On Tyranny Lesson 4: Take responsibility for the face of the world

The most obvious signs of hate going on that I see are the vitriol and attacks going against the trans community, immigrants, and women. These are quite obvious through the legislation being proposed and passed and by the attacks made in both media and real life. In Lesson 4, Snyder also points out the role of imagery and symbols in these movements as adding to the regimes’ messaging. Steve Bannon and Elon Musk doing their so-called Roman salutes on camera so they can be spread on social media is no mistake. It’s signalling and using symbolism that sends a message to their supporters and detractors alike. Red hats and MAGA are now pervasive wearable propaganda.

As for Vaclav Havel’s quote, it’s a powerful one. You have to call out the lies and replace them with facts, assert your own reality, and don’t play their game. By following along in the same old ways and conventions, you play into their hands because they are smashing the established order and pulling the rug out from under you. Step off the rug. They are amplifying their reality to crush the majority’s. If they do it over and over again, then the expectation is that people will eventually fall in line and comply just like the greengrocer.

It will require creative strategies and courage to break up this messaging. I think one place to start is to present your reality and don’t let it be silenced.

I agree with you Tara. Red hats and the MAGA slogan are the new symbols of the current administration’s ideology. The Roman salute is also known as the Fascist salute, with the Nazi version distinguished by a stiff right arm at a 45 degree angle, palm faced down and fingers touching. From the images I saw of EM and others at CPAC 2025, the Nazi version seems to be the variant now being used.

I believe the point of Havel’s essay was to be truthful and not play the game, where displaying the “Workers of the world, unite!” sign in the greengrocer’s store window signals obedience to the regime and passively allows him to exist without harassment. It’s interesting to me that the signals used have a seemingly empowering message that allows one to argue “What’s wrong with the workers of the world uniting?”, or “What’s wrong with making America great again? Don’t you want America to be great?”, but in reality, they’re used to signal that the people showing the symbols want to play the game of obedience, fear and power.

There may be more than one type of tyrannical political power. What we currently see in the US is in development with the administration using as much force as they can muster to frighten their population. Threatening Habitat For Humanity and other reputable charities with fraud and jail, disappearing citizens without cause, labeling protesters at Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorists – these are just some of the most recent outrageous attempts to terrify US citizens. We also see active protests and a strong resistance. We also know that many who are not resisting outwardly, inwardly hope for a strong resistance to end the tyranny and may join in with the resistance when they find the courage or the calling.

This contrasts the tyranny that Havel’s essay was referencing, where fellow citizens enforce the rules and are just as powerful as the ruling regime. In this form of tyranny, there is very little room for dissent. In this scenario, it’s difficult to know who one’s true friends are and all neighbours are potential enforcers for the regime. This is a much more terrifying form of tyrannical power. Havel argues that by being truthful, by not displaying the signal of obedience when one does not believe in what it represents, and by not conforming to society’s expectations, the game cannot exist. The essay was a call for his fellow citizens to stop playing the game.

What’s quite interesting to me about Havel’s essay is that it turned into a manifesto for dissents in multiple countries, not just his own. Again, we come back to phrases we’ve seen repeatedly: “Every action matters”, “There is no action too small”. One essay from Havel spurred resistance, inspiration and action from millions. Havel became a significant member of the resistance that eventually contributed to his nation being freed from tyranny.

When we look at our current situation, we know that good, decent US citizens, in addition to almost the entire population of Canada, far outnumber the current US administration and its supporters. If small, consistent actions are taken by millions of us at the same time, at this very moment in time, individuals cannot be suppressed. We cannot be stopped. The more resistance we see, the more courage we can have to stand up alongside our friends and neighbours. The resistance grows larger and together we are stronger.

I live in a sleepy bedroom community that many don’t know even exists. I have not been there since the republican administration took office this past Jan. so I have no personal knowledge of hate signs. Nor has anyone from home said anything to me about any. Just to the South of my home is a large community of Hispanics which I imagine are pretty terrorized right now due to fears of deportation. Just North of my sleepy community is a Muslim Mosque which might have sustained some hate markings this winter. I will know more when I get home in a week or two. I am a snowbird and winter in a gated condo community that is pretty self-contained in Florida. This is about as red an area as you can get but have seen nothing in the nearby areas. What I have witnessed has been on TV and online.

Like Tara and Jane have said vigilance is so important. Do the research and know what you are signing up for when considering joining some kind of group. Don’t buy into the paraphernalia that markets an idea. Remain true to yourself and portray only yourself. Courage and integrity are key to preventing the game from starting or from letting oneself get sucked in. Find your voice in the safety of like minded people and as your courage and sense of security grow begin spreading the word beyond your safety net. Every voice counts – even if it’s a whisper.

I have seen many signs of hate in my community over these past few years; some subtle, some not. During the last election (and the one before that), vandalism was common when people dared put out their political signs; in my area, it was usually Democratic signs that were stolen or knocked down. At my brother’s house, they dared to fly a Black Lives Matter flag, and some people would honk and curse at them as they drove by their house. My sister-in-law, in taking a walk in the neighborhood, was sworn at and called a nasty name by a group of men in a pickup truck; it was obvious that they had recognized her even though she was far from her house, and had labeled her as an enemy. Neither my brother nor my sister-in-law are people of color, BTW; they were simply targeted because they dared think and vote differently than those others. Didn’t matter to those people that they had been born and raised in this community and had been good neighbors (and some of the people doing the damage had not). The atmosphere has sometimes been quite toxic.

It’s like many citizens are viewing the country as being engaged in a sporting event instead of a fight for democracy and good governance; you’re either on “our team” or you’re not; if you’re not, we’re going to trample you down; I see many social media posts locally where one of the biggest comebacks that some people can find to make, (like it’s the most important thing of all), is “we won! There are more of us than you! So suck it up!” The need to be “winners” overpowers the need to be fair and decent. (Of course, our current leadership is feeding into this as well.) And name-calling and insults are usually included as well as things degenerate even further.

Now, one might argue that those people who tore down the political signs are indeed following Snyder’s suggestion of “…Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.” The difference, though, is that he was speaking about symbols of hatred. You may hate another’s political sign, but if it’s merely advocating a vote for a different candidate, that’s a democratic process that should be respected. If that flag asks you to think about conditions of humanity, that’s the opposite of hate. People need to be able to critically think and see the difference; but when certain symbols become pervasive, people do get immune to their impact, and I believe that’s the point of this chapter in that regard.

Going through the motions anyway, even when the message is hateful and there are destructive consequences, runs the danger of making that the new norm, and somehow acceptable. We need to be able to not go along with the herd, and be willing to take a stand of resistance, in every way we can. We can refuse to patronize companies, stores, groups, who feed into the madness; we can disagree when someone makes a blatant statement that is hurtful or dangerous, and try to have a productive dialogue when that’s possible. We can use our votes, and our voices, and our pens (or keyboards) to let people know that some things just aren’t OK, and be informed enough to be able to tell them why. What we CAN’T do is turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn’t matter. It does.

Recently a group of residents in my own small town spoke out at a community council meeting against the building of a 19 bed proposed Addiction Treatment Centre. They agreed that it is needed and a good idea in theory, but they didn’t want it our neighbourhood claiming it would lower property values and endanger citizens. I also saw the same scenario play out on the news with a group of people in Vancouver demonstrating against proposed low income rental housing being built in their area. I wrote a letter in support of the local project here which was read out at the meeting. This “us” and “them” and “not in my neighbourhood” rhetoric is what leads to the beginning of the break down of social justice values. It sows the seeds of hate.

I believe we must each speak out in our own communities and do what we can to bond together in a shared humanitarian response to suffering in our own personal communities, and in the world. We must fight with tenacity and strength, and we must not be silent when we see wrongs being committed. I am happy to say the proposed Addiction Recovery centre was approved and passed unanimously by our council. One small victory at a time.

Words can be hurtful and cause great pain. They can maim and fuel anger. They can lead the hearers and readers into acts of violence and selfishness. Perhaps it’s impossible to fully comprehend others unless our own way of living has become exposed and vulnerable. Most of us fear the unknown. In the wake of human trauma and life struggles we can only develop a greater sense of affinity and empathy when we open our minds to a broader acceptance of our shared humanity. To relay this to people like Trump, Musk and their Maga minions with their warped values may seem like an exercise in futility, but we must not stop trying and thwarting their plans in every way we can.

From what I see, the signs of hate are much more subtle, more hidden than swastikas. As others have written, I find it useful to consider these questions in the context of my community.

NM is, on balance, a pretty open-minded, tolerant and diverse community. We Anglos are a minority. The city of ABQ is surrounded by Pueblo sovereign land and reminders of their stewardship of the natural and cultural landscape.

But, two years ago, the City proposed amendments to the zoning code that would require notification and comment from Tribal Nations when development was planned in the area of the Petroglyph National Monument, an area specifically designated by the U.S. Congress to protect the heritage its landscape and images represents. There were people who stated in public meetings that Native Americans were privileged by the U.S. government, received government payouts (not true) and that consideration of their views of sacred land was an infringement on the rights of individual property owners.

Thankfully, those views did not prevail. Nonetheless, I think they represent the effort to establish a group as the undeserving and entitled other and to use that to objectify people. That is where it is necessary to refuse to “play the game.”

The signs of hate are in every society, I believe. If subtle signs go unchecked, if leaders or the majority of the community don’t act to reject intolerance and objectification, the hate seems to spread and grow more emboldened.

How we stop playing the game is to reject it outright, if possible. In Jane’s example above, good leadership and a strong community of open-minded, tolerant and diverse citizens can handle hints of racism easily by rejecting the ideas of racists. This doesn’t stop the racism within individuals, but it’s still a clear rejection.

Rejecting racism in communities where hate is more blatant and supported by the leadership is of course more difficult. Leaders who stoke fear and hate want their followers to rage. Often those who don’t support the leader become angry and intolerant of the hateful leader and followers. Here, citizens become the worst versions of themselves. How to stop playing the game in this scenario takes more effort, but possibly by not reacting to the hate and, as Susan mentioned, by taking the high road, the game can start to fall apart. This would mean trying to connect with the other side. Trying to listen to them and to show them you’re human, so that they will stop objectifying you as “them” and maybe even listen to you in return. I think this touches on deradicalization and combatting disinformation, where developing trust and meaningful relationships can lead to players refusing to play the game.