Thread by @UltraViolet_940

Why am I keeping such a close eye on things in the USA?

Because I have friends who moved there looking for a better life - something which was previously encouraged by the USA to the point that its most popular statue - the Statue of Liberty - signifies that.

1/18

But instead, the country is now under the control of someone who plans to make it IMPOSSIBLE to pursue that dream. Even if you emigrate to the USA "legally," you have to do the same thing the "illegals" do, which is to ENTER THE COUNTRY VIA A BORDER. 2/18

I also have family who live in the USA. Family who are now US citizens either by way of immigration, marriage or birthright, but under Trump, may well find themselves uprooted and "deported" because they don't fit Trump's ideal of someone who "belongs" in the country. 3/18

Also, as a person of colour, I saw the various videos where police officers harassed black and brown people on the road because they looked "suspicious." What was so suspicious? Their car, home and other belongings looked too new or fancy, and it led to the cops being called 4/18

I distinctly remember watching police dashcam footage of a young man studying for his degree who bought a brand new Hyundai and still had the paper tags on it, and he was beaten silly by cops who insisted that he stole the car even though it was NEVER reported stolen and... 5/18

...he was able to recite the exact details of where he bought the car, the date and even transaction numbers for the payments for the car; the documents with the information were in the glovebox. The cops STILL arrested him for grand theft auto! 6/18

I remember seeing video from both sides of how a man who was a LICENSED gun owner with a permit to carry was shot to death behind the wheel of his own car next to his wife, because he went to retrieve the gun UNDER THE ORDERS OF THE SAME OFFICER WHO SHOT HIM. 7/18

Similar to that was another incident we saw just a few months ago where a woman was shot IN HER OWN HOME by the very police officer who ordered her to TURN OFF A POT OF BOILING WATER, which she was preparing for her dinner. SHE called them about a possible intruder! 8/18

Need I also remind people about how we saw SMALL CHILDREN SEPARATED FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND PUT IN CAGES LIKE ANIMALS, all in the course of "immigration enforcement to get rid of the illegals?" 9/18

Let us also not forget how, in his first term, Trump was being so antagonistic to foreign governments that we were holding ourselves in readiness for a potential nuclear skirmish between the US and North Korea at one point. 10/18

And for the cherry on top of everything, let's also remember how shit was going down 5 years ago when a global health crisis impacted the USA: So many people dying that REFRIGERATED CARGO TRUCKS BECAME ROLLING MORGUES.

What did Trump recommend? BLEACH AND HORSE DEWORMER! 11/18

Against the backdrop of all this, I'm also cognisant that technology has been advancing steadily, not just in the hands of the rich and powerful, but even the most broke person who only got an internet connection and knows how to make an electrical connection between wires 12/18

I have studied enough history and read enough news articles to know that at some point, people will decide "enough is enough" and lash out in such a horrendous spectacle that civil unrest is a new normal to look forward to in situations like this. 13/18

Think back on the last 125 years. How many world wars, civil wars, coups, riots etc. have broken out primarily because of popular discontent with laws, policies and socioeconomic conditions?

Now add the advent of computer technology and the proliferation of the Open Source 14/18

All now, I'm here telling someone about how easily a COMMON HOME OFFICE PRINTER AND SOME PLASTIC BOTTLES can be turned into LETHAL WEAPONS with just the right amount of savvy and ingenuity.

This is not Mad Hatter logic; the instructions are readily available sometimes! 15/18

As much as many of us, especially on the left, have been dismissed as crazy and being all doom & gloom, World War 3 is a very close and distinct probability in our lifetime. I don't think it's a high gamble to say it may happen in this very decade or the next one! 16/18

And it's because of all the bedlam and strife many of us have experienced, recounted or learned of over time, that you can't blame us if we're seeing patterns or picking up a melody and we're saying what the composer is playing or the artist is drafting. 17/18

So yes. If people of colour, indigenous peoples, LGBTI people, women and girls, children and the elderly, and even the average Jane/Joe in your neighbourhood are nervously biting their nails and hyperventilating, it's for a damn good reason.

Shit 'bout to get REAL ugly! 18/18

In a word, remember this: Even in a sprawling city, even if you don't live in the massive high-rise development, the day it burns up or otherwise falls down in a disaster, EVERYBODY IN THE CITY IS AFFECTED BY IT.

The same goes for those who don't even live in the city!

@threadreaderapp unroll!