The author reflects on their canceled trip to Princeton as societal tension rises over US border policies that lead to random detentions and denials of entry. Concern for personal safety and broader implications for academic freedom forced a decision to conduct the lecture online. These experiences reveal the chilling normalization of fascist behaviors, as reports indicate that even EU officials are taking precautions like using burner phones when traveling to the US. The author argues that this ambiguity represents the essence of modern fascism, where fear undermines human connections and societal morale.
It was decided that a law firm should be involved. After some back and forth, the final assessment remained unsettlingly ambiguous: A detention is unlikely, but we cannot be sure.
They felt their land a shade darker, and I felt like giving up on the unfortunate in dire times. After all, I should know: this is how a country drifts into darkness.
The unacceptable was normalised at such speed that, only a few weeks into the border crisis, the EU began issuing burner phones to its staff bound for the US.
The charade began without warning and continues with absolute randomness. Trouble finds people as described in the assessment of my likely difficulties: unlikely but not for sure.
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