The Warning From 2021 That Everyone Forgot (Because Forgetting Felt Safer)
The Resistance Sabotage Manual: Day 10 of 12
September 1, 2025
They Showed Us the Blueprint
They told us exactly what they would do. On live television. With maps. With PowerPoints. With gallows.
"Next time we're coming back with guns." They said it into cameras. We called it hyperbole.
"Give me 11,780 votes." He said it on tape. We chose to call it desperation.
"We're going to walk down to the Capitol." He said it to thousands. We decided it was just rhetoric.
We didn't forget. We chose to forget. Because remembering would have demanded action, and forgetting felt safer.
Every Country Chooses to Forget
Turkey 2016: Citizens chose to dismiss the failed coup attempt - massive purges followed
Germany 1923: Germans chose to laugh at Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch - then elected him
Brazil 2023: Brazilians chose to minimize January 8 attacks - the networks remained intact
Russia 1999: Russians chose to ignore apartment bombings evidence - Putin still rules
The Comfort of Forgetting (Why We Choose Amnesia)
We don't forget because we're stupid. We forget because we're human, and remembering is unbearable. Consider what remembering actually demands:
Remembering means accepting it was real. The gallows were real. The zip-tie handcuffs were real. The "Hang Mike Pence" chants were real. Accepting this means accepting we live in a country where this happened.
Remembering creates obligation. If we remember they said they'd do it again, we must prepare. If we remember they meant it, we must act. If we remember they're organizing, we must organize. Forgetting absolves us.
Remembering prevents normal life. We want to focus on our jobs, our families, our hobbies. Carrying the weight of democratic collapse makes daily life impossible. So we set it down.
Remembering isolates us socially. Our friends want to "move forward." Our families are tired of "politics." Being the one who remembers makes us exhausting. Forgetting lets us belong.
We collaborate in our own amnesia because the alternative - living in constant awareness of threat - feels unsustainable.
How Our Forgetting Became Their Permission
Each time we chose to forget, we sent a signal: "This is acceptable now." They heard us clearly.
We forgot "stand back and stand by" → Proud Boys membership surged. They knew we'd decided it was just words.
We forgot the gallows at the Capitol → Death threats against officials spiked dramatically. They learned we'd normalize execution imagery.
We forgot the Eastman memos → They refined the blueprint, embedded allies in election positions. Our amnesia said "try again, better."
We forgot 147 Republicans voted to overturn → They faced no consequences, got reelected. We taught them there was no price.
We forgot "I just want to find 11,780 votes" → Election interference became standard practice. Our forgetting validated the strategy.
We forgot "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat" → Reports of political violence tripled. Our amnesia was permission.
The pattern is consistent: They test boundaries → We choose to forget → They push further → We normalize the new boundary → Repeat until democracy dies.
The Active Erasure We Participate In
Historical amnesia in democratic collapse isn't passive - it's a choice we make daily. We delete warnings precisely when remembering them would demand action we're not ready to take.
How we actively forget:
"That was years ago" - We say about 2021, though it was yesterday in democratic time
"We need to move forward" - We say, because looking backward reveals our trajectory
"Both sides are extreme" - We say, equating warnings with threats
"It wasn't that bad" - We say, revising history to make it bearable
"They didn't mean it literally" - We say, though they did exactly what they said
We're not victims of memory loss. We're participants in collective amnesia.
What We Chose to Forget (And What It Enabled)
2021 - We Forgot:
147 Republicans voted to overturn election after the attack
Result: They kept their seats, learned there were no consequences
Oath Keepers cached weapons at Virginia hotel
Result: Armed militias understood logistics were acceptable
"Trial by combat" - Giuliani's exact words
Result: Violent rhetoric mainstreamed
2022 - We Forgot:
"We are all domestic terrorists" - CPAC's actual banner
Result: The label became a badge of honor
Election deniers became election officials in dozens of states
Result: The infrastructure for next time was built
2023 - We Forgot:
"I am your retribution" - Not a slip, a promise
Result: Revenge politics normalized
"Vermin" language returned to rallies
Result: Dehumanization accelerated
2024 - We Forgot:
"Dictator on day one" - He said it, we laughed it off
Result: Authoritarian transition began on schedule
Project 2025 published their entire plan online
Result: They implemented it while we debated whether they meant it
The Pattern of Choosing to Forget
Germany Chose to Forget the Beer Hall Putsch
November 8-9, 1923: Hitler's failed coup. Germans had two choices: treat it as the warning it was, or minimize it as buffoonery. They chose mockery over memory. Prison sentence: 5 years. Time served: 9 months. Germans chose to forget why he was imprisoned. Book written in prison: Mein Kampf. Germans chose not to read it. Years between "failed" putsch and power: 10. Every step was telegraphed. Germans chose comfort over vigilance.
Chile Chose to Forget the Tacnazo
October 21, 1969: Military rebellion. Chile could have purged rebellious officers. Instead, they chose "reconciliation." Three years later, the same networks assassinated General Schneider. Chile chose to forget the connection. Four years later, coup succeeded. The rehearsal they chose to dismiss became the performance.
Spain Chose to Forget the Sanjurjada
August 10, 1932: Failed coup by General Sanjurjo. Spain could have eliminated fascist military networks. They chose "moving forward." Four years later: Civil War. The networks they chose to ignore had spent four years preparing.
How to Stop Choosing Amnesia
Easy Mode: The Discomfort Practice
Accept that remembering feels bad - that's the point
Create "Uncomfortable Truth Thursdays" - review what you want to forget
Screenshot promises/threats when made - force future confrontation
Set monthly alerts: "What am I choosing to forget?"
Tell three people what you remember - shared memory resists erasure
Medium Mode: Collective Remembering
Form "memory circles" that meet monthly to document patterns
Create "We Remember" social media threads - make forgetting visible
Build community archives of threats made and fulfilled
Practice saying "We chose to forget X, which enabled Y"
Map connections between forgotten warnings and current reality
Hard Mode: Weaponized Memory
Project forgotten quotes on buildings where they now govern
Create "They Said/They Did" documentation campaigns
Organize "reading of the warnings" at every rally
Build permanent archives that update: Promise → Fulfillment
Make forgetting impossible through relentless repetition
Your Collaboration Inventory
☐ "We need to move forward, not backward"
☐ "That was so long ago" (about 2021-2024)
☐ "They didn't mean it literally"
☐ "It wasn't as bad as people say"
☐ "Both sides are too extreme"
☐ Can't name specific January 6 defendants or consequences
☐ Don't remember which officials supported overturning
☐ Forgot the gallows and "Hang Pence" chants
☐ Can't recall Project 2025 specifics
☐ Memory of events has softened over time
☐ Feel exhausted when someone brings up old warnings
☐ Want people to "stop dwelling on the past"
Each check is a choice you made to enable them.
The Success Story You Need
Argentina's Mothers Refused to Forget: After dictatorship (1976-1983), Argentina was told to choose "reconciliation" over remembrance. The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo refused. Every Thursday for 40 years, wearing white headscarves, carrying photos. They made forgetting impossible. Society called them crazy, bitter, stuck in the past. They persisted. When political space opened, their preserved memory became evidence. Hundreds convicted 20-30 years later. Memory was their resistance.
Spain's Choice to Forget: After Franco (1939-1975), Spain chose the "Pact of Forgetting." No trials. No truth commission. "Move forward," they said. Result: 2023, Franco nostalgia surging, fascist party Vox in government, historical patterns repeating. Forgetting guaranteed repetition. Spain chose comfort and got consequences.
Tomorrow: You left Twitter. They won. Here's why that was the plan.
The Resistance Sabotage Manual is a 12-day series examining the specific ways we accidentally collaborate with authoritarianism — and how to stop. Based on analysis of democratic collapses from Weimar Germany to present day.
What warning are you choosing to forget right now? What will that forgetting enable?