If there’s a part of you that still holds out hope that, for all his autocratic tendencies, Donald Trump will revert to a sort of political normality as president, you need to read Masha Gessen’s chilling but essential article “Autocracy: Rules for Survival” in The New York Review of Books.
Gessen, a journalist who has devoted much of her career to making sense of Russia under Vladimir Putin, offers a number of hard-won lessons for surviving in the autocracy that we may soon find ourselves living in here in the US.
The first and in some ways most important lesson for those still holding out hope for a more-or-less normal presidency:
Believe the autocrat. He means what he says. Whenever you find yourself thinking, or hear others claiming, that he is exaggerating, that is our innate tendency to reach for a rationalization. This will happen often: humans seem to have evolved to practice denial when confronted publicly with the unacceptable. Back in the 1930s, The New York Times assured its readers that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was all posture.Â
I think we’re going to have to suspend Godwin’s Law for the length of Trump’s presidency; the comparisons are simply too apt.
He has received the support he needed to win, and the adulation he craves, precisely because of his outrageous threats. Trump rally crowds have chanted “Lock her up!” They, and he, meant every word. … Trump has made his plans clear, and he has made a compact with his voters to carry them out. These plans include not only dismantling legislation such as Obamacare but also doing away with judicial restraint—and, yes, punishing opponents.
Gessen’s other rules:
Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. Consider the financial markets this week, which, having tanked overnight, rebounded following the Clinton and Obama speeches. Confronted with political volatility, the markets become suckers for calming rhetoric from authority figures. So do people. …
Rule #3: Institutions will not save you. It took Putin a year to take over the Russian media and four years to dismantle its electoral system; the judiciary collapsed unnoticed. …
Rule #4: Be outraged. …  [I]n the face of the impulse to normalize, it is essential to maintain one’s capacity for shock. …
Rule #5: Don’t make compromises.
The final rule offers up a little bit of hope:
Rule #6: Remember the future. Nothing lasts forever. Donald Trump certainly will not, and Trumpism, to the extent that it is centered on Trump’s persona, will not either.Â
Gessen ends her piece with a call for “resistance—stubborn, uncompromising, outraged.” Thousands of Americans are already taking to the streets in cities across the country to let the world know that Trump — who after all lost the popular vote — is not their president. He’s not mine either. We need to join those in the streets — literally, figuratively, or both — to make clear we don’t want, and won’t stand for, Putinism in the United States.
Racists should be shamed.
Racism is shameful.
Part of the reason why we are here is that we are we are too constrained by decency.
Every time someone says something which targets a group of people in a discriminatory way, we should (do the equivalent of) leaning into the mic and grunting WRONG.
That seems to be standard of debate people want to hear, let’s slap down every bit of bigotry we come across, intelligent arguments didn’t work.
@Dalillama I am a privileged White middle class person and a million times I have cried out in frustration “Arrrgh, you’re just a horrible racist” or some equivalent because I was too pissed off to sit down and engage with them diplomatically. I’m sure that by antagonizing them I have made them worse. It is exactly people like me, the privileged people who actually care, who have the responsibility to grit our teeth and keep our cool and perform a sort of hostage negotiation.
That is who I am addressing. Those who are privileged enough that we can do this without fearing for our lives.
@Zatar, @ElizabethRegina
Some of them definitely can’t be reasoned with. I know that from years of trying to. But some of them can and it often takes an infuriating amount of patience, but it works.
We need to approach this how police approach a hostage negotiation or how diplomats negotiate ceasefire. There are too many of them with too much power and they are too dangerous for shaming them to be effective.
When we look at a hostage situation and shame the hostage-taker, we can feel good that we gave him what he deserves, but it isn’t what saves the hostages.
Hey folks, please do not take the election of Tangerine Hitler as a single instance of stuff in what makes history, present and future.
You absolutely HAVE TO remember that our future becomes from a tangled weave of events.
It is not JUST Trump.
It is not JUST Putin.
It is not JUST Brexit.
It is not JUST rise of right-wing populism all around the world.
It is not JUST ongoing climate change (for the worse).
All of these things and tons more interact with each other, and the mix becomes explosive.
Consider: If Marine Le Pen wins in France next year, UN Security Council will be controlled by these people.
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cw_WDAuXEAAzOmI.jpg
Consider Umberto Eco’s ur-fascism. If I have to rank my own country, and check what features are starting to creep in…
Cult of tradition, check
Rejection of modernism, not quite, but there are suggestions of it at the background
Action for action’s sake, fuck yeah, we had MEN OF ACTION demanding and quickly preparing laws that flopped due to unconstitutionality and you wouldn’t believe the amount of bawwwing about that
Disagreement is treason, yep yep, those serious men in action think it is, fortunately people still say “NO” a lot
Fear of difference, yes, pretty much always
Appeal to a frustrated middle class, yes
Obsession with a plot, yes
Ostentatious wealth and force of their enemies, hot topic of the year — refugees have CELL PHONES OMG you dipshits, they’re refugees from a nation that was on par with ours in wealth, not time-travelers from 18th century
Life is lived for struggle, yup very much the ideology
Contempt for the weak — and how!
Everybody is educated to become a hero — what Pepe Boys are apparently hankering to be
Machismo, well, right now our govt. is busy trying to slash anything that makes life easier as a family or woman with kids and thank goodness that it was the previous Parliament which secured the rights of equal marriage laws
Selective populism, not yet, but I can see it creeping close
Newspeak, yes, sortakinda.
I’m worried for my country.
That’s a very frightening checklist, not only for the USA. And that UN Security Council is horrifying.
…
…I think I need to go and watch something cute.
If there’s anything I can criticize that article about, it’s the same thing I want to criticize people about any time they claim Trump is a populist. It’s part of my “bad history” pet peeve. The Populist party of the United States was indeed made up of farmers and people in the rural part of the United States, but they were nothing like these modern-day types. Probably the biggest difference is they actually pursued policies to alleviate the debt they had to undertake as part of farming.
One of the major defining issues of the Populists was their criticism of the gold standard. It made sure there was too little money in the nation, which made things harder and harder on people who owed money. They felt that the solution was inflation in the form of adding silver to the standard. This would increase the supply of money and make it easier for people to pay their debts, while also not completely upending the system as people thought going off gold would do.
They talked about poor blacks and whites working together for their common self interest (though there were also plenty of racists in the party. This was late 1800s rural America, after all). They pushed for a graduated income tax, an 8 hour work day, and government ownership of all railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. Though some of them also had that whole view of Jews as being shadowy international finance figures, but it’s safe to say that didn’t dictate the party’s policy.
In the United States, the Populists didn’t used to be a bunch of ignorant right-wing puppets. I find it offensive that anyone tries to say these Tea Baggers of nowadays are any relation to the old Populists in any way except for the racist aspects. But now, the closest you get to the Populist Party is a bunch of people who want less money because someone once told them inflation was bad, even though they owe money on houses and cars. Instead of being a party for collective action of farmers and workers to advocate for their rights, they’re running around giving up rights and hoping they’ll be paid almost nothing so they’ll have a job that competes with Chinese sweatshops.
And to think, Trump’s collective of buffoons thinks they’re the ones entitled to outrage.
re: Reaching people who voted for Trump/didn’t vote/voted third party.
What are the alternatives to reaching out to at least some of the people whose voting behaviour caused this and convincing them otherwise?
You will need more people to vote your way next election.
Or is there any other chance?
@Skiriki,
Jebus, that list also applies to Australia. Not all counts, but enough to give me pause.
@Mish of the Catlady Ascendancy
Well considering the situation regarding Manus and Nauru… I think that’s couple of checkmarks to “this is terrifying and alarming” column.
(For those who haven’t kept up with the news, Manus and Nauru are islands where (non-white) refugees who were headed towards Australia are detained under conditions worse than Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, and I am not much exaggerating here.)
@Skiriki,
Absolutely, yes. And the govt is currently trying to pass a law to the effect that if a person has sought asylum here by boat (not plane) they will never be allowed to visit, not even as a tourist or business person. Even if their refugee status is found to be legitimate.
Already, anyone who comes by boat will never be granted refugee status. So if this law passes, not only can they not come in as a refugee, they can never, ever come in under any circumstance.
And no, you’re not exaggerating in the least about the conditions. From what we know, that is, given that ‘whistleblowers’ face jail time and most media are not allowed anywhere near the detention centres.
Manus has closed but those people won’t be settled here.
In a final twist, a deal is being considered by the US to take some of Australia’s refugees.
Lot of people been saying it but I’ll just like to say the differences between Putin and Trump are far more than similarity. The mind of Russian people is also very different from Americans. It is strange that Guessen overlooks this if she has been living in or studying Russain politics. The history that allow Putin to do what he does is not at all the same as the situation that lead to Trump. Not even slightly.
To compare them is false.
But all that said, she is right with one thing. He should not be underestimated. And even if he does nothing for four years, by even existing he has given altright and nazis and racists the permission they need to act on their beliefs. Just a few days since and we see his effects already.
She compares to Putin because that’s hat she knows but she is wrong on that one in my opinion. I can’t agree.
Thanks for this David. Very good advice.
Just reading an amazing and depressing book about Putin’s Russia called “Nothing is True and Everything is Possible” by Peter Pomerantsev. The politics of the spectacle. I recommend it.
Doesn’t matter that he lost the popular vote, even the Nazi Party never had the majority alone in any democratic election (they needed the help of another far-righ party, the more snobbish, elitist German-national People’s Party).
Note that no big good guys are left anymore, and the EU might fall apart, we’re probably in for THOSE times again (we seem to every century).
It’s best to flee to Iceland or New Zealand, places no one cares about and that would almost certainly survive a nuclear war.
Other options include the Congo, the middle of the Amazonas, Greenland, small Indonesian islands etc.
Well, it’s better to wait first, maybe King Fettgesicht fails utterly and gets backstabbed by the GOP, [inappropriate stuff deleted by DF] but always consider to run away to Nowhere. Because even then the tenor of American politics might be ruined forever, and the US might have finally entered it’s final ultrapopulist and undemocratic state. Then a less incoherend and more competent leader will inevitable arise. And the EU is probably doomed anyway.
You know, they could have really waited another 60 years before going through all of this crap again.
@losername
You are suggesting that people should accommodate white nationalism. In your defense, you’re not alone. In fact, history says this is exactly what the Democratic Party will hurry to do.
On the other hand, THIS IS BULLSHIT. We should not, in point of fact, act in violation of the principle that PEOPLE ARE FUCKING HUMAN BEINGS.
For years, the Republican Party has been acting as though a moral emergency were underway, and they needed to respond with uncompromising principles. Now they have made it true, and Jesus fucking God I would like the Democrats to JUST SAY NO for once in my life. JUST FUCKING SAY NO.
@ramen We have been saying no and they took “revenge” on us by electing Trump. That’s the rhetoric I keep hearing. They’re sick of our “political correctness” of calling out racism when we see it and it makes them so mad that they elect a demagogue to punish us.
What if we used these kinds of tactics instead: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/hostage-negotiation/
No, it is absolutely not what they deserve, but this isn’t for their sake, it’s for the sake of their victims.
@losername
I think there are degrees of racism and sexism that happen and there are degrees of relationship to the people doing those racist and sexist things. In the case of a microagression from someone you have an ongoing relationship with your advice isn’t necessarily wrong. When my colleague unintentionally says something racist, calling it racist in front of everyone is probably not going to be productive. He’ll go on the defensive and be unable and unwilling to accept this information. Especially if I don’t explain why. However, if I contradict him in a more informative way, he actually listens and he’ll start to modify his behavior. This is a tactic I’ve been using and it’s been working. But he’s not intentionally bigoted, he’s a Hillary supporter, and he wants to challenge his own assumptions.
But for pretty much every other scenario with racism I think we need to be louder. Before Tuesday, if I were in public and saw some bigot shouting racist bullshit I would have ignored it. I’m introverted and being in public is hard enough. Plus, everyone knows that’s wrong, right? Wrong. That is behavior I need to change and have been mentally preparing myself to change. Bigots need to know they’re in the minority. Victims of Bigots need to know that they’re not alone and don’t need to fight this alone. We can’t afford to allow people to continue grabbing women by the pussy and yelling at people of color that they’re getting deported. We need to get loud. We need to put our bodies between them and their victims. This terrifies me and I need to prepare myself so that when that moment comes I don’t freeze up. We can’t afford not to fight back. We can’t afford to be polite.
@kupo — for not-freezing-up I would suggest a martial arts class or self-defense class, if possible. You don’t have to learn to fight, per se, but unlearning the freeze reflex in one might help. Another option is theatre class, especially improv variety.
What has helped me, though, is tabletop roleplaying games (I’m sure LARPing can also help). Expect the unexpected, and I can run my mouth pretty fiercely these days. But, everyone’s different and one-size-fits-nobody.
@losername
No. No, no, no, no. Accommodating white supremacy is not going to help white supremacy’s victims.
How about this? For the sake of all the non-cis-het-white-able-bodied-male-Christian folks targeted by this asshole and his campaign, let’s please not even talk about meeting him halfway. Not just because that would be the right, principled thing to do, but because meeting him halfway WON’T HELP ANYBODY.
Oh please tell me “bigot shaming” isn’t the new “creep shaming.” This backlash isn’t evidence that pushing back against bigotry is failing. It’s evidence that it’s succeeding. It just doesn’t happen overnight. There’s always, always backlash against social justice. For example, when schools were forcibly racially integrated there were huge violent protests against that. I’m sure there lots of white people who thought that maybe it was too soon. Maybe we should ease into desegration more slowly. Blah blah blah. But instead, they continued on with it. Now, even though yes, there are plenty of things that effectively segregate schools but for the most part it didn’t take too long for people to accept the new reality. The only mistake we’ve made is underestimating the backlash and not pushing back hard enough.
I’m a white cishet atheist but culturally Christian woman. When I push back against a bigotry that affect me, the person being a bigot doesn’t get upset with me. Either they think of it as a fun political debate with someone they disagree with or they just dismiss me as a silly bleeding heart liberal. I see no rage directed to me at all. The only time anyone gets upset with me for pushing back against bigotry is when that bigotry is misogyny. As Dalillama said, they’re not mad about bigot shaming, they’re mad that social justice movements have been slowly but surely accomplishing their goals. They’re mad at the oppressed people for getting all uppity and thinking they might be people.
Unfortunately, progress in social justice isn’t always linear. There are setbacks. That’s always how it’s been. That’s no reason to roll over and let bigots walk all over us. That’s no reason to act as though their bigotry is legitimized.
There was nothing I could have done to stop my Republican uncle from voting Trump and I don’t think I can stop his racism and homophobia. But at our last family gathering, what I could do is make damn sure his still too young to vote grandkids heard an adult pushing back against the bigotry. Not to do a sappy children are the future thing, but this is what’s important. If each generation is a little less oppressive than the last, we’ll always overcome these kind of horrific waves of hate eventually. That’s not going to happen if we act like bigots have some sort of legit point.
Sorry if I’m rambling and incoherent. Mornings aren’t my best time. I just can’t let the idea that we should be nice and intolerant towards bigots stand. Fuck them.
@ramen
I’m not sure people are saying we should accommodate white supremacy, rather that we argue against them in a less confrontational way. Same goal, just different method.
Apologies if this has already been linked, but Southern Poverty Law Centre has published a fantastic article on how to respond to bigoted statements from friends/family/etc in everyday life.
I still maintain that we should be firm, diligent and vigilant against bigotry from here on out, but to do it in a way that makes it harder for them to whip out the victim card and “you’re just as bad” tactic. God knows they’ll take whatever chance they can to do just that.
losername:
I feel like you may be taking the Trump supporters words at face value a little too much. I don’t think that the majority of Trump supporters have been called out nearly as much as they claim. I’ve seen perfectly logical arguments get the same results as angry call outs.
@ramen I absolutely don’t want to meet them halfway. I want to convince them to change their behaviour in a way they will actually listen to. If that means I have to grit my teeth and speak in a sweet soothing tone to a bigot to convince him to stop hurting people, then I am going to try and do that.
@communist bonobo You’re absolutely coherent. Sorry, I think my use of the word “shaming” was dumb, since it sounds like I’m calling them the victim. Bigots are absolutely not the victim. Maybe “antagonizing” would have been better. I also hate when people insist on baby steps to progress. I don’t want to soften on policy, I just want to change how we try to convince people.
Maybe you are absolutely correct that the antagonizing is the most effective strategy. That’s exactly what I want to discuss, the best way to convince people.
@Zatar Oh absolutely, that’s what I mentioned in my first comment. These precious flowers who throw tantrums as soon as someone points out their thinking is flawed. But there are also social justice advocates who are deliberately using shaming as a strategy and explicitly say so. I think that I myself have lost some potential converts because I lost my temper at them.
When people are wrong, facts just make them double down. There’s been research on this but I don’t have time to look it up. As Kupo was saying, there are certain instances when you can correct someone diplomatically. But when someone is determined to hate, the only thing that you can do is show others around you that it is not okay.
You know what. For all that talk of whether to be diplomatic or fierce as to which will be most effective…It probably depends on the individual you’re trying to correct. I can’t get angry at my mum because then she’ll flip it around and cry and be all “oh how could you do this” and then my dad comes running to defend her (always) and I’m the bad guy. That said, my dad could handle more forceful argument and sometimes that is how I’ve gotten through to him, just by firing up in my tone. Respectfully, but still assertively.
Thank you so much for this discussion. You are all so wonderful and strong and smart and I’m so happy to see people who really care about what is going on.