It's also a play by play of what the Christian right did in the 60s/70s on abortion. Went from being a non-issue for most people to people firebombing abortion clinics within like a decade or two.

There's a lot of topics I love to shut down.

"What do you think about --"

I think it doesn't fuckin matter, when is the cost of living going down?

it’s not longer a culture war, but an actual war.

Literally how every war ever started.

Sadly, we have no other real option besides fighting MAGA ... it's not longer a culture war, but an actual war.

And how is that done other than being a keyboard warrior? Protesting doesn’t seem to do anything.

not counting the places they fell for bait like the southern flag and statue distractions

Fell for the bait? Jesus actual christ, we had and still have statues in our parks and town squares erected by the KKK that exist solely to intimidate PoC and venerate men whose only notable "accomplishment" was being on the losing side in a war to own and brutally exploit human beings – black people who they saw as subhumans – and getting those out is "taking the bait"?? Absolutely lost your goddamn mind, like sensible people who want those removed are falling into a trap set by the elite to distract them from class consciousness. Racist dipshits were baited into responding vehemently against that. In much the same way that sensible people didn't "fall for the bait" when they started supporting trans rights and MAGA made that a wedge issue (although I know some tankies actually fall for that transphobic garbage).

Apartheidist regimes make a special point of inventing more racial and ethnic cohorts within the law, so that there is this broad spectrum of oppression - everyone had an opportunity to benefit from the oppression of someone slightly below them, there's always another stair you can get pushed down if the government doesn't like you.

Since your status is derived from the apartheidist regime and you're always standing on someone else's shoulders, there's this prevailing fear that you'll be targeted by the people behind you if the people at the top ever fail.

Tends to work best during periods of economic expansion, because there's a surplus to spread around. Even the lower tiers of society can feel like life is improving. But once you start running into a recessionary headwind - because you've depleted the soil with industrial farming or you've mined out the easily accessible precious minerals or malinvestment in education and technology leaves you trailing the rest of the world - the bottom falls out, crime skyrockets, and plutocrats start turning on one another to stay ahead.

Good thing we're not in a country that's cracked its head on a glass ceiling.

Just old guy veins I guess. Edit: maybe arteriitis temporalis?