State Terror, American Style

Media, Discourse, and “No Politics” Norms

• Several comments blame decades of media “sanewashing” and profit-driven abdication of journalism for normalizing current abuses.
• Social norms against “political talk” are seen as a way to silence criticism of existing power structures, not real civility.
• HN’s own “avoid politics” guideline and rapid flagging of this thread are cited as examples of tech/VC spaces avoiding scrutiny of systems they benefit from.

Bipartisan Responsibility and the Power of Money

• Strong theme: both major parties operate within a money-dominated system; donors and lobbying shape viable candidates and policy.
• Critics argue Democrats maintain the core security state (Patriot Act, surveillance, drone killings, non‑prosecution of Bush officials) and rarely roll back Republican excesses.
• Others push back that equating the parties ignores that one still broadly supports liberal democracy while the other is veering into authoritarianism.

Democrats as Enablers vs. Partial Restraint

• One camp: Democrats are “ice cubes in boiling water” – marginally slowing but never reversing the slide, and suppressing more left‑wing actors.
• Another camp notes structural constraints (filibuster, gerrymandering, brief windows of unified control) and voter backlash when Democrats attempt bigger changes.

Authoritarian Drift, Trump, and Militarization

• Trump is seen by some as a disorganized showman fronting for a more ideologically driven cadre willing to weaponize the state.
• His rhetoric to generals about “internal enemies” and Hegseth’s line about removing “stupid rules of engagement” are read as open signaling of more war crimes and potential domestic use of the military.
• There is debate over whether this is a long-standing “plan” since Bush or an emergent evolution of anti‑democratic tendencies reaching maturity.

Raids, Blue Cities, and the Logic of Repression

• Federal raids concentrated in blue cities are interpreted as:
  • Minimizing reputational cost with the MAGA base.
  • Intimidating liberal populations.
  • Potentially provoking violence to justify escalated repression (“accelerationism”).
• Some note practical factors: more undocumented immigrants in large Democratic cities and local “sanctuary” policies.

Portland, Disorder, and Pretexts

• One anecdote paints Portland as unsafe and in need of a crackdown; multiple replies challenge this as overgeneralization and question using the military to address homelessness/urban disorder.
• Several argue that right‑wing actors need visible disorder as a permanent pretext for authoritarian “solutions.”

Proposed Responses and Fatalism

• Suggested actions: constant pressure on representatives, legal resistance, documenting abuses, even general strikes.
• Others are pessimistic, seeing deep structural rot and limited short‑term remedies, while rejecting “national divorce” as both unrealistic and globally destabilizing.