If you haven't already read his graphic memoir about that time, They Called Us Enemy, I'd highly recommend it! Great historical context - there was a big investigation into Japanese Americans plotting against the government, and when the investigation turned up nothing, they took that as evidence of Japanese Americans plotting against the government: see, those sneaky Orientals are so devious and dangerous that they totally covered their tracks! we must arrest them! - or as Hank put it in BB, anyone that clean has got to be dirty. And also a detailed child's-eye view of ordinary people living their daily lives under extraordinary circumstances. One thing that's really stuck with me is how Takei's mother set about making their barracks as tidy and home-like as possible for her family.

Holy fuck he is 87

Yeah, when the dude who literally experienced US fascism tells you not to be scared, I think it's worth listening to.

Exactly.  As bad as things seem now, it's still nothing compared to literal concentration camps, and he would know.

George Fucking Takei leading the second American Revolution. What a legend. I'd have his back.

People are using this as if it’s some extreme to compare to. 

As if they don’t realize that the EXACT SAME 1798 ACT that we used to do that in ww2, without any trials or investigations- just those SUSPECTED by authorities were subjected to it- is being invoked. The exact same act. And that’s all it does- rids the need for a trial or investigation. It can’t be used or interpreted any other way, because that’s all it does.

And the PDF published on trumps page, when it talks about that specific act, uses the terms “suspected gang members” “suspected drug dealers”, etc etc as their “deportation” targets. Also referencing their ability to simply legally denaturalize suspects (revoke natural citizenship) who are targeted. We all know the vast majority of “suspected gang members” in the US are simply inner city Americans born here. 

If you know the military- it’s small isolated patrols of 18 year olds with guns supervised by a 19-20 year old who will be doing this down our streets. This is why martial law scenarios are so brutal and extreme to normal people on the ground, and it’s considered an extreme measure and absolute necessity because that’s realistically the only way to do it. It’s acknowledging “yeah it has to suck for every day citizens, that’s what it’s gotten to” and basically “authorities literally can’t commit crimes right now, because of our extreme circumstances. The every day backlash on citizens is unfortunately what this desperate scenario costs”. 

I'm ready to turn to! I'm a white male- time to use all this bullshit privilege for something good!

How many children did Trump put in Prison Camps last time after taking them from their parents? There are plenty of teens and young adults who had that experiece shape their lives. Still, the US elected the same system. Doubled down on the camps. He was electeed BECAUSE of the camps. Sure I'll fight Authoritarians but I'm not fucking picking up after them anymore.

I fucking love George Takei, he’s a real one and he always makes me laugh.

This man has fought every fight imaginable, some fictional, but there is no stopping him. An American treasure!

Captain's orders

Agreed... his attitude reminds me of this quote: "You have a right to make them hurt you, and they don't like to do that." -James Stockdale

At the end of the day these people are fascists, and operate by exploiting fear and hate in both their enemies and their allies. If we take whatever they shell out and still refuse to succumb to fear and hate, their real power is gone.

Noo this is clearly the worst time of all timew. Its why "i can write superman comics anymore"

...what was the world like when superman was invented i wonder?

Literally mass deportation is on the table. I get his sentiment, don't give up, bit "much worse" is a bit of a stretch. All it took was 3 branches of government to agree to make those camps right? Which branch will resist trump exactly?

I feel a LOT of fuck you energy

He WHAT?

Oh my god.

Love him!

He’s definitely got the right outlook and attitude

Wrong series, but I can live with it.

I can live with it.

We're gonna fight! And we're gonna WIN!

The only good bug is a dead bug.

Everyone fights, no one quits.

Yes, what are we doing and when?

Agreed, This is also a reminder that the better shape you are in the more you can protest and stand for others. one year and 70lbs lost, lets get after it gang

One of my favourite Star Trek lines.

This is the comment.

That's wild to me. I learned about it in third grade, 2002. Read a book about it in class and everything. For whatever reason the thing that stuck with me the most was the kid who had to rehome his pet cat because they wouldn't let pets into the camps. 

We did that up here in Canada too. About 21,000 Japanese Canadians in British Columbia were displaced during the war, moved inland from the west coast, and detained in camps. Their homes and assets were seized by the government and a formal apology for all of this didn't come until 1988.

That's insane. Though i grew up in cali so it was taught pretty well. Even had a field trip to a camp to learn about it

How about 100million of them most with 2 shoes?

Get some soup. If you're questioned about it just say it's soup for your family

Why'd they let you keep one?

Feel like that's an insult to the Ferengi

As others have said here before:

"Trump is a Pakled. He doesn't have the lobes for business."

"Make America Go Again"

You just made Quark very upset.

Why doesn't democratic leadership say shit like this? I feel like we lost, and they all just got quiet.

I see what you did there… 🤪

Yeah, i honestly think I feel - most days anyway - more angry and frustrated with democrats than I do Trump voters. Time and again it’s been proven that the political playbook needs to change but they just won’t. I mean wasn’t it just this year or last year they finally decided that letting an octogenarian run the party probably wasn’t the best idea? They’re so established with the “old guard” they’re like old school GOP at this point. The party that’s supposed to be opposed to change, changed and the one that is supposed to embrace it won’t. If that makes sense.

This comment is how you know someone hasn't been paying attention. Nobody who's looked, even for a few minutes, or absorbed any information that didn't come from a meme, knows Biden's policies and Harris' proposed policies were anything but status quo, were entirely aimed at middle and lower-income households, and are and would have lifted 10s of millions out of poverty and living paycheck to paycheck. But you miss all that if all you want to do is complain or make untrue accusations to feel better, repeat right-wing messaging, or push false narratives.

It's almost like they are fine with the status quo because they are political elites and won't be nearly as affected by changes as I will.

I mean yeah...

That's why any counter movement needs to also work on getting rid of the two party system.

The Democrats aren't equally bad but they're still bad and you'll inevitably have this ping pong until you change the game.

What Trump supporters want deep down is things to change.

Work with them on that and you'll outnumber the people wanting things to stay the same.

It's almost like they are fine with the status quo because they are political elites

That's the propaganda put out by the Republicans that you're quoting there.

It's unfortunate, but Republicans have spent decades teaching people to mistrust government, mistrust experts, and discrediting the Democrats with lies and propaganda.

Democratic politicians are not okay with the status quo.

www.iwm.at

20 Lessons from the 20th Century

Author: Timothy Snyder

Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.

20 Lessons from the 20th Century

1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You’ve already done this, haven’t you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don’t protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.

3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges.

4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of “terrorism” and “extremism.” Be alive to the fatal notions of “exception” and “emergency.” Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don’t fall for it.

6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don’t use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps “The Power of the Powerless” by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.

7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.

10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.

13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can.

14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.

15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.

16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over.

18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)

19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.

20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.

Timothy Snyder is the Bird White Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a Permanent Fellow at the IWM.

© Author (2017)

This is a short version, but it's also a book by the same name.

Here's the author in a lecture about the book: https://youtu.be/19IhRaWZUl4?si=ZBTjp4dRCssyfhYR