Timothy Snyder Discusses Urgent Threats Of Authoritarianism And What Can Be Done To Resist It

Note: Our Discussion Guide for our Pop-up Book Club Discussion of “On Tyranny” is now available.

On March 4, Timothy Snyder, Yale professor and the author of “On Tyranny“, spoke with the organization Red, Wine, and Blue via Zoom. He discussed his ideas on how to fight back. Here are some points from the discussion:

Whatever you’re doing, you’re making some kind of historical difference, including what you say.
Of the 20 lesson from “On Tyranny”, Snyder highlights:
- Lesson 4 – Take responsibility for the face of the world
- Lesson 1 – Do not obey in advance
  - This is the most important lesson as it is key to everything else
  - Understand what is your normal and make sure your normal doesn’t slide as events unfold
- Lesson 9 – Be kind to our language
- Lesson 10 – Believe in truth
- Lesson 18 – Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Learn to associate calm with the unthinkable happens, otherwise you panic and you will not be helpful to other people
- Lesson 19 – Be a patriot. Define patriotism as helping other people, as being with other people, as solidarity, as being empathetic, not as nationalism, where it’s used to bully and exclude others.
- Lesson 12 – Make eye contact and small contact. When heading towards a tyrannical situation, out of self protection, you need to make a habit of making eye contact and paying attention of how people are treating you. You will never find ways of breaking through is you’re not listening. Nobody will listen to you unless they think you’re human. See note on disinformation below.
Understand how the American republic is now being taken apart. Who is doing this? Where is the money going? Be aware of bullying sessions – notice and mock them as unacceptable. This is an example of people allowing other people to be their worst selves.
Nothing about this will be easy or fast. We will need millions of little acts of solidarity and togetherness. There is no magic button and nobody knows how this will turn out. It’s very bad and very serious, but it is not hopeless. Hope is a fire that many people have to work together to keep going.
Focus on supporting one or two candidates instead of dividing your efforts. Find candidates who share your vision, people who are pushing back, like AOC, Jamie Raskin, Jasmine Crockett. What they are doing is incredibly difficult and they need support. They need to be propped up and celebrated.
However, don’t wait for the midterms — they’re too far away. Think in terms of next week. Here’s a list of action items, that include more ways to help in addition to calling or writing to your Congresspeople.
Work locally on small or medium-sized actions. Find groups that share your goals, so you feel less alone. Work with people you like and admire and make sure your doing things that keep you engaged on a regular basis.
Have a better time than your opponents are. They are consumed with anger and grievance, so have fun.
In the same vein: surprise people. Be creative. Organize flash mobs. Get people’s attention. Boycotts can work if you include pageantry. Snyder used the example of people protesting in front of Tesla dealerships with their messages projected on the building.
Find a source of good information and support it by paying for a subscription. Look especially for local newspapers. Share what they say online. The examples he gave were ProPublica, Wired, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and viewers mentioned others in the comments.
Say, and repeat often, that you believe in the truth. Don’t fall into cynicism.
Join a union if possible.
Normalize protests. As he said, “If you protest now you will be able to protest later.” You need to plan a protest out beforehand: where do you start, what are your goals, what do you do if the police come? People who are physically unable to join a protest can help with the groundwork.