Alexander Karn
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xankarn.bsky.social
Alexander Karn
@xankarn.bsky.social
240 followers 360 following 280 posts
Associate Professor of History at SLAC (NY, USA). Not representing employer. Interests: the politics of history, historical justice, historical dialogue, reconciliation. Commentary: Salon, The Progressive, HuffPost. Resist Much, Obey Little.
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Reposted by Alexander Karn
“It is not so much that proponents of ‘patriotic education’ want to end any discussion of slavery because they don’t believe it happened, but more that they don’t want people to see how slavery continues to shape social inequality in America today.”
Reposted by Alexander Karn
He sees to the heart of the matter.

“The Trump administration’s attempt to reshape what is taught in museums and classrooms is fundamentally an attempt to obscure the relationship between the past and the present.”
Reposted by Alexander Karn
Clint Smith @theatlantic.com is doing more than any popular writer to ensure that the right questions are asked about America’s past and how it is interpreted (and by whom).

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
What Is Colonial Williamsburg For?
Telling the full story of the town’s past is an easy way to make a lot of people mad.
www.theatlantic.com
Folks are rationing heat and scrambling to eat with healthcare costs set to explode.

But this man wants $230 million for his pain and suffering.
I spoke to Laura Herges (U. Heidelberg) for the 1st ep of “Research Rabbit Holes.”

We talked about the upcoming US Semiquincentennial, authoritarian mobilizations of history, and what it means to have a MEMORY TROLL in the Oval Office.

#history #memory #democracy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIG5...
The US turns 250 - What Can We Expect? (Interview with Dr. Alexander "Xan" Karn (Colgate Universi...
YouTube video by Hergesson
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Alexander Karn
One great thing to see at the Cincinnati #NoKings rally was lots of people engaging with local organizations that had tables – there were political organizers, labor unions, charitable organizations, human rights groups. Looking for a next step? Reach out to your local organizations.
“It is not so much that proponents of ‘patriotic education’ want to end any discussion of slavery because they don’t believe it happened, but more that they don’t want people to see how slavery continues to shape social inequality in America today.”
He sees to the heart of the matter.

“The Trump administration’s attempt to reshape what is taught in museums and classrooms is fundamentally an attempt to obscure the relationship between the past and the present.”
Clint Smith @theatlantic.com is doing more than any popular writer to ensure that the right questions are asked about America’s past and how it is interpreted (and by whom).

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
What Is Colonial Williamsburg For?
Telling the full story of the town’s past is an easy way to make a lot of people mad.
www.theatlantic.com
Reposted by Alexander Karn
NBC News finds that:
-- ICE has shortened its training from 13 weeks to six.
-- Nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam.
-- Recruits "are supposed to attest" they can pass the physical-fitness test, which requires them to run ... 6 mph.

www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Some new ICE recruits have shown up to training without full vetting
The recruits have had criminal backgrounds or failed drug tests or were unable to meet physical or academic standards, raising concerns about the agency’s rush to hire immigration officers, sources to...
www.nbcnews.com
If you want to make an authoritarian omelet...
We should at least have airplanes pulling centenary banners.
Reposted by Alexander Karn
New piece on the value of #NoKings

1) repudiating the moral ugliness of the regime;

2) revitalizing the rights/duties that democracy aims to instill;

3) locking arms with one another to build the country we want.

Hope you'll read and share.

#uspol #democracy

progressive.org/latest/what-...
What the ‘No Kings’ Protests Accomplished
Massive displays of resistance build unity and enable moral decontamination.
progressive.org
I understand and appreciate your perspective.

Here's why I think No Kings is serious. It's a prefatory exercise. The beginning of a necessary moral decontamination.

progressive.org/latest/what-...
What the ‘No Kings’ Protests Accomplished
Massive displays of resistance build unity and enable moral decontamination.
progressive.org
New piece on the value of #NoKings

1) repudiating the moral ugliness of the regime;

2) revitalizing the rights/duties that democracy aims to instill;

3) locking arms with one another to build the country we want.

Hope you'll read and share.

#uspol #democracy

progressive.org/latest/what-...
What the ‘No Kings’ Protests Accomplished
Massive displays of resistance build unity and enable moral decontamination.
progressive.org
JD Vance defends Young Republicans' group chat as kids joking around online.

Mike Johnson defends Trump's AI shit bombardment video as "satire."

Why aren't we laughing?

#uspol #democracy #MAGA

www.salon.com/2024/11/18/t...
The corruption of MAGA comedy - Salon.com
The cruelty and crassness of Donald Trump’s dark sense of humor is quickly spreading
www.salon.com
There are assholes out here trying to tell you that today’s demonstrations were useless virtue signaling.

Asserting your values and showing up for each other is never an empty gesture.

We build together. We live in truth. We say NO to moral contamination.

#uspol #democracy #NoKings
The thing to remember is that the MAGA fascists want you to feel demoralized. They want you to feel disempowered and complicit. It’s part of their nihilistic plan to dirty everything until you no longer care enough to fight for its preservation.

open.substack.com/pub/xankarn/...
Moral Contamination
They Want You to Feel Depleted and Demoralized
open.substack.com
We are on the eve of something consequential. With more than 2,600 events planned for tomorrow, this could be the biggest exercise of civil resistance in the country’s history.

What's it for?

#NoKings #uspol #democracy

substack.com/@xankarn/p-1...
#NoKings and Moral Decontamination
It's been nine months of MAGA degradation. Time for a detox.
substack.com
I teach your chapters on "Chain of Being" and "Shafts" in my course on "The Politics of History." Thanks for your work!