What I describe here isn’t a matter
of morality (good people and bad people), but instead it’s a matter of
dynamics. Regardless of the politics a person claims, if they thrive in this
system they shouldn’t be trusted, or expected to try to change it. Those who benefit
from the oppressive, capitalistic system exist in equilibrium with it; this is
so, even if they’re place in the order seems oppositional. This pseudo-opposition
is part of the balance keeping everything in orbit. Being privileged in the
system nullifies one’s ability to change it in a meaningful way or aid in the
liberation of the oppressed. The act of liberation is only possible through revolutionary
power which stems from potential energy that is derived from truly feeling and experiencing
oppressive forces.
Caring,
as in being aware and taking an ethical stance, about oppression isn’t the same
as taking action for the cause. The cause to which I’m referring is ending
oppression. Caring and doing aren’t comparable to potential and kinetic energy.
Feeling is the key. Feeling, from experience and struggle, creates the potential
energy needed for change, as in changing the oppressive system. Change, in this
case, is the result of kinetic energy, but the type and the quality of change
that occurs is dependent on how the energy is directed as well as its source.
Many white liberals, for example, “care”
about issues like racism, but they benefit from it on a daily basis, and on
many levels. The sense of “caring” they feel may be based in guilt, anxiety, or
empathy, and the motivation will naturally be to eliminate these unpleasant
feelings, NOT the elimination of racial oppression. “Caring” about this issue
causes many white liberals to deny their privilege, the benefits of their privilege
and their actions which stem from their privilege. This denial is a defense
from unpleasant feelings. In this case, much energy is spent on denying reality
and very little is allocated to changing it. The potential energy from caring
about racism manifests quite differently from the built up energy that comes
from being oppressed by racism. Knowing, from theory, and feeling, from experience,
are not the same.
The realities of ending racism (or “racial-capitalism”
as I call it) and monetary/resource based capitalism would be devastating for
many privileged people including affluent leftists and anti-racists. Without the
stabilizing forces of privilege, many people would fly out of their comfortable
orbits. Although the empathy some privileged people have for the oppressed is appreciated,
it directs energy toward feeling good as opposed to making things better. Our current
sociopolitical and economic system is held together with a great deal of energy
and those who thrive in this system are conduits helping to complete the flow regardless
of how they feel about it. This flow of energy creates a web of oppression that
is manifested by receiving and using one’s various unearned privileges. The web
holds the conduits in place, and the conduits maintain the web. Only those who struggle,
as oppose to thrive, in this system can ever hope to change it. Struggle
disrupts the streams of energy holding the system together.
Oppression causes suffering, but there
can be meaning in this suffering should one choose to find it. Those who struggle
against the forces of oppression may siphon that energy, transform it, and
become galvanized with revolutionary power! This energy is the right frequency
to disrupt the equilibrium of oppression and create something truly new and
positive. We exist in a galaxy of energetic forces; the manipulation and transformation
of these energies is what makes us alive. Clearly knowledge and dedication are
required to transform oppressive force into revolutionary power, but one cannot
find the exact formula to accomplish this on a blog, in an article, or within
the pages of a book. I don’t claim to know the correct equation myself, but I
suspect it takes a personal stake to truly understand. One irrefutable truth is
evident though: The act of liberation is only possible through revolutionary
power which stems from potential energy that is derived from truly feeling and experiencing
oppressive forces. To put it plainly, if we want freedom, then we must free
ourselves!
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