I have been worried about this issue off and on since Trump’s cabinet is made up of loyalists who have zero talent in the areas of government they have been assigned to oversee. It could happen anywhere, anytime. Of the three possible sources I put my money on home grown terrorists. Thank you for your insightful articles that give me the big picture. Easy these days to get lost in the chaos.
Particularly with all the real talent they got rid of via DOGE -- people who actually knew the systems and how to make things work in unusual circumstances. Given that the Secret Service director had to resign in the wake of the attempted assassination, I wonder who will be the 'fall guy' if someone takes advantage of the situation in which the United States no longer has experienced systems and talents.
Well, it's kinda looking like the employees who have to work under these inept sycophants are serious enough about doing their jobs right that they are causing some serious waves -- defense department people have super serious jobs, so I'm not surprised that they're unhappy with 'nothing's classified' Hegseth....
Along with all Tim writes, my specific anticipation is that such actors will be planted inside peaceful protests and thus be used to justify violent crackdown, etc. We've seen it before in many places, including the US.
Friday we had our 5th weekly picketing event outside our retirement community in SW FL. 30-40 retirees in their 70s-90s with homemade signs. Yesterday we had a taste of opposition when an avid Trumper stood near us with an airhorn and his own sign. The cars streaming by in support of us had smiles on their faces while those who shouted or gestured hatred had to take that soul-devouring feeling with them into their day.
Like many I have deep concerns as well. I was involved in anti war actions in the 60s and 70s plus involved with many organizations. Years later I found out that many of these organizations were infilitrated by the FBI and various police departments. In fact many played leadership roles, people who often proposed radical actions. These tactics have been around for ages, think the attack against trade Union organizing, Henry Ford hiring the Pinkertons etc, the significant infiltration of the Civil Rights Movement. All documented.
During the Quebec Crisis of October 1970, a "manifesto" from the FLQ was actually published on the front of TIme Magazine. Later it turned out to have been written by an RCMP who had infiltrated the FLQ. Who knows how much this provocateur pushed them to kidnap the British Ambassador James Cross and then to kidnap and murder the (very corrupt) Labor Minister Pierre Laporte. Cross was freed unharmed. However, the then PM of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, invoked the War Measures Act and had the armed forces sent to Quebec. Soldiers with machine guns guarded City Hall. For Montrealers, it was a real shock. Moreover, the city was in the midst of a mayoral race and the incumbent, Jean Drapeau, used the WMA as an excuse to round up nearly 500 people without real cause and without warning—not even giving parents the opportunity to arrange care for minor children—and jailed, effectively decimating the popular municipal opposition party, FRAP, and allowing Drapeau to win the election. Although he had been originally elected in the late 50s on an anti-corruption platform, by 1970 Drapeau was notoriously corrupt himself and many Montreallers were fed up with him. With much of FRAP's candidates locked up, however, it was a shoo-in for Drapeau. I remember feeling shocked at how many people didn't see any harm in all this dubious excercise in power overkill.
I have been warning friends about this too. I am from Chicago. We know how the FBI infiltrated the protests then, and continues to do so to get people to perform acts of violence.
"...actors will be planted inside peaceful protests and thus be used to justify violent crackdown..."
De-legitimizing protest itself; 'reminding' America that these ' perhaps well intentioned' protestors are being manipulated by 'bad left wing actors' who simply want to destroy America. Musk-trump want to transition the US into the Peoples Democratic Republic of...
This is why protesters need to be ready to stop and restrain provocateurs and hand them over to the cops in full view of the media. Others should live stream the whole thing. Expect the provocateurs to be non-white to create rage in MAGA.
Yes many were amateurs but the problem game when there were savvy smart leaders who engaged in splintering off and weakening the strategy and tactics of the overall protest. It wasn’t just the amateurs, there were also people who engaged in in divide and countering tactics thereby weakening forces who were pushing for social justice and non intervention in Vietnam. Anyway so important to be aware of negative forces without becoming super paranoid. This paranoia can also weaken organizations
Awareness is good. However Fear and paranoia can lead to paralysis. We all become frightened and don’t speak or act. resistance is not easy but necessary. It is tricky and difficult. Living in abject fear sucks.
Parker spent time in Berkeley in the Sixties. I can attest that not being aware will get you beaten, tear gassed, and even shot at. You should always be aware of your surroundings, and who's there. That's not actually paranoia. That's paying attention.
We know people who were involved in the writing of the Port Huron Statement in 1962, who left the group when factions started advocating for and engaging in violence. We’ve had some interesting conversations in the past several years but the gist of many of these were to be aware of negative forces and those who are looking to engage in violent confrontations - it does weaken the overall protest and people get hurt, die.
Concerns here are for some folks in our community who are protesting for more… let’s call it performative purposes. Which is sad - but that’s the reality. Several of those seeming to view protesting not quite as a “one and done” but lacking awareness of just how long a process of change will likely take. In the meantime, we carry on.
Well, you may think you're not to going to be violent, but I assure you the other side will use violence at most opportunities. You really need to be prepared for the worst, because as those of us in Berkeley, at Kent State, and every black community have experienced the worst. Police and National Guard could care less about "performative purposes."
Yes, I understand this. The expectation of/not ruling out the possibility of violence is different than seeking violence in interactions.
Police and others do not care about “performative purposes” - but we have some true dumbasses here (and elsewhere) looking to get into brawls for attention, photos, etc. Have seen these folks (the dumbasses) in action.
Some of them proudly display photos of being stupid, provocative as proof of what great activists they are… that’s performative bullshit and they’ve been tough to contain and de-escalate in a variety of situations.
Some of those I AM good friends with were at Kent State, Harvard, Chicago, elsewhere and DID leave SDS when the group decided it was okay to bomb folks. It is important to know what one is getting into and with whom.
My own fear is that the surveillance technology already being used by Chinese, Russian and Israeli intelligence against their own people and their perceived enemies is being used by Trump's foul goons against our own people. I have heard that if you go to a protest, you should leave your cell phone at home. I am not professionally qualified to judge that either a wise precaution or a paranoid response. For what it may be worth...
What is this? The Sixties and Seventies didn't happen? As you say, "they" will be out to get you and happy to beat you up even if you're 5' tall, 85 pounds, blue eyes and long blond hair.
There was a pattern in the first Trump administration.
During gatherings and protests an antifa lookout would light a trashcan on fire. Other antifa, in their black clothing and masks, then ran into the crowd causing an escalation of violence and at the inauguration they broke windows, I think at a Starbucks. They were, of course, fa pretending to be antifa.
I saw it in Egypt, when Mubarak sympathizers let loose some rapists to attack women during the protests, and men who brutally beat people almost to death.
The goal is something the Libertarian Right has been intent on for over 40 years now, since Heritage gave Reagan their original Project 1981, and they're convinced their victory is very, very near. I subscribe to their email list and they've said nothing about American citizens disappeared into Salvadoran gulags, but they're excited about the damage DOGE has done to the federal government. Libertarianism, but only for wealthy White conservatives.
BTW I'm sitting here looking at an article from the media watch group FAIR from the July/August EXTRA! magazine, in which not only is Heritage boasting in their 1995 Annual Report that they were "involved in crafting almost every piece of major legislation" before Congress, but were urging Congress to "abolish the Agency for International Development" in a May 13 1996 mailing. What we're looking at right now has been in the works for a LONG TIME.
Unlike Project 2025, David Koch only needed one 8-1/2 x 11 black and white photocopied flyer in 1980. (I have a copy-stand photo.) Koch’s daddy was BFF with Stalin. Together they opened Russian oilfields. And this is where the Trump regime is STUCK — on that 1980 platform, on being friends with Russia, on using fossil fuels instead of moving to clean energy. It is all a sadistic joke played by the extraterrestrial MAGA species. They are not our friends. US needs a law which says only human beings can be US citizens.
BTW, the best evidence for the extraterrestrial MAGA species is the 150,000+ lesbian porn videos indexed to the keyword “squirting.” Human women don’t do that.
And not to forget ALEC. I got into one of their congresses before the first tRump regime. Peaceful protesters were pepper-sprayed. Helicopters clattered overhead. Police were paid by ALEC to make sure that no opponents entered the large resort hotel where it was taking place. A colleague was seized from a public bar inside the resort, and forced to leave his room at gunpoint late at night. It was as close to a gestapo event I've seen in the US. https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/Democracy,_Voter_Rights,_and_Federal_Power
For some it is a libertarian goal for Trump the goal is just to get rid of all the adults that might talk about what he is doing as wrong. It ties with what Ruth Ben-Ghiat noted fascism expert has been saying as well.
I can already see and hear the public panic if a terrorist attack happens. Driven by the media and the fear already experienced by many Americans.
Thank you Dr. Snyder for always bringing clarity to these situations. I truly hope people who need to read this information (Musk-Trump people) read and reflect on the writings you put out.
And, with Homeland Security's and FEMA only set to help with natural disasters, who will help cities and states and their people recover from such events?
I agree. However, in other countries people can count on their governments for help. It is sad that we cannot do that in the US, the wealthiest country in the world, which now exists to line Elon Musks and Donald Trump's pockets.
Yankee, I think you meant to say "compromised at this point." That may be true for most "Yankee" states, but, living in a deep red state, I know that many of them are compromised, too. Years of infrastructure, healthcare, and other neglect, as well as cronyism and misdirection of federal funds have compromised at least some of the "non-Yankee" states.
Yes. Like Blue States. My governor in Illinois has been letting the people know exactly how cutbacks from the Trump administration are affecting the State budget and programs.
California should be able to get help from the federal government since we contribute so much to it, but I doubt we'll get much, even for the LA fires.
My husband and I will never forget that day in OKC - the sounds, the screams, the smell. I was working at the School of Science and Math when we heard the bomb go off, debris falling from the ceiling. Some of us thought the explosion came from the science lab upstairs. When we realized what had happened, so many of us wanted to run outside to help, but authorities at the school strongly discouraged us. I will always regret not going anyway. Later, we discovered we lost friends, dear wonderful people who had always been there for anyone. President Bill Clinton will be there to speak today at the Memorial, as he was shortly after it happened. Thank you for your remembrance Professor Snyder - thank all of you
Thank you for sharing your memories of that terrible day, dear Phyllis. Remembering all the victims of that senseless act of violent domestic terrorism on this 30th anniversary. My heartfelt condolences on the loss of your dear friends. 💔 I am grateful that President Clinton will speak at the memorial service today. Hugs to you!
Thank you so very much. Right now, my husband and I are headed to another protest rally in Boerne, TX, , just as we're sure our dear friends would have, and would want us to do.
Thank you for rallying today, Phyllis. I love Boerne!! I grew up in Texas in the 1970s and have fond memories of family excursions to the Hill Country, exploring that beautiful area (especially in bluebonnet season) and all the quaint little towns. 😍
Yes, Boerne is a beautiful quaint town (a very Republican town), but many showed up to protest Trump. After that, we went to larger protest rally in San Antonio.
Wonderful - you need to find that photo! San Antonio is a great place to live, and even better - it's in Bexar country, mostly Democrat in this ruby red state.
Just switched to a paid subscription but my monthly bill for Substack subscriptions is adding up. Maybe Substack should consider a discount for Senior citizens. Anyway... after listening to Robert Reich's Coffee klatch this am I listed to John Lithgow read from On Tyranny. So I just ordered the book from Barnes and Noble.
I am about to turn 74 and not in the best of health. But April 5 my husband and I participated in the Hands Off protest here in Kalamazoo Michigan. Crowd size near 5000. I believe strongly in the people voicing their anger and outrage about what's happening in our country. And I fear how vulnerable Trump/Musk have made us by eliminating intelligent and competent leaders. One of the images that haunts me (and there are too many) is the apprehension of the Tufts University international student, Rumeysa Ozturk, on a street near her apartment. My understanding is that she's still locked up in Louisiana,having been charged with no crime.
I too have to pick and choose who to follow as the fees add up. But, I canceled my lifelong Washington Post subscription, along with the New York Times, so I rationalize my Substack follows that way. There are voices on here that are incredibly valuable, and Dr. Snyder is one of them.
They are all valuable with very important things to share. Just some of us can't quite afford to pay for each subscription.But I appreciate the many offers that are free. I canceled my WaPo subscription because of Bezos actions.Can't quite quit the NYTimes.
I was sitting in an office in Bridgeton, MO the afternoon of the bombing. We all heard the sound of the explosion from that office which was 500 miles away. Then to learn that there was a child care facility on site. Saddest day
I was working in the federal building in downtown Spokane, Washington (as a DoD civil service employee) when the Murrah Building was bombed on April 19, 1995 at 9:02am. We had just started our workday when the order came to immediately evacuate our building and the main post office (next door) to a safe outdoor area down the street. Hundreds of us waited there for several hours while the federal buildings were searched. It was a terrifying day.
Thank you Professor Snyder. I must come back and read this piece again. Wanted to join this conversation before I headed to our local rally today. I am sharing a link to Paul Krugmans discussion with Nathan Tankus which was posted this morning 4/19/25 Their discussion is also filled with dire warnings but is equally important About financial payment systems, instability in a variety of markets including a description of how a wide range of financial tools around the world work- and may not work in a world where Chaos rains https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkrugman/p/nathan-tankus-part-ii?r=fa5ey&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Thank you again for this piece I have the rules taped to my kitchen cabinets but I am going to blow this one up and add the larger version so I remember it when needed
Thank you for your clarity, Professor Snyder. You truly are a Cassandra voice. This piece did not make my morning coffee any more bitter, but the unpleasant taste in my mouth reminds me of the perilous times we are in. I look forward to the “après deluge” days when we can look back on all this and be grateful we and our country survived.
Thank you for this warning. I also fear a manufactured terrorist attack, a “Reichstag fire” to create the conditions for martial law. I wouldn’t put it past them to create the fire in the Capitol itself and blame the left.
That is what I see happening. Tomorrow we get the report that the Insurrection Act is necessary. Next week we have a "Reichstag Fire" somewhere. The next day we have "Marshall (sic) Law". Then the roundup of pols, activists, journalists, and a few jurists begins. Soon the Gulags are filled with Americans. Goodbye America.
Reading Tim’s vivid recounting brought to mind an old Hitchcock film which I retitled “The Man Who Knew So Much.” That’s you, Tim Snyder. We readers are grateful.
I, too, am old enough to remember the Oklahoma bombing and initially sharing the consensus reaction: it was bad foreigners. Most of us now share your forecast about a near-term future attack: it’s gonna be by homegrown terrorists. The stage has been set by anti-American American politicians and their growing “allies.” Trump has declared a War on America and I, along with countless others, have been searching for a feasible, massive response. For me it arrived yesterday in a surprising opinion piece by often laconic David Brooks. He calls for a massive civic resistance in a very well reasoned way. It’s caught the attention of many for good reason. I’ve attached it as an addendum to this “Thinking About…”. We’ve all thought a lot, we now have to do a lot. We’ve only just begun. Yes, that’s an old, popular tune title; it’s also where we now are in our pursuit of democracy. Let’s each participate in a massive resistance in every way possible!
Thanks for the link to Brook’s article. (Hope it’s ok to respond to it, rather than to comment directly to Dr Snyder.Massive civic resistance? How “massive” is “massive?” I am not being snarky. Want to know how many millions have to take to the streets? April 5 brought 3 to 5 millions of us outside on a cold, rainy day across the country. Rachel Madow shows pictures of daily rallies. More rallies are being planned by Indivisible, 5051, Immigrant groups (sorry, forgot the names) for 4/19 and 5/1 as well as Earth Day. Could we not consider that the civic resistance is forming as we type this morning? Universities are joining in an alliance (the idea of 2 faculty members at Rutgers—my college👍!!) and law firms are joining together. Maybe too slowly, but I need something positive to hold on to.
The conventional wisdom is that 3.5% of the population is about what it takes to truly achieve meaningful political power. That's about 10 million people. Even on April 5th, we were half way there.
See the work of Erica Chenoweth, whose research led to the 3.5% estimate. One key factor for success is non-violence, because nonviolent protests inspire the support of others, while violence does not.
thank you Sarah, Will check this out . I mentioned earlier in this post Revolutionary NonViolence by James M Lawson Jr. Also essential reading in this regard this is a Ted Talk given by Rev. Lawson https://youtu.be/cHezXAKDePA?si=EEXk3t6QgWY1hdwF
(Got away from me😀) maybe April 19th will be sunny…. Of course, we won’t know the weather ahead of time since the national weather service is being destroyed!
Thx for asking. I wish there was a numerical answer to your question, but there’s not. In my long life, I’ve seen some massive non-violent protests — protests that were too big to ignore, even by anti-protesters and people who ignore news: nationwide Civil Rights protests, The Women’s March in D.C. Vietnam War protests, and the George Floyd protests come to mind. Right now I’d say that any sizable protest that Fox “News” covered without derision would mark a welcome turning point.
Excellent summary of the terrifying situation. Just one thing that caught my attention. I know you were talking about what - would-happen in a Russian attack but I paused at the sentence “Moscow would be seeking to weaken the United States. “Would be”? The truly terrifying thing is that Moscow is essentially at the “Mission accomplished” stage. Moscow owns the regime with paid puppets as Prez and VP (and the hackers, Muscovite and MusKovite, who put them in power), the entire cabinet and the deputy and assistant secretaries, the Supreme Court, the Republican Congress, many statehouses and state legislatures, etc etc. We owe to Signalgate, the flipflopping tariffs, the saber-rattling against former allies, sending the stock and bond markets gyrating downward, and all the rest of the evils since Jan 20 the destruction of the Constitution and the stature of the US politically and economically. The big chance to “follow the money” was missed long ago. The money now talks so loudly little else can be heard. Thankfully your voice is still audible.
Absolutely. I've been stunned that the NLRB whistleblower - the first real hero of the resistance - has not set off every alarm bell in the country. He said many other techies in govt agencies had noted similar DOGE data breaches and losses and Russian access but are too terrified to share what they've documented. And on Rachel Maddow's interview with him it came out that in the fall a warning went out to government agencies not to use Starlink because it's a direct pipeline to Moscow. Wasn't it just weeks ago that Trump installed Starlink on the White House campus? It's all already happened, and possibly the indication of Putin's gratitude for completion of the assignment is the portrait of Trump the real estate guy-secretary of state brought back from Putin - and why can't we see that portrait? Will it be on our Trump dollars soon? And isn't Starlink supposed to take over Social Security? And pretty clearly Putin will get everything he wanted from Ukraine and Ukraine will be blamed for it.
It's all been so successful that possibly we'll be spared the domestic terrorism needed to set off full militarization of the country. Meantime I'm trying to whack my intuition that Biden was poisoned during the G7 trip right before the infamous debate with Trump. If Putin COULD do it, he would, it seems to me. Biden's obvious decline would cover it up perfectly - two days later he was just fine on the trail. But that's crazy....
Shame on the Senate republicans who confirmed these bozos.
Under the spell of Trump/Musk "charisma" is right on, unfortunately.
And don't forget what role Stephen Miller has in all this. He's one of the real "sleepers" The few times he is given the microphone he is vile. Just imagine what filth he is filling Trump's head with.
Who is ‘we’. I feel immensely sad that we who read your Substack have already read. ‘On Tyranny’ as well as much other history. We agree with you and some of us gave up every moment and dollar we could spare to avoid Trump getting elected. The people who need to understand your warnings are the millions taken in by an ignorant arrogant cruel incompetent treasonous oaf. How on earth is any message such as yours going to get through to such a ghastly crew of millions of Americans? Even the supposedly intelligent people at the Ivy schools have failed to resist. Harvard finally woke up. The cosseted but ignorant or arrogant people of America simply can’t imagine Stalin or Hitler is happening here now and the total depravity visited upon 1 innocent man sent to an oubliette in El Salvador is only the start of a reign of terror. It will only be when Americans realize they must accept real personal risk and pain to prevent the total destruction of their treasured freedom that they may awake from their coma.
Dear Timothy Snyder, thank you for continuing to spell out the dangers facing Americans, people living in this country and around the world. In addition to the transfer of wealth - 'Most of the people directing the relevant agencies (in the U.S.) are incompetent; the next few layers down have been purged in culture wars;...; Americans has been distracted by fiction and chaos; and potential attackers have been encouraged.' (Timothy Snyder)
As with Timothy being stopped by the police 30 years ago after Timothy McVeigh had bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, people in the U.S. today are being stopped by agents of the government; numbers of them are being illegally deported, imprisoned --and what is next, who is next?
This is a very old and new story that tragically recurs again and again.
Who is listening and acting against the loss of lives and freedom here, in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan...?
I have been worried about this issue off and on since Trump’s cabinet is made up of loyalists who have zero talent in the areas of government they have been assigned to oversee. It could happen anywhere, anytime. Of the three possible sources I put my money on home grown terrorists. Thank you for your insightful articles that give me the big picture. Easy these days to get lost in the chaos.
Particularly with all the real talent they got rid of via DOGE -- people who actually knew the systems and how to make things work in unusual circumstances. Given that the Secret Service director had to resign in the wake of the attempted assassination, I wonder who will be the 'fall guy' if someone takes advantage of the situation in which the United States no longer has experienced systems and talents.
Well, it's kinda looking like the employees who have to work under these inept sycophants are serious enough about doing their jobs right that they are causing some serious waves -- defense department people have super serious jobs, so I'm not surprised that they're unhappy with 'nothing's classified' Hegseth....
Along with all Tim writes, my specific anticipation is that such actors will be planted inside peaceful protests and thus be used to justify violent crackdown, etc. We've seen it before in many places, including the US.
Friday we had our 5th weekly picketing event outside our retirement community in SW FL. 30-40 retirees in their 70s-90s with homemade signs. Yesterday we had a taste of opposition when an avid Trumper stood near us with an airhorn and his own sign. The cars streaming by in support of us had smiles on their faces while those who shouted or gestured hatred had to take that soul-devouring feeling with them into their day.
Thanks for the on-the-ground reporting! Great to hear they were retirees. In Florida!
You are my idols, awesome . Thanks!!
I'm joining the protests outside Tesla in Miami. It is a quite joyful experience!
Like many I have deep concerns as well. I was involved in anti war actions in the 60s and 70s plus involved with many organizations. Years later I found out that many of these organizations were infilitrated by the FBI and various police departments. In fact many played leadership roles, people who often proposed radical actions. These tactics have been around for ages, think the attack against trade Union organizing, Henry Ford hiring the Pinkertons etc, the significant infiltration of the Civil Rights Movement. All documented.
Revolutionary Nonviolence, Organizing for Freedom by James M. Lawson Jr. Another essential read in understanding Non-Violent Protesting.
During the Quebec Crisis of October 1970, a "manifesto" from the FLQ was actually published on the front of TIme Magazine. Later it turned out to have been written by an RCMP who had infiltrated the FLQ. Who knows how much this provocateur pushed them to kidnap the British Ambassador James Cross and then to kidnap and murder the (very corrupt) Labor Minister Pierre Laporte. Cross was freed unharmed. However, the then PM of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, invoked the War Measures Act and had the armed forces sent to Quebec. Soldiers with machine guns guarded City Hall. For Montrealers, it was a real shock. Moreover, the city was in the midst of a mayoral race and the incumbent, Jean Drapeau, used the WMA as an excuse to round up nearly 500 people without real cause and without warning—not even giving parents the opportunity to arrange care for minor children—and jailed, effectively decimating the popular municipal opposition party, FRAP, and allowing Drapeau to win the election. Although he had been originally elected in the late 50s on an anti-corruption platform, by 1970 Drapeau was notoriously corrupt himself and many Montreallers were fed up with him. With much of FRAP's candidates locked up, however, it was a shoo-in for Drapeau. I remember feeling shocked at how many people didn't see any harm in all this dubious excercise in power overkill.
PS that was just 6 months after the Kent State killings by the National Guard in the US.
There is the Joseph Conrad book, "The Secret Agent."
I have been warning friends about this too. I am from Chicago. We know how the FBI infiltrated the protests then, and continues to do so to get people to perform acts of violence.
"...actors will be planted inside peaceful protests and thus be used to justify violent crackdown..."
De-legitimizing protest itself; 'reminding' America that these ' perhaps well intentioned' protestors are being manipulated by 'bad left wing actors' who simply want to destroy America. Musk-trump want to transition the US into the Peoples Democratic Republic of...
... Trumpistan!
This is why protesters need to be ready to stop and restrain provocateurs and hand them over to the cops in full view of the media. Others should live stream the whole thing. Expect the provocateurs to be non-white to create rage in MAGA.
Right. In the 60s, we were ready to expect this and, in truth, most of those trying to escalate violence weren't very good at it. Kinda caricatures.
Yes many were amateurs but the problem game when there were savvy smart leaders who engaged in splintering off and weakening the strategy and tactics of the overall protest. It wasn’t just the amateurs, there were also people who engaged in in divide and countering tactics thereby weakening forces who were pushing for social justice and non intervention in Vietnam. Anyway so important to be aware of negative forces without becoming super paranoid. This paranoia can also weaken organizations
Agree. It's about awareness, as it is for most of what the current regime does.
Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness.
Awareness is good. However Fear and paranoia can lead to paralysis. We all become frightened and don’t speak or act. resistance is not easy but necessary. It is tricky and difficult. Living in abject fear sucks.
Parker spent time in Berkeley in the Sixties. I can attest that not being aware will get you beaten, tear gassed, and even shot at. You should always be aware of your surroundings, and who's there. That's not actually paranoia. That's paying attention.
We know people who were involved in the writing of the Port Huron Statement in 1962, who left the group when factions started advocating for and engaging in violence. We’ve had some interesting conversations in the past several years but the gist of many of these were to be aware of negative forces and those who are looking to engage in violent confrontations - it does weaken the overall protest and people get hurt, die.
Concerns here are for some folks in our community who are protesting for more… let’s call it performative purposes. Which is sad - but that’s the reality. Several of those seeming to view protesting not quite as a “one and done” but lacking awareness of just how long a process of change will likely take. In the meantime, we carry on.
Well, you may think you're not to going to be violent, but I assure you the other side will use violence at most opportunities. You really need to be prepared for the worst, because as those of us in Berkeley, at Kent State, and every black community have experienced the worst. Police and National Guard could care less about "performative purposes."
Yes, I understand this. The expectation of/not ruling out the possibility of violence is different than seeking violence in interactions.
Police and others do not care about “performative purposes” - but we have some true dumbasses here (and elsewhere) looking to get into brawls for attention, photos, etc. Have seen these folks (the dumbasses) in action.
Some of them proudly display photos of being stupid, provocative as proof of what great activists they are… that’s performative bullshit and they’ve been tough to contain and de-escalate in a variety of situations.
Some of those I AM good friends with were at Kent State, Harvard, Chicago, elsewhere and DID leave SDS when the group decided it was okay to bomb folks. It is important to know what one is getting into and with whom.
My own fear is that the surveillance technology already being used by Chinese, Russian and Israeli intelligence against their own people and their perceived enemies is being used by Trump's foul goons against our own people. I have heard that if you go to a protest, you should leave your cell phone at home. I am not professionally qualified to judge that either a wise precaution or a paranoid response. For what it may be worth...
Personally, I think it a wise precaution.
On a perhaps lighter note, I would just remind you that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you...
What is this? The Sixties and Seventies didn't happen? As you say, "they" will be out to get you and happy to beat you up even if you're 5' tall, 85 pounds, blue eyes and long blond hair.
Personally, I don't have a cell phone. The FBI in the Sixties and Seventies were not playing around.
There was a pattern in the first Trump administration.
During gatherings and protests an antifa lookout would light a trashcan on fire. Other antifa, in their black clothing and masks, then ran into the crowd causing an escalation of violence and at the inauguration they broke windows, I think at a Starbucks. They were, of course, fa pretending to be antifa.
We haven’t seen them this term.
I saw it in Egypt, when Mubarak sympathizers let loose some rapists to attack women during the protests, and men who brutally beat people almost to death.
Agents provocateur... .
The terrorist attack happened on Nov 5, 2024.
DOGE is NOT creating efficiency & eliminating waste. Per HCR, DOGE is spending MORE daily than what was spent daily in the Biden administration.
It seems to be an avenue for collecting data for surveillance (see Olga Lautman’s Substack). Read NPR about the “Whistleblower.”. It’s shocking!
I wonder how much DAMAGE DOGE is doing in these 2 weeks Congress is on vacation…
We are in a CRISIS! WHY are they taking a vacation?!!!
They are undermining the efficacy of the government. I believe this is a libertarian goal.
My first sentence is fact. The second is conjecture ... what do you think??
The goal is something the Libertarian Right has been intent on for over 40 years now, since Heritage gave Reagan their original Project 1981, and they're convinced their victory is very, very near. I subscribe to their email list and they've said nothing about American citizens disappeared into Salvadoran gulags, but they're excited about the damage DOGE has done to the federal government. Libertarianism, but only for wealthy White conservatives.
BTW I'm sitting here looking at an article from the media watch group FAIR from the July/August EXTRA! magazine, in which not only is Heritage boasting in their 1995 Annual Report that they were "involved in crafting almost every piece of major legislation" before Congress, but were urging Congress to "abolish the Agency for International Development" in a May 13 1996 mailing. What we're looking at right now has been in the works for a LONG TIME.
The 1980 Libertarian Party Platform is nearly identical to the Project 2025 document.
Thank you!!
A quick search gave me an article in the New Republic describing this and the connection to the Kochs. It is EXACTLY what is happening now!!
https://newrepublic.com/article/154849/david-koch-1980-fantasy
Unlike Project 2025, David Koch only needed one 8-1/2 x 11 black and white photocopied flyer in 1980. (I have a copy-stand photo.) Koch’s daddy was BFF with Stalin. Together they opened Russian oilfields. And this is where the Trump regime is STUCK — on that 1980 platform, on being friends with Russia, on using fossil fuels instead of moving to clean energy. It is all a sadistic joke played by the extraterrestrial MAGA species. They are not our friends. US needs a law which says only human beings can be US citizens.
BTW, the best evidence for the extraterrestrial MAGA species is the 150,000+ lesbian porn videos indexed to the keyword “squirting.” Human women don’t do that.
And not to forget ALEC. I got into one of their congresses before the first tRump regime. Peaceful protesters were pepper-sprayed. Helicopters clattered overhead. Police were paid by ALEC to make sure that no opponents entered the large resort hotel where it was taking place. A colleague was seized from a public bar inside the resort, and forced to leave his room at gunpoint late at night. It was as close to a gestapo event I've seen in the US. https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/Democracy,_Voter_Rights,_and_Federal_Power
This is long but via CATO
https://www.cato.org/blog/six-ways-understand-doge-predict-its-future-behavior?utm_campaign=Cato_Today&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Cato_Email&utm_content=250318-Cato_Today
For some it is a libertarian goal for Trump the goal is just to get rid of all the adults that might talk about what he is doing as wrong. It ties with what Ruth Ben-Ghiat noted fascism expert has been saying as well.
Yes it is. I hate to be part of the system by virtue of having lived and worked in the USA.
I can already see and hear the public panic if a terrorist attack happens. Driven by the media and the fear already experienced by many Americans.
Thank you Dr. Snyder for always bringing clarity to these situations. I truly hope people who need to read this information (Musk-Trump people) read and reflect on the writings you put out.
And, with Homeland Security's and FEMA only set to help with natural disasters, who will help cities and states and their people recover from such events?
We will help each other, Linda, because we have to.
I agree. However, in other countries people can count on their governments for help. It is sad that we cannot do that in the US, the wealthiest country in the world, which now exists to line Elon Musks and Donald Trump's pockets.
Marlene, I have no help to give red states, and little to give to red counties.
Only the Federal government is comprised at this point. Our state governments should be functioning normally, and the states will help each other.
Yankee, I think you meant to say "compromised at this point." That may be true for most "Yankee" states, but, living in a deep red state, I know that many of them are compromised, too. Years of infrastructure, healthcare, and other neglect, as well as cronyism and misdirection of federal funds have compromised at least some of the "non-Yankee" states.
Some state governments function normally and may help each other.
Yes, who knows about others.
Yes, but states rely on Federal aid for large disasters.
Yes. Like Blue States. My governor in Illinois has been letting the people know exactly how cutbacks from the Trump administration are affecting the State budget and programs.
California should be able to get help from the federal government since we contribute so much to it, but I doubt we'll get much, even for the LA fires.
My husband and I will never forget that day in OKC - the sounds, the screams, the smell. I was working at the School of Science and Math when we heard the bomb go off, debris falling from the ceiling. Some of us thought the explosion came from the science lab upstairs. When we realized what had happened, so many of us wanted to run outside to help, but authorities at the school strongly discouraged us. I will always regret not going anyway. Later, we discovered we lost friends, dear wonderful people who had always been there for anyone. President Bill Clinton will be there to speak today at the Memorial, as he was shortly after it happened. Thank you for your remembrance Professor Snyder - thank all of you
Thank you for sharing your memories of that terrible day, dear Phyllis. Remembering all the victims of that senseless act of violent domestic terrorism on this 30th anniversary. My heartfelt condolences on the loss of your dear friends. 💔 I am grateful that President Clinton will speak at the memorial service today. Hugs to you!
Thank you so very much. Right now, my husband and I are headed to another protest rally in Boerne, TX, , just as we're sure our dear friends would have, and would want us to do.
Thank you for rallying today, Phyllis. I love Boerne!! I grew up in Texas in the 1970s and have fond memories of family excursions to the Hill Country, exploring that beautiful area (especially in bluebonnet season) and all the quaint little towns. 😍
Yes, Boerne is a beautiful quaint town (a very Republican town), but many showed up to protest Trump. After that, we went to larger protest rally in San Antonio.
Great! San Antonio is also a fave of yore. Somewhere I have a pic of teenage me and my sis, circa 1975, in a paddleboat at the Riverwalk!
Wonderful - you need to find that photo! San Antonio is a great place to live, and even better - it's in Bexar country, mostly Democrat in this ruby red state.
Thank You for your service, Phyllis.
Just switched to a paid subscription but my monthly bill for Substack subscriptions is adding up. Maybe Substack should consider a discount for Senior citizens. Anyway... after listening to Robert Reich's Coffee klatch this am I listed to John Lithgow read from On Tyranny. So I just ordered the book from Barnes and Noble.
I am about to turn 74 and not in the best of health. But April 5 my husband and I participated in the Hands Off protest here in Kalamazoo Michigan. Crowd size near 5000. I believe strongly in the people voicing their anger and outrage about what's happening in our country. And I fear how vulnerable Trump/Musk have made us by eliminating intelligent and competent leaders. One of the images that haunts me (and there are too many) is the apprehension of the Tufts University international student, Rumeysa Ozturk, on a street near her apartment. My understanding is that she's still locked up in Louisiana,having been charged with no crime.
I agree with you about Substack subscriptions adding up! Maybe a discounted bundle for retired contributors and readers could be arranged.
I too have to pick and choose who to follow as the fees add up. But, I canceled my lifelong Washington Post subscription, along with the New York Times, so I rationalize my Substack follows that way. There are voices on here that are incredibly valuable, and Dr. Snyder is one of them.
Look on you Substack subscriptions as an investment, without which you soon may have no other investments.
They are all valuable with very important things to share. Just some of us can't quite afford to pay for each subscription.But I appreciate the many offers that are free. I canceled my WaPo subscription because of Bezos actions.Can't quite quit the NYTimes.
And I went to Barnes and Noble today and bought Dr. Snyder's On Tyranny.
I was sitting in an office in Bridgeton, MO the afternoon of the bombing. We all heard the sound of the explosion from that office which was 500 miles away. Then to learn that there was a child care facility on site. Saddest day
I was working in the federal building in downtown Spokane, Washington (as a DoD civil service employee) when the Murrah Building was bombed on April 19, 1995 at 9:02am. We had just started our workday when the order came to immediately evacuate our building and the main post office (next door) to a safe outdoor area down the street. Hundreds of us waited there for several hours while the federal buildings were searched. It was a terrifying day.
Thank you Professor Snyder. I must come back and read this piece again. Wanted to join this conversation before I headed to our local rally today. I am sharing a link to Paul Krugmans discussion with Nathan Tankus which was posted this morning 4/19/25 Their discussion is also filled with dire warnings but is equally important About financial payment systems, instability in a variety of markets including a description of how a wide range of financial tools around the world work- and may not work in a world where Chaos rains https://open.substack.com/pub/paulkrugman/p/nathan-tankus-part-ii?r=fa5ey&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Thank you again for this piece I have the rules taped to my kitchen cabinets but I am going to blow this one up and add the larger version so I remember it when needed
Thank you for your clarity, Professor Snyder. You truly are a Cassandra voice. This piece did not make my morning coffee any more bitter, but the unpleasant taste in my mouth reminds me of the perilous times we are in. I look forward to the “après deluge” days when we can look back on all this and be grateful we and our country survived.
Jackson Browne’s Before the Deluge is on the radio as I read this.
Thank you for this warning. I also fear a manufactured terrorist attack, a “Reichstag fire” to create the conditions for martial law. I wouldn’t put it past them to create the fire in the Capitol itself and blame the left.
That is what I see happening. Tomorrow we get the report that the Insurrection Act is necessary. Next week we have a "Reichstag Fire" somewhere. The next day we have "Marshall (sic) Law". Then the roundup of pols, activists, journalists, and a few jurists begins. Soon the Gulags are filled with Americans. Goodbye America.
See above. I'd say inevitable scenario.
Reading Tim’s vivid recounting brought to mind an old Hitchcock film which I retitled “The Man Who Knew So Much.” That’s you, Tim Snyder. We readers are grateful.
I, too, am old enough to remember the Oklahoma bombing and initially sharing the consensus reaction: it was bad foreigners. Most of us now share your forecast about a near-term future attack: it’s gonna be by homegrown terrorists. The stage has been set by anti-American American politicians and their growing “allies.” Trump has declared a War on America and I, along with countless others, have been searching for a feasible, massive response. For me it arrived yesterday in a surprising opinion piece by often laconic David Brooks. He calls for a massive civic resistance in a very well reasoned way. It’s caught the attention of many for good reason. I’ve attached it as an addendum to this “Thinking About…”. We’ve all thought a lot, we now have to do a lot. We’ve only just begun. Yes, that’s an old, popular tune title; it’s also where we now are in our pursuit of democracy. Let’s each participate in a massive resistance in every way possible!
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/opinion/trump-harvard-law-firms.html?unlocked_article_code=1.A08.Flfe.MiJfuUn57D0B&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Yes, who would’ve thought that Brooks is rounding up the cavalry?!
David Brooks raising this flag is quite telling
Thanks for the link to Brook’s article. (Hope it’s ok to respond to it, rather than to comment directly to Dr Snyder.Massive civic resistance? How “massive” is “massive?” I am not being snarky. Want to know how many millions have to take to the streets? April 5 brought 3 to 5 millions of us outside on a cold, rainy day across the country. Rachel Madow shows pictures of daily rallies. More rallies are being planned by Indivisible, 5051, Immigrant groups (sorry, forgot the names) for 4/19 and 5/1 as well as Earth Day. Could we not consider that the civic resistance is forming as we type this morning? Universities are joining in an alliance (the idea of 2 faculty members at Rutgers—my college👍!!) and law firms are joining together. Maybe too slowly, but I need something positive to hold on to.
The conventional wisdom is that 3.5% of the population is about what it takes to truly achieve meaningful political power. That's about 10 million people. Even on April 5th, we were half way there.
See the work of Erica Chenoweth, whose research led to the 3.5% estimate. One key factor for success is non-violence, because nonviolent protests inspire the support of others, while violence does not.
https://www.ericachenoweth.com/research/civil-resistance-what-everyone-needs-to-know
Thanks Sarah! I just ordered the book.
thank you Sarah, Will check this out . I mentioned earlier in this post Revolutionary NonViolence by James M Lawson Jr. Also essential reading in this regard this is a Ted Talk given by Rev. Lawson https://youtu.be/cHezXAKDePA?si=EEXk3t6QgWY1hdwF
That’s encouraging! Maybe April 19
(Got away from me😀) maybe April 19th will be sunny…. Of course, we won’t know the weather ahead of time since the national weather service is being destroyed!
Thx for asking. I wish there was a numerical answer to your question, but there’s not. In my long life, I’ve seen some massive non-violent protests — protests that were too big to ignore, even by anti-protesters and people who ignore news: nationwide Civil Rights protests, The Women’s March in D.C. Vietnam War protests, and the George Floyd protests come to mind. Right now I’d say that any sizable protest that Fox “News” covered without derision would mark a welcome turning point.
“Without derision.” Fox does surprise me occasionally. Let’s hope April 19th doubles the April 5th #.
Erica Chenoweth does make clear that we need more than protests. Actions need to be sustained and tuned to the moment. I like the Fox “News” test!
Excellent summary of the terrifying situation. Just one thing that caught my attention. I know you were talking about what - would-happen in a Russian attack but I paused at the sentence “Moscow would be seeking to weaken the United States. “Would be”? The truly terrifying thing is that Moscow is essentially at the “Mission accomplished” stage. Moscow owns the regime with paid puppets as Prez and VP (and the hackers, Muscovite and MusKovite, who put them in power), the entire cabinet and the deputy and assistant secretaries, the Supreme Court, the Republican Congress, many statehouses and state legislatures, etc etc. We owe to Signalgate, the flipflopping tariffs, the saber-rattling against former allies, sending the stock and bond markets gyrating downward, and all the rest of the evils since Jan 20 the destruction of the Constitution and the stature of the US politically and economically. The big chance to “follow the money” was missed long ago. The money now talks so loudly little else can be heard. Thankfully your voice is still audible.
Absolutely. I've been stunned that the NLRB whistleblower - the first real hero of the resistance - has not set off every alarm bell in the country. He said many other techies in govt agencies had noted similar DOGE data breaches and losses and Russian access but are too terrified to share what they've documented. And on Rachel Maddow's interview with him it came out that in the fall a warning went out to government agencies not to use Starlink because it's a direct pipeline to Moscow. Wasn't it just weeks ago that Trump installed Starlink on the White House campus? It's all already happened, and possibly the indication of Putin's gratitude for completion of the assignment is the portrait of Trump the real estate guy-secretary of state brought back from Putin - and why can't we see that portrait? Will it be on our Trump dollars soon? And isn't Starlink supposed to take over Social Security? And pretty clearly Putin will get everything he wanted from Ukraine and Ukraine will be blamed for it.
It's all been so successful that possibly we'll be spared the domestic terrorism needed to set off full militarization of the country. Meantime I'm trying to whack my intuition that Biden was poisoned during the G7 trip right before the infamous debate with Trump. If Putin COULD do it, he would, it seems to me. Biden's obvious decline would cover it up perfectly - two days later he was just fine on the trail. But that's crazy....
Trumputin.
Shame on the Senate republicans who confirmed these bozos.
Under the spell of Trump/Musk "charisma" is right on, unfortunately.
And don't forget what role Stephen Miller has in all this. He's one of the real "sleepers" The few times he is given the microphone he is vile. Just imagine what filth he is filling Trump's head with.
Miller is running the show. He’s a Jewish Nazi as is Lutnick. Daughter of Holocaust victims here.
Who is ‘we’. I feel immensely sad that we who read your Substack have already read. ‘On Tyranny’ as well as much other history. We agree with you and some of us gave up every moment and dollar we could spare to avoid Trump getting elected. The people who need to understand your warnings are the millions taken in by an ignorant arrogant cruel incompetent treasonous oaf. How on earth is any message such as yours going to get through to such a ghastly crew of millions of Americans? Even the supposedly intelligent people at the Ivy schools have failed to resist. Harvard finally woke up. The cosseted but ignorant or arrogant people of America simply can’t imagine Stalin or Hitler is happening here now and the total depravity visited upon 1 innocent man sent to an oubliette in El Salvador is only the start of a reign of terror. It will only be when Americans realize they must accept real personal risk and pain to prevent the total destruction of their treasured freedom that they may awake from their coma.
Dear Timothy Snyder, thank you for continuing to spell out the dangers facing Americans, people living in this country and around the world. In addition to the transfer of wealth - 'Most of the people directing the relevant agencies (in the U.S.) are incompetent; the next few layers down have been purged in culture wars;...; Americans has been distracted by fiction and chaos; and potential attackers have been encouraged.' (Timothy Snyder)
As with Timothy being stopped by the police 30 years ago after Timothy McVeigh had bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, people in the U.S. today are being stopped by agents of the government; numbers of them are being illegally deported, imprisoned --and what is next, who is next?
This is a very old and new story that tragically recurs again and again.
Who is listening and acting against the loss of lives and freedom here, in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan...?