A key tactic of the administration’s fascist project is the use of intimidation. Intimidation is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as “the action of frightening or threatening someone, usually in order to persuade them to do something that you want them to do.” Thus, the question we must always ask is what does the “intimidator” want us to do (or not do). Keeping our eye on that can help us to better determine our plan of action as we fight fascism. Globally, the administration recognizes that any resistance to its fascist agenda could lead to a setback – otherwise why resort to intimidation?
The administration is intimidating the immigrant community by menacing deportation, regardless of immigrant status. The overall objective is to show “strength” by creating a false threat that is addressed in a violent and spectacular manner.
The administration is intimidating those who are different such as trans individuals by removing their right to identity and employment. Here the objective is to create a category of “unhumans” (see Vance’s endorsement on the book about how “unhumans” (basically those who fight fascism) have ruined this country
The administration is intimidating scientists by limiting research in fields of import, such as climate change, and preventing studies from being undertaken that differentiate subjects by race, gender, income level or disability.
The administration is intimidating institutions of learning. The instrumentalization of antisemitism is a clever ploy to mask the fascist project to scare universities management into towing certain ideological lines. Who can defend antisemitism, after all?
The administration is intimidating civil servants by firing those it does not agree with and creating a general atmosphere of fear by dismissing workers indiscriminately.
The administration is intimidating lawyers and judges by threatening impeachment and limiting access to business opportunities. The objective here is clear: when the administration’s actions can be challenged by the third branch of government, its project is weakened.
The administration is intimidating us all because by fighting fascism, we might just win and they would lose!
You may counter that these isolated acts do not constitute overall strategy. However, the administration is actually testing the waters with each action, ready to ramp up if the conditions exist. The recent move against Harvard University signals that the administration has seen the backing down of Columbia University as a success.
The strategies used by the Trump administration to intimidate us all are impressive in their scope and cleverness.
According to an article by Damon Beres in the Atlantic Intelligence: “President Donald Trump’s administration is embracing AI. According to reports, agencies are using the technology to identify places to cut costs, figure out which employees can be terminated, and comb through social-media posts to determine whether student-visa holders may support terror groups.”
The list of words that are now banned by the government (now numbering more than 250) only gets longer and more ridiculous: activism, climate crisis, male dominated, gay, gender, inclusion, measles, underserved, women – but also verbs such as belong to and promote. By the way, please visit this PEN webpage to send a letter to your congressperson expressing your disdain to these acts of censorship.
If the Trump regime can “detain” a graduate student with a green card for peacefully protesting the policies of the Netanyahu government, what’s to stop the regime from “detaining” full citizens who engage in such protest or in any protest against the Trump regime?
About a week ago, a French researcher was refused entry to the US because he had written about his distress at what was happening under the current administration. They “found” this on his computer and smartphone at customs and accused him of spying (for whom exactly?).
What do we do about intimidation? Robert Reich proposes three categories of actions, of which I share two below. The first is to protect those who are being intimidated:
- We can contribute to the legal defense of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, here.
- We can ensure that students and faculty know what to do if ICE comes to their campus, here.
- We can contribute to groups such as the PhD project, a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups earn doctoral degrees in business — which the Trump regime absurdly claims violates the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against white students.
The second thing we can do is show up.
We can show up at town halls where our senators and representatives are appearing, tell them exactly what we think of the Trump-Vance-Musk regime, and ask them to join us in opposition.
But the most important thing you can do is attend one of the demonstrations organized for tomorrow April 5th
A final request for everyone. Please oppose the SAVE Act (H.R. 22) – A Voter Suppression Bill – House Vote THIS WEEK. This bill will makes it a requirement that voters present a birth certificate or a passport to vote. This particularly affects those who vote from abroad. If you could kindly call your congressperson, I would greatly appreciate it.
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