Blog Like No One's Following You

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons

Which lesson would you like to know more about?

Do not obey in advance.

Defend institutions.

Beware the one-party state.

Take responsibility for the face of the world.

Remember professional ethics.

Be wary of paramilitaries.

Be reflective if you must be armed.

Stand out.

Be kind to our language.

Believe in truth.

Investigate.

Make eye contact and small talk.

Practice corporeal politics.

Establish a private life.

Contribute to good causes.

Learn from peers in other countries.

Listen for dangerous words.

Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.

Be a patriot.

Be as courageous as you can.

Snyder, T. (2017). On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Crown.

Great Queer Provocation

Queer, recognition-based envy is a pendulum swinging between one’s own wish to unfold freely as an individual, and the overwhelming greed/need to be valued for conforming.

I can feel this quote.

The desire to be completely normal remains unfulfillable in queer existence, and yet it’s a concept that some want to chase after forever—or feel they have to.

The chapter refers to the individual striving to be normal as in conforming to current societal norms, i.e. cis-hetero-allo-normativity. It's an individual urge/need as opposed to being different and striving for a collective normalization of queerness.

The model of a queer, recognition-based envy is the theoretical attempt to explain why certain queer individuals refuse an apparently logical queer solidarity.

Think of those queers who ostracize other queers in an attempt to conform to the society as it is today, instead of striving for normalization for all queers. That's what this chapter is trying to explain.

Recognizing queer others means reducing one’s own capacity to conform to the norm, and reduces the appreciation shown for the subjugation presented.

Goessl, M. J. (2024). Great Queer Provocation: The Seriously Playful Recognition Game. transcript Verlag. https://www.transcript-publishing.com/978-3-8376-7385-2/great-queer-provocation/

A New Meaning of the Ivory Tower

This kind of turn can begin anywhere, anytime — like right this moment, here and now — wearing the mask of pragmatism and accommodation: let’s not make waves, let’s not use words or make speeches that draw attention, let’s make friendly connections to state legislators, let’s rename that program, let’s quietly defund that one center. Let’s not grant tenure to that person. Let’s encourage that professor to retire. Let’s look for a leader who is acceptable to interests that really hate the university and its values. Let’s take the money for an independent institute that pushes far-right economic philosophy. Let’s take away some governance from faculty, because they tend to provoke our enemies too much. Let’s compromise. Let’s be realistic.

Burke, T. (2022, Juni 30). Academia: Waiting for Heideggers. Eight by Seven. https://timothyburke.substack.com/p/academia-waiting-for-heideggers

We think it's necessary, that not much can be done, that it's just this one little thing, that it's not that important, that we're just protecting our people, at least most of them, forgetting that it won't stop there. We are gradually eroding our freedom one tiny step at a time. We are leaving people behind one tiny step at a time.

To understand what happens from the perspective of those we leave behind through compromise, we should consider the concept of slow violence.

By slow violence I mean a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all. [...] a violence that is neither spectacular nor instantaneous, but rather incremental and accretive, its calamitous repercussions playing out across a range of temporal scales.

Nixon, R. (2011). Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674061194

So what can we actually do? Well.

Watch for those who will come forward with the aim of making us easier to deliver on a platter to some future monstrosity, and block their path whenever they step forward. Start building the foundations for a maze, a moat, a fortress, a barricade, for becoming as hard to seize as possible. Time for the ivory tower to take on new meaning.

Burke, T. (2022, Juni 30). Academia: Waiting for Heideggers. Eight by Seven. https://timothyburke.substack.com/p/academia-waiting-for-heideggers

Queer Narrative

Coming-out stories [...] generally assume a stable sexual identity [...].

The idea of a stable identity has always puzzled me. As a person, I tend to grow and change with every breath I take, every experience I make, every conversation I have, every piece I read. Life is change and identity can change along the way. Sexual identity is no different.

Mulhall, A. (2020). Queer Narrative. In S. B. Somerville (Hrsg.), The Cambridge Companion to Queer Studies (1. edition, p. 142–155). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108699396.011

Consensus and Privilege

Consensus is produced by privileging particular perspectives.

Haslam, S. A., Alvesson, M., & Reicher, S. D. (2024). Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(3), 101770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2023.101770

life's too short to write for an imaginary critic that you fear will hate what you wrote

I cannot begin to explain to you the disappointment I felt on finding out that “match my freak” was a sexual thing and not a level of how insane you are with your friends

These Witches Don’t Burn

“She’s my ex,” I whisper, my stomach clenching as I wait to see how [he] responds. Coming out is always nerve-wracking, no matter how many times I do it. [...]

[He] pauses a moment, considering me. Then he lets out a knowing sigh. “My first boyfriend broke up with me a few months before he went to college, too.”

“Yeah?” I ask, instantly feeling a tighter kinship with my new coworker, like seeing a familiar face in a crowd of strangers.

“What happened?”

“Some of it was the usual stuff, [...]. Mostly, though, I don’t think he wanted to date a guy.” When [he] sees my confused expression, he clarifies. “I’m trans. I came out senior year.”

Sterling, I. (2019). These Witches Don’t Burn. Razorbill.

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons: Most of it is quite self-explanatory. But elaborate on #12.

12. Make eye contact and small talk.

This lesson is so simple and human that it hits me every time I think about it. Snyder gives a straightforward definition, which I will quote at the end of this post, but he also links this lesson to people who have lived through tyranny.

[...] memoirs of their victims all share a single tender moment. [...] people who were living in fear of repression remembered how their neighbors treated them. A smile, a handshake, or a word of greeting [...] took on great significance. When friends, colleagues, and acquaintances looked away or crossed the street to avoid contact, fear grew. You might not be sure, today or tomorrow, who feels threatened [...]. But if you affirm everyone, you can be sure that certain people will feel better.

When I think about it, making small gestures like this also makes me feel a little less afraid. So making a small gesture - whatever gesture fits your personal style - makes those who need it feel better.

Snyder's definition is this:

This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

International Students

How many international students are there at the moment who want to enroll in a US university? The threat to block Harvard from enrolling international students is so hollow. As if this administration cares about international students. There won't be any anyway.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html