This is the second video in The Renegade Cut‘s series on the enforcement of hierarchies. If you haven’t seen the introduction, I’ve linked it below. This video looks at what patriarchy is, what it is not, and how it’s enforced. It also delves into the history of the subject, and some of how it intersects with other vectors of oppression. Leon has set a high bar with his past work, and in my opinion this video is no exception.
Here’s the series introduction:
IMO, Renegade Cut places too much emphasis on labeling each kind of aggression against less powerful people, which distracts from the most basic fact: regardless of the human system named, the poles are between Authoritarianism and Humanism. Stop calling behaviors ‘white nationalism’ or ‘Hindu Nationalism’ or Radical Extremist Whoever, because regardless of labels, their behavior supports hierarchies where more powerful people can do whatever they want to less powerful people, =and get away with it=.
Meanwhile, Humanism recognizes our common humanity and tries to build systems that are both just and sustainable, regardless if the system is organizing agriculture, arts, justice or economic systems.
If we want better systems, we need to focus on how systems work, first. We’ve got to make it simple enough for the poorly educated, who are at most risk for not surviving the collapse of civilization that appears to be looming.
Renegade Cut is free to speculate about social systems in SF, but that’s not going to motivate many people to examine how their behavior impacts human systems, or how systems impact their opportunities.
Do you know why people say “Antifa” doesn’t exist? Because by necessity, antifascist action is local, and tailored to the particular situation where it’s happening.
That’s literally what “labeling each kind of aggression” is about. There are differences between Hindu nationalism and White nationalism, and if you try to pretend otherwise in a practical setting, you’re going to get people killed.
Hindu nationalism exists within the context of being a former colony – nationalism in pursuit of liberation is how they unified to fight for their freedom from colonial rule, and religious persecution was absolutely a part of that. The partitioning of India and Pakistan along ethnic and religious lines pretty much manufactured a conflict from day one. Understanding that history, and a million other things that I know nothing about is crucial to understanding what’s happening in India right now.
White nationalism in the United States is a very, very different thing. It’s an ongoing effort to maintain or re-impose the ethnic hierarchy that has governed the US for its entire history. It’s the oppressive force trying to increase oppression without even a hint of liberation.
If you approach both in the same way, you will probably fail at dealing with either.
Forgive me for being blunt, but your idea of using humanism as a catch-all for solving our differences is the political and philosophical equivalent of those physicists who try to make claims about biology based on their approach to theoretical physics.
By denying the existence, relevance, or importance of the differences between us, you are rejecting the humanity of those who are trying to fight against something that does not affect you.
Another similar example is responding to “Black Lives Matter” with “All Lives Matter”.
Do I need to explain why that’s a problem?
A perfect symptom of the patriarchy is the GOP and the women who operate within it. The highest-status and most-respected women in that world tend to be bleached-blonde, overly-made-up to 1950s pin-up standards, and parrot the Talking Points like a parrot.
TERFs are another, in my opinion.
Do you know why people say “Antifa” doesn’t exist?
I, for one, have never said that. I’ve said instead that “Antifa” aren’t really an anti-fascist organization, but a group of right-wing trolls and plants acting as “anti-fascists” in order to embarrass and discredit actual anti-fascist movements.
@Bee – why would you say that? It’s not true, and it helps further a right-wing narrative about street-level activism.