I'm feeling so uneasy with everything I've been seeing. I keep thinking about what we will be this time next year, and if shit hits the fan, what is your plan? I'm queer and was politically active in 2020, so I would potentially be considered a political enemy.
The only blueprint I can think of is what you do in an active shooter situation; Flee, Hide, Fight.
I know there's that romantic notion of "don't be a coward, get out and protest", but I remember the brutality of the 2020 protests firsthand, and even then I thought "thank god I'm going toe to toe with the CPD and not the CCP". Next time is going to be different. The president now has authority to send drone strikes. Protests and riots don't stand a chance agains missiles and live rounds.
Flee- I have an Uncle in Montreal who my family could potentially use as a way to at least temporarily escape the chaos. The hope I'd have is that Canada and other countries would accept American refugees, however that's not a guarantee.
Hide- If borders are closed, lay low and move away from major cities if possible. If civil war breaks out, try to get away from the violence even if you think your side will win. Todays losers may be tomorrows victors.
Fight- If cellular data/ social media algorithms can keep track of you, and surveillance can make sure there's no movement, this would be the last resort of desperation. I guess if possible try to either find a group for safety in numbers, or conversely go guerrilla as groups of resistance would make easy targets.
Sorry my mind is running and I'm getting scared.
We're preparing to leave the US.
To where? How?
We already did, to New Zealand. Education visa to get a PhD my partner had been eager to get, followed by work visa and/or resident visa. Few more years and then permanent resident then citizenship.
We'd been saving up/planning for a decade because we wanted to leave anyway, the environment that gave us Trump only encouraged us to leave. Years later and I'm still 100% convinced we made the right choice for us.
I suggest finding a culture that fits yours, making a very detailed budget, exploring all the options for visas and plan for future visa extensions/applications, and making some sacrifices to get where you want to be.
Lots of EU countries have generous options if you have lineage, I'd start with that as getting into one of them gets you into all of them eventually.