White Supremacy is a Mental Illness

When men and women support movements of hate, such as white supremacy, is that because they are desperately trying to shake off the feeling they are redundant in a culture that values the GDP more than human survival?  Or is it a desire to find a really deep hole in which to place all their rage and disappointment?

What is it about being white that makes us special? What has the white “race” achieved?

Colonialism, brainwashing that enabled invaders to destroy the aboriginal culture and call it discovery? Enslavement of African people and the ideology of race based on skin colour? A violent hierarchy that demanded absolute obedience to the pecking order? Capitalism that placed a higher value on possessions than life itself?

These things were not invented by white people - we inherited these practices along with science, law, medicine and education. Over the centuries we have refined the worship of power. We constructed class, race and gender. We promoted and normalized a virtue called the work ethic. But this could only work by cooperating with others, by creating a cohesive narrative to "explain" why the world is the way it is and how we have "conquered" it.

The problem is that capitalism reinvented then trashed and denigrated community, for the drive to get to the top, as quickly as possible. Whoever possessed the top position had the right to demean, judge and dismiss our human need for dignity. The conscientious leader is replaced with the trickster.

Cities are blown up, water is poisoned with chemicals, the air is polluted, trees cut down, territories dug up.

In this environment we are all marginalized refugees. This is a state of ideology. Nature, water, land, air and men only exist in terms of the economy and the only measure that your isolated ego can win are the little contests along the way.

White supremacy like misogyny, anti-semitism, Islamophobia - are symptoms of a mental illness brought about by centuries of abuse that has emotionally and spiritually starved our species of our human needs:- food, shelter, belonging, dignity and respect. When people are denied these things, when children and adults are routinely humiliated through neglect and the commons has been purchased by international corporations, the power of the isolated ego can only be felt through revenge.

We can acknowledge our feelings and use that awareness to restructure engagement in community that values life, good health, clean air and water, kindness and honest communication. The only true power we have is to help others be happy - not by violence but by the voice of integrity. We are vulnerable and fragile. We are not lizards and guns.

As soon as we fall back into ideologies of race, gender and class, we create monsters who must be fed by our neuroses and endless human sacrifice.

When Cruelty is the Point

The Atlantic published an essay by Adam Serwer October 3, 2018, which is most disturbing yet salient.  "The Cruelty Is the Point: President Trump and his supporters find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear."

This essay lists incidents that I find very difficult to read. In the 30's black men chained to poles—whipped to death while white men grin proudly as though this was an accomplishment. "Their cruelty made them feel good, it made them feel proud, it made them feel happy. And it made them feel closer to one another."

A Mississippi crowd of Trump supporters cheered as the president mocked Christine Blasey Ford for reporting the attempted rape by Kavanaugh when she was a teenager. "Lock her up!" they shouted. The trial or at least a part of it was taped for mainstream viewing.

Ford, a psychology professor, reported the laughter of Kavanaugh and his friend Mark judge as "Indelible in the hippocampus ... that part of the brain that processes emotion and memory".

Adolescent male cruelty "is a bonding mechanism, a vehicle for intimacy through contempt." White men in lynching photos bonding through cruelty. These examples say—the white man has evolved to be part of the global family of cruelty and torture.  

You may be thinking that white women and black men are as capable of cruelty as white men. But what I find so chilling in the history of World War I and II is the branding of men's psyche in the camaraderie of violence and cruelty.  That something in the healthy brain has been erased so that men can serve the ruling elite through bonding by traumatizing rituals to "toughen him up" rendering him unable to interrogate his feelings without falling back into the trauma.

When we question this behaviour men may get defensive or applaud it by further abuse. Should women learn how to do this? I have seen women who are willing to display cruelty and violence for the sake of maintaining power over a group.

I have even felt that hardening in my own heart when it appeared it was required "to do the job." To lose that intelligence of empathy and sensitivity which informs my place in the group. 

What makes me most fearful for the future is how easily we can become monsters through unidentified trauma and fear. This is like a setting in the mind which makes me do something I thought I was incapable of doing.

This is why election day is not the only opportunity I have to protest against injustice, cruelty and stupidity. I am a member of the human family and have an obligation to take care of us by caring what happens to them. This is my political task between elections.

Requiem for a miracle planet

"Who are those who would sacrifice us on the altar of global capitalism? How did they amass the power to deny us a voice, to insist that the earth is an inert commodity they have a right to exploit until the ecosystem that sustains life collapses and the human species, along with most other species, becomes extinct?" Chris Hedges, The Age of Radical Evil, Truthdig

By some miracle this planet is made of more than rock. We have oceans, soil, trees, sun and rain. We take this for granted but without this climate our ancestors would not have survived. However, we did. It was never without pain or conflict—now we are ruled by values that seem to have transcended life altogether. Money and inequality is about to make us all redundant.

White men and women have been complicit in the colonization of this planet from the beginning of radicalized evil:  to conquer other nations for the purpose of capturing resources, including slaves, then building a global structure of rape. Raping humanity, raping the oceans, raping the land, the air — of all dignity while creating a new god.

The very least we can do is to admit the full purpose of racism is to dehumanize us all so we can dismiss the violence and carry on playing.

Unfortunately racism is not enough to keep the oligarchs unfettered by social justice and common decency, so hate groups must be whipped up by fake news paid for by "anonymous" sources.

The earth is pretty much a dump for the system drunk on greed. Factories of ideology from farms to cities, economics to education, philosophy to politics, progress as technology and weapons, presenting "the real world" of healing as naive.

Radical evil has turned our species into zombies ready to lap up the latest novelty to keep us from getting depressed by the state of our world.

The question is — will you keep investing in, "isolated units competing for the most of what each of us wants?" Are you ready to see society as a means to support the dignity of your life?

The Way to Understand White Nationalist Terrorism - New York Times

"It is not enough to dismiss mass shootings as horror beyond our comprehension. It is our duty to understand their meaning and confront the movement that relies upon them." The Right Way to Understand White Nationalist Terrorism - The New York Times By Kathleen Belew

Your Hate Does Not Benefit You

"We saw in the North American free-trade agreement renegotiation and the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs that the U.S. leader had no patience for facts and enjoyed bullying his allies more than confronting his country’s adversaries, while his acolytes sought to replace the postwar order with a Washington-centred hub-and-spokes system." Paul Heinbecker, Globe and Mail.

I'm not convinced that free trade was good for me or for the workers in factories, but the US President is not on our side either.  He doesn't even seem to be on the American people's side. As for our Prime Minister he seems to be more onside with business than with the citizens even though he made promises and was elected on a campaign to honour the land and sea on which we depend.

What has been lost is a respectable conversation between interests for the sake of the greater good of all.  From somewhere there is the financing of hateful threats to those who have been marginalized, including those who are concerned about climate change.

Meaningful dialogue has been taken out of our domaine and funnelled into the boots and trucks of angry people who have chosen hate as a way out.

A way out of what? A level gaze at all the competing interests who want to take more and give less? 

A way out of owning how our ancestors and nations were complicit in the exploitation of smaller nations, how they colluded in barbaric practices for the sake of dominion over the most land. Not to civilize it but to enslave the people and pollute the land for profit.

In this way, we too have been polluted -- not just broken hearted but corrupted. Ideologies we submit to are often evil because of how they effectively confuse and alienate us from our own mental health.

The best example of this is white supremacy -- and no I am not talking about all the people  who are not brown skinned. I am talking about the movement itself, funded by interests who wish to remain anonymous.  What exactly does white supremacy stand for?

Reading between the lines it stands for hegemony over those who have moved away from the masculine ideology that demands sacrifice on battle fields, absolute obedience in the corporate board room and support for enslavement. I am also talking about the feminine ideology that props up the command that their men must always be strong and never vulnerable, promotes the feminine body as a host for the next generation but not a complete being. The corruption of Christianity for the sake of power-over the people through unexamined obedience.

Some may claim that Christianity was corrupt from the beginning when the teachings of a young rabbi became the foundation of a new religion. Some may claim that religion by its very nature is corrupt as it indoctrinates the innocent for the sake of controlling the masses.

I am saying that corruption is so embedded in our civilization and collective memory, that we need to examine our lives and beliefs enough to figure out the thoughts and values we hold and the way we support the idea of control. Controlling nature, our children, our seniors, our selves.

What is the best use of my power? To hear the voices of others, to support community, to heal my own injuries and to love life. Once I feel compelled to dominate or conquer something I must interrogate that need and ask who benefits?

Human Rights and Authoritarian Governments

"Human rights activists are very inconvenient to authoritarian governments. Discrediting them as terrorists or terrorist sympathisers is right out of the tyrant's playbook." 
Sandy Garossino, National Observer.

This article written by Sandy Garossino and published in the National Observer is a well articulated opinion on how "terrorists" and "terrorism" is as useful to authoritarian leaders as war.

It's another trope to divide the world into us and them, good guys and bad guys, without the conversation about what makes a nation safe. So it removes the pressure for ruling elites to make their country a better place.

Of course we need to arrest those who plan to bomb, to kill, to torture for their "cause". But there are always opportunists in government who blow up the conversation to find their opposing parties to blame. It's so easy to stir up big sensational claims in corporate sponsored media and political jades.

When citizens fall into blaming whole groups such as immigrants, Sikhs, Moslems for the violence of a minority we fail on the tasks that move us toward social justice, and lose sight of the ways we can protect the innocent.

Every nation that we talk about or know of has been guilty of destroying civil society through fear and hate.

To support good journalism with your membership go here https://www.nationalobserver.com/support

Getting Tough, Simplifying the Disorder

In the latest UUWorld online newsletter, the Rev. Lynn Ungar responded to news that the U.S. would be pulling out of the Paris climate accord.

"The fact of the matter is that the current administration works out of an ideology of “getting tough.” The primary value is expressing dominance, not achieving goals that would be of real advantage to the citizens of the US. We “get tough” with our allies rather than looking at how we could cooperate to mutual advantage. . . . We “get tough” by eliminating regulations, without bothering to pay attention to whether those regulations serve the common good, or whether there might be different regulations that might serve everyone better. . . .


The goal is to demonstrate power and control. . . . There is no weighing of costs and benefits. There is no search for creative solutions. There is only the goal of winning, and you know that you are winning because someone else is losing.


It is, in short, the epitome of both white supremacy and toxic masculinity. And it could be the death of us all. (Quest for Meaning, June 1)"

Creating Chaos

A very important article in The Guardian analyses the rise of hyper-masculinity and the phenomenon of Angry White Men.  "Sociologist Michael Kimmel is one of the world’s foremost experts on the phenomenon. - His recent research has looked at topics including spree killers (who are overwhelmingly male and white), as well as the relationship between masculinity and political extremism."

In the article there is a report on a study on testosterone where 5 monkeys are observed. The one who rises to the top beats up number 2 and number 2 beats up number 3 - and so it goes down to number 5. 

"So the experiment is: he takes monkey three out of the cage and he shoots him up with testosterone, off the scale, and puts him back in. What do you think happens? When I tell this story my students always guess that he immediately becomes number-one monkey. But that’s not true. What happens is that when he goes back in the cage he still avoids monkeys number one and two – but he beats the shit out of numbers four and five." 

The article indicates that the men who are most likely supporters of racist movements, who are ready to form gangs of thugs to threaten women, Blacks, Jews, Moslems, and LGBTQ communities - have known what it's like to be "monkeys 4 and 5". Males who were humiliated as children, who didn't do well in school, who were victimized by poverty and who have been discarded by neoliberal policies  who have not found a community where they belong. The message they have absorbed is the hyper-masculine in entertainment, the kind of virile-speak that Trump emulates. However there is a masculine example that is sacred, that takes more energy, strength and courage than being a troll.

Is it just an accident that trends have led to this or have the trends brought about an opportunity for those who benefit by social chaos and structural violence.

The White Man as Political Construct

An infection has come to that political construct known as The White Man. 

Let me be clear that I am not talking of men who are white, I am talking of the expectations and demands of a society that describes him as "White". 

He has been fed hate and violence in media from mainstream to social. The neoliberal economy has cast an invisible fence around him so that his humanity is reduced to whatever serves the bottom line. 

The first fence was constructed centuries ago when he was taught to be 'rational', not rational by questioning the beliefs of his time, but to eschew  his feelings, to be suspicious of love, and to be faithful to the role of defender and warrior. He has been the consistent target of propaganda.

The White Man is not a race or species but a construct that was useful when Europeans invaded other continents such as Africa, Asia Australia and America.  European nations who had a long history of war with each other found a new identity when they discovered aboriginal societies who had darker complexions whom they stole land, goods and women from, and began a new career in slavery. 

Designating the people as savage, uncivilized, meant that the rape of the land and the people were easier for the conscience of the invaders.  The White Man was born, grew rich, authoritarian, and powerful. The White Man scoffed at literature, poetry, music, dance and art, after he colonized other continents. Again let me say I am not talking about men who are white but the mythology of the man.

Self reflection was inconvenient to the soldiers, teachers, and governors who had to brutalize others in order to succeed. But unknown to many was the brutalization of his own spirit as he was ordered into 'being a man' who would never complain of weakness, exhaustion, boredom and inner rage.  

His senses had to be replaced with a hard doctrine of power, and a promise of wealth and success. Doubts had to be silenced while the land was mined for gems, metal, and free labour. He had to turn away from the suffering he was ordered to inflict on others to maintain an empire of huge bank accounts and gigantic lies.  Lies such as the idea of progress depended on beating up those who were lower on the pecking order. 

It's not that this was invented by The White Man, its that he was moved from a personal relationship to the world, albeit full of dangers and hardships, to a constructed doctrine. The notion of white supremacy was and is the most devastating indoctrination. It guaranteed the ongoing domination of all for the profit for a few. Each century has wielded new lies to keep the whip in the hands of the unquestioning White Man. It tied his senses to the bridle of a mythical progress. 

Misogyny took the love of life out of his world and castrated his sensuality.  The men who have not found the success they were told was theirs 'as long as they obeyed the rules', have been tossed into slums  of despair. They have been discarded, labelled as rubbish and they are the ones now attempting to raise the flag of white supremacy again, in the hope that fascism, force, degradation of the other will fall under the boot of his rage.

What The White Man needs is friendship, meaningful work, dignity and empathy, denied him through an indifferent cruel economy.  He needs time and place to find his humanity among women, LGBTQ realities, asians, africans and aboriginals who have managed  to hold onto their humanity.

Far from being oppressed by immigrants, he may with a little poetry, and responsible democratic government, find the salvation of the white man as he returns to nature and discards the straightjacket of exploited machismo.

I and Thou

Somewhere in Martin Buber's book "I and Thou" I remember the phrase - not necessarily in these words, but meaning "those who choose hate as a way out because they don't know what to do with their lives."

Now I confess I cannot find this quote although there are many by Buber or from people who write about his ideas.

I keep thinking of this phrase now that Donald Trump clearly directed his campaign through support from white supremacist, misogynist and an anti-immigrant demographic.

But what should "they" do with their lives when there are not enough jobs that will pay a living wage and will treat them with dignity?

The only thing that will come out of hate is a world of mute strangers competing with and afraid of the other.

Buber's main proposition is that we live in a dialogue with the world.  Either as I-and-It or I-and-Thou and that we find meaning through our relationships. I-and-Thou means I stand in relation to you as the meaning of  our lives unfold, giving me direction through inspiration in what to do with my life. The I-and-It is currently how our economic system is organized. People are workers, immigrants, criminals, customers and constituents. They are "Its" to be managed for the most profit.

I feel a burning rage inside that life has been reduced to this. I understand the rage coming from those made redundant by the ideology of neoliberalism. And I fear that hate will engulf the schools, the libraries, the clinics and malls just as it has in Syria.

It's not naivety to begin to live in relation to life - it is the reason for it.

When it's worse than you already think it is

This blog is going to begin a new project - The Mind-Heart Advent Calendar which will operate like the Christmas Advent Calendar but instead of chocolates or gifts, each day will be a gift of life-affirming community to recall our humanity. Rather than the oppressive messages of capitalism which have dominated corporate media.

Says Chris Hedges: "Our capitalist democracy ceased to function more than two decades ago. We underwent a corporate coup carried out by the Democratic and Republican parties. There are no institutions left that can authentically be called democratic."

Hedges points out the "long and ruthless corporate assault on the working class, the legal system, electoral politics, the mass media, social services, the ecosystem, education and civil liberties in the name of neo-liberalism has disemboweled the country."

Noam Chomsky compares this time to late Weimar Germany.  It has left the nation a decayed wreck. We celebrate ignorance. We have replaced political discourse, news, culture and intellectual inquiry with celebrity worship and spectacle.

Chomsky, in the article published in April 2010 predicted the sweep of right wing Republicans: "We will be told that white males are a persecuted minority. We will be told we have to defend ourselves and the honor of the nation. Military force will be exalted. People will be beaten up. This could become an overwhelming force. And if it happens it will be more dangerous than Germany."

Although I live in Canada - a different nation, we shall be impacted and we are threatened by this movement as much as Europe was threatened by the Nazi's.  The nature of our society with its deniers, thugs, and public activists is still the same.  Those who seek power know how to divide us and I am hoping that this blog might help inspire us to come together to respond.

Every day beginning December 1st this blog will post a new quote, image or aphorism or advice that will link us to our humanity to fight the darkness of hate and ignorance. Not by calling names to people but by calling out our vulnerability to defeat in spirit.  Please sign up to receive these posts as they become available every day. Also if you wish to contribute a piece please contact me via the comment section.

Please stop racist attacks!

I implore you to stop not because I am African or Asian or Ojibway. But because I am white, I look white, I talk white. When I witness  or hear about racism, the hair on my back stands up, I begin to shake, my stomach aches, my heart sinks down into my bowels. It keeps me awake at night, and if this hatred hurts me it must be far worse for those who are targeted. and perhaps this is the idea – that the masses self destruct in opposition to the other.

I am not saying  YOU are racist. I don’t think we set out on our life’s journey to hate. Just as all Moslems are not responsible for 9/11, YOU  are not responsible for the woman who was pushed in front of a train because she was wearing a headscarf, the murdered and missing women, the holocaust, or the tone of the US elections. YOU are not responsible for the refugees whose cities have been blown apart, the unarmed teenager who was shot by a policeman, the overworked underpaid workers in Mexico, or increasing inequality that threatens what little democratic opportunity remains.

But you and I are responsible for the words that come out of our mouths, and for how we respond when we witness attacks. We are also responsible for knowing the cost of what we choose to purchase, where it comes from and who is oppressed by its manufacture.

We are responsible for understanding what happens when racism stalks the commons. The first casualty is dialogue. (There is too much pain both sides.) The second is observation. (We prefer not to look too closely at the deep penetrating destruction of hate and the entitlement given to those who assume superiority.) The third is acknowledgement of our own opportunity to heal the small moments.

Racism makes us powerless echoes of our ancestors' fear and pain. Problem solving is shut down like an iron gate when the narrative announces “it’s all their fault”. Racism cripples democracy. Racism alienates us from our human capacity to inquire, to feel empathy and to be compassionate. Racism locks our children into binaries of fear. Racism chooses violence first and smears all privilege with blame and spilled blood.

When we feel entitled to judge those we have never met, based on generalizations spread in media and on the street, racism is the first weapon of mass destruction. It begins as a tiny virus in the reptilian brain and spreads all over the world. It is the greatest servant of the arms industry and the psychopathic ruler. It is the door to war that keeps on spilling blood, making life unbearable and the future into something to dread.

So please remember the images of Aleppo and Auschwitz before you shout racial slurs on a bus or laugh at a friend’s jokes or click “like” in the comments field.

Racism is the most destructive and disabling fantasy of white supremacy.