I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to attend a session held by a local anti-trafficking group, during which I heard the most wonderful speaker, Benjamin Santamaria. He spoke less about what his organization does, and more about the issue overall, and the culture under which this problem has been permitted to flourish.
Human trafficking is a terrible problem; it’s hard to know how many people are trafficked every year, but women and children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for sex as well as domestic slavery. Victims generally are stolen or sold from less developed nations and taken to wealthy western countries for these purposes, or are held within their own country or a neighbouring country and used by wealthy westerners who come to less developed countries for the purposes of sex tourism. It seems a lot of trafficked persons have family situations that make them vulnerable, from extreme poverty to abuse to orphanism. These are often people that are vulnerable because nobody is looking for them; they are disappeared and nobody knows.
Ben talked a lot about white western culture as a culture of domination. [this particularly incensed the young woman I was attending the talk with, for typical white liberal “white people shouldn’t have to feel guilty for what our ancestors did” reasons, but that’s not really what I want to talk about just yet; please keep it in mind for later, however.] He spoke of “white is right” attitudes, about how white settlers on this continent felt they conquered the indigenous populations who were already here (they didn’t), and that gave them the right to [attempt to] obliterate indigenous culture, language, and spirituality, replacing them with the laws, language, and religion of the white homeland (didn’t do that, either, but not for lack of trying – for the indomitable spirit of indigenous peoples). He spoke about the continuation of those attitudes in the here and now, and the richness that is missed by shutting ourselves off from learning from other cultures. He spoke about a lack of sprituality the dominance of religion can bring. He spoke about the soullessness of capitalism, the attitude that everything can and should be commodified – even human beings, human lives.
but, while this is a large problem that takes place at a societal level, Ben was careful to offer a solution. He expressed that the solution of public policies and international treaties was important, but that the underlying attitudes of individual people are what will really matter most.
hold on.
We spend a lot of time here and on other forums talking about patriarchy, white supremacy, heteronormativity, capitalism as being overarching structures, a “culture not a conspiracy.” We say, “we’re not talking about YOU as an individual; we’re talking about your default position within relations of power that are larger than just you, don’t take it personally, try to see yourself and your position as one within the matrix.”
Well, it hit home to me, listening to Ben speak, that this is true, but it also isn’t the end of the story.
Going back to how the woman I was sitting with was infuriated by Ben’s slam against white culture. She was completely and utterly pissed off by this, ranted on afterward about how white people have a culture too, and it’s just as important as other cultures, and how other cultures can’t be so great really because after all, look at how they treat their women. [yup, seriously. this is a woman who has done a lot of international development work. just goes to show you, I guess…]
I felt none of that righteous anger toward him for saying such things. I was nodding along with him! I wasn’t offended by anything he said about white people at all! Why is that? I thought about it for a while. At first, I just felt like, “well, he’s not talking about ME.” Not in a pin-a-rose-on-my-nose, I’m-not-a-racist way, but more in a culture-not-conspiracy kind of way. but then, that wasn’t quite it, either.
What Ben was talking about was individual responsibility. He was talking about how these attitudes are ingrained in the fabric of our society, but that we are individually responsible to and capable of unravelling ourselves from that fabric. He described a lot of things that we could do, individually, to change how we felt and believed some of the underlying attitudes that make human trafficking possible, that make it possible for people to be bought and sold on a global marketplace and used like they mean nothing.
He spoke about spirituality – not religion, not dogma, but spirituality. Belief that everyone has a soul, a spirit, a spiritual life that needs nourishment, that needs fulfilment. He spoke about sexism, and how men must not force women to do or be what we don’t want to do or be, but allow us to develop into our own beings, support us, get the hell out of our way. He talked about the mistreatment of the animals we use, from labour to entertainment to food. He talked about racism, and the belief held so dear by so many that white culture is dominant because it is superior. He spoke about capitalism, the commodification of everything under the sun – the land, the water, the sun itself – and how screwed up that is, because the earth is for everyone, it can nourish all of us, and yet we scramble to get our little tiny piece of it all for ourselves. He spoke about not buying these things, not buying into the capitalism matrix, not buying goods from countries where humans are trafficked, not watching TV, not watching CNN.
And you know? yeah. I felt myself nodding, moved by this message. YES! We are, individually, responsible for the attitudes and beliefs that we hold. We can only, ourselves, change those attitudes and beliefs. And that is the difference. When we work to achieve attitudes of love for others, of spirituality, of equality, of harmony with the world around us – that is when the guilt fades, that is when the righteous anger dissipates.
I know I’m not perfect. I know that my placement within the social stratification system of this country, this culture, gives me unearned privileges that I can’t exactly back out of. But. I know that I am trying. I know that in my heart, I am moving from those negative, overarching, dominant and dominating atittudes, maybe a little everyday, as an individual person. And so, I know he wasn’t talking about ME.
I say this not to hold myself up as a shining example of light, or for congratulatory backslaps and praise. I say this because it clicked a little deeper for me that day.
We ARE individually responsible, within this culture of domination. We must be HELD individually responsible for atrocities that happen to others, because OUR ATTITUDES OF DOMINATION have led to, have supported, have made possible, those atrocities. It’s not about guilt. It’s about movement. It’s about change. It’s about evolution. It’s about revolution.
There’s so much goodness in this post it’s almost tough to comment at all because you’ve said so much.
The final paragraph reminds me of the teaching from my church this morning (it’s not exactly a sermon, because I don’t go to a very traditional service), which was on the theme of caring for creation. It was exclusively focused on environmental issues, but one of the things the speaker said was that it’s not enough just to not do extra damage. We have an obligation to repair, rebuild, recreate. This is all from a Christian perspective, arguing that this is what we have to do if we are striving to be more like God in our lives, but I think it applies to this kind of defensiveness in the face of responsibility/privilege as well.
Do I really want to pat myself on the back for not personally killing any indigenous Canadians by virtue of not having been born 500 years ago? Seriously, is that what I want my scorecard to read at the end of my life? “Didn’t actively participate in genocide”? I’m pretty sure I can strive for better than that. It doesn’t have anything to do with what I am or am not guilty of, it’s simply about what I’m capable of.
This post is CHOCK FULL of common sense and awesomeness. He must have been an awesome speaker. Purtek, I second your comment!
Thank you. It makes perfect sense to me — we are not responsible for what we did not personally do — we ARE responsible for what we support with words, actions or attitudes.
Ye gads, I hope we can do it.
[…] October 2007 The post is called “Individual Responsibility in a Culture of Domination“. Read it. There will be more later when I can synthesize […]
thanks kids.
see, yes, purtek, exactly. not enough to not to more damage. jsut not enough.
this is why I get so incensed when people say, “well, what do you expect me to do about global problems? why should I care?”
we benefit from what is. we have an obligation to put back, put right, what has been done, as much as is possible.
we are capable of more.
jo – I hope so too. I think we can. I think some of us do.
I mean, it’s about living in such a way that causes the least amount of harm – and further, that tries to make right what has been done wrong. it’s really so simple.
I found myself nodding all the way through that too. Does the guy have a website? I googled but nothing much happened.
It’s a topic that’s so close to my heart it’s kind of comforting to have someone put my own thoughts into words that I totally approve of.
I feel that part of my individual responsibility is to educate others about the issue of indigenous culture and the impact of white settlement. This is because in my line of work I deal with indigenous people quite a lot of the time and it’s important to me to make other people understand the issue properly.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the tact or patience to enable me to explain my position to people in the mainstream without offending them the way your friend was offended.
But I’ll be sure to refer to the wisdom in this post to try to overcome that in the future. Thanks for posting it.
wow, thank you femsoc for the compliment.
no, he doesn’t seem to have a website. I definitely would have linked him up. He was very special to encounter- very magnetic, dynamic, warm.
I believe the ongoing genocide and colonization of indigenous peoples by my country is our greatest shame. And I think we bear it collectively.
when I think about it, I do feel guilty. But you know, a lesson I learned as a young girl was that when I felt guilty about something, the best thing to do was try to make it right again. not an easy principle, but a simple one.
On the subject of indigenous/white settler relations I can recommend a short documentary called Kanyini, narrated by an Aboriginal elder, Bob Randall.
He articulates the Aboriginal position very sensitively and is quite inspiring to listen to.
I believe the ongoing genocide and colonization of indigenous peoples by my country is our greatest shame. And I think we bear it collectively.
I couldn’t agree more strongly. And I think we–myself included, unfortunately–are sickeningly silent on the subject, falling into the ‘well, I’m not doing extra damage’ camp all too easily.
I live fricking twenty minutes from Caledonia, and the only time the ongoing strife and protests cross the radar screen of my everyday life is when someone I know mentions that it takes longer to buy their reserve-cheap cigarettes these days.
Sunday Blogwhoring: Slowly Catching Up Edition
by matttbastard
Close out the weekend properly with this fresh batch of primo posts (as always, props to the Bard’s female sibling):
Too Sense: White Cops Refer To Mostly Black Unit As “The Slave Ship” (h/t Racialicious)
All About Ra…
What a rich discussion! I am part of an interesting Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking. http://www.giftasia.in
Please share your opinions on our discussion forum and contribute your articles. Your support will add strength to our work.
Thanks
Tushar
Great post, I also agree with the last paragraph. Sure, culture plays a hugh role, so does genetics, but at some point we have to begin taking responsiblity individually. We have to own up to our own actions and begin making our actions the first step in creating a better world. In Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend Dr. Gelder talks just about this, urging us all to become what she calls “global citizens”. If we become responsible in our own actions, this is the first step towards creating a better world.
I really enjoyed your post. I know a lot of people who take the same attitude as your friend, and it always amazes me how rich countries continue to justify imperialism and their cultural superiority by pointing to other cultures’ treatment of women. It’s an impulse I have myself sometimes, but it’s important to know the history of how that has been manipulated to justify all sorts of interventions and imperialism. I would suggest reading Laura Briggs’ _Reproducing Empire_: one of the most eloquent discussions of this dynamic I have ever come across.
It’s not about feeling guilty, but about understanding how power works.
Great article, disrespect in the root of all EVIL, when it comes this horrific problem… disrespect of women, children and sadly the elderly! Lets please all work together to make a change…
Thanks,
Howard M