A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
http://www.ainfos.ca/
________________________________________________
Deal With It is a journal currently put out
by anti-sexist anarchist
men
in support of the struggle to end sexist oppression,
deconstruct gender,
overthrow patriarchy, and acheive total liberation.
FROM THIS ISSUE: (Number One)
Deep Inside the Mind of a Manarchist: Part one
Deep Inside the Mind Of a Manarchist part one
By Kooky, an ex-Eugene manarchist
> http://www.fruitiondesign.com/dealwithit/article2.php3
Sexism has proven itself to be quite a controversial and divisive issue
within the anarchist community.
W
immin in increasing numbers over the years,
have risen up,
in defiance of the male "leadership" that dominates anarchist
circl
es, to demand, among other things,
the inclusion of the struggle
against sexist oppression into the anarchist agenda.
In theory, anarchy opposes all
forms of oppression,
so it seems ironic to me that wimmin should have to
spend so much of their time attempting
to convince anarchist men of what
should seem obvious.
For wimmin, sexist oppression is the reality
that they must deal with on a
daily basis;
being objectified, ridiculed,
and silenced by men in their
lives and reduced to second class status
by a male hierarchy that views wim
min as
objects to be possessed,
and raped and murdered by men.
For men, the luxury
to ignore these atrocities
and avoid active participation in anti-sexist
struggle is a
reflection of our own privilege.
It is nearly impossible for
men to avoid the sexist indoctrination
of male supremacist culture and
sexism does not just disappear from men
because they call themselves "anarchist
s"
and proclaim themselves "liberated".
What is more likely to actualize the
demise of sexist oppression,
would be for significant numbers of men to
break ranks with the dominant supremacist culture,
identify and work to transcend
their own sexist behaviors and attitudes,
support wimmin in their daily
lives and speak out against sexism to other men.
In mainstream society, very few
men are willing to break the silence
that maintains
the culture of violence
that manhood has imposed on upon wimmin.
Patriarchal culture has trained men
to either "mind their own business"
and ignore the epidemic of violence th
at
men unleash on wimmin
or to accept it as commonplace and blame wimmin for
what men do to them.
The silence of men,
along with the silencing of wimmin,
by men,
has allowed for us to remain in denial,
sweeping the problems under
the rug, pretending they do not exist.
Many men assume that because the
y do not actively participate
directly in physical violence against wimmin,
that they should be resolved from
complicity.
Yet, rape,
murder,
and battering of wimmin
only represent one
end of the continuum of sexist oppression
that includes on the other end, the
degrading sexist slurs,
controlling and abusive behaviors,
condescendin
g
attitudes,
and male silence that maintain an environment
that encourages men
to physically violate wimmin.
I am reminded of an incident last year,
in Central Park, New York Cit
y.
Amongst a public gathering of thousands of people,
a smaller group of men,
many of whom did not even know each other,
took opportunity of the crowd and
began groping,
molesting, and basically raping random wimmin.
Not only did
other men not interfere,
but rather,
many men, when they realized that it
was possible,
and that they could get away with it,
joined in on the frenzy
themselves.
n
Similar incidents have occurred at "Woodstock '99",
and a recent
LA Lakers game that resulted in a riot afterwards.
That abusive men can
safely assume to face no significant obstruction
from other men that would
prevent them from assaulting
and
raping wimmin in public, in broad daylight,
is a clear testament that male silence
acts as a green light for men to
violate wimmin.
Anarchist men, who posit themselves as enemies of opp
ression,
have even more
of a responsibility to pick up the slack left by the broader,
mainstream
male culture.
Unfortunately, many male anarchists,
much like their counterparts
in mainstream society,
are rather selective in choosing their battles;
Mostly
preferring to focus their energy fighting their own exploitation
and
avoiding participation in liberation struggles
that would require them to transform
their own behaviors and attitudes.
Many anarchist men tend to view "sexism"
as an issu
e that is secondary to class struggle
(their own struggle) and
insist that focusing their energy to fight sexism
would distract them from
"the Revolution",
which is
often defined as a glorified class struggle
against "the State" and "Capitalism".
That many anarchist men tend to
identify "the State" and "Capitalism"
as the oppressors, suggests a
preoccupation with their own class exploitation.
For many male anarchists,
many of whom are also white, young, able-bodied,
and heterosexual, class
exploitation is the only area in which they experience
any form of
institutionalized domination.
Based solely on their own class exploitation,
anarchist men often mistakenly conclude that the cops,
CEOs, landlords,
bosses, and politicians
that exercise authority over them to be the sole
possessors of authoritarian power.
By assuming that capitalist parasites and
officially sanctioned agents of state repression
hold some sort of monopoly
on oppression, anarchists ignorantly disregard
an entire spectrum
of
oppressors to be targeted by anarchist revolt.
This limited, white male definition
of what constitutes an "oppressor" does
not typically include the broader spectrum of
sexist,
racist, and homophobic
predators that are abundantly scattered throughout all classes
of our
culture,
even within our own movement.
What about the rapists and child
molesters that have infiltrated our communities,
conveniently disguised as
fathers,
brothers,
husbands,
uncles,
and boyfriends,
or the misogynistic bible thumpers
who lay claim to the minds and "souls" of our society's men,
churning them into homophobes,
bashing and murdering queers in dark alleys
behind bars and bombing abortion clinics?
What of the organized racist
groups:
The Klansmen and neo-nazis that litter the landscapes with their
vile presence and ideologies?
Statistically speaking, the maj
ority of these
predators tend to be heterosexual white men,
the same demographic group that
controls both "the State" and "Capitalism
"
and ironically, the leadership
positions of Anarchist movement.
Should we not be concerned with these predators
because they don't have
badges indicating positions of state power,
or because they are not wealthy
property owners,
simply because they do not exercise authority over us
straight white guys?
It seems to me to be completely ignorant to assume
that "smashing the State"
and "abolishing Capitalism"
as sole strategies of anarchist revolution would
somehow rid the world of these predators.
In fact, to be honest, I shudder
to think of the horrors that would be unleashed
upon the actualization of a
chaotic war-like scenario,
within the contexts of an already violent,
rac
ist, sexist, and homophobic society.
The conditions imposed during wartime are
doorways for organized anti-gay, racist militias
n as well as those who prey
on wimmin,
children,
the elderly,
and disabled people.
For a bunch of
privileged white guys,
far removed from the realities of systematic violence,
with no
intimate understanding of oppression,
to assume the authority to impose more
violence into communities of people,
for whom violence is already a daily
reality is arrogant,
and authoritarian.
I will state, for the record, that I am not proposing "pacifism",
for I am not a pacifist,
and would never begrudge anyone their right to utilize
whatever means necessary
to defend themselves or in defense of others.
I will not, however, succumb to the glorification of violence
or romanticization of war, and a disorganized,
vanguardist movement of undisciplined white kids,
w
ith no significant public support hardly seem capable of toppling
the State anyways.
What I am proposing, however, is that we, as privileged men,
recognize that we are coming from positio
ns of r
elative comfort,
which has been obtained
from the systematic oppression
of wimmin and children,
communities of color,
the queer community,
and other marginalized members of society.
We must learn to abdicate our positions of power
that we have not earned,
and begin to
support other communities and individuals,
based on their own needs,
which they will define for themselves.
Our struggle against "the State" and
"Capitalism" simply does not represent the entirety
of the anarchist struggle against an entire culture of domination.
By dismissing feminist,
anti-racist, and queer liberation struggles as "single issue"
or "reformist", white, heterosexual, anarchist men reduce
a
narchist struggle into their own
struggle against their own exploiters,
which is in itself "reformist" and "single issue"
as well as elitist, authoritarian,
and ev
erything else that Anarchy
opposes.
*****************************************
There is no such thing as a neu
tral educational process.
Education either functions as an instrument that is used
to facilitate the integration of the
younger generation into the logic of the present system
and bring about
conformity to it,
or it becomes "the practice of freedom,"
the means by
which men and women [sic]
deal critically and creatively with reality and discover
how to participate in the transformation of their world.
--Richard Shaull
