“Disappearing” people is a time-honored practice of authoritarian leaders. The simplistic logic is that if someone is expressing an idea that the leader doesn’t like, the answer is to make that person disappear. And so, theoretically, the problem is eliminated.
The President of the United States recently spoke to the leader of El Salvador suggesting that several more concentration camp-style prisons need to built in the Latin American country to be filled with those deemed by the President and his administration to be “bad people.” The American President made it clear that he was very open to deporting “homegrowns”, presumably American citizens, to places like CECOT prison.
So far this has only been happening to particularly vulnerable people like students, children and others born outside the United States. It is happening in classic dystopian fashion with heavily armed men wearing masks forcefully abducting people from their neighborhoods and even one case of extracting someone from their car by using an axe to break the window in order to take them into custody.
People like Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk and Kilmar Abrego Garcia did not have the luxury of time to reflect on what they would say to their loved ones before being abducted. What might they have said to their families and friends if they had the chance?
I’ve wondered what I would say to mine if I were in their place and I had the luxury of time that they didn’t. I’ve thought about it. Here’s what would I tell them:
I want you all to know that we are beyond the point of wondering if the United States is becoming a fascist dictatorship. It is. We are in the midst of a hostile takeover by white supremacist and Christian nationalist forces. There is no point in expressing disbelief about this. It is happening and what truly matters now is how we respond to this situation.
The freedom to speak openly and honestly about government policy and actions is, at present, only protected by citizenship status and the government’s adherence to the U.S. Constitution. If one is not enough of a citizen, not enough of a “real American” one’s security of person and home are now tenuous at best. The traditional protections of citizenship may themselves disappear and it should not come as a shock if the day comes when people born in the United States, who have lived their whole lives here will be deported on some fabricated pretext.
I have written to members of Congress expressing my concerns and opposition to my government’s policies and actions. I have participated in a number of public demonstrations aligned with my beliefs. Some of what I have written has been published online. As farcical as it may be, there’s enough out there for someone to label me an Enemy of the State. Of course I don’t want to be “disappeared” and a part of me thinks it’s very unlikely to happen. After all, I’m not a public figure and I have no significant influence over anyone. And yet…
I want you to know that even when people seem to be the “problem” they are not the actual problem. The problem is a toxic ideology linked to a mythological fiction of “American greatness” propped up by the usual suspects of Might Makes Right, The End Justifies the Means and Greed is Good. Those playing the role of oppressors are actually the first victims of the problem because they have been infected by its toxic power and they were unable to resist it. They have been captured by its corrosive influence as were the ancient kings of Tolkien’s Middle Earth when they accepted the rings from Sauron and became enslaved to them.
Remember that the power projected by authoritarians is entirely based on various forms of violence designed to induce fear and hopelessness. Even as they attempt to concentrate as much materialistic power as possible, this is their Achilles heel. At first glance this may seem absurd but such power inevitably generates extreme arrogance in those wielding it. They quickly get stuck in what could be thought of as a kind of materialistic fundamentalism. They believe in a myopic reality consisting only of things to be acquired, controlled and used. This is why they regard people as mere objects. This mindset traps the oppressors in an illusion of omnipotence that blinds them and makes them quite vulnerable. This is what happened to the British in India in the 20th century.
So don’t be afraid and don’t lose hope. That’s what they’re counting on.
I know that when human beings start looking and acting like monsters it’s very tempting to hate them and go to extremes to make them stop doing the horrible things they do. But if we hate them and kill the “monsters” we will be doing the same to the human beings stuck inside the monster suits. We can’t prevail if we let ourselves go over to the dark side.
As important as it is to remain physically nonviolent when resisting tyranny, it is equally crucial to be spiritually aggressive. Challenging as it may be, our task is to help those who oppress us reconnect to their true humanity. Oppressors serving the authoritarian leader need to be repeatedly confronted with the truth that they have forgotten their true identity. They need to reminded of their core humanity. We need to help them remember who they are so that they can exit the monster suits they’ve been trapped in and reclaim their true personhood. This is what happens when the military and police start refusing to follow orders and soon after dictators fall from power.
I want you to know that violence often produces shame and humiliation in those who it impacts. This the universal experience of dehumanization associated with being shamed. Shame breeds violence and violence breeds shame. So take great care to shame no one and to accept no shaming from anyone. Reject the temptation to assume the role of victim as this simply becomes another trap that fools us into believing that our hunger for vengeance is justified.
Authoritarians imagine that violence is their servant and that it will induce a respectful acquiescence in the people being ruled. This is the mistake they make again and again. Blinded by arrogance, they do not comprehend that it inspires exactly the opposite response. They do not see that freedom is the birthright of every human being and that the desire to experience freedom cannot be extinguished.
We become truly free when we know that we are loved and deserving of love. Love is the revolution. Our liberation is completed when we choose to share the love within us with others and allow ourselves to be loved. Great love begets great courage. We set each other free when we help each other know this truth with our words and our actions.
I love you all very much!
This is what I want you to know and carry with you if I get disappeared.
Paul Nyklicek is a husband and father. He lives in central Connecticut and is an associate member of Veterans For Peace. He believes in principled nonviolence as exemplified by Gandhi and King. He is a psychotherapist. He’s a fan of classic rock ’n roll and roots for the Celtics, Red Sox and Colts.
