In 2017, someone claiming to be from Eastern Europe posted a series of tweets describing life under totalitarian rule. Martin Mycielski, Director of Public Affairs of the Open Dialogue Foundation in Brussels, collected the tweets and published them in 2018 as The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide.
Six years later, it looks more useful than ever. The entire post is worth reading, but here are some highlights:
- They will come to power with a campaign based on fear, scaremongering and distorting the truth. Nevertheless, their victory will be achieved through a democratic electoral process. But beware, as this will be their argument every time you question the legitimacy of their actions. They will claim a mandate from the People to change the system.
- They will subjugate state media, turning them into a propaganda tube. Then, through convoluted laws and threats they will attempt to control all mainstream media and limit press freedom. They will ban critical press from their briefings, calling them "liars", "fake news". They will brand those media as "unpatriotic", acting against the People.
- When invading your liberal sensibilities they will focus on what hurts the most – women and minorities. They will act as if democracy was majority rule without respect for the minority. They will paint foreigners and immigrants as potential threats. Racial, religious, sexual and other minorities will become enemies to the order and security they are supposedly providing. They will challenge women's social status, undermine gender equality and interfere with reproductive rights. But it means they are aware of the threat women and minorities pose to their rule, so make it your strength.
- They will try to take control of the judiciary. They will assault your highest court. They need to remove the checks and balances to be able to push through unconstitutional legislation. Controlling the judiciary they can also threat anyone that defies them with prosecution, including the press.
They also wrote 6 Rules for Survival under an Authoritarian Regime. Rule 5:
- Don't give up, don't get tired, and don't try to wait it out. Don't hope it will pass. It WON'T. They will manipulate the people, control the media to sway public opinion, fix the electoral system and STAY FOR GOOD.
Previously:
• The Handbook of Tyranny: stark infographics on human cruelty
• TOM THE DANCING BUG: The Path to Tyranny – 'First They Came to Register…'
• Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny
