The political finger pointing for Harris’ loss is beyond noxious. I have heard all manner of scapegoats; Biden, the Obamas, VP candidate Walz, Harris for saying too much of one thing, not enough of another, the progressives, Liz Cheney and even George Clooney. . . .blah blah blah
How can we make sense of a world where women voted for a misogynistic abuser. Black and brown people voted for a white supremist. Latinos voted for a policy of mass deportations targeting their brethren. Youth voted for a climate denier affecting their future. And so on. Think of all the women who voted for a world where they, their daughters and their granddaughters can be denied basic healthcare. It’s a true-to-life Cinderella scenario whose stepmother cut the toes off her own daughters to please a prince. Or Chinese mothers who would bind their own’s daughter’s feet, thereby crippling them in the service of marriage.
I still can’t wrap my mind around the cruelty a law that prevents doctors from treating women with the most basic standards of care. Or the politics that makes it OK. Or the people who sanction it.
I can’t deny that both parties pay homage to patriarchy. Patriarchy, as Carol Christ taught us all, is based on the drive to control women and our bodies.[1] Patriarchy has had too long a time to seep into our consciousness, our values, even the pores of our skin. We breathe it in and even if we hate it, we live by its rules. It’s the only game in town. It’s had thousands of years to percolate, and stew in our minds. Kamala Harris has had only a few months. She didn’t step completely away from patriarchy, because she, too, is its product, as are we all. But I believe she could have turned our nation in the direction of challenging some of those norms. That is a mixed message and patriarchy with a woman at the helm clearly broke some people’s minds.
I see two different strains of feminism here. The feminism of FAR which seeks to be inclusive and explores the roots of patriarchy and how it lives in our lives today. And then there is what I will call the Phyllis Schlafly (PS) strain which swoons when they hear a man say, “I will protect women even if they don’t want it.” I don’t personally consider that to be feminism, but PS adherents insist it is a feminism of freedom. As I said, patriarchy is in our pores.
Like Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” the Dems wanted a “compassionate patriarchy.” A mixed message to be sure. But did people really vote for a world we are already in? Where black voters are being trolled with texts about “picking cotton” and young girls harassed in school with the line from the noted misogynist Nick Fuentes, “your body, my choice.” Even in kindergarten, such bullying would not be tolerated. With Trump at the head of the country, it’s not only valued and encouraged but inspires public mirth and laughter.
My inbox is filled with messages from all the rights groups that I support; environmental, women’s, human rights, LGBTQ+, gun control. Everyone one of them is talking about gearing up for “the fight ahead.” We have been fighting my entire life (and I’m not young), and not only are we not progressing but this backlash is fierce.
This is what I have called the patriarchal dilemma. We don’t fight we lose, we fight we lose. And being constantly in fight mode keeps us in a trauma response. I think of Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars movie. When the evil forces grew too overwhelming, he raised his light saber and sacrificed himself so that Luke, Leia and others could escape. He did so with a smile and in doing so he became the ubiquitous voice of wisdom.
There is no equivalent action in the political arena and yet my mind keeps replaying that scene. We need to do things differently. “Fight” is a patriarchal concept. It sets everyone up as enemies. Patriarchal norms are forcing those of us who resist onto their turf.
I share some words below from my friend and fellow alaka’i (Hawaiian spiritual guide) Jonathan Hammond.
The Wetiko Virus: A Psychic Pandemic[2]
The Cree people of North America identify a psychological and spiritual illness they call the Wetiko virus, a parasitic condition of the human mind.
This “virus of the soul” preys upon individuals, driving them to act against their own interests and the greater good. Wetiko manifests as insatiable greed, destructiveness, a craving for power, and dehumanization—traits that compel people to exploit, dominate, and, ultimately, destroy.
The Wetiko Viris self-cannibalizes and will eventually kill its own host.
Carl Jung described something similar, warning that an “inner god of terror” could overtake society, leading us toward collective psychosis and self-destruction. This mentality thrives on polarization, isolation, and a constant search for an “other” to blame.
We have a psychological pandemic on our hands at this time on the planet, and it has been prophesied by the Hopi, Mayan and Quechua peoples (among many many others) that during the exact timeframe in which we live there would be millions of light workers and healers that would incarnate to usher in a new unitive consciousness. – a cleansing and healing process that will go on for many generations.
If that’s you, claim your seat.
And remember that we need never choose to take an action against our own self-interest and inward sense of what is true for us. Never.
I know these words may sound odd to our modern ears, but I originally heard this same prophecy 25 years ago from my own shamanic teachers who knew it from their own teachers, indigenous elders from the Pacific Northwest. The words rang true to me then and they ring true now. To realize that this is so wide-spread, is both heartening and terrifying. Terrifying because of the mass suffering that will surely follow. Heartening because Jung’s “inner god of terror” that “kills its own host” represents, for me, the heart of patriarchy that must be torn out by its roots for human life to continue on this earth.
[Jonathan Hammond wrote the book, The Shaman’s Mind. You can find his website here and his book here.]
[1] Patriarchy is a system of male dominance, rooted in the ethos of war which legitimates violence, sanctified by religious symbols, in which men dominate women through the control of female sexuality, with the intent of passing property to male heirs, and in which men who are heroes of war are told to kill men, and are permitted to rape women, to seize land and treasures, to exploit resources, and to own or otherwise dominate conquered people. For more see Carol’s three part series which begins here.
[2] This comes from a group of books by Paul Levy. I have not yet read his books but I intend to start. This could be our Obi Wan-Kenobi template.
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Wow, Janet! Think you succinctly summed up the violence of patriarchy, a social system that those (all of us) oppressed by it slowly die. Thank you for introducing me to the Wetiko virus–something I have not heard about until now. “This “virus of the soul” preys upon individuals, driving them to act against their own interests and the greater good. Wetiko manifests as insatiable greed, destructiveness, a craving for power, and dehumanization—traits that compel people to exploit, dominate, and, ultimately, destroy.” This “psychological pandemic” is vicious. I see the most unlikely people (in my life) reveling in it and it confounds me.
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I agree Esther. It doesn’t make sense. I can’t watch news but I am reading some commentary and some are talking about being “too woke” and I’m thinking – when did being compassionate and recognizing the worth and value of diversity become something wrong? When did caring for human rights, the environment become “too preachy?” It makes no sense.
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In some traditions it is called soul loss – in other Windigo – every Indigenous tribal culture has some term for this kind of takeover.
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Thank you, Janet. You have articulated so well the root of all that has felt so wrong in this election. Like you, my inbox has been filled with similar organizations, readying for “the fight ahead.” You are so right that we have been fighting for so long. And staying in fight mode keeps us in trauma response. It also pulls us away from the good work, the creative processes in which we want to engage. That was my experience in forty years of Women’s Studies — spending so much time having constantly to fight for our existence sapped our energies to build and create the programs and new visions we sought to bring into being. I’m reminded of what I recently read indigenous climate activist Jade Begay say — “’I wish I didn’t have to come to the COP, or go to DC and lobby. All of this organizing work is pulling me away from learning my language and contributing to that revitalization. . . . It cuts into the soul because we want to be immersed, and build with our people, and spend time in relationship with the natural world, especially when we know that the natural world is changing so fast. . . .Getting it right would look like being able to just be in our homelands, and truly participate and live our lifeways without disturbance.” — Just being able to be with our people, with the natural world, living the good life.
I also so appreciated what you wrote about the Wetiko. In the past couple of days I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about the Anishinaabe Windigo, who is very similar to the Wetiko — the greed, the insatiable need for power, the cannibalizing of others and the self. We seem to be in its grip as a country.
The path of the healer . . . pulling patriarchy out by its roots . . . yes.
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I agree Beth. I had never heard that phrase “Wetiko virus” until I read Jonathan’s piece but the virus by any other name feels so real. I think I would call it the patriarchy virus. And it’s not just this country (although we are certainly in the grip of it bigtime) but I see it all over the world.
Thank you for the addition of the “Windigo” and for Jade Begay’s quote. All important pieces for decoding this time.
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You know I think Indigenous peoples who have always been in touch with themselves and their relationships to nature name a universal/ ongoing since the beginning of humankind disease that became the patriarchal way – ie the human tendency was always there and they OWNED it, named it, and treated it before it infected whole populations as it has now. I think it would be so much wiser to stop blaming patriarchy and start owning our patriarchal selves if we can – this is where self reflection becomes utter necessity.
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Thank you, Janet! And thank you for drawing our attention to how the word and concept of fight keeps us on patriarchal turf. Fight, flight, freeze, appease: all are understandable reactions to individual and collective trauma. Your post has me pondering ways to respond to our (very) present challenges.
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I’m right there pondering with you Elizabeth!
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Thankyou for writing this, Janet.
I am a hairstylist and I’ve been experiencing fatigue from the fears of my client’s. So the virus is in me.
I’ve worked in a closed door studio for years and and quite a few of my clients share much of their anxiety. They are safe with me whatever their stories are.
This is all very difficult. I feel myself going back to when I was raped at age 13. Being raised in Evangelical purity culture environment. Feeling separate for much of my school years. I am hearing stories of others of when they went through a divorce. Or religious trauma. Had an abortion. Or abusive neglecting parents. So much pain. I hold and light a candle for them in my heart and on my Altar.
I am a person who has been quietly connected to Earth and spirit since I was a little girl. Because of the way I grew up I forgot much of it for awhile. Now I’m back.
I’ve come out of the closet somewhat and have been able to share with a group of people in some Herbalism classes I took. Like minded individuals who care about the environment and healing Earth. I am following my heart hoping that we in our different communities and beliefs can help each other. I don’t want to run. I don’t want to isolate. Maybe collectively having compassion is our super power as healers? If we could spread compassion like a virus and stop “othering” groups of people by generalizing them. Dehumanizing people.
Anyways, I am glad that there is a safe community here. I light a candle for the FAR community in my heart and on my Altar. Thank-you, Blessed be….
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Thank you for sharing your story Michelle. My heart is with you. I, too, am a survivor of rape (and familial abuse). You are not alone, neither am I. In fact, many in this community have this experience too. Sadly, it is ubiquitously common.
I love how you describe your candle ritual. And thank you for keeping the FAR community in your heart and on your Altar. I can feel the warmth of your light and am grateful. So glad you are part of this community too.
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My heart is with you having survived such abuse.
Yes. Years ago I thought sex crimes were a rare thing. As the years of gone by I know too many people who have these stories.
Blessed be.
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My heart is with you to have survived such abuse.
Yes. I used to think sexual abuse happened on rare occasion. As the years have gone by I’ve realized there are way too many of these stories.
Thank-you for your response.
Blessed be.
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Tragic isn’t it? It’s like a hidden pandemic. Thank you for your words of support.
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Janet, your piece has stayed with me for hours as I’ve mulled and mulled it over. When I read reports of who voted for whom (often seems incongruous as you noted), my mind (due to my own experiences) brings up the Religious Right as a huge force in that incongruity. As I look back on my own experience, the Fundamentalist expression of Christianity I found myself in for years seems infested with that Wetiko virus you brought to our attention. “This “virus of the soul” preys upon individuals, driving them to act against their own interests and the greater good. Wetiko manifests as insatiable greed, destructiveness, a craving for power, and dehumanization—traits that compel people to exploit, dominate, and, ultimately, destroy.” That’s exactly how it happens in “fundy world.” For decades (since the 1980s) a certain segment of Evangelical Christianity has spread this virus–all the while making it seem like a good thing because they speak with the voice of God–putting words onto their god. Political analysts so often ignore that huge block of people because IMO so many of them don’t consider religion much more than a pesky mosquito to be swatted away. So many don’t understand the power of the virus since it spreads like wildfire. How often have I been told, “You may think it doesn’t make sense, but God has His own ways which are not like our ways? Our duty is to obey.” That obedience spreads that cruel virus. I listened to Jim Rigby on Zoom today as the church celebrated the baptism of “Morgan,” a transgender man–a person who gathered up all the courage he had to set foot in St. Andrew’s Church (Austin, Texas) because the church seemed inclusive in a way that others did not. Morgan was sure he was an outcast when he made himself present. The whole congregation welcomed him. Jim said if anybody tells you that such-and-such a book (in this case the Bible) tells you that you are on the “outs,” it is our duty to reject the Bible (or at least that particular interpretation.) People’s needs, Jim asserted, always come before any text–ancient or modern. Jim noted that Morgan’s baptism this morning was breaking church law. Then added, “It’s not the first time we’ve done that.” Farid Esack, a Muslim theologian from South Africa, has said this very same thing for decades. If the Qur’an requires cruelty towards another human, the text MUST go. Thanks again Janet for your post today.
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Thank you, Esther, for your deepening of this discussion. I know you’ve written about Jim Rigby before, and it sounds like a blessing that he is in this world and doing the work he does.
That word “obey” is an interesting word that I have grappled with myself. If there is a God we can assume that divinity doesn’t speak in our own language so how do God’s proclamations get interpreted? There are a 1000 ways. So who has the “right” take on that? In Hebrew the word “obey” means “to listen with the breath.” What I get from that is that it involves a deep inner listening.
And it is one of the reasons I do the work I do of digging into biblical verses to see if I can uncover original pagan teachings.
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Hi Esther.
I can definitely relate to “You may think it doesn’t make sense, but God has His own ways which are not like our ways?”
When I asked why my good hearted friends in high school were going to burn in a lake of fire for eternity?.. for not accepting Jesus? I heard “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
I am so glad to hear Jim Rigby is making a stand, showing compassion and welcoming people who would not be welcomed (unfortunately) in many other churches.
Blessed be
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Very wise post. “This is what I have called the patriarchal dilemma. We don’t fight we lose, we fight we lose. And being constantly in fight mode keeps us in a trauma response.”
To me this election demonstrates again the depth of social conditioning into patriarchal and racism, even to the point of people voting against their own material interests, their very survival. Because they bought into the myth of “America Uber Alles,” of being better-than, that “We’re Number 1.”
This shows how cultural change is critical to political change.
We can’t overlook that the the country is in the grip of oligarchic media monopoly, in which even previously liberal, to a point, outlets like the NYT were downplaying Trump’s scary hate speech and obvious neurological failings, but carping at Harris for little things.
Max
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Oh yes, I agree Max. Whenever I was nervous about trends before the election, I thought about how women would never allow ourselves to go back to the Middle Ages in how we are treated. From abortion politics to “childless cat ladies” I felt reassured that women would never allow such repression again. How wrong I was. But women have been steeped in the patriarchal mindset as well. In several states abortion rights passed even while Trump won. What could people have been thinking? Talk about a disconnect!
And the media – a whole other topic. What did they call it sane-washing?
Thank you for adding your thoughts to the discussion.
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“But did people really vote for a world we are already in?” I think it is clear that they did. The question remains – How did we get here? What is so important that it trumps all else? Well money and power of course – and no matter WHAT people say what they want is plenty of both. They think a monster will give them the things they crave while they remains starving literally and figuratively. I’ll return to my original question as I beg every woman to self reflect – not just on our present story but the one that has carried us through thousands of years. We can begin by stop blaming – The one mistake I think we have made as feminists is to separate one gender from another becoming complicit in the game of patriarchy that thrives on separate and conquer.I am not suggesting that there are no issues – but patriarchy above all is SYSTEM OF OPPRESSION. IT’S NOT THAT CAROL’S DEFINITION ISN’T RIGHT – ITS JUST NOT BIG ENOUGH TO INCLUDE THE OPPRESSION OF MOST HUMAN BEINGS BOTH FEMALE AND MALE… AND THEN WE COME TO PLANET THAT HAS SUSTAINED US ALL THAT WE BASICALLY THROW OUT LIKE A PIECE OF GARBAGE EVEN WHEN WE ARE STRUGGLING FOR BREATH. WHAT’S IMPORTANT NOW IS TO ASK THAT QUESTION: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? AND MORE FIGHTING IS NOT THE ANSWER – WEAVING GENUINE COMMUNITY MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO START.
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That separation, and even more that system of domination and aggression, was not the mistake of feminism. We are responding to that hierarchy, those behaviors and especially that violence. At every turn we are made the villains for simply trying to name and undo all that.
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I am NOT suggesting feminism is the root of domination/patriarchy – I am suggesting that we may be unconsciously collaborating with it
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Not villains in my view Max, but a reaction to the hierarchy we’ve been forced to deal with. Again patriarchal turf. Perhaps it is time to rethink and how we’ve all gone about this and to do so with respect where each person comes down on the issue.
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Wow Sara, that is a hefty statement that Carol didn’t go far enough. And I do agree we need next steps as the degradation has not only reached epic proportions but continues. Love the concept of weaving community.
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Oh and I also agree with your words: “The one mistake I think we have made as feminists is to separate one gender from another becoming complicit in the game of patriarchy that thrives on separate and conquer.” This has become a big issue here at FAR. I personally don’t believe we can leave “men” or trans-people out of our vision as it does create more separation. Perhaps in smaller spaces there is a need for men and women to separately process but in the larger vision we are all in this together. And it is love that binds us. I have a wonderful husband, son and now grandson. They always inform my visions.
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There is a difference between a reaction, which is thoughtless, and a response. In the backlash of recent decades, feminist analysis of patriarchal socialization has been pretty effectively quashed, often with death threats and sexist insults. I strongly object to the idea advanced above that we are “unconsciously collaborating with” patriarchy. I have more to say but will leave it for another time.
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YES! I am so glad that you see this Janet – hopefully others will too! I go back to Indigenous peoples throughout the planet who have always known about this patriarchal disease since the first stories were told and until very recently managed to stay out of the grip of patriarchy – in the last 50 years a lot of damage has been done and Indigenous communities are fragmenting as westernization takes over. We spend a lot of time with Greek Myths – yikes patriarchy was in full swing by then, part of the reason that re -writing them doesn’t get us away from the basic underlying tenets.
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Thank you for this post. Sometimes I am able to leave the anxious vigilance that has overtaken my body in the wake of the election and look at the much bigger picture of a world-wide movement to unite as one humanity inhabiting our mother earth together, a shift I have felt happening all my life (I am 61) and that seems to be continuing, despite the horror and noise and backlash in many nations, not just ours. I have just been teaching Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time to a class of young people. Yesterday we talked about the idea that you cannot fight power with power on its terms, but can still commit to change, underground, person by person, act by act. I hope to tune in more to your posts and to this blog site to find wisdom and encouragement for what may be a struggle but does not have to be a “fight”.
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Thank you Catherine for your words. It sounds like you have a wonderful and powerful class there where you are reaching the young.
I agree, “person by person, act by act”. Thank you for that reflection. We have to be the seeds that will grow in this time of darkness.
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Max, This sounds like a very important history of feminism and I confess I don’t much about what you are referring to. When you say, “feminist analysis of patriarchal socialization has been pretty effectively quashed,” that perks my ears up. I am hoping you will say more about this, perhaps write parts of it up here at FAR. I cannot promise what reaction will follow but I think, that while we do have some reach, we are small enough to fly under the radar to some degree.
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Thank you so much for your wide-ranging perspective, Janet. I keep with me the memory of being in a native-run sweat lodge, where either in body or in imagination, we placed “the grandfathers” at the door to protect us in the lodge. Just recently I gave great thanks for the willing men who came to cut up fallen trees and power lines after Hurricane Helene, and I always thought, “this is the right use of male energy.” However, that energy is only appreciated when women ask for it and want it.
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