Hierarchy and Alienation Are Not Radical
Those who have power, often abuse it. Radical movements should not be hierarchies. Those who abuse power usually use divisive tactics to keep it. Divide people up and someone can intimidate, humiliate, isolate, and exploit. If those divided start talking and trying to work together, it threatens those individuals who abuse their power. It’s so sad to see some in a feminist organization still trying to isolate and cut out folks who threaten them or they just don’t like. It’s not in the spirit of cooperation or community to systematically alienate people who have been a deep part of your community, especially when your community is struggling. We need those people talking, we need their experience to make something better. Hierarchy in social justice moments doesn’t work, hiding the past and excluding people who have participated in the past, cutting out people who have so much historical involvement and knowledge, is just not smart or ethical. Saying you’re open to conversation, but only being willing to have it behind a closed door with little-to-no community involvement when you’re talking about the survival and growth of a community, isn’t a real conversation. And, if you take a leadership role, you fail or succeed with those you lead, you can’t scapegoat them when things are hard, especially when you fail as a leader to listen those in your community (or below you) in a hierarchy you’ve established. If scapegoat them, you’re far from ethical, you’re perpetuating capitalist crappery. How can your community grow when you keep cutting out people with community knowledge and experience? It doesn’t grow and it’s barely surviving, something has to change.
