Can we talk about authoritarianism?

submitted by dykeotomy from (self.censorship)

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[–]quipu 7 insightful - 2 fun7 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 2 fun -  (4 children)

Authoritarianism is on the rise for sure. The best way to avoid it is to keep your identity small and make yourself invisible to would-be dictators. Stay anonymous where possible, distance yourself from the so-called "friends" who have embraced authoritarian beliefs, and don't talk politics except with trusted allies (play dumb/uninformed if it comes up).

There is a good book called "The Authoritarians" that explores the topic of authoritarian personalities. Unfortunately it was written back when most obvious authoritarians were on the right, so there is some bias, but if you can get past that then some of the general ideas are interesting. There's a PDF available somewhere if you search for it.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

keep your identity small

this means don't invest your identity into belonging to one of these political factions?

[–]quipu 6 insightful - 2 fun6 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Correct, and don't keep a substantial social media presence tied to your name. If you can avoid it, you shouldn't even use the same handle across different websites.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

Oh, you mean your identity with other people too, not just your internal sense of identity?

[–]quipu 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Both. Creating a big online identity just feeds your offline ego.