tThe scary part to me is the imbalance of power and how few are aware of it. Yeah we have a bunch.of guns around here, but how many people actually can use them in a meaningful way? How many would know what to do if THEY were being shot at? Handful of retired vets, some people with a little training, but few have ever experienced active combat.

Never mind the fact that money is the real deal breaker. Government has drones upon drones. They have satellite imagery, cameras all over the place, they could easily shut down phone and internet connectivity as well as power. Collect phone data off of a certain area, set up a perimeter and use everyone stupid phones as a tracking beacon. Send in some drones for visibility some for strikes and push in military to clean up what's left.

Thats the thing nobody talks about. Going from our current pseudo-democracy to totalitarianism is little more than the flip of a switch by a crazy old man. They are under the illusion that it can't or won't happen. It 100% can. Nobody gives a shit about the nowhere places like great plains states, it would happen in major cities and surrounding regions. Take over, set up checkpoints. Once under control, sell them off to billionaires who would enact all their crazy control fetishes. One for zuck, one for theil, bezos will want one, maybe musky. Some people will escape to the useless regions like the south, central states or whatever, nobody will bother too much. If some sort of resistance grows, drop a few bombs to remind them that they're being watched. Cut off food, energy, blow upna few bridges and roads wait until winter.

I'm sure multiple versions of this have been modeled out within the military intelligence groups. Nobody is coming to save us. The rich people dont give a shit about this country, they only care about themselves. Nobody in the military is going to stage a coup, they would not stand a chance anyway and it would be a death sentence for anyone they know or love.

The only hope is that the crazy old bastard dies before he really decides to go full Looney toons. Its clear who runs this country; they always have but now they are no longer content to own an absurd amount of it, they want it ALL.

I wasn't suggesting we become violent yet, I was just answering your question. The population is definitely large enough for these protests and a violent revolution if it's ever required.