When folks say “don’t give up in advance?” What does that mean?

Being prepared for what's next is half the battle

I’m sure that you’ve already read

Timothy Snyder

’s On Tyranny. If you haven’t, go do that. If you’ve already read it, you know that his first rule is “do not obey in advance.” What does that mean?

I think of it as “do not give up in advance,” but I think the idea is pretty similar. It means do not allow yourself to succumb to the new fascist disciplinary regime. Fascism is a way of thinking, associating, and communicating. So is democracy.

The fascist regime will constantly try to exert its will over you—both your thoughts and your actions. It will require obedience and outward displays of loyalty. People will be fired and silenced for being disloyal to the regime. Faced with those threats, most people will comply.

Most people will give up in advance, they won’t test the regime. They’ll comply out of fear of the threat of consequences. But the consequences will come for all of us, whether we fight or not.

All fascist regimes are run by liars, cheaters, and thieves. They do not solve problems, they create them through indifference. They’re incompatible with freedom. The stated goals of the MAGA fascist regime are to turn the US into a white christo-fascist nation.

That means compulsory religion. That means “purifying” the nation of anyone who isn’t white and hetero and Christian. You will be tested on how well you conform to the regime mandates. You will wear a pin, display a flag, make a salute, join a parade or march.

There is no place in the world where you will be safe. If the US goes christo-fascist, then the rest of the world will be more vulnerable. Trump will form an alliance with the other autocrats and together they’ll rule the rest of the world. This is the plan.

Most folks don’t care about politics and they’re not paying attention. They’ll go fascist because it will take them by surprise and they won’t know how to resist. Make a plan for yourself.

Resist by not losing hope.

Resist by believing in democracy and the rule of law.

Resist by voting.

Resist by marching or protesting.

Resist by maintaining friendships, especially with people turned into “hate-objects” by the regime.

Resist by making eye contact with folks, being friendly with folks in public spaces.

Resist by donating your time, attention, and energy to places where people connect (libraries).

Resist by being a “democrat” in public. Make sure that people know that you support democracy and the rule of law.

We can do this. Anyone who is cynical about this has already given up. Block them, they're working for the fascists now.

The regime will make examples of people who defy the regime, this typically makes people less likely to defy its power. Notice how Republicans dealt with Representative Al Green protesting at Trump’s March 4, 2025 Joint Address of Congress. CNN has the video here, in case you missed it.

The thing that stood out to me about it was the gleeful way the Republicans chanted over Green, gaveled him into silence, and generally seemed to enjoy dominating him. Their gleeful domination is a synecdoche (the part that stands for the whole), of course. It was a really overt display of sadistic power. They were giddy to throw him out. They’re now moving to censure Green for his protest.

Anticipate seeing more like this. People will be publicly coerced as a sadistic expression of the regime's power. What they did to Representative Green shows that they want coercive control. They delight in watching people make arguments, just so they can deny them and assert the power to silence us all. We should still make the arguments.

(originally tweeted in July 2, 2024 and skeeted November 6, 2024—lightly edited)