From my friend Sonya, a great piece on the reality of Trump as PresElect:

For domestic abuse survivors or survivors of any kind of abuse, the experience of having a terrible & erratic man in our lives with a huge amount of power is scary & triggering. Hell, it…

Source: To Survive Trump, Ask an Abuse Survivor

These are dark times. We all need to consider seriously what is going on in the US – and the rest of the world – and be prepared for what could come. I pass a sign every day on my way to work that says, “‘It won’t happen to us’ is not an emergency plan.” We need an emergency plan for ourselves, our families and our friends.

A big part of that plan I think is to establish contact with each other in the real world, not just relying on electronic media to stay in touch. But while we have the media and it seems reasonably trustworthy, we need to use it to set up real-world networks. Beyond that, developing awareness of what to look for is important.

This is a synopsis of some of the lessons we might learn from the history of fascism in the world, presented in a very understated, non-sensationalist way by a professor of history:

“Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.
1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You’ve already done this, haven’t you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.
2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don’t protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.
3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of “terrorism” and “extremism.” Be alive to the fatal notions of “exception” and “emergency.” Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don’t fall for it.
6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don’t use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps “The Power of the Powerless” by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.
10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.
11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to 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.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.
15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.
16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)
19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.
20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.”

—Timothy Snyder

Housum Professor of History, Yale University

In a very different mood, this little beauty amplifies the message.

As the Black-eyed Peas, like many before them, sang, love is the solution. But love is a tricky concept (duh), and like the old, old song “Spooky” said, love is kinda spooky with a spooky little girl like you (or something close to that!).

But yes, love can be spooky. And this universe in which we live can be a spooky little girl. So love is spooky. Especially when you bring it to the quantum level… Huh?

Yeah, love at the quantum level. This is an interesting twist on an old, old theme. And it gets to the essence of one of the most interesting twists in current science, quantum entanglement – the idea that Albert Einstein famously ridiculed as “spooky action at a distance.” But as this article, and George Musser’s book by the same name that I’ve recently begun reading (or reading at – it’s tough), document, this shit happens — despite its apparent illogical nature and despite that it is a concept nearly impossible to hold in one’s mind as part of reality.

The simple version of this is that particles, and by implication everything, that were once connected, even if that was a long time ago, such as at the time of the origins of the universe, are ever after connected and respond to anything happening to the other at the same instant. And regardless of how far apart they are, as in, the other side of the universe.

Which, of course, we can’t imagine. And no one. No one. Not even the scientists who can show that it’s happening, can really explain why it’s that way. There are hypotheses, yes, because that’s what science does is propose answers and then throw them out there for everyone else to test and disagree with and try to prove or disprove. But there is apparently no consensus on this.

Well, maybe some limited consensus.

Which is why I’m reading this book, which I discovered in my eye doctor’s waiting room. To find out if there is greater consensus now than a few years ago when I last visited this vastly fascinating but oh so confounding topic.

I’ll let you know what I find out.

I belong to the culture of labor. What does that mean? Well, it’s understandable if you don’t know there is a labor culture, both in this country and around the world. This culture is not shown on sitcoms, cable networks, or in most movies–or if it is, it is portrayed as a depressing sliver: working-class […]

via I belong to the culture of labor — Sonya Huber