Summer, thank you for your courage and your “rant”. So many emotions and so much energy trying to sort through this insanity. I’ve set time aside for thoughtful conversations and deep introspection. Those of us with a conscience, a capacity for critical thinking, and an open heart, have had to hold so much toxicity from the prevailing dark storm that is forming around us. So much grief to hold in our bodies. But there comes a time for indignation and anger, even rage. When being forced to the subjugation of a despot and his immoral lackeys, with no end in sight, there is only one recourse. My time has come to push back, to say no, to hold the line. Anything else is the enabling of this abomination. So on April 5th I take to the streets. I search out camaraderie. The fight has begun. I am a 70 y.o. widower who lives alone with “beauty boy” Buster (my yellow lab/catahoula mix). I walk both in beauty and in sadness, I understand how deep grief can hone the soul and bring oneself alive again. I have worked hard at this since my wife passed. I also know if she were alive, she would be standing next to me, voice raised, eyes fixed with resolve and conviction. She will be with me in spirit. I deeply admire seeing you, your daughter, and your mother standing along side each other in the picture. In solidarity, Mark.
Thank you so much, Mark. You are so inspiring! As the pictures I posted indicate, it's the elders who are really showing up and pushing back, and angry, and it's so damn inspiring. Your words mean a lot to me! Thank you for holding the line, and your sacred rage. I'll be in the streets next Saturday as well!
dear Summer. rant away...and sorry you have to rant in the first place. sorry for the intimidation. the doxxing. the continuing decimation of education in your state (and in our country). of course those who want to control people don't want them educated! critical creative thinkers will not serve obediently in a dictatorship. so not surprised by what is unfolding. sending a protective hug your way.
I'm sorry you were targeted in this way. Teaching is an act of love; Love for learning, creating, showing others how they can be different in the world. As someone who follows this mission, you deserve to be cared for, valued, and treated with high regard. I miss teaching but I'm pretty sure if I were still doing so, I'd be collected up and planted on a pile of wood to wait for a match to set me on fire. Be safe.
LMAO right?! burned at the stake! Thank you, Story Carrier! And thank you for the dedication and love you showed for your students - that's a gift to the universe!
First - thank you for fighting for better and using your voice. I am so proud of you and grateful for you!!
Second- I have been doxxed. Your description is damn spot on of how it feels. Unsafe in the place you’re supposed to feel the most safe. I’m so sorry you had to experience that.
My husband and I were outspoken in Sedona and we often challenged people who claimed climate change wasn’t real or the medicine is all just a money grab. At one point we were arguing with a guy on the town’s message board and because we owned an LLC and worked from our home- the asshat looked us up and posted our address for everyone to see.
We ended up leaving Sedona about a year later, as we’d come to realize we didn’t belong there anymore.
The dynamics outlined in this piece are part of a well-documented pattern in authoritarian regimes: the targeting of individuals through social pressure, legal gray zones, and the manipulation of public records to suppress dissent. The shift from structural inequality to weaponized visibility is a tactic that disproportionately harms educators, artists, thinkers, and anyone attempting to hold space for plurality or care. This is not a fringe phenomenon—it is being normalized through coordinated campaigns that rely on complicity from tech platforms, legal institutions, and media framing.
What we’re seeing is the slow constriction of acceptable behavior by design. The tools of harassment are increasingly standardized: open-source intimidation, crowdsourced surveillance, and financially backed legal brinksmanship. These are the techniques of soft fascism hardening into formal infrastructure.
The international response has not caught up. But it must. What this calls for now is a clear articulation of consequences—not for those being targeted, but for those enabling and profiting from the repression. The pathway forward includes international sanctions against US oligarchs, as well as the executives, boards, and investors who sustain their influence. These are the nodes that keep the system intact, and without pressure on them, the apparatus only grows more precise and protected.
Political and media elites who provide cover for these tactics, either through omission or endorsement, are also accountable. When you trace the funding, the messaging, and the enforcement, it becomes evident that this is not an accidental confluence—it’s a networked campaign with clear ideological goals.
The International Criminal Court has a role to play. It can extend whistleblower protections to US citizens attempting to resist this capture from within. Many Americans are already putting themselves at risk by speaking out or leaking information. Offering them legal pathways and protections would be a meaningful step toward applying international standards of justice to an increasingly rogue regime.
History shows us that when superpowers slide into authoritarianism, internal resistance is rarely enough. External pressure matters. We must begin to treat this situation with the seriousness it demands. The failure of past strategies—electoral, legal, cultural—means this escalation is not just inevitable, but already underway.
Reversing the energy of public doxxing against the class of people who benefit from it is not revenge. It’s accountability. The people being targeted now are not the ones destabilizing society—they’re just easier to reach. That imbalance is what must change.
Whew! This was great! I had to take a few days to read this coherently and take it all in. You make such great points and so articulately, thank you! And when you take this bird's eye view, you're right, "the shift from structural inequality to weaponized visibility is a tactic that disproportionately harms educators, artists, thinkers, and anyone attempting to hold space for plurality or care." It's hard for me to see objectively, in the midst of it all, with a job and people I care for in direct line of fire. May I ask, are you living outside the U.S.? With your perspective, it seems it! (applause)
All I can say is, keep it up. You're not alone. Stay safe, stay together. Eventually they're coming for all of us, and the sooner we drop our Weimar blinders about the true nature of what we're facing, the easier it will be to fight it.
Yesterday I learned that as the U.S. foreign aid grants get slashed, Trump has authorized a “substantial” amount of that same money for a dog sled race in Greenland. WHAT THE ACTUAL….!!?
“Mikkel Jeremiasson, who chairs Greenland's national dog sled race, told local reporters that the exact amount from the State Department for transporting the dogs, racers and equipment was substantial but the exact amount is confidential due to the terms of the agreement.” - https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5341322/greenland-trump-vance-dog-sled-race
Ugh… The Make America Ignorant Again campaign marches on. Great speech, great photo of 3 generations of wonderful females expressing their anguish. Haters will hate, but you’ve got so many people- real, heartful, soulful human beings-behind you, beside you, with you. Don’t stop, Summer! I, too, with my partner will be out on our Main Street corner protesting on April 5th. 💪🏾❤️
So sorry this happened to you. It's scary, as terrorism is meant to be. Glad it hasn't chilled your speech. As you know, I went through this some years ago. Later, I realized it did chill my speech a bit. Even though I knew I wasn't in much real physical danger. Luckily, the mob moved on from me. Unfortunately, they moved onto other good humans exercising their free speech. I think education is exactly the remedy for this violence. Classroom by classroom, together, all of us teachers showing students how to disagree respectfully and humanely.
I’m sorry you had to go through that, Summer. It’s hard to fathom how incredibly stupid some of these people are, and how incredibly evil the rest of them are.
Fucking chills. Fucking rage. Fucking loss for intelligent words. Fucking typing furiously with every brain cell I have, using words I didn't know I knew. It's all coming up. So unreal. Sending so so much love to you and your family, Summer. <3
Though we are just random humans on the internet, you have people who will rally with you—whether in your state or theirs.
Summer, thank you for your courage and your “rant”. So many emotions and so much energy trying to sort through this insanity. I’ve set time aside for thoughtful conversations and deep introspection. Those of us with a conscience, a capacity for critical thinking, and an open heart, have had to hold so much toxicity from the prevailing dark storm that is forming around us. So much grief to hold in our bodies. But there comes a time for indignation and anger, even rage. When being forced to the subjugation of a despot and his immoral lackeys, with no end in sight, there is only one recourse. My time has come to push back, to say no, to hold the line. Anything else is the enabling of this abomination. So on April 5th I take to the streets. I search out camaraderie. The fight has begun. I am a 70 y.o. widower who lives alone with “beauty boy” Buster (my yellow lab/catahoula mix). I walk both in beauty and in sadness, I understand how deep grief can hone the soul and bring oneself alive again. I have worked hard at this since my wife passed. I also know if she were alive, she would be standing next to me, voice raised, eyes fixed with resolve and conviction. She will be with me in spirit. I deeply admire seeing you, your daughter, and your mother standing along side each other in the picture. In solidarity, Mark.
Thank you so much, Mark. You are so inspiring! As the pictures I posted indicate, it's the elders who are really showing up and pushing back, and angry, and it's so damn inspiring. Your words mean a lot to me! Thank you for holding the line, and your sacred rage. I'll be in the streets next Saturday as well!
dear Summer. rant away...and sorry you have to rant in the first place. sorry for the intimidation. the doxxing. the continuing decimation of education in your state (and in our country). of course those who want to control people don't want them educated! critical creative thinkers will not serve obediently in a dictatorship. so not surprised by what is unfolding. sending a protective hug your way.
"Critical creative thinkers will not serve obediently in a dictatorship," 100%! Thank you, Anne! Protective hug your way as well <3
I'm sorry you were targeted in this way. Teaching is an act of love; Love for learning, creating, showing others how they can be different in the world. As someone who follows this mission, you deserve to be cared for, valued, and treated with high regard. I miss teaching but I'm pretty sure if I were still doing so, I'd be collected up and planted on a pile of wood to wait for a match to set me on fire. Be safe.
“Teaching is an act of love.” So true. My daughter is a teacher and so were both of my parents. I know for a fact, no one does it for the money!
True dat!
Exactly!
LMAO right?! burned at the stake! Thank you, Story Carrier! And thank you for the dedication and love you showed for your students - that's a gift to the universe!
This is not a rant. It is justified commentary. Thank you for being you.
Thank you, Sue!!!
I'm so proud of you, Summer! Stay strong! Keep fighting for ALL of the children. Your courage is truly inspiring.
Thanks so much, Cindy!
First - thank you for fighting for better and using your voice. I am so proud of you and grateful for you!!
Second- I have been doxxed. Your description is damn spot on of how it feels. Unsafe in the place you’re supposed to feel the most safe. I’m so sorry you had to experience that.
Keep up the good fight. Love you friend!
OMG now I need to know that story! Sorry that happened to you!
My husband and I were outspoken in Sedona and we often challenged people who claimed climate change wasn’t real or the medicine is all just a money grab. At one point we were arguing with a guy on the town’s message board and because we owned an LLC and worked from our home- the asshat looked us up and posted our address for everyone to see.
We ended up leaving Sedona about a year later, as we’d come to realize we didn’t belong there anymore.
Educating our kids to be critical thinkers is so important, Summer. What a sad state the western world is in...
Right?! Thank you, Diana!
The dynamics outlined in this piece are part of a well-documented pattern in authoritarian regimes: the targeting of individuals through social pressure, legal gray zones, and the manipulation of public records to suppress dissent. The shift from structural inequality to weaponized visibility is a tactic that disproportionately harms educators, artists, thinkers, and anyone attempting to hold space for plurality or care. This is not a fringe phenomenon—it is being normalized through coordinated campaigns that rely on complicity from tech platforms, legal institutions, and media framing.
What we’re seeing is the slow constriction of acceptable behavior by design. The tools of harassment are increasingly standardized: open-source intimidation, crowdsourced surveillance, and financially backed legal brinksmanship. These are the techniques of soft fascism hardening into formal infrastructure.
The international response has not caught up. But it must. What this calls for now is a clear articulation of consequences—not for those being targeted, but for those enabling and profiting from the repression. The pathway forward includes international sanctions against US oligarchs, as well as the executives, boards, and investors who sustain their influence. These are the nodes that keep the system intact, and without pressure on them, the apparatus only grows more precise and protected.
Political and media elites who provide cover for these tactics, either through omission or endorsement, are also accountable. When you trace the funding, the messaging, and the enforcement, it becomes evident that this is not an accidental confluence—it’s a networked campaign with clear ideological goals.
The International Criminal Court has a role to play. It can extend whistleblower protections to US citizens attempting to resist this capture from within. Many Americans are already putting themselves at risk by speaking out or leaking information. Offering them legal pathways and protections would be a meaningful step toward applying international standards of justice to an increasingly rogue regime.
History shows us that when superpowers slide into authoritarianism, internal resistance is rarely enough. External pressure matters. We must begin to treat this situation with the seriousness it demands. The failure of past strategies—electoral, legal, cultural—means this escalation is not just inevitable, but already underway.
Reversing the energy of public doxxing against the class of people who benefit from it is not revenge. It’s accountability. The people being targeted now are not the ones destabilizing society—they’re just easier to reach. That imbalance is what must change.
Whew! This was great! I had to take a few days to read this coherently and take it all in. You make such great points and so articulately, thank you! And when you take this bird's eye view, you're right, "the shift from structural inequality to weaponized visibility is a tactic that disproportionately harms educators, artists, thinkers, and anyone attempting to hold space for plurality or care." It's hard for me to see objectively, in the midst of it all, with a job and people I care for in direct line of fire. May I ask, are you living outside the U.S.? With your perspective, it seems it! (applause)
All I can say is, keep it up. You're not alone. Stay safe, stay together. Eventually they're coming for all of us, and the sooner we drop our Weimar blinders about the true nature of what we're facing, the easier it will be to fight it.
Exactamente! Thank you, Steve!
Yesterday I learned that as the U.S. foreign aid grants get slashed, Trump has authorized a “substantial” amount of that same money for a dog sled race in Greenland. WHAT THE ACTUAL….!!?
“Mikkel Jeremiasson, who chairs Greenland's national dog sled race, told local reporters that the exact amount from the State Department for transporting the dogs, racers and equipment was substantial but the exact amount is confidential due to the terms of the agreement.” - https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/nx-s1-5341322/greenland-trump-vance-dog-sled-race
Good goddess! Why am I not surprised!? ughhhhhh
Summer, thank you for all that you do on behalf of education. Well written, once again.
Thanks so much, Shana!
Ugh… The Make America Ignorant Again campaign marches on. Great speech, great photo of 3 generations of wonderful females expressing their anguish. Haters will hate, but you’ve got so many people- real, heartful, soulful human beings-behind you, beside you, with you. Don’t stop, Summer! I, too, with my partner will be out on our Main Street corner protesting on April 5th. 💪🏾❤️
Thank you, Bill!!!!! I'll be out there as well!!!!!
What a great speech. Kudos.
Thanks so much, Jeanine!
So sorry this happened to you. It's scary, as terrorism is meant to be. Glad it hasn't chilled your speech. As you know, I went through this some years ago. Later, I realized it did chill my speech a bit. Even though I knew I wasn't in much real physical danger. Luckily, the mob moved on from me. Unfortunately, they moved onto other good humans exercising their free speech. I think education is exactly the remedy for this violence. Classroom by classroom, together, all of us teachers showing students how to disagree respectfully and humanely.
I’m sorry you had to go through that, Summer. It’s hard to fathom how incredibly stupid some of these people are, and how incredibly evil the rest of them are.
Fucking chills. Fucking rage. Fucking loss for intelligent words. Fucking typing furiously with every brain cell I have, using words I didn't know I knew. It's all coming up. So unreal. Sending so so much love to you and your family, Summer. <3
Though we are just random humans on the internet, you have people who will rally with you—whether in your state or theirs.