by Roxanne -

Patriarchy; Abusive By Design

Let’s be clear, patriarchy (pater arché or “father/men rules”) is abusive by design. Anytime one group, in this case men, hold power over another group (women) it is abusive. Mature adults do not need other adults to tell them what to do, how to behave, what to believe or what to think. When one group (men) believes they have the right to do this – it is abuse. It doesn’t matter if it happens in the board room, classroom, bedroom or worship space. When men believe they have the right control other adults they are being physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually abusive.

Because our culture is patriarchal, women are trained from childhood to believe that they should hand over their power to men. This happens in many ways, some overt, some subtle. Regardless, this kind of inculturation restricts their freedom and prevents women from being truly human. It also impoverishes men who then never experience the riches and gifts of women freely choosing their actions and vocations.

Understand this – it takes a lot of threats, secrecy, violence and abuse to maintain a system of patriarchy. Everyday, women are raped, beaten and killed in order to maintain patriarchy. Women are psychologically, emotionally and spiritually abused in order to maintain patriarchy.

It’s no accident that sexual abuse occurs frequently in family, corporate, educational and religious institutions. They are profoundly patriarchal – so abusive by design. Punishing individuals will never solve the problem – though that is necessary. Neither will swapping women for men in positions of power. The actual system must be changed so that power is shared.

Some may claim that “someone needs to be in charge.” In a family situation this is often assumed to be the husband or father. Not so. Many couples and groups function well using consensus. Other groups implement various types of representative democracy. What typically doesn’t work very well is any form of patriarchy, monarchy, hierarchy or dictatorship. These are the very breeding grounds of abuse by design – creating an unequal power dynamic. Love, by definition, requires mutuality. Love between adults necessitates that power is shared.

You may also like Our Deepest Fear and “Nice and Quiet.”

by Roxanne -

Women and Children are Made Poor – by Men

In a previous post I wrote about how conventional marriage makes women and children vulnerable to poverty. The fact is that the majority of those made poor are women and children. But the ideal of conventional marriage is very powerful in our culture and idolized in magazines (Bride’s for example), wedding rituals (father giving away the bride, showers, bachelor parties, etc.) and in the way we idolize motherhood, but not fatherhood. It’s further promoted by men paying women less than men for the same work and inculturating women to be the primary care providers for children. Let’s be clear – women and children don’t just happen to succumb to poverty. People don’t just happen to be poor. They are made poor by men.

Starting with the fictional idea that there is a “public” and “private” realm – men grab power over the “public” realm and women are mostly relegated to the “private.” This means that men make laws and decisions affecting both “realms,” with women having almost no voice.

The result of these fictional realms is this, for example: violence committed against men in the “public realm” is considered assault and directly punishable by law. Violence committed by men against women or children in the “private realm” – at home – is considered a “domestic” issue and often not reported, much less punished.

The best thing we can do – as women – is not to buy into the cultural fiction that home or family is primarily the domain of women, or that “family” is everything. Ask questions -especially of men.

Get educated. Read. Genetic linkage is just that – genetic only. Where’s the arbitrary cut off line? If you go back far enough ALL are family. The idea of a “private” realm (mainly for women) and a “public” realm (for men) is pure fiction and promoted to the benefit of men who make decisions affecting everyone in the public realm and keep women powerless and poor in the private. There are no separate “realms.” All is political and women should have an equal voice in either. This means participating in political discussions. Other fictions include nationalism, “family first/only,” tribalism, clanism, etc. Ask, who is really “my family”? We all are – even though there are people with whom we have close emotional ties.

You may also like What Patriarchy Looks Like Everyday.

by Roxanne -

Luck or Privilege?

In our culture we view the world through the eyes of privilege – actually over privilege or unearned privilege. We often attribute our unearned privileges to “blessings from God” or to “luck.” Even scientists in our culture fail to see the effects of unearned privileges and attribute these benefits to luck. But it isn’t luck at all.

An article in Science Daily entitled Reward the Second Best, Ignore the Best is a great example of these blinders of privilege at work. The article reports that those who are most successful often are successful because of a combination of both luck and skill. It states,

Implications of this research

The lucky few should understand and appreciate the role that luck played in their extreme success, and with that understanding comes an obligation to those that have not. The lucky few may be more skilful than others eventually, but the way they gain their superior skill can be due to strong rich-get-richer dynamics combined with the good fortune of being successful initially.

This was interesting because the author used Bill Gates’ extreme success as an example of this phenomenon.

Yes, Bill Gates may be very talented, but his extreme success perhaps tells us more about how circumstances beyond his control created such an outlier. Stated differently, what is more exceptional in this case may not be Gates’s talent, but the circumstances he happens to be in.

For example, Gates’s upper class background enabled him to gain extra programming experience when less than 0.01% of his generation then had access to computers; his mother’s social connection with IBM’s chairman enabled him to gain a contract from the then leading PC company, generating a lock-in effect that was crucial for establishing the software empire. Of course, Gates’s talent and effort play important roles in the extreme success of Microsoft. But that’s not enough for creating such an outlier. Talent and effort are likely less important than the circumstances (e.g., network externalities generated by customers’ demand for software compatibility boosted Gates’s initial fortune enabled by his social background) in the sense that he could not have been so successful without the latter.

And yet, the author clearly demonstrates it was not, what the author described as, “lucky circumstances” that aided success. In the case of Bill Gates, the author explains that it was actually “Gates’s upper class background [that] enabled him to gain extra programming experience when less than 0.01% of his generation then had access to computers; his mother’s social connection with IBM’s chairman [that] enabled him to gain a contract from the then leading PC company, generating a lock-in effect that was crucial for establishing the software empire.” So inherited, unearned benefits and privileges of class created the circumstances contributing to Gates’ initial success – so not luck at all — but the unearned benefits of the privileged.

Our social and economic systems are specifically designed to benefit some at the expense of others. What would have been unusual is if Bill Gates hadn’t benefited from his inherited, unearned, upper class privileges.

While the premise of the article is worth noting – that we should consider more carefully the success of those rated “second best” – it should have noted that unearned privileges of class, not luck, gives a big leg up to those at the top.

As Americans we like to believe that we live in a classless society or that everyone has an equal opportunity for success. The reality is that we live in a highly stratified society of social class with an income disparity of countries like Uganda and the Ivory Coast.

We may pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, however our bootstraps came from somewhere. We didn’t create them, but they weren’t “luck” either. And our social and economic systems are designed so that some of us don’t get any bootstraps at all.

Our task in this world is to provide similar bootstraps to those with none so that everyone has a chance to use their gifts and live a fully human life. This requires learning how social and economic systems really work so we can make intelligent changes. We are all connected. We will not all be whole and healed until all are whole and healed.

by Roxanne -

Economy Heads Downward – Again

In the U.S.A. the housing market drives the economy. A home is by far the largest purchase most people ever make. After the home purchase is made people typically buy additional furnishings, appliances, decor, etc. All of these puchases drive the retailing industry – one of the biggest sectors in our economy. So when the housing market declines – the retailing industry goes with it, taking along with rest of the economy.

A recent article at “The Big Picture” by Barry Ritholz details two facts that indicate underlying systemic reasons why the housing market will continue to decline driving our economy further south yet again..

First he notes, “2.8 million Americans are 12 months behind or more on their mortgages.” This means almost 3 million homes will be coming onto the market from foreclosure. This will add to the current glut of homes for sale along with those waiting to go on the market (the shadow supply). Because these are foreclosed home, it also means that these same homeowners will not be able to purchase another home. No longer homeowners or buyers – they will be entering the rental market.

Second he writes, “Since 2007, 19% of all borrowers (~9 million borrowers) have gone more than 90 days delinquent on their mortgages, or have had their mortgage liquidated.” This group will not be qualified to apply for another mortgage for many years. This means that nearly one in five borrowers (since 2007) no longer qualifies for a mortgage. The pool of homebuyers has declined dramatically. Further shrinking this pool of buyers are aging baby boomers. As baby boomers age and retire, they too are no longer buyers of large, pricey homes or homes in general.

Lack of buyers will make it even more difficult for existing homeowners to sell for possible employment opportunities elsewhere – further dampening employment. The American dream of homeownership has become, for many, an experience similar to driving with your emergency brake on – grinding down the engine & tires of family assets and guzzling resources.

So a rapidly inflating housing inventory combined with a rapidly shrinking pool of buyers will force home prices to new lows – putting more home owners underwater. I can hear the brakes of the non-existent homes sales screetching as the economy teeters on the edge of yet another cliff.

Who’s most vulnerable in all of this? Those without access to government safety nets – mainly women and children.

 

by Roxanne -

“Minnesota Nice” & Cross Burning

How do we resist the “narrative of the lie” I mentioned in a recent post? Here’s an example: A recent news item indicates a reported cross burning directed at a mixed-race couple in Bemidji, Minnesota on May 29th. It gives meaning to the term “Minnesota Nice.” This term reflects the idea that Minnesotans believe themselves to be genuinely nice, welcoming people. However, cross burnings should make us question this lie.

A cross burning reflects on the surface the hatred of many whites against other groups that exists just below the surface. How do we know this hatred against other ethnic groups exists? Because it exists systemically, for example in

  • the real estate industry – redlining
  • the banking industry – who is approved for loans
  • who is arrested and jailed – predominantly those of color
  • our education system – who is admitted via biased tests for college enrollment, then who is hired for well-paying jobs based on college degrees
  • voter registration laws – making it difficult for the poor, those of color or who are homeless to vote

We, as Minnesotans, allow these hateful and bigoted biases to exist in our laws, educational, correctional, corporate, religious and banking systems because it allows one ethnic group (“Whites”) to steal unearned wealth and benefits from targeted groups. Fortunately, many are working for systemic change; recently, against the proposed voter ID changes.

So “Minnesota Nice” and smiling on the surface does not mean welcoming and hospitable in fact. Educating ourselves to this truth is how we resist the narrative of the lie. It is one more way of overcoming the blinders of white privilege.

You may also like Art Reveals History’s Blind Spots, Letter To Americans and Response and What is White Privilege?