“Where there is power, there is resistance.” ~Michael Foucault, The History of Sexuality
The per formative conceit at the root of many assaultive actions, in actions and statements that declare, “Get the fuck out!”, is the melodrama of hostile brut orders that become a “last resort” in response to some perceived “horrible civil transgression.” We see the underlying themes of prejudice, hate, and intolerance in the actions of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman that murdered Trevon Martin. We also see these same underlying themes of hatred against women in episodes of domestic violence. We see them in the military actions of one nation in response to another. But in reality the demands echoed by these types of melodramatic statements reveal the opposite is more likely to be true. Often a real conversation would illuminate nuances and correct misunderstandings. The real question is: Why would a person rather have an enemy than a conversation? Why would they rather see themselves as harassed and transgressed instead of having a powerful and illuminating conversation that could reveal them as an equal participant in creating conflict? In my opinion, it is the power possessed in holding the “upper hand.“ The power of ultimate omnipotence in exalting one’s righteous power over another man that restores one “mighty rightful place” as being vindicated. Shouldn’t there be a relief in discovering that one is not being persecuted? Actually, however, the relief is in confirming that one has been “victimized” by another. This affirmation comes with the relieving abdication of responsibility that one is also some how responsible, too, for the problem. Or differently stated, that one holds power in defusing a potentially volatile situation. There is something in the person who hides behind these prosecuting statements that wants these offenses to be true. It is because relief does not come from giving back another their power. Dehumanizing statements like, “She is a whore.” “He is a nigger.” “She is white trash.” “He is a lower life form.” These statements all scream, I want to feel victimized. Then, and only then, can I restore my position of righteousness and wash my hands of any and all responsibility for the situation. In this way, they don’t have to look at themselves critically or think about the other person with complexity. There is no guilt or responsibility when one is a victim of another, by some perceived “horrible civil transgression” they themselves had no control over. Sometimes that only transgression is being black, being gay, being a woman, being a child, being beautiful, being smart, being wealthy, being talented, being sexy, being too successful, or simply just being alive. Sometimes there are no valid reasons when one makes it into the crosshairs of another person’s envy or rage.
In an episode of Super Soul Sunday, Tim Storey stated the biggest wound for humanity is misunderstanding. And this is so true. If this statement were not true, “Human misunderstanding is humanity’s greatest wound,” then we wouldn’t have the negative reverberations of wounded egos trying to affirm their wounded masculinities. We might not have so many failed marriages. We might see a decline in suicides and intimate partner murder. We might not see so many of the human failures we witness each year. Listening is a pre-requisite, though, to correcting human misunderstanding.
One of the biggest reverberations of human misunderstanding has had a sensational impact on mainstream news coverage. It is the random mass gun violence we have seen in cases of Murder-Suicide (M-S). We see these human failings when young white males vindicate themselves by taking up arms and ammunition and randomly opening fire on innocent victims. Sadly, we also see these same types of human failures when young black males join gangs and do the same.
In this same episode of Super Soul Sunday, Oprah Winfrey stated that she controls what comes in to her sphere of listening. What one watches, what one reads, what one listens to over main stream media and to what other people are saying, slowly seeps into our souls and our brains. And sometimes, many times, the messages we are receiving from these broadcastings and spoken words aren’t beneficial food for our minds and our souls. To listen to Oprah Winfrey’s full interview with Tim Storey click on the link below.
Proclivities' Principle Wisdom 