how successful our jury system is.

We are only a few days into this new administration and it is clear that our worst fears are being realized. The idiot who won a narrow victory on a fluke is doing everything in his power to dismantle almost everything that we patriotic Americans hold dear. It is a fucking disaster. There is no other way to put it. Yes of course there is disinformation inadvertently coming from our side sometimes, but most of this shit is really happening.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, move along.
Keep calm and carry on.
Haste makes waste.
You know the drill.
Breathe.

It takes a minute or two to check if your source is reliable.

I'd like to believe we are all capable adults in this forum

I am very concerned with our reading comprehension and internet literacy skills here. *and everywhere*.

If something agrees with our sense of things, we tend to believe it, and don't bother to check the source.

A post this morning had a link to a BlueSky thread which was saying that Elon Musk and his assistants were "installing hard drives" in some government computers. The source for that information was Alt National Park Service. Nobody questioned that. There is no such government agency, and it's clearly a spoof of a real agency. but, the information was accepted as truth. It was posted here at least twice today.

Alt National Park Service?

But, people want to believe it, so it must be true. Confirmation Bias.

In fact, it is a small organization of NPS employees who claim to be the "Resistance." They say so on their Bluesky home page.

Not official at all. I checked, you see, like I always advise people to do.

Here's Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/

Not the same story, though. Alarming, but not the same.

I had questions and I got some good answers from some DUers. You should try that sometime.

I found this interesting post today from Josh Marshel. I have a lot of respect for him.

Nope.

It's called the way forward. I haven't seen a bunch of FUD or shit posting. When you see inaccurate information, call it out.
There are a lot of people of DU who have lived a very long time in this country and if what has gone on in the past 2 weeks is not worth discussing with like minded people then I don't know what we are doing here.
I'm terrified for the entire planet not just my portfolio or the cost of eggs.

for my post. GD is. So I posted it here. If you think it is in the wrong forum, you can alert on it and select that option as the reason.

The way forward was for ppl who wanted to work on positive, problem solving for the future.
The other group, I can't remember the title, maybe something like Trump BS.
Is that your question?

I’ve seen a lot of hyperbole here lately and we don’t need it because reality is bad enough! I’m also very wary of posts that their only purpose is to say how “all is lost” or “it’s all over”, etc.

the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

A quote as relevant today as it was in 1933.

The fear and panic are based on reality, for the most part. If anything, many people are underestimating the threat. It seems to me that complacency is a much bigger danger than any fear mongering that might be going on.

You ask: "Are the authorities at your front door to arrest you right now?" That is remarkably insensitive, at best. The authorities are at the doors of many people right now, with the promise of much more to come. You may personally feel immune. but that does not justify trivializing or dismissing the very real fear others are experiencing, and for good reason.

You trivializing or dismissing the fear others are experiencing here:

"It's certainly possible that that person is frightened, but that doesn't mean you need to be frightened, too. Perhaps, as often happens, that person is misunderstanding something and panicking."

"Trust the people who have earned your trust" goes without saying, There is no need to be scolding people about that. There are plenty of unreliable posts urging caution and moderation, that are underestimating the dangers. But you leave that out of your admonishments.

By that omission, you are saying be suspicious of those raising the alarm, and not suspicious of those urging business as usual. That is a political agenda disguised as community service.

Looking back over the recent posts I do see some crap that is not true or is poorly sourced, and it does tend toward sensationalism and fear mongering.

Example:

"China Hits Back with 75% Tariffs--A Major Economic Blow to the U.S.! Electric Vehicles & Trade Wars"

The videos with the clickbait headlines are the worst.

but not all information is accurate. It all, though, needs to be fact checked before being accepted.

People look at Fox for a reason, it makes them feel something like constant anger and fear. Some of us are not immune to the same feelings. I refuse to relive the last time asshole was in office. I monitor my time on DU, my sanity means a lot more than the gaslighting coming from the White House.

Almost every time I read the headlines of MSMBC I break into a borderline panic.🙀

Develop interests, hobbies. Travel, go on hikes, take classes. Have fun with family and other relatives and with friends. Watch movies or classic television via DVDs or streaming. Read books unrelated to Trump and the fascists.

If you allow this P25 stuff to fester in your brain, it WILL destroy you.

I have to hide many threads, and, especially during the election cycle, put a lot of people on ignore.

It helped to reduce the blood pressure.

stop cherry-picking or focusing on one social media message or interview by our Democratic legislators/leaders that you don't like.

Sharing concern and disappointment in someone like Fetterman, for example, isn't unwarranted. But trashing Amy Klobuchar today because of one thing she said in an interview, the day after she was praised here for her tough questioning of Patel, makes no sense and does not help. Ditto the Hakeem Jeffries tweet. I've seen more about that here than his strong responses to Agent Orange/Pres Musks atrocities.

had a post removed, the second one in 20 years. I feel bad, used to be so much to learn from what people posted, but not now. It is rare to pop in and not be flabbergasted by the noise. There is so much going on, I can't afford to be hampered by insignificant drivel pissing me off. It's almost as though the desired reaction is only for the ultimate sake of violence There is no positive side, unless you're doing it in your own state, where chances are you won't be mowed down, or have military police sicced on you. Otherwise what good is riling people up, unless the goal is divide more and conquer with ease. Contacting your representatives should be a natural occurrence on a Democratic discussion board. It's all very odd. Not a Republican to blame for the past 50 years, it's all the Democrats. I think someone may possibly reply "Good-bye" to me, which might be a favor.

The govt is in the process of being weakened.
We have questionable, even grave breaches of data access, we have multiple Severely unqualified cabinet picks taking over critical positions. We have information access challenges in multiple departments and a wiped clean slate of diversity policies, activities etc. that’s just a few things. We have threats to other countries, new tariffs, and worst of all a very ignorant citizenry.
The likelihood of real shit hitting the fan seems pretty high.
This is not a time to bury heads in the sand or to turn the news off. I have friends who have stopped watching, which I think is ridiculously stupid. Do what you want. I am paying attention and I’m on alert.

tells me what or who will stop tsf and Eloon from doing whatever the hell they want. The fourth estate is kissing the ring, Democrats were not able to stop the appointments of truly bad picks to high level cabinet positions. The FBI is being gutted, Inspector Generals are being fired. Career professionals are being locked out of government records by an ego manic unelected foreigner. The Supreme 6, the same ones who gave tsf a get out of jail free card, and who have no enforcement powers even if they actually weren't on the take?

Tell me what part of this is hyperbole, false or "internet driven panic?" Who or what has the power to stop any of these things already happening, or worse from happening? Please enlighten those of us who need these answers before we believe that we aren't fucked.

If someone is posting misinformation isn't it a better idea to correct them rather than ignore them? Otherwise the misinformation spreads unchecked.

haven't been canceled?