Inheriting a System Imbued with the Force of Majority
When I think about “white power” I think of Nazis, racial slurs and this kind of thing… I want to think, it’s not there, it’s not in my life. Even with images of those gathered in Charleston this new nationalism seems like an exaggerated view — unrealistic, outside the norm. But this exaggeration gives cover to the idea that while I may know the system is unfair, it’s just these translucent racists at the top of the game… they are hidden by the system but the wolf adorned in sheep clothing causes this problem. While on one hand this might be partly true, the real issue is just harder to see.
Playing a quick game with words
It occurred to me that I could substitute the word authority for power, which for me helped to shift my thoughts and conversations away from whether or not a person has actual power. Because so often, the immediate oppressor (officer, guard, solider) has no real lasting power. Those with contextual power have justification, they have precedent… but only the illusion of strength in a transient moment of power.
It also seemed that we could substitute white for majority, because this majority is generally more nuanced than white would imply. The authority exerted by the majority seems to come from valuing compliance to a system informed by European centric history or context centered around Christianity. Those who are seen to challenge this authority are seen as non-compliant or anti-authority to the norms and values of the majority by choosing to believe anything deviant, non-European in presenting our values let alone any sort of self-defined context.
When I think of the majority authority, I can start to see it everywhere (fathers, mothers, teachers, protectors, politicians). When the word authority is highlighted, it becomes more tangible in my own life (even as a white person). The authority systems and their actors become more opaque. The problems seem more directly rooted in reality with local religious leaders, law enforcement officers, our relatives and the broader justice system. At its currently rotten core is the desire, along with inherent and pervasive permission to exert the will of the norm (majority opinion, singular) over those who do not find it valuable (minority opinions, plural). Majority rules without minority rights.
As a freedom exercising weird person, I’ve not been a fan of this illogical norm enforcement. With this quick linguistic adjustment I can see the authoritarian forces in my life even as a white person (rural childhood, non-religious, city dweller, college education). I can recognize that I am also one who feels disempowered by the pressures of the societal norm. I can also see my microscopic acts of resistance to this system (across my life time). This system is justified by and supported by its adherents who help curate a book of social rules. Violation of these unofficial, sometimes unwritten or invisible rules puts you (an invisible rule breaker of any kind) on the outside.
As a child and young adult I often experienced this feeling as a Rage Against the Machine song best articulates, “fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me”.
Here are a few of my favorite violations (and least favorite experiences) of authority forced into my (white) life:
Children are to be seen, not heard — Don’t interrupt, and don’t ask so many questions. Just follow the rules and entertain yourself.
I grew up on a ranch, we were expected to work for our family. When we are only valued as bodies, we are valued for our compliance, not for our ability to think or interact with awareness. We may earn our spot in this world with labor from our hands. We may earn our spot with continued compliance, by suffering as our ancestors have suffered, instead of learning from their suffering. In this instance a child is a tool of labor, meant to extend the hand of those who can not pay for additional help. We work with our parents on their second jobs at very least. For this, we are not able to be day dreamers, we must focus on labor, we must endure pain. We cycle through the chores of growing meat for others to eat to earn our keep. We learn skills that are useful to the family. We do as we are told.
Study something valuable — As a smart child, you should get an education, go to college (but mostly so you can get a better job).
You’ll have it easier if you don’t choose art or a purely intellectual pursuit. In other words, you should choose something with electrical engineering or something with “real” societal value, something practical or you’ve made a mistake. This perspective is based upon our ability to earn great sums of money and find great stability in this income.
I’ve generally heard this expressed as a variant of: Everyone has to do something they don’t like to make a living so just make sure you earn a lot of money now, then you can give that money away however you want!
Grow up, get married — If you love someone put a ring on their finger. Through this ceremonially practice two become one, you belong to one another in the eyes of God and in your community.
I have no interest in your God, I have no interest in being married. But I do believe in partnership, in taking care of one another, in mutual respect. This believe system may cause you pain as I don’t fit into your nice married check box. Our societal ideas about relationships are the reason divorce rates are so high. But society automatically asks, how will we know what to call her if she isn’t “Your Wife”?
I’ll help, she’s a partner. In my world view this idea doesn’t provide undue power to each other, we do not own one another, we instead must continue to respect each other as a valued partner. This idea doesn’t preclude many partners even though we don’t choose that, we also don’t condemn those who want to have relationships that are balanced in a different manner.
Gender centric existence — A persons expressions, roles and abilities are informed by their gender. While I don’t owe it to you to act like a man, you’ll treat me differently when I don’t.
I like to make things, I like to have conversations about my thoughts and feelings. Let’s be real, I’m probably not going to watch sports with you all day. I don’t really like mowing my lawn, washing my truck, ham-boning, or most of the masculine activities of today. I also don’t feel incongruent with my own self, the body I have is mine and I love it.
Born into the true religion — Most people don’t challenge their faith, they grow up inside a religion and continue to adhere throughout their life.
If you deviate from this path you risk casting yourself an outsider. I’ve wandered from the principles taught in my families ELCA Lutheran church (mixed with some sister church experiences at the local Catholic, Methodist or Episcopal church). I wandered through a stage of full strength Atheism (see Richard Dawkins) to land on a personal brand of Humanist with a growing appreciation for eastern religious practices and direct psychedelic experiences of the mind.
It’s important to seek understanding from many perspectives, if you want to seek your truth. This puts me outside of the norm, outside of our societal preferences.
Money is universal — $100 = $100 no matter where you are from. It implies that $100 has an inherently equal value no matter who you are, or where you are from.
This is a gross oversimplification, that causes us downstream problems. Simple thought problem. What if we made two identical copies of you? Imagine we drop you in a small town in America with no phone, and a random large city with no phone? In which location would the $100 get you further? What if you were born in a different body, with a different life story? Money really is not universal, it is contextual, it’s value varies based upon who is holding it and where they are in the world.
Violence is sometimes justified — Most people think that violence is justified, certainly in self defense but often deep down it goes much further.
I’m willing to accept that defending ones self is not violent. I am not willing to accept the deaths of war, death from judgment (death penalty, unjust action), torture of prisoners, death for violation of property rights, violence for violation of property rights, and certainly not violence for non-compliance. Authority uses violence to gain power that it hasn’t earned. I am generally against applying it. I am aghast at the awful wars of the United States. This is not a great nation, filled with prisoners and their labor, forcing ourselves across the land like conquerors of an era we taught our kids has gone by. We are America, this is America. We’ve got some fixing to do, and we need to do it peacefully.
Drug use is not valuable — Drugs are bad, mkay. Always, and there can be no societal exception to this. We must fear drugs and their influence over the human experience.
I started using drugs starting at a young age starting with alcohol which helped me explore much of the pain I was unable to understand or express otherwise. As I grew older I tried to limit my drinking and found my way to less refined, plant based medicines. What if a plant medicine helped you find the way to yourself? What if plants help you see the connections between things that others can not see? Why do you get to remove them from my diet? As an entheogenic explorer I use plants to become alive, who are you to deny me this. I am a better person today for my explorations, I don’t think I would have made it otherwise (I might have taken my own life). My society prohibits the path that helped me find my ground.
How do you negatively experience the force of authority?
It all makes me wonder if others experience this authority of the majority in a more tangible way, less as power and more as intimidation with an unintuitive and extreme rule book.
It’s my hope that by seeing how the majority exerts their authority we might be able to spot a conceptual entry point into why it’s important to consider aligning in solidarity with Black Lives Matter (and other activists) as a cause in opposition to this general, invisible force of authority.
This is the structure many people would like to reform. It isn’t necessary to fight about the details at this stage, many of us dislike this current authority. We can use our opposition to the force of authority as one place of common ground, let’s enable the opportunity we seek for everyone. The idea is opportunity, liberty and justice for all.
