I appreciate your thoughtful reply. But I find Snyder’s claim that “I did not leave Yale because of anything Trump is doing” hard to believe. I think he is saying that as a means of deflecting the criticism he is getting from people like me (and others). In fact, Shore revealed that Trump's election did play a big role in their decision,…
I appreciate your thoughtful reply. But I find Snyder’s claim that “I did not leave Yale because of anything Trump is doing” hard to believe. I think he is saying that as a means of deflecting the criticism he is getting from people like me (and others). In fact, Shore revealed that Trump's election did play a big role in their decision, telling Inside Higher Ed that “we didn’t make our final decision until after the November elections.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2025/03/26/fascism-scholars-trump-critics-leave-yale-canada
I think that Snyder knows how bad this looks, especially for someone like him, and that is why he has been trying to paint the decision as having been motivated by non-political factors. But the timing and the destination, combined with his wife's admission, tells a different tale.
I want to clarify that I agree with you when you say that people who leave the country for the safety and welfare of their families should not be labeled cowards for it. But the three people at issue here are not ordinary. They are leading voices—in Stanley and especially Snyder's case, the leading voices—on the very threat the country now faces. Their fame and public profile were not forced on them; they took it on by choice.
Whether they like it or not, I think this bestows on them a great deal of responsibility. The resistance against Trump needs leaders, including intellectual ones. Who else but Snyder and Stanley are supposed to serve in that role? They are by far the most well-known thinkers on the subject. Who else but them should explain to the American people the need to resist along with the historical context behind that imperative?
But they're not exactly in a great position to do that now that they have fled the very regime that they will now have to encourage others to stay and fight against.
In short, I am holding, as I think we all should hold, Snyder and Stanley to a much different standard than I would ordinary people—people who aren’t the world's leading scholars on fascism.
I appreciate your thoughtful reply. But I find Snyder’s claim that “I did not leave Yale because of anything Trump is doing” hard to believe. I think he is saying that as a means of deflecting the criticism he is getting from people like me (and others). In fact, Shore revealed that Trump's election did play a big role in their decision, telling Inside Higher Ed that “we didn’t make our final decision until after the November elections.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2025/03/26/fascism-scholars-trump-critics-leave-yale-canada
I think that Snyder knows how bad this looks, especially for someone like him, and that is why he has been trying to paint the decision as having been motivated by non-political factors. But the timing and the destination, combined with his wife's admission, tells a different tale.
I want to clarify that I agree with you when you say that people who leave the country for the safety and welfare of their families should not be labeled cowards for it. But the three people at issue here are not ordinary. They are leading voices—in Stanley and especially Snyder's case, the leading voices—on the very threat the country now faces. Their fame and public profile were not forced on them; they took it on by choice.
Whether they like it or not, I think this bestows on them a great deal of responsibility. The resistance against Trump needs leaders, including intellectual ones. Who else but Snyder and Stanley are supposed to serve in that role? They are by far the most well-known thinkers on the subject. Who else but them should explain to the American people the need to resist along with the historical context behind that imperative?
But they're not exactly in a great position to do that now that they have fled the very regime that they will now have to encourage others to stay and fight against.
In short, I am holding, as I think we all should hold, Snyder and Stanley to a much different standard than I would ordinary people—people who aren’t the world's leading scholars on fascism.