She finds the whole idea absurd. To Prof Marci Shore, the notion that the Guardian, or anyone else, should want to interview her about the future of the US is ridiculous. She’s an academic specialising in the history and culture of eastern Europe and describes herself as a “Slavicist”, yet here she is, suddenly besieged by international journalists keen to ask about the country in which she insists she has no expertise: her own. “It’s kind of baffling,” she says.
In fact, the explanation is simple enough. Last month, Shore, together with her husband and fellow scholar of European history, Timothy Snyder, and the academic Jason Stanley, made news around the world when they announced that they were moving from Yale University in the US to the University of Toronto in Canada. It was not the move itself so much as their motive that garnered attention. As the headline of a short video op-ed the trio made for the New York Times put it, “We Study Fascism, and We’re Leaving the US”.
Starkly, Shore invoked the ultimate warning from history. “The lesson of 1933 is: you get out sooner rather than later.” She seemed to be saying that what had happened then, in Germany, could happen now, in Donald Trump’s America – and that anyone tempted to accuse her of hyperbole or alarmism was making a mistake. “My colleagues and friends, they were walking around and saying, ‘We have checks and balances. So let’s inhale, checks and balances, exhale, checks and balances.’ I thought, my God, we’re like people on the Titanic saying, ‘Our ship can’t sink. We’ve got the best ship. We’ve got the strongest ship. We’ve got the biggest ship.’ And what you know as a historian is that there is no such thing as a ship that can’t sink.”
Again, being aware of your own limitations and doing what you can is preferable to faking it, and falling apart when it counts.
Not everyone can be a super tough guy like you surely are.
It’s not about being tough physically it’s about deciding not to run away. I’ve seen pictures of 100 year old men, blind people, and folks in wheelchairs at these protests. If they can do it then an able bodied middle aged woman can too. She’s choosing not to because she’s afraid and that is the definition of cowardice whether you like it or not.
She has children. It’s interesting that if you thought a full on dictators/ death camp regime was coming (as she does) you would either abandon your children or put them in harm’s way, but judging other people for making a different choice does not make you seem all that righteous.
No one else in America has kids huh? Her kids are the only ones that matter in this equation. Get the fuck out of here with that GOP “but think of the children” logic
Parents have a particular attachment to the safety of their own children.
That’s not a political statement, it’s just the reality of human nature. It’s also usually seen as ethical.
I notice you not saying you have kids.
Let me know in a few years when you understand, because all your “fuck saving your own kids from the fascists, you should be in the street not on the news living out history lessons” bravado is a real tell for “I have absolutely no idea what it’s like to have kids”.
Your extreme lack of empathy and insistence on everyone doing it your way makes me surprised you aren’t a conservative yourself.
I have two kids but that doesn’t make any difference. You don’t need to have kids to understand that running away from fascists doesn’t work. Being a parent doesn’t change any of the facts on the ground. If anything it makes adopting my point of view more urgent.
You’re making an emotional appeal to our natural instinct for survival. Well, history tells us that the longer we wait and the fewer of us stand and fight the harder it will be to win so how does your admonition to empathize with this woman help increase the chance that my kids will survive? The answer is that it doesn’t. Every person that leaves makes it that much more likely that I’ll have to be one of the people to die fighting fascism in America or that my kids will be casualties in that war. Instead of asking me to empathize with her why aren’t you asking her to empathize with the people who can’t leave? Those are the people I have empathy for. Not some privileged academic who didn’t even stick around long enough to hold up a sign at a protest.
You’re jumping through an awful lot of hoops to try and paint obviously cowardly behavior as something else. My question is why? I’m the one advocating that we should all fight for those of us who can’t fight for themselves. This lady could fight but chose not to because she was afraid of what might happen to her and her family. Which one of those attitudes do you think is more necessary right now? Which one of us would you rather have in your local community? You may not like the blunt nature of my comments but in case you haven’t noticed we’re well past the point that polite conversation is part of the required solution. I certainly don’t know everything but I do know that this lady isn’t going to show up when shit hits the fan in your town, but someone like me might. Maybe you should spend some time thinking about that fact.
No you don’t. You made them up right now.
Her fight is far more public than yours by an enormous factor.
She got her message across to millions by putting her money where her mouth is and leaving, whereas you’re just carping to a few hundred on lemmy calling her names for standing up in a very public way that got more headlines in one day than your carping on the internet will do in your lifetime. You’re just undermining her very important message about how bad things are and how much worse they’re gonna be.
Your bravado is as fake as your fantasy children are.
Your anti-intellectualism, your lack of empathy and your fake bravado all point to you being a rightwing troll just trying to lessen the impact of her crucial lessons from history by discrediting her for taking a stand.
It’s pretty funny that you think I don’t have kids just because you can’t imagine what it would be like to not be afraid all the time. If your fucked up view of things leads to the conclusion that leaving the country is “putting your money where your mouth is” in the context of fighting fascism then I hope to god you don’t live anywhere near me. That’s a hilariously bad take and you know it.
With her particular specialty and the attacks on education, I would put her in the grouping of likely to be targeted. Once that happens, it is probably too late to leave.
As far as going to protests, I’ve seen those pics too and they are truly inspiring to see! I have imagined that all have a support system, though I could be wrong. I’m currently unable to stand or walk for long periods and hoping I am able to fully recover. Until then, Im in a state we moved to as adults, haven’t made any real local friends, don’t have kids or other family in the area, work different hours in a different city than my S.O. We are also in a red county in a red state that posts in our neighborhood sites freely, about being violent to any non-magas. I.e., running into the protesters with lifted trucks, doing drive-bys of their 2a rights, and get cheered on from the others on there. I had to go far from home to one of our big cities to attempt to protest for a little bit just so I could feel safer with a crowd. Luckily I am still able to drive or even that wouldn’t have been possible.
She is speaking up and bringing her expertise to those who can put the information to more strategic use. I will take all the help we can get.
Eh, my 78 year old aunt who uses two canes to get around because she refuses to use a walker has been to a few different protests this year in the deep red state of West Virginia. I get what you’re saying about limitations and maybe we’ll reach that point sooner or later but I don’t think we’re at the run away to save yourself part yet unless you’re an immigrant or trans.
I also understand wanting to get out before shit goes sideways but again, I don’t think we’re there yet. Maybe I’m wrong but I hope not.