“In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left with whom one can argue, to whom one can present grievances, on whom the pressures of power can be exerted. Bureaucracy is the form of government in which everybody is deprived of political freedom, of the power to act; for the rule by Nobody is not no-rule, and where all are equally powerless, we have a tyranny without a tyrant.” ― Hannah Arendt, On Violence.
"Mr. Trump has given racists in his country the cover they were looking for. Now their voices are louder and more dangerous than ever. And they are destroying America." Gary Mason, Globe and Mail.
The individual conscience is bowed by big trends, 'ghosts' you and I didn't start, yet they hover over us, accuse us without asking for a response. (such as all whites being held responsible for anti-black racism or white privilege) And we must respond even though our efforts will not garner the "lead" if it doesn't bleed.
No I'm not advocating violence, I'm advocating deep self-reflection, a self-disciplined response. Integrity, compassion, empathy and deep listening are worth more than ever now.
Christian Picciolini tells a personal story of how he was recruited into a Neo-Nazi group in Chicago. He was 14 at first contact, lonely and naive, and this video reveals his vulnerability along with the clever tricks some movements use to prey on innocent minds to make them violent, hateful, forces. It's worth listening to because it is personal and does not use generalizations.
If white supremacy is a mental illness as revealed in a social movement — what is the cure?
Here is the story of a five year old, Shane Johnson, who received two hours of daily Bible study from his dad. Not the King James bible or the Hebrew bible but the doctrine of “Christian Identity,” which holds that the enslavement or extermination of all nonwhites will usher in the second coming of Christ.
In Kindergarten Johnson got in trouble for refusing to sit next to a black child. He dropped out in seventh grade to dedicate himself to the march toward racial Armageddon. “We was told we’d go to eternal damnation if we didn’t fight Jews and blacks,” he says.
"The deradicalization movement combines insights gleaned from social work, 12-step programs, psychology, neurochemistry, and the personal experiences of “formers” who have left extremist groups ... (f)ew extremists make clean breaks with their past. Many liken hate to an addiction—hard to quit and easy to relapse into. The process is slow and one-on-one; it doesn’t promise to defeat hate groups so much as chip away at a movement that includes more than 400 organizations with thousands of members, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center—not to mention fellow travelers in the alt-right and online hate communities.
Mind control, or socialization, has been used for many centuries. It's not that the majority of people are inherently racist and violent, but that it is complicated to find our way through it even if we know we must.
My take-away from this, is the need to teach our children and loved-ones to think, to question, and to ask who benefits from the world in which a long-standing pecking order has dominated our sense of who we are. Arguments don't help where people have not signed up for a debate.
Generalizations don't help either. Judgements don't bring others to question their views. Threats of violence simply keep the status quo even if it purports to be progressive.
The human condition is multi-faceted and fragile. We are not comfortable with pain. These are generalizations too but all I can suggest, if I am conceited enough to offer advice, is loving kindness. This includes connecting with our eyes and ears.
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