Fascism says what you and I experience as facts or what reporters experience as facts are irrelevant. All that matters are impressions and emotions and myths.
Timothy D. SnyderRead
Brittle masculinity, in the right setting, becomes political atrocity. Strength brings problems; weakness brings others, but weakness posing as strength is the most dangerous of all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the dangers of false strength in masculinity, suggesting that the pretense of strength can lead to significant societal issues.
Timothy D. Snyder's quote delves into the complexities of masculinity and its societal implications, arguing that while both strength and weakness can present challenges, the most perilous situation arises when weakness is masked as strength. In the right context, this false bravado can spark severe political consequences, indicating that authentic masculinity should not be defined by dominance but rather by self-awareness and integrity.
Themes
MasculinityStrengthPoliticsAtrocityDanger
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about toxic masculinity in relation to current political events.
More from Timothy D. Snyder
All quotes →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.
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If we don't have access to facts, we can't trust each other. Without trust, there's no law. Without law, there's no democracy.
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Totalitarianism is not about some state that appears out of nowhere and suddenly is all-powerful. There can't be any such thing. Totalitarianism starts when the difference between your public life and your private life is effaced.
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The 20th century shows that the form of government that we take for granted, a constitutional democratic republic with checks and balances and a rule of law - that form of government is usually temporary.
Timothy D. SnyderRead
Most Americans are exceptionalists; we think we live outside of history.
Timothy D. SnyderRead
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