Surrendering to Authoritarianism | Hacker News Reader

Surrendering to Authoritarianism

chrishedges.substack.com

36 pointschmaynard27 comments

Is it acceptable to call this administration fascist yet? Or should we wait until it's outright made illegal?

They are literally appointing political commissars to oversee academics, and creating a special armed force to curb any dissenting voice that would oppose the party's ideological line.

What more will it take for people to get angry?

it is a cult following at this point, not really a political party any longer. the only good thing that always comes out in america is that GOP side simply does not know how to govern. the pillage for a while and then 83 million people rise up to vote for senile granpa from delaware. but this cultism isn’t good for america long-term… those that know history (not most americans :) ) know that all empires fall

Yes, this really is the fall of the American empire... It is losing relevancy with each passing day, slowly but surely. Ironic considering their MAGA slogan.

I can sorta understand unis - their primary function is to educate not actively regulate

More surprising is how fast and easily the actual checks and balances are being disabled. Executive branch has basically neutered the other two

> Executive branch has basically neutered the other two

Congress hasn't been neutered, the majority in both houses is ideologically aligned with and cooperating with the executive power grab because of that ideological alignment.

> Congress hasn't been neutered

It has. Congress' job is to pass laws and give the executive laws to execute. When the executive is suspending the constitution, kidnapping people and sending them into slavery in foreign countries, engaging in open graft (let's be honest about what the Trump crypto coin is), it's their job to hold him to account.

Just because a majority of congress is cooperating with suspension of the Constitution doesn't mean the everything is above board and legal. Congress has been neutered by the political party that has captured it.

I didn't say it was above board or legal, I said that the executive hadn’t neutered Congress, the GOP in both rhe executive and legislative branches is working together, hand in glove, on the same totalitarian scheme against the Constitution. The parts that are being done through sole executive action are a strategy.

When government's main slogan becomes "Ignorance is strength", universities become a hindrance for the Big Brother.

>Authoritarianism is when the government tells universities they can't just let students blockade classrooms, stopping people from learning, and still get education money from the government.

Edit: If I went to Columbia I would be lose it. I have to pay for my college at a prestigious university out of my own pocket using loans and if my one shot to get a good education and finally push my family outside of being uneducated was ruined by a bunch of rich kids who think it is ok to hold people like me hostage and stop me from going to classes for whatever their political goal is I would actually lose my mind. The government should be holding universities who allow students to bully and block students from learning, the purpose of the university, accountable by spending the government education money on places where people can actually learn.

During my last year in University, professors went on a strike for two months iirc. People complained, but ultimately hunkered down and studied independently (imo what you’re supposed to be doing in Uni anyways). Surprise surprise, the graduating rate for that year was unaffected.

If you were going to fail a degree because of missing a couple classes, you’re having more serious issues to worry about

If a bunch of students stop me from going to the classes that I am paying for, I deserve to be upset. I want to learn and take advantage of the special opportunity I have. On a side note, if professors don't teach for 2 months and students do just as well, that is not a good look for the professors who are asking for more money.

The strike wasn’t about pay but pensions. Regardless, you deserve to be upset, I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal to get upset over, as it happens all the time (COVID, strikes,…)

I entirely agree. Just understand that this also happened to pro-Palestinian students or those perceived to be (nationwide, I am not talking about Columbia)

Yeah, stuff like that pisses me off too. At my university there was a protest thing, but it was organized with the police and stuff, and they did it on public land, so it didn't actually hurt things, and I had a good conversation with one of them about the issue that I learned a lot from. I really support people protesting and taking advantage of the rights we are so lucky to have, but I think at Columbia things went way too far.

When have protests ever prevented anyone from getting a degree?

If you are a Republican, you have no right to complain about the difficulty and cost of getting higher education in this country. Trump just blew up every regulations regarding student loans [1]. As a result, some people have seen their payments 4x (!!) in a matter of days and defaulting rates just reached 41% (!!!).

These are the real "bullies" you mention. Young people protesting a genocide partly funded by the US state aren't.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/24/student-loan...

I am not a fan of what's being done to the Department of Education, but the linked article states nothing about anyone's payments increasing 4x. Also, the 41% is in reference to the default rate in the 1980s when for-profit colleges abused the student loan system. The new policies will likely allow for the same abuse that we saw then due to lack of oversight and an understaffed review system.

> I have to pay for my college at a prestigious university out of my own pocket

You can't really cry poverty at Columbia. For the past couple years they haven't charged a cent for any students from families earning 150k/year or less.

> The government should be holding universities who allow students to bully and block students from learning

That's not remotely what this is about. They're using any angle they can find to curb-stomp higher education because it's a source of authority that does not come from The Leader. The picked the protests at Columbia, but they're cutting funding for others because of DEI policies, and if it isn't that they'll find some other excuse. In Maine it's because their governor won't give a "full throated apology"[1] for some imaginary offense.

[1] https://www.pressherald.com/2025/03/22/trump-demands-full-th...

Well, I have a bunch of successful parents that think that "higher education" == "converting kid to liberal trans gay woke person" that refuse to actually pay for education. I got an opportunity to go to a very prestigious program for CS that was my goal for my entire life. If the same thing that happened at Columbia happened at my university, I would be very upset because my one opportunity that my entire life has led up to is being ruined by a bunch of people who think that blocking classrooms and harassing people is the best way to get what they want.

Ok, have they actually happened or are you spending irreplaceable moments of your life on HN getting upset about hypothetical scenarios?

There are infinite problems that could happen, best to focus on the real ones.

I like to put myself in the shoes of others when I think about how I should feel about something. If I had to experience what many students at Columbia are experiencing, I would be very upset.

Why not put yourself in the shoes of the legions of researchers who are having their careers and life's work thrown away by hardline politicians bent on destroying higher education because it's a threat to their power? There are far more of those than there are disgruntled Columbia students.

I think that acting like the government refusing to fund a university where students are unable to learn because of rioters seems pretty rational. More likely that some secret conspiracy to shut down higher education by cutting funding exclusively from universities that make no effort to ensure students can actually learn in peace.

> I think that acting like the government refusing to fund a university where students are unable to learn because of rioters seems pretty rational

As I explained above, that's not remotely what this is about, and if none of the protests had happened Columbia would still be fighting for its life right now (just like every other university that has a large research budget is doing).

> students to bully and block students from learning

I haven't seen any reporting that the protests directly affected classes in Columbia, except perhaps in one incident in response to institutional escalation [1]. If you have seen such reporting, can you link it?

[1]: that incident is the occupation of Hamiltonian Hall, an administrative building, coming after police violence and threats of suspension and other actions against the protestors.

It's ridiculous to call these riots "protests" or "demonstrations". We have videos of anti-israely rioters literally running after Israeli students, assaulting them, not letting them get into classes.

The propaganda is ridiculous and pathetic.

This administration does strange things at times, but this action I support.

Show these videos.

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