I study the history of Nazi resistance. Here’s what the US left can learn from it.
I study the history of Nazi resistance. Here’s what the US left can learn from it.
I study the history of Nazi resistance. Here’s what the US left can learn from it | Luke Berryman
We’ve never been shy about broadcasting our opinions. We’ve worn pussy hats, put up lawn signs, and trolled Trump and his supporters, both online and off. But while such acts may get attention, their capacity to create change is less certain.
This can even be true for mass protests. Americans have sometimes underestimated the effectiveness of protest – recent demonstrations in Los Angeles and across the country are an important part of resistance. In the era of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, though, protests can risk becoming a spectacle. And when the government is given a chance to portray them as violent, their effectiveness is extinguished – because they end up benefiting the forces they mean to challenge.
The resisters that I researched, by contrast, were laser-focused on creating change. Whether they were satirists drawing anti-Nazi cartoons in 1920s Germany or former neo-Nazis becoming peace advocates in the 21st-century US, they sought to improve life for themselves and others in the here and now, in any way that they could, no matter how small.
(NSFW tag on account of art being of a Nazi rally)
Nothing like an opinion piece that tells people what they are doing wrong without clear suggestions on what to do instead. Most of the "resistance" examples are from after WW2 was already fought and won, and this writer doesn't really do anything to connect it to the present moment other than saying "there are parallels". So what is the actual advice for the current moment? Be ready to forgive these assholes for voting Trump into office?
I mean, I've written plenty of pieces like that. Opinion is more observation than calls to action -- I kept those in staff editorials, which I'd write in Voice of God.
Were there a clear way out of this mess, we'd be talking about President Harris. Historical context is important, but it needn't -- and can't -- go all the way to "these situations are exactly the same, and here are the solutions." There's also the matter of how many early resistance documents survived the war, given the Nazis' penchant for banning and burning.
But I agree with the thesis that as people realize they've made a terrible mistake -- today, tomorrow, in a couple of years -- we should show compassion (but I'd stop short of forgiveness). There's not really a path forward when we can't engage with people who admit they were wrong.
Sure. I guess I'm just left feeling like I read an ad for this guy's book, but disguised as an opinion piece. I don't mind someone advertising their book in an article if the article actually delivers on its thesis, but this one did not. Makes me want to never again read another opinion piece from the Guardian.