As Capitalism Collapses, People Will Feel Worse
We are seeing an increase in people acting out hate at oppressed groups, at least in Europe and the United States.
We could say that this most recent attack in Orlando happened because of racism, LGBTQ oppression, Islamophobia, homophobia, male domination, and how men are isolated and militarised (the shooter was an armed security officer). And we could speculate about U.S. foreign policy and ever-growing resource inequalities. Also, I think it was due to a lack of any place a young U.S. man could take deep feelings of hate. I think probably any of us could turn how bad we feel about ourselves into targeting another person or group with hate.
In our neoliberal capitalist system, people are made to feel responsible for their own hardships. Think, for example, of the false messages we hear all the time, like, “Anyone can be rich if they work hard enough,” and “Unemployed people are lazy.” People already feel bad about themselves from their hard lives as younger people. As capitalism collapses, things in the world get harder, and the gap between rich and poor gets larger, people will feel worse and worse about themselves. And when people feel bad about themselves, they often experience it as oppressive feelings toward someone else. More people and groups are trying to gain power by manipulating feelings of hatred. The “invisible noose” is already getting tighter, becoming more visible and violent, for Jews, Muslims, LGBTQ folks, and people of the global majority.
Scary! I think it’s time for a group shake.
Keep putting your thinking out, discharging, taking in new information, and putting your thinking out again.
With grief, love, and solidarity,
London, England
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC Community members
(Present Time 184, July 2016)