The man who stormed a Mormon church with an assault rifle and left four people dead was a self-described "Ultra MAGA" Trump supporter, a former Marine, and a father of one.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/46999374

But as photos and social media posts surfaced showing Sanford in a camouflage Trump 2020 shirt that read “Make Liberals Cry Again,” and a Trump-Pence sign still visible on his front lawn just months ago, the political implications became harder to ignore.

So far, Republican leaders have said nothing.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    24 days ago

    I’m afraid. My wife is a legal, brown immigrant. Though Asian, she looks Mexican, and I’ve seen the racism. Not usual, but when it’s there, it’s clear. And I’m an outspoken liberal gun nut.

    I am waiting for the administration to start going after people like us. America has fallen to fascism, and though I’m a middle-aged white guy, I’m on the wrong side. I’ve studied AP Modern European History, 2 years. I know what’s coming.

    Our President has just signed a memorandum declaring me a terrorist for opposing him, though I’m part of no group. A terrorism charge gives the government resources and abilities they don’t normally have, and the penalty are life in a concrete box. Let that sink in. Once the “clear” enemies are thinning out, they’ll use AI to scan our comments, figure out who we are, go after us.

    I cannot fly a flag of my choosing, put a sign in my yard, or wear certain clothes without inviting a fight. Since I’m always armed, a fight might turn out to be a life changing event, for both parties. My freedom of speech has indeed been chilled.

    And yes, we’re on a knife’s edge of ruin. I’m unemployed, only a few more months of savings to float on. I’ve got Obamacare, free, believe it or not, but I can’t go to the dentist or the eye doctor. My wife is employed at the “best” employer in the county, but after over a year, she’s still a contractor, no benefits, no PTO, no nothing. One bit of bad luck, one poor decision, we’re ruined.

    I have a gun in reach, anywhere I sit, even on the toilet. No shit. I’m practiced and reasonably competent with those weapons. (Most of my guns are for fun, the handful of self-defense guns are not.) Strange SUV pulled into my driveway today. Had my hand on my Colt .45. *How fucked up is that?!" Just a lady picking a FB Marketplace thing up from my wife. I note every car driving past my house (basically a cul-de-sace, or might as well be), constantly on the look out for ICE.

    What am I to do? I’ve told her I’d move to the Philippines if she’s deported, but that means leaving my 10 and 12-yo kids back in Arkansas with their white trash mother. May not even get a passport as I owe child support. Unemployed and they want the $1,400/mo. I had paid for 5 years when I had a good job.