Recommended Reading: Standing Athwart History, Civilian Surveillance and Paid Snitches

This Week's Recommended Reading on Substack: Justin Ling, Jonathan Katz, Jill Filipovic, Brian Kaylor, Andrea Grimes, Don Moynihan, and Noah Berlatsky.

The Week's Recommended Reading on Substack:

Justin Ling

writes that “given how differently people have interpreted the events of last January and February, that’s very helpful. But there’s plenty in here that speaks to deeper issues in our democracy: What is legitimate protest? How can we grapple with movements that have become beholden to misinformation and conspiracy theories? How do we guard against a rising domestic extremism movement? How can governments better engage with their most ardent detractors? How do we govern ourselves in a time where good faith is in short supply?”

The Verdict Is In

Jonathan M. Katz

writes that “what is happening is that, once again, a fundamental (yet ultimately unimportant) way in which society is organized is being contested on a large scale. Some fear that losing, or changing, the gender binary as they have always understood it will lead to general chaos; just as their intellectual forebearers clung jealously to monarchy or slavery in ages past, and as opponents of feminism and gay rights did more recently.”

Standing athwart history, yelling 'Trans'

Jill Filipovic

writes that the anti-abortion movement is “inescapably authoritarian, and often a testing ground for the broader authoritarian right. We’ve seen anti-abortion tactics expanded out to anti-gay and anti-trans efforts. And now we’re seeing anti-abortion tactics used to censor books and criminalize librarians.”

The New Conservative Strategy of Civilian Surveillance and Paid Snitches

Brian Kaylor

writes that "like the placement of 'In God We Trust' on coins or its adoption as the national motto, the legislation pushing for its posting in public schools didn’t arise in a vacuum. As a result of changing demographics and declining church attendance, the U.S. is undergoing religious and political shifts. This also sparks a backlash, especially from those espousing Christian Nationalism."

Putting ‘God’ in Schools

andrea grimes

writes that “mainstream GOP members rely on the rightest-wing Republican representatives to advance anti-abortion agenda items and narratives without making the party itself seem responsible for or interested in doing so. That’s how politics works!”

Kentucky GOP Rep Wants to Prosecute Abortion as Homicide

Don Moynihan

writes that "if it feels like conservative politics is increasingly centered on these linguistic misdirections, it is worth remembering Newt Gingrich’s 1996 memo 'Language: A Key Mechanism of Control'... So, is what we are seeing now the same old thing? New wine in old bottles? A 2023 edition of the Gingrich memo would expand the lexicon to include terms like: deep state, social justice warriors, groomers, CRT, woke, and, now, weaponize."

A "weaponization of government" trope explainer

Noah Berlatsky

writes that "the truth is that most kids understand that slavery and racism are evil. They can see who was the oppressor and who was the oppressed. Without sufficient background or knowledge, they’re likely to conclude that their only place in history is as the villain, and that they have no role to play in liberation or in making America a better place."

Why White Students Need Black History

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