Trump says it’s fine for Kim Jong Un to have nuclear weapons because ‘he likes me’
(www.independent.co.uk)
I’m trying to figure out a way of explaining it, but it’s multiple factors. These aren’t excuses perse but fall into what I would consider “death by a thousand papercuts”
- Overall life is still “good” for a lot of people. Does the suck continue to increase? Yes. You notice prices getting higher, so you tighten your belt a little more, but it’s not catastrophic (to you)
- The masses still have their bread and circuses. There is still entertainment to keep people distracted
- They’re scared of losing their jobs and being out on the street (this is a big one IMO). The US has no functional safety net, unlike other countries. You lose your job, you lose your medical insurance, you might be able to apply for unemployment but that’s only a fraction of what you made. The job market is so bad it may be a year or more before you find something. Couple that with lack of savings due to high prices and it’s an extremely powerful incentive to keep your head down
- “It doesn’t affect me” mentality. This is something I see of the American ethos in general and it explains most republican voters. The idea of “rugged individualism” is so ingrained in the American psyche, they don’t understand empathy and don’t care until it happens to them. The US has never gone through a massive attack that affected the whole country (Great Depression is too far gone, and 9/11 was isolated to only part of the county, whereas something like WW2 in Europe affected almost everyone)
- ICE (the ghestsopo) is started to disappear even US citizens. Get targeted for speaking out and end up in a concentration camp. Another reason to keep your head down.
- The country is huge. Somewhere like France is only a small fraction of the size of US. So it’s easier to congregate and protest. But the distance from Los Angeles to Washington DC is over 3,600 km away. Trying to figure out how to get that far to protest (especially with items 3 and 5) make logistics hard. There were protests across the country for No Kings, but it was so spread out it was diluted.
I could go on with more reasons but I guess what I’m trying to get it is that it’s a perfect storm of being just comfortable enough, coupled with fear of your own wellbeing that keeps people in line.