On Tyranny Lesson 4: Take Responsibility for the Face of the World

The symbols and monuments around us tell us not just about the past or even the present moment, but are pointers to a possible future. Symbols of hate should not just be ignored, but they need to be actively removed. In this video, Snyder certainly mentions the swastika, which was the Nazi symbol, and which regrettably is still in use to day, often in the US accompanied by Confederate and MAGA symbolism. 

When I was a college student, I lived in a part of California that had a real neo-Nazi skinhead problem. I would often see swastikas plastered on to building walls, including on my campus. Usually those were pasted on so well that a simple pocket knife would not be sufficient to scrape them off, and I didn't simply have some whitewash to paint over them. But I did have tools in my backpack - pens and sharpies - that I could use to deface them and to convey an alternative anti-fascist message. It was an infinitesimally small act of defiance in the grand scheme of things, but it was at least something. We are all called upon to do our part. Don't look away. Act.

 

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