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I am not afraid, and you shouldn’t be either [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-02-16

Fear is the power that autocrats everywhere hold over the people, even when they don’t really have it… their power is an illusion. Dictators — through bluster and anger, through deception, threats and lies — they build up an impression of power that instills fear, but I’m here to tell you we should not fall for that. He doesn’t have the power he thinks he has, he only wishes he had it.

We hold all of it — and this is not bluster when I’m saying it — they are the only ones that should be afraid. Afraid of all of us.

How is the government going to arrest and imprison us all? How? With what might and force? With our own police and our own military? Why are we so sure our military would even do that? Why fear something that we don’t even know would happen?

And let’s assume the military would indeed turn on us… all of our military, in its entirety, all five branches plus the national guard: that’s 1% of our US population. Even less than that. And that 1% is scattered all over the world: some are in Germany, and others are in Japan, or Korea, or Philippines… or a number of other countries. Even if our government decided to weaken us globally, and pull our folks back home, mobilize every last person, and have them all listen and comply with the “superior orders” to attack fellow Americans, that’s still only 3 million soldiers. Not even that many - according to this we have 2 million in active, combined with reserves. Add in about 300k national guard and we’re still not even at 2.5m combined.

We can have five to ten times those numbers in the streets. And if the military does turn on the people or starts shooting Americans, what do you think would happen the very next day? We’d have 30 million in the streets, and then 40, and then 50 million.

Donald Trump should be shitting his pants every time he even thinks the words Martial Law. In reality, it is not us who should be afraid of that. Martial Law crosses his mind, he should be due for a diaper change. That’s how scared he should be of going against Americans. To quote an old Tarantino movie, he even dreams of this, he should wake up and apologize.

Because I’m definitely not afraid. The more I think about all of this, and how truly powerless the government is against the people, all the fear I had leaves me. There is no way they can get all of us, there is no way they can even try. They can’t even attempt it. All they have is The Fear, and that fear is misplaced.

The government has no enforcement mechanism for the things they wish to do if we don’t agree with them. And we should never fear our government because we hold all the power. We have all the numbers. And numbers are power.

This government should be keenly aware that the day they try to push through martial law is the last day of their government. Donald Trump’s last day of presidency is not 4 years from now, it is the day he tries to use force against the Americans.

Want me to fear that? What for? He has no power. If he wanted martial law, and he thought he could make it work, he’d have it by now. The thing stopping him is his fear of us. And that fear, the fear of the people, that fear is very well placed.

So no, I am not afraid, and neither should any of you be. We hold all the power. We’re fucking Americans, aren’t we? We fight fascism and we win – every fucking time. What’s gonna be different this time? I’ll tell you what – absolutely nothing. Fascism will lose again, as it always does.

Do not be afraid, get angry. And start speaking truth to power, that we are not afraid and that it is us who hold all that power. When someone challenges me or wants to make me afraid, I don’t back away, I take a step forward towards them and I turn my body sideways, with my left foot forward. I am not going to do anything different here. I am turning my body sideways, stepping forward, and clenching my fists in anticipation of a fight.

I urge you all not to back off either. Clench your fists, turn sideways, take a step forward and not a step back, and do not be afraid any more. Do not go to bed afraid, do not wake up afraid. The only people here who should be scared shitless are those that think we will remain quiet. They’re insane if they think that gives them power.

To them I say go ahead and try us. Go ahead and try using force against us. I fucking challenge you to. See what happens. I will not spend another moment in fear. I’m ready for this.

Are they?

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

- Ryunosuke Satoro

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[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/16/2304186/-I-am-not-afraid-and-you-shouldn-t-be-either?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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