During World War II, the U.S. Office of Strategic Services – predecessor to the CIA – published the Simple Sabotage Field Manual, a "guide for ordinary civilians to conduct simple acts of sabotage against enemy operations without the need for specialized training or equipment." I pointed to it a few weeks ago from this newsletter, and many of you have shared it to your own networks.
The fascists are back, and powerful. Like their forebears from the 1900s (and earlier), they are rank bigots who hold democracy and fundamental freedoms – and the people who believe in them – in pure contempt. They are also running some of the biggest and most powerful corporations.
Unlike the fascists of the past century, they are now in control of the United States government.
It's gratifying, therefore, to see that the 20th century resistance manual is being updated for our times, offering "practical, everyday actions for reducing systemic harm while minimizing vulnerability." The new document – called "Specific Suggestions: Simple Sabotage for the 21st Century" – is a work in progress, available so far in English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. From the introduction:
Today's wars are fought from computer consoles; climate disinformation campaigns are planned in web conferences; decisions to deny healthcare are codified in software. Free and just futures demand new strategies.
Unassuming civilians have an outsized ability to make a difference by directly impacting the ordinary services we build and maintain everyday. Many small actions can create a constant and tangible drag on the systems of violence and exploitation. When tyranny suffers, we create an opportunity for more sustainable and prosperous systems to replace it.
The "why" of this project is obvious, but the "how" is less so. A long section explains thinking behind the specifics. It begins:
Simple sabotage is more than malicious mischief, and it should always consist of acts whose results will be detrimental to the tools and systems of oppression.
Occurring on a wide scale, simple sabotage will be a constant and tangible drag on the operations of hostile systems, making it possible for just, resilient, and thriving ones to take their place.
A major portion of the advice comes under the category of "Digital" – aimed at people who are part of the agency or corporate IT operation. They are in a particularly good position to gum up the works using a variety of techniques that have plausible deniability, that is, can be attributed to simple mistakes or misunderstandings.
"Specific Suggestions" sensibly warns that surveillance, especially in workplaces, should be considered a given. I wonder, for that reason, whether it's advisable to look at (or contribute to) the document at a place of work. Having said that, I understand that people inside the U.S. government are sharing it widely, and hope they are taking appropriate precautions.
Another section is an aggregation of motivational quotes, such as this one from the late Nazi hunter and human rights activist Eli Wiesel, who said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech:
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
You can download the current version of "Specific Suggestions" in a zip file here. There's also a way to send an encrypted message to the maintainers of the page (see "Supplementals" at the end of the document).
If you're in a position to lend a hand, give it some thought. Meanwhile, please spread the word.
A researcher's courage
Please have a listen to this talk – and the interview that follows – in which the University of Washington's Kate Starbird shows why she is one of people I admire most today.
In the face of bad-faith attacks from some of the most rancid right-wing extremists – including several members of Congress who routinely abuse their power – she has been working with a team of researchers to understand the pollution of misinformation in our culture. Their work isn't just useful. It's among the most important research happening in the social sciences.
Starbird gives a well-deserved shout-out to her employer here for defending her and her colleagues from the attackers. (I have to note the contrast between UW and Stanford; the latter shuttered its misinformation research operation and pushed out the brave researchers who moved, I'm glad to say, to more honorable institutions.)
Universities are are among the most jeopardized institutions now, and they are learning fast that giving in to the extremists is a huge mistake, because no knee-bending goes deep enough to assuage their loathing for honest science that contradicts their ugly world views. The extremists' goal is to shut it down, period.
That's why I've spent so much time lately learning about those that lived under the thumb of the KKK in the '20s. The speed with which the group grew, the influence it held, the mainstream embrace it received, and the fear it spread—I think about how impossible it must have felt to imagine that their influence would ever ebb. And I think about people like George Dale—there were many like him—who, despite it feeling impossible, and despite paying incredible personal cost, kept fighting anyway. And they won.
Please read this blog post – about a Midwest newspaper publisher, George Dale, who faced down the Ku Klux Klan at enormous cost to his own life – for its realism, and optimism. He and other people of honor and justice won in the end, but not before countless good men, women, and children were harmed or murdered by the right-wing extremists of their ugly times.
Our nation, and maybe human civilization itself, are in deep trouble. Things are definitely going to get worse before they get better.
But things will get better eventually. History has shown, at least so far, that the "better angels" of our nature win in the end. The victories don't happen without massive suffering caused by the dictators who hold life, other than their own, in contempt.
We need countless acts of courage. Celebrate them when you see them.
This newsletter is a compendium of the reporting and commentary that best explains the America's political, economic, and social conditions – and, most important, how we can find a way back from the dark days ahead. You will rarely find anything here from the New York Times or Washington Post or any of the other Big Journalism companies that failed us so completely during the 2024 elections and are now sucking up – even more than usual – to Donald Trump, his cult, and corporate oligarchs. My focus will be on smaller, more honorable outlets (and individuals). I hope you'll support them with your attention and your money. For more details, please read my About page.
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