I'm a writer, so I’m writing.

Author

Shannon C.F. Rogers
November 10, 2024

Dear friends, 

Some years ago, my therapist suggested I read the book On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. To use theater parlance, I thought, at first, that she kind of “broke the fourth wall” by doing this. It’s not a therapeutic text– it’s a list of concise principles written by a historian who studies how authoritarian regimes come to power. But her tacit acknowledgement that the anger, terror, and anguish I was experiencing were all natural responses to growing up in a global context in which far-right ideology was on the rise, was actually quite healing (and helpful) for me. Something clicked: these emotions are normal in such a brutal, unjust world– and they will never stop coming up. My mother grew up under martial law, after all, and that reality lives in my bone marrow. 

By suggesting that I turn to such a text at that moment, my therapist offered an important, grounding reminder that there’s always a choice to make, no matter the circumstances. She was not trying to extinguish my fear but to acknowledge its validity. This is all real. This is all happening. And yet, there are experienced people to learn from, and very real things to do. Examples from Snyder include: Take responsibility for the face of the world. Defend institutions. Learn from peers in other countries. Contribute to good causes. Believe in the truth. Investigate.

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century By Timothy Snyder

I’ve needed such a reminder many times. In moments when the threats seem too numerous, when the danger and the violence is too terrible to truly sit with for long. But because there’s too much to lose by giving into mental dissociation and social isolation– which is the goal of all autocrats– I find myself thinking about Mariame Kaba (writer, educator, abolitionist), who said:

“Hope is a discipline. It’s less about “how you feel,” and more about the practice of making a decision every day, that you’re still gonna put one foot in front of the other, that you’re still going to get up in the morning. And you’re still going to struggle… It’s work to be hopeful. It’s not like a fuzzy feeling. Like, you have to actually put in energy, time, and you have to be clear-eyed, and you have to hold fast to having a vision. It’s a hard thing to maintain. But it matters to have it, to believe that it’s possible, to change the world.”

Mariame Kaba

I’m including some links below to readings I’ve been spending time with this week, groups doing good work that I care about, and book events I have coming up. Take care of yourself, we’ll take care of each other.

-Shannon

Currently Reading 

For the “TBR” Pile

  • Ten Free Ebooks for Getting Free. “At Haymarket, we believe that books are crucial tools in struggles against racism, imperialism, and capitalism—and for a better world. That’s why we’ve decided to make TEN key ebooks free to download: join us in reading these indispensable works of analysis, history, and strategy.”

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