Jocelyn Miller Zeitzoff

What Makes Them Tick Why I Study Psychology & Political Violence

My first post on my new Peace & Violence Substack:

“What Makes Them Tick: Why I Study Psychology & Political Violence”

zeitzoff.substack.com/p/what-makes...

No Option But Sabotage: Rad Enviros and the Climate Crisis w/ Prof. Thomas Zeitzoff YouTube video by Green and Red Podcast

Had a great time talking climate, social movements, repression, and my new book No Option But Sabotage with Scott and Bob on @podcastgreenred.bsky.social

m.youtube.com/watch?v=lTPf...

Like others, I see lots of bad outcomes—and very few good ones—from Trump’s war of choice against Iran.

A lot of this is driven by Trump being unpopular and gambling for resurrection.

I doubt you see this if he is at 48% approval.

Picture of conservationist and eugenicist Madison Grant. The Passing of the Great Race: Or, The Racial Basis of European History is a 1916 racist and pseudoscientific[1][2] book by American lawyer, anthropologist, and proponent of eugenics Madison Grant (1865–1937). Grant expounds a theory of Nordic superiority, claiming that the "Nordic race" is inherently superior to other human "races". The theory and the book were praised by Adolf Hitler and other Nazis, Hitler referring to it as "his Bible". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passing_of_the_Great_Race

The Ghosts of John Tanton by Abrahm Lustgarten October 19, 2024, 5:00 am Change Appearance ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Reporting Highlights Tanton’s Network: Today’s contentious immigration debate is the construct of one man’s effort to halt overpopulation, brace for climate change and preserve “European” culture. Green Hate: Now climate change is amplifying environmental concerns that have always run through the white supremacy and the anti-immigration movements. Eco-Fascism: Experts warn that extremists who seize on global warming to justify violence are part of a far right trend to reclaim environmentalism as their own. https://www.propublica.org/article/john-tanton-far-right-extremism-environmentalism-climate-change

NYTimes: David Foreman, Hard-Line Environmentalist, Dies at 75 As a co-founder of the group Earth First!, he advocated slashing tires and downing power lines in an effort to return vast swaths of the country to their natural state. Still, even some in the movement found him beyond the pale. Murray Bookchin, a philosopher and environmental theorist, called him an eco-fascist for statements that appeared to prioritize animals over people, like when he seemed to endorse famine in Ethiopia and immigration restrictions in the United States as means to reduce the human population. (In both cases he had misspoken, he said.) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/us/david-foreman-dead.html

While researching my book, I was struck by the role racist and xenophobic ideas played in U.S. environmental history.

Prominent figures:

-Pushed "Great Replacement" style demographic fears

-Helped build the modern anti-immigration movement

-Argued against famine aid on ecological grounds

Environmental group Extinction Rebellion says it is under FBI investigation Activist group says some members have been visited by agents, including by agency’s terrorism taskforce

Reports that FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force visited Extinction Rebellion activists' homes. It's the Green Scare updated for 2026.

It's the Trump administration strategy of labeling leftist activists terrorists, and justifying repression.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Earth Crisis @ The Living Room. Providence, Rhode Island, circa 1994. (Photo: Scott Forgerelli) https://www.noecho.net/features/the-story-of-earth-crisis-firestorm

-“The punk scene radicalized me.”

-“I picked up a zine at a hardcore show, and the rest is history.”

This is what I heard from a surprising number of eco activists from the 1990s when I asked how they got into the movement.

Out today from my friend and coauthor @zeitzoff.bsky.social!

Picture of No Option But Sabotage

My book—No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis—comes out today!

It's the result of 3+ years of research and 150+ interviews with 100+ activists and experts.

I think about this almost every day. Glad @amandamull.bsky.social wrote about it:

Misinformation and National Security Event https://american-spa.swoogo.com/misinformation

DC folks: I will be moderating an event on Misinformation and National Security at @au-spa.bsky.social next Tuesday with @jjgreenjr.bsky.social and Bret Schafer.

RSVP here: american-spa.swoogo.com/misinformation

Picture of No Option But Sabotage cover

Pre-orders:

-OUP (30% discount code: ASFLYQ6):

global.oup.com/academic/pro...

-Bookshop:

bookshop.org/p/books/no-o...

-Amazon:

www.amazon.com/dp/019779684...

Flyer for the Wharf: Thomas Zeitzoff — No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis -with JJ Green — at The Wharf

Book cover: "No Option But Sabotage"

I’ll be doing a book talk with @jjgreenjr.bsky.social
for my new book:

*No Option But Sabotage*

at Politics and Prose (The Wharf) this Friday, 1/30.

We'll be discussing:

-the climate crisis
-social movement
-protest tactics
-and responses to repression

politics-prose.com/thomas-zeitz...

Headline: ‘Melania’ Doc Screens at White House After Alex Pretti Was Shot to Death by ICE in Minneapolis Saturday night’s attendees included President Donald Trump, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Tim Cook, Mike Tyson, Ellen von Unwerth and disgraced director Brett Ratner JD Knapp The Wrap

On Saturday, 1/24, mere hours after Alex Pretti was murdered by federal agents, the White House screened the “Melania” documentary for tech billionaires & CEOs.

It was absurd. But also revealing. The authoritarian threat in the U.S. is deeply intertwined with the power of tech billionaires.

-🧵-

Another Death in Minneapolis After killing another American, federal officials again offer an explanation that appears to be directly contradicted by available evidence.

Staff writer Adam Serwer reports from Minneapolis, speaking with Hanna Rosin about his perspective on the showdown in Minnesota and the remarkable level of activism on the ground. Listen here:

OUP Discount Code AFLYQ6

The book is officially out on February 16 with @academic.oup.com.

Pre-orders:

-OUP (30% discount code: ASFLYQ6) global.oup.com/academic/pro...

-Bookshop: bookshop.org/p/books/no-o...

-Amazon: www.amazon.com/No-Option-bu...

Screenshot of Thomas Zeitzoff — No Option But Sabotage: The Radical Environmental Movement and the Climate Crisis -with JJ Green — at The Wharf.

No Option But Sabotage Cover

I’m excited to share that I’ll be doing a book talk and launch with @jjgreenjr.bsky.social for my new book:

*No Option But Sabotage*

at Politics and Prose (The Wharf) next Friday, 1/30.

politics-prose.com/thomas-zeitz...

Picture of the capitol on January 6th, 2021

Five years ago, the president of the U.S. launched a self-coup to stay in power.

He wasn’t punished, ran again 4 years later, and won.

Our current politics and the state of U.S. democracy are downstream of this.

And that was with a target known to have been behind the worst terror attack in U.S. history!

Maduro ramps up repression in Venezuela as he faces growing threats abroad | CNN Venezuela is entering one of its most repressive periods in years, rights monitors say, as President Nicolás Maduro faces mounting isolation and an expanding US military presence in the Caribbean.

A few observations following the U.S. strike on Venezuela and capture of Maduro.

1) Hopefully, this improves the lives of ordinary Venezuelans, but I'm very skeptical. There's no serious plan for dealing with the Venezuelan economy or security forces. www.cnn.com/venezuela-ma...

THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Official Trailer [2010] (HD) YouTube video by Sony Pictures Entertainment

The Social Network has only grown in stature over time.

The initial criticisms—dramatic exaggerations of Zuckerberg’s petty, thin-skinned ruthlessness, and the utopian zeal of the Silicon Valley elite—were wrong.

If anything, the film was too restrained.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95...

Chanukah m and m cookies

Double menorahs showing the first light

Chag sameach, happy Hanukkah, and peace

An unordered list of my favorite books I read this year.

Nonfiction:

There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best. I’ve stopped Eight Wars, saving many millions of lives in the process, created the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country, brought Business back into the United States at levels never seen before, rebuilt our Military, created the Largest Tax Cuts and Regulation Cuts, EVER, closed our open and very dangerous Southern Border, when previous Administrations were unable to do so, and created an “aura” around the United States of America that has led every Country in the World to respect us more than ever before. In addition to all of that, I go out of my way to do long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations at the Great Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, seen and supervised by top doctors, all of whom have given me PERFECT Marks — Some have even said they have never seen such Strong Results. I do these Tests because I owe it to our Country. In addition to the Medical, I have done something that no other President has done, on three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know. I have been told that few people have been able to “ace” this Examination and, in fact,

most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all. Despite all of this, the time and work involved, The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am “slowing up,” am maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true, and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before. I will know when I am “slowing up,” but it’s not now! After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean “THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it. They have inaccurately reported on all of my Election Results and, in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote. The best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful “source” of information. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Every part of this is bonkers. The intro is bonkers. The transition to his health is bonkers. The mention that other presidents didn't need cognitive exams is bonkers. The claim that this screening test is somehow hard is bonkers. The idea that criticism of him is treason is bonkers. All of it.

Zelensky Rejects Ceding Land as U.S. Seeks ‘Compromise’ on Russian Demand

The current Trump pressure campaign against Ukraine to accept a pro-Russia peace deal is actually worse than it looks.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/w...

George was just trying to get to work.

ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.

This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.

Approval rating of Trump according to the Economist —he’s at -15%.

Some thoughts on where we are right now and the state of US democracy.

Trump is both deeply unpopular right now—and yet more politically powerful than during his first term, thanks to a pliant Congress and Supreme Court. That’s an uncertain, and dangerous, place to be.

Whenever I'm hoping people will just come out and say it, @adamserwer.bsky.social just comes out and SAYS IT. Recommend every single word of his latest piece, Lower Than Cowards, on the "chickenshit" surrender of American elites.

Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Trump Might Be Losing His Race Against Time The president is gambling that he can consolidate authority before the public turns too sharply against him.

“Trump has a shrewd instinct for survival. He must sense that if he does not act now to prevent free and fair elections in 2026, he will lose much of his power—and all of his impunity” @davidfrum.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers First published on October 9, 2009, this classic by Colin Nissan is our most-read article of all time. We’re celebrating the 16th anniversary of th...

IT IS TIME.

Some thoughts on trends in political violence and where we are headed in the U.S.

First, violence has been part of U.S. politics since the beginning.