Thanks for writing this, Dr. Fish. It made me feel less alone in my fear and worry. And that is definitely worth something.
A colleague and I were just driving from Cornell back home to Maryland today, and we were discussing the need to “rest” and “recharge”, but we asked ourselves if we were just detaching and dissociating.
But we decided that we really are just resting when we rest, and that it’s essential to periodically take breaks from the noise and chaos in order to recharge and not become apathetic and demoralized to the point of giving up.
To your point about European countries allowing themselves to slide into despotism and how you’ve now re-thought that (something I have also pondered), I’ll point you to a book published in 1955 by Milton Mayer, then a research professor at the University of Frankfurt.
He wanted to explore the development of fascism, and interviewed 10 men and their families who had been members of the Nazi party. He wanted to find out what had “made” them Nazis.
Echoing somewhat your words here, this is from Chapter 13 in the book:
“What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.”--from Chapter 13, “But Then It Was Too Late”
I am glad you related to the piece. I felt like I had to put out a personal account of how all of these events impacted me, and to call out the typical activist line that we have to be 100% "on" resisting fascism 24/7; it's not realistic and if anything, seems likely to burn people out and sap their will to do stuff that really DOES matter like voting. Biden won in 2020 by like 40,000 votes across three states, it was a real squeaker! We can't afford to have anyone sit on the sidelines this fall
Someone on Blue Sky wrote “living in America is like being awake on the table.” I thought it was apt but I guess it’s worse because at least when you are awake on the table, someone skilled is trying to fix you and help you live another day.
Thanks Eric, well written and I especially agree with the notion that violence and inducements towards violence are completely unacceptable. It is well-documented that Trump and his crowd have traded heavily in this, such as Trump calling for a “bloodbath” if he is not elected this year, his joking references to Paul Pelosi’s skull bashing and almost death in his home perpetrated by a partisan, the stand back and stand by bullshit, and the disgusting assault on the nations capitol 1/6 come to mind immediately. Yet they try to flip the narrative towards Biden rightly warning of project 2025 and the manifest undermining of the separation of powers going on right now in the Supreme Court as it sanctions autocracy.
We truly are living in times when “once in a lifetime stuff” will keep happening yearly, and we will have no time to look back and process as the events keep coming I’m afraid.
I hope Democrats, Republicans, and everyone else can use this moment to chart a less violent course. I doubt Trump has any sincere interest in this. I was not inspired at all by his secret service endangering, self aggrandizing, blood streaked fist pumping right after he got up to the chants “fight, fight, fight!” So disturbing, despite the NYT lapping it up like they seem to do with everything Trump lately. Left wing my ass.
I don’t want a fight club, I want leaders who acknowledge and address problems like climate change, unlike the calls to ramp up oil coal and gas we will hear this week, in addition to all the other subversions of justice and democracy.
I’m glad he’s not dead. I hope we and he can learn something from this horror.
I agree, Ryan. I am reminded of the old Yiddish example of chutzpah: Someone who kills both their parents, then pleads for mercy from the judge on account of being an orphan.
I won't dispute that there are extremist and violent left-wing elements, but it is not the majority by a long-shot. Both in terms of rhetoric and completed actions, the blame is very lopsided in coming from the far-right.
Take this article from the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
"This analysis makes several arguments. First, far-right terrorism has significantly outpaced terrorism from other types of perpetrators, including from far-left networks and individuals inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Right-wing attacks and plots account for the majority of all terrorist incidents in the United States since 1994, and the total number of right-wing attacks and plots has grown significantly during the past six years. Right-wing extremists perpetrated two thirds of the attacks and plots in the United States in 2019 and over 90 percent between January 1 and May 8, 2020."
Since 2020, there have only been further examples, ranging from the Trump-instigated January 6th capitol riot (people forget we narrowly dodged political assassinations that day), Proud Boy / Oathkeeper / boogaloo incidents, Paul Pelosi being bludgeoned by a rightwing nutjob (and mocked by Trump), a legit kidnap/torture/kill plot against Gretchen Whitmer, and on and on.
It is difficult to talk about this without sounding partisan, but sometimes facts are inconvenient and it is what it is.
What is crazy is that Joe isn't even a Boomer, he's a generation OLDER! Born in 1942, he is from the "Silent Generation." His "younger" opponent is still 78, born in the first year of the Baby Boomer cohort. Look how many other politicians cling beyond their prime: Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell are both OLDER than Biden, and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is a relatively youthful 73! Diane Feinstein died in office after years of dementia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for all of her strength and intelligence, doomed us to decades of a SCOTUS supermajority by not stepping down when she had a chance.
At the risk of sounding ageist, America has become a sclerotic gerontocracy. Yes, age brings wisdom, but is someone born 3 years before WWII really prepared to lead the world through 21st century challenges like gene editing, quantum computing, advanced robotics, and more??? I believe people can keep contributing to the public good into their later years. It's also critical to cultivate a new generation of more vital leaders who have a lived experience closer to most Americans.
Eric, I am not sanguine or dismissive of the shooting yesterday. it was horrible. There may be a larger context at play here: the move toward fascism, etc. But it could also be something that does not fit into such narratives, like John Hinkley shooting Reagan. As someone who grew up in the sixties, presidents and presidential candidates get shot at. Gerald Ford drew bullets on TWO occasions, and most everybody liked him, even his political opponents.
You are very right that the shooter's motives may be totally random. What I am certain of is the country is currently a powder keg and the slightest disturbance could provoke more widespread unrest and violence
Thanks for writing this, Dr. Fish. It made me feel less alone in my fear and worry. And that is definitely worth something.
A colleague and I were just driving from Cornell back home to Maryland today, and we were discussing the need to “rest” and “recharge”, but we asked ourselves if we were just detaching and dissociating.
But we decided that we really are just resting when we rest, and that it’s essential to periodically take breaks from the noise and chaos in order to recharge and not become apathetic and demoralized to the point of giving up.
To your point about European countries allowing themselves to slide into despotism and how you’ve now re-thought that (something I have also pondered), I’ll point you to a book published in 1955 by Milton Mayer, then a research professor at the University of Frankfurt.
He wanted to explore the development of fascism, and interviewed 10 men and their families who had been members of the Nazi party. He wanted to find out what had “made” them Nazis.
Echoing somewhat your words here, this is from Chapter 13 in the book:
“What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.”--from Chapter 13, “But Then It Was Too Late”
I am glad you related to the piece. I felt like I had to put out a personal account of how all of these events impacted me, and to call out the typical activist line that we have to be 100% "on" resisting fascism 24/7; it's not realistic and if anything, seems likely to burn people out and sap their will to do stuff that really DOES matter like voting. Biden won in 2020 by like 40,000 votes across three states, it was a real squeaker! We can't afford to have anyone sit on the sidelines this fall
Someone on Blue Sky wrote “living in America is like being awake on the table.” I thought it was apt but I guess it’s worse because at least when you are awake on the table, someone skilled is trying to fix you and help you live another day.
I like the analogy I heard from Canadian residents: “it’s like living in an apartment above a meth lab” 💀
Yes, I am sure it is like that!
Thanks Eric, well written and I especially agree with the notion that violence and inducements towards violence are completely unacceptable. It is well-documented that Trump and his crowd have traded heavily in this, such as Trump calling for a “bloodbath” if he is not elected this year, his joking references to Paul Pelosi’s skull bashing and almost death in his home perpetrated by a partisan, the stand back and stand by bullshit, and the disgusting assault on the nations capitol 1/6 come to mind immediately. Yet they try to flip the narrative towards Biden rightly warning of project 2025 and the manifest undermining of the separation of powers going on right now in the Supreme Court as it sanctions autocracy.
We truly are living in times when “once in a lifetime stuff” will keep happening yearly, and we will have no time to look back and process as the events keep coming I’m afraid.
I hope Democrats, Republicans, and everyone else can use this moment to chart a less violent course. I doubt Trump has any sincere interest in this. I was not inspired at all by his secret service endangering, self aggrandizing, blood streaked fist pumping right after he got up to the chants “fight, fight, fight!” So disturbing, despite the NYT lapping it up like they seem to do with everything Trump lately. Left wing my ass.
I don’t want a fight club, I want leaders who acknowledge and address problems like climate change, unlike the calls to ramp up oil coal and gas we will hear this week, in addition to all the other subversions of justice and democracy.
I’m glad he’s not dead. I hope we and he can learn something from this horror.
I agree, Ryan. I am reminded of the old Yiddish example of chutzpah: Someone who kills both their parents, then pleads for mercy from the judge on account of being an orphan.
I won't dispute that there are extremist and violent left-wing elements, but it is not the majority by a long-shot. Both in terms of rhetoric and completed actions, the blame is very lopsided in coming from the far-right.
Take this article from the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
"This analysis makes several arguments. First, far-right terrorism has significantly outpaced terrorism from other types of perpetrators, including from far-left networks and individuals inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Right-wing attacks and plots account for the majority of all terrorist incidents in the United States since 1994, and the total number of right-wing attacks and plots has grown significantly during the past six years. Right-wing extremists perpetrated two thirds of the attacks and plots in the United States in 2019 and over 90 percent between January 1 and May 8, 2020."
https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-terrorism-problem-united-states
Since 2020, there have only been further examples, ranging from the Trump-instigated January 6th capitol riot (people forget we narrowly dodged political assassinations that day), Proud Boy / Oathkeeper / boogaloo incidents, Paul Pelosi being bludgeoned by a rightwing nutjob (and mocked by Trump), a legit kidnap/torture/kill plot against Gretchen Whitmer, and on and on.
It is difficult to talk about this without sounding partisan, but sometimes facts are inconvenient and it is what it is.
So well said. As a Boomer (!) I feel exactly the same. The world seems spinning into darkness on so many levels.
One thing to add: besides VOTE! -please VOLUNTEER and help voters be informed and get out the vote. Be active
What is crazy is that Joe isn't even a Boomer, he's a generation OLDER! Born in 1942, he is from the "Silent Generation." His "younger" opponent is still 78, born in the first year of the Baby Boomer cohort. Look how many other politicians cling beyond their prime: Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell are both OLDER than Biden, and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is a relatively youthful 73! Diane Feinstein died in office after years of dementia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for all of her strength and intelligence, doomed us to decades of a SCOTUS supermajority by not stepping down when she had a chance.
At the risk of sounding ageist, America has become a sclerotic gerontocracy. Yes, age brings wisdom, but is someone born 3 years before WWII really prepared to lead the world through 21st century challenges like gene editing, quantum computing, advanced robotics, and more??? I believe people can keep contributing to the public good into their later years. It's also critical to cultivate a new generation of more vital leaders who have a lived experience closer to most Americans.
Eric, I am not sanguine or dismissive of the shooting yesterday. it was horrible. There may be a larger context at play here: the move toward fascism, etc. But it could also be something that does not fit into such narratives, like John Hinkley shooting Reagan. As someone who grew up in the sixties, presidents and presidential candidates get shot at. Gerald Ford drew bullets on TWO occasions, and most everybody liked him, even his political opponents.
You are very right that the shooter's motives may be totally random. What I am certain of is the country is currently a powder keg and the slightest disturbance could provoke more widespread unrest and violence