The
story of our toxic culture and how it affects our current lives makes many
people uncomfortable.
I
understand.
Learning
about these legacies has been extremely disconcerting for me at times as a white
person. And not everyone wants to know. But believing it’s not true, defending
yourself from those who are “woke,” or putting your head in the sand and
ignoring it doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you. Nor will it make it
disappear.
This
is on my mind because of the recent reversal to allow more casual dress in
Congress. Spearheaded by Braddock’s own John Fetterman, who prefers shorts and
hoodies to suits and ties (who wouldn’t?), Majority Leader Chuck Schumer set a
guideline to relax the unwritten formal dress code and it was met with a fiery
uproar that resulted in “suitable” clothing of a coat, tie and slacks clothing
being codified as required dress on the Senate floor.
You
may ask, what does this have to do with our culture and how is it toxic? If you
want to know, read on. If not, now is the time to bail.
My
perspective is that our culture is comprised of five major pillars: patriarchy,
colonization, institutionalized Kristianity (Kristians with a K are those who
talk the talk but don’t walk the walk), capitalism, and racism. They are
inextricably linked. One cannot exist without the other, although in my opinion
the foundation is institutionalized Kristianity.
Now
before you come at me about Kristiaity being on the list by citing all the good
that has been done from Mother Theresa to missionaries, let me say that I
acknowledge the appearance of good being
achieved.
What’s
behind the appearance, however, is the erasure of hundreds, if not thousands, of
cultures. What lies behind the appearance is murder in the name of God (e.g.,
the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, Christian Crusades). What’s
behind the appearance is the arrogance of believing “you” know what is best for
anyone other than yourself.
The
appearance just hides the truth – only helping people if they are willing to
capitulate to your belief system. Forcing someone to adopt your religious
beliefs in exchange for food and other things that lift them from poverty is
transactional at best and at worst, intellectual, emotional and spiritual
kidnapping. And no amount of whitewashing it with the desire to “spread God’s
love” will change my mind about that.
Now
back to the issue in Congress.
For
starters, dress codes were created centuries ago to determine at a glance who
was socially acceptable and who wasn’t. As you can imagine, this targeted
oppressed populations like people of color and the poor, keeping them out of the
rooms where decisions about their lives were made. It prevented them from
getting mortgage and business loans. It kept them oppressed. That was the
intention.
We’ve
seen the trickle-down effect of toxic culture in other places recently with the
young man suing Texas governor Greg Abbott and other government leaders for not
upholding the CROWN Act that eliminates "discrimination on the basis of hair
texture or protective hairstyle associated with race." The
boy was suspended from his high school for having dread locs.
Dread locs.
Why?
Because his appearance wasn’t the “one right way.”
Now
this toxicity has infiltrated Congress in a way that cannot be denied. If seeing
John Fetterman speak on the floor wearing shorts and a hoodie impacts the
meaning of his words, that is a you
problem. And I encourage you to do some self-inquiry as to
why that is.
What
assumptions do you make about someone who wears shorts and a hoodie?
Go
on. I’ll wait.
Here’s
a few words to get you started: disrespectful, ignorant, stupid, dangerous,
uneducated.
Chances
are they are the same types of assumptions you make about someone who wears
their pants low. Or likes short skirts. Similar assumptions to the ones made
about certain kinds of sneakers or clothes from a thrift store or someone with
missing teeth. No matter the specifics, it all comes back to one core belief:
they are less than.
I’m
not preaching from any kind of pulpit here. I have made those same assumptions a
million times. I still do sometimes. The difference is that I explore the “why.”
Every time it happens. This is the only way to decondition the mind from the
societal brainwashing that impacts us all, especially if we’re white.
And
if you think it doesn’t affect you, you’re wrong. Perhaps it’s not a huge deal
now. But to continue on this trajectory means all but the few who have the means
to protect themselves will be targeted at some point. If you’re black or Jewish,
it’s already a daily lived experience. If you’re disabled in any way, an
immigrant, a member of the LGBTQ community… I could go on.
Trust
me. You cannot even begin to imagine the ways these pillars affect your life
already.
Are
you constantly striving for a “better life”? Do you get defensive if someone has
a different perspective or opinion? Do you believe there is only one right way
to express your spirituality or raise a family? Do you live and die by the
binary – male/female, right/wrong, with us/against us? If you answered yes to
even one of these questions, you now have proof. If you dare, you can learn more
in this PDF.
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White
Supremacy Culture Still Here
301KB
· PDF file |
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The
truth is that you are living according to systems and tenets which you had no
say so in creating. Think about that for just a second. And if that troubles you
in any way, spend a few minutes exploring the ways we, as white people
especially, have internalized these standards so that they are normal to us. You
can do that at the web site of an amazing organization called Dismantling
Racism.
It’s
all tied together.
You
can deny it. You can question it. You can try to ignore it. But for the love of
future generations, please take a moment to explore whether or not I’m full of
it by checking out the links in this piece.
Don’t
let Congress’s soap box of “decorum” and “civility” fool you. This is about so
much more. And you owe it to yourself and those who come after us to
investigate. What you learn won’t leave you once you learn it. Eventually, it
will require you to change.
Yes,
change is uncomfortable. But it won’t kill you. If you’ve managed to change your
life in any way – from starting to floss or eating less sugar to walking more or
paying off credit card debt – you can do this.
I
promise.
P.S.
Congratulations to Congress for finding a way to uphold the patriarchy while
wearing the mask of feminism by not specifying dress requirements for women in
the code. I don’t believe they did this for any reason other than not wanting to
face the epic storm that would have surely erupted from women who have been
dealing with the perpetuation of sexism caused by men dictating appropriate
female clothing for centuries. Huzzah!
P.P.S.
If you really want an education on how the five pillars affect your finances, I
cannot recommend the class The
Trauma of Money highly enough.
P.P.P.S.
They have time to deal with dress codes this week, but not the very real
potential of the the government shutting down this weekend, which will force a
lot of people to work without pay and unable to apply for unemployment. But
don’t worry about Congress. They’ll get their salaries if the shutdown happens
Sunday.
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I
hope you’re enjoying The Mosaic Platypus! My writing here is a piece of how I do
my part in this world - pay rent and electric, donate to worthy causes like
World
Central Kitchen and Rainbow
Railroad, and serve as an ambassador to humanity by connecting people
from diverse experiences through the stories I share. There are opportunities to
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Mosaic Platypus or making a contribution through Buy
Me A Coffee. Have a great weekend