Living in the COVID World ... and Beyond #81: Obeying in Advance

There is a concept that has been popularized by Timothy Snyder called “obeying in advance.”    What Snyder means by this is to preemptively conform to an authority’s expected desires without explicit orders to do so.    This idea is getting a lot of discussion now as authoritarianism increases in the United States and other parts of the world.   Another way of saying this same thing is anticipatory obedience.

According to some commentators, authoritarians get far greater power through people obeying in advance than through actual authoritarian edicts.   The observation is that many of us censor ourselves, in words and action, before we are demanded to do so.

This discussion caused me to reflect on when I have obeyed in advance.  My mind quickly went to early school experiences.   In school, there was tremendous pressure to meet my teacher’s expectations before they were actually communicated.   I learned to get into my seat and sit still with my hands folded on my desk before the teacher requested it.    Why did I do that?   Simply fear of punishment from having seen others be punished for failing to be in their chairs sitting quietly after the teacher said to do so.   I did not want to be punished as I had seen others be punished.   So, I obeyed in advance of the teacher even making the request of us.

What does it take to refuse to obey in advance?   I’m a far bigger, smarter, and more experienced person that the 6-year-old who was trained to practice anticipatory obedience.    No one is literally going to make me stay after school today.   There are still threats though – arrest for civil disobedience, scorn or ostracism from certain groups, or just criticism from family members or friends.  

I think there are a few things that help me to refuse to obey in advance.   The first, and most important is peer support.   Knowing that I’m not alone in my beliefs and actions provides moral support, knowing that there are others with me.   This is probably why group protests are so empowering.

A second strategy that I have developed for refusing to practice anticipatory obedience is to realistically gage the likely results of my action.   We had an anti-ICE event I Stamford last week – it was a protest at a local bank that is providing funding for the companies building and managing the “detention centers” for holding immigrants.   I have seen many recent accounts of violence happening at protests at detention centers.   I could easily have decided not to attend the protest, but I thought about the situation – in Stamford CT, in the crowded downtown area, and no active civil disobedience planned.   I convinced myself that I was in no danger by attending.

We need to collectively fight against obeying in advance.

What strategies have you found helpful for yourself to act and not obey in advance?