PEGI EYERS
Just in case you need a reminder, the world as we know it (let's call it the nation-states of the USA and Canada) were created and founded in the Americas by a cadre of white European men, and the Empire-building project was driven by patriarchal values. There is no escaping this reality (!) and as much as it has been forgotten, veiled, tabooed, conflated, misinterpreted, normalized, and "forgiven" because of (you guessed it!) conspiracy theories, the European patriarchs established our worldview and the forward "thrust" of our civilization.
Do You See Any Women or People of Colour in This Picture?
During the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment in the 18th century, racial "science" (so-called) was developed, and the later creation of "eugenics" allowed for the perceived superiority of the male European demagogue (mostly Anglophone) within political, military, religious, economic and legal structures. This new model of racial hierarchy was the perfect justification for global imperialism, genocide and slavery, and for colonizing the “New World.” With no ethical or moral reservations whatsoever, entire African nations and Turtle Island Indigenous societies were enslaved or simply wiped out in the imperialist project, with the goal being to bring people and their lands under “civilized” control. The prevailing Settler-Colonial meme of the day was “we are the superior race of Anglo Saxons. It’s only to the benefit of everyone if we people the entire hemisphere.” (Noam Chomsky)
Do You See Any Women or People of Colour in This Picture?
As for the (so-called) "weaker sex," in the total supremacy of a “man’s world” white women were the passive and suffering victims of Empire, or the supporting cast and game players who internalized the values of the patriarchy and were complicit with the colonial directive. Until the flowering of first-wave feminism with the suffragettes in the late 19th century, European women were owned, dominated, controlled, and victimized by the patriarchy for millennia.
White men have monopolized our ethnosphere and the ecosphere for eons, and with the highest value being placed on white male wealth and power, everyone in the Americas continues to be affected by the kyriarchy of intersectional oppressions (race, gender, wealth/class, sexual orientation and ableism). Even the land itself, and the many elements and creatures in nature have been ravaged and oppressed by patriarchal ideology ("speciesism"). The patriarchal founders and robber barons of Empire, the rich, entitled, rapacious, racist, misogynist, warlord, bible-thumping, immoral and power-mad white men and their policies have imposed their will on our bodies, minds and souls, and have dictated the destruction of our world. And we need to object!
White men have monopolized our ethnosphere and the ecosphere for eons, and with the highest value being placed on white male wealth and power, everyone in the Americas continues to be affected by the kyriarchy of intersectional oppressions (race, gender, wealth/class, sexual orientation and ableism). Even the land itself, and the many elements and creatures in nature have been ravaged and oppressed by patriarchal ideology ("speciesism"). The patriarchal founders and robber barons of Empire, the rich, entitled, rapacious, racist, misogynist, warlord, bible-thumping, immoral and power-mad white men and their policies have imposed their will on our bodies, minds and souls, and have dictated the destruction of our world. And we need to object!
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Male Pride & Power ~ Projectiles, Phalluses & Upright Pillars
Of course, monumental cracks are appearing in the patriarchal façade, as advances in human rights, Indigenous decolonization and the rise of women's empowerment continue to resist white male supremacy and the normative hetero-patriarchal hegemony. Movements everywhere are rejecting and standing up to Empire, with its toxic legacy of manipulation, fear-mongering, economic traps, silencing, brainwashing and lateral violence. With all of the connective and educational tools available to us today, the colonial legacy of domination, racial stratification, eco-fascism and oligarchy is becoming less and less tenable, and millions of us are waking up to the impossibility of continuing to believe in these imperialist lies.
As activists everywhere continue to engage with social justice, we are guided by ally theory (or allyship) that offers meaning and protocol for acting in solidarity with marginalized groups, people of colour, women, those living in poverty, the disabled and the LBGT community. As we take responsibility for our many privileges and step up our co-resistance, we are in agreement that equity comes before equality, and that placing ourselves behind those in a subordinate position will propel the most oppressed forward, and is the only way to affect change. And as we expand our anti-racism work we encounter important guidelines, and begin to see that "since racism was created by our white ancestors, it is the white majority, not people of colour, that need to dismantle it." How can it be otherwise? Any other conclusion would continue to perpetuate the goals of Empire. It is white people, not any other group, that must take responsibility for the disaster created by the white supremacist founding and maintenance of the Americas, to eliminate racism and the intersectional oppressions, and to create the conditions in which equality is the outcome of equity, and tolerance can unfold for all.
If we take this guideline up a notch to the next logical level, in the same way that white people are responsible for ending racism, we must then conclude that men are responsible for ending the patriarchy. If our new meme follows that "since white men created Empire, it is up to white men to undo it" then I have a great suggestion. Why don’t privileged European/Anglo-Saxon/Germanic white men spend their days undoing the destruction their patriarchal forefathers (the government agents, religious zealots, "scientists," masters of industry and robber barons) perpetuated against women, people of colour and the pristine ecosystems of the Americas? With no more excuses, sidetracking, stonewalling, moves to innocence, denial, derailment, hand-wringing, guilt, whining or pleading, this work can begin right now. Men have the ability to interrogate, interrupt and halt the white man worship of each other and Empire - the resource extraction, power-tripping, luxury-sucking, money collection worldview - and get on with what really matters, which is health, equity and equality for all human beings, and sovereignty for the other-than-human world.
As activists everywhere continue to engage with social justice, we are guided by ally theory (or allyship) that offers meaning and protocol for acting in solidarity with marginalized groups, people of colour, women, those living in poverty, the disabled and the LBGT community. As we take responsibility for our many privileges and step up our co-resistance, we are in agreement that equity comes before equality, and that placing ourselves behind those in a subordinate position will propel the most oppressed forward, and is the only way to affect change. And as we expand our anti-racism work we encounter important guidelines, and begin to see that "since racism was created by our white ancestors, it is the white majority, not people of colour, that need to dismantle it." How can it be otherwise? Any other conclusion would continue to perpetuate the goals of Empire. It is white people, not any other group, that must take responsibility for the disaster created by the white supremacist founding and maintenance of the Americas, to eliminate racism and the intersectional oppressions, and to create the conditions in which equality is the outcome of equity, and tolerance can unfold for all.
If we take this guideline up a notch to the next logical level, in the same way that white people are responsible for ending racism, we must then conclude that men are responsible for ending the patriarchy. If our new meme follows that "since white men created Empire, it is up to white men to undo it" then I have a great suggestion. Why don’t privileged European/Anglo-Saxon/Germanic white men spend their days undoing the destruction their patriarchal forefathers (the government agents, religious zealots, "scientists," masters of industry and robber barons) perpetuated against women, people of colour and the pristine ecosystems of the Americas? With no more excuses, sidetracking, stonewalling, moves to innocence, denial, derailment, hand-wringing, guilt, whining or pleading, this work can begin right now. Men have the ability to interrogate, interrupt and halt the white man worship of each other and Empire - the resource extraction, power-tripping, luxury-sucking, money collection worldview - and get on with what really matters, which is health, equity and equality for all human beings, and sovereignty for the other-than-human world.
 Jackson Katz |  Howard Zinn |  Robert Jenson, painting by Robert Shetterly |  Russell Brand |  Michael Moore |
 Derrick Jensen, painting by Robert Shetterly |  Noam Chomsky |  Tim Wise |  George Monbiot |  Chris Hedges, painting by Robert Shetterly |
Undoing the Damage ~ Male Effectiveness in Anti-Patriarchal Action
There are many progressive, enlightened, radicalized and decolonized men who are already working hard to undo the destructive legacy of their white supremacist forefathers in academia, social justice, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-capitalism, the anti-civilization movement, environmental activism and “apocalyptic studies.” Yet the time has come for white men in EVERY WALK OF LIFE to challenge the dominant paradigm, to embrace karmic justice, to undo the intersectional oppressions, to take responsibility for the fact that the Americas were created with an agenda of genocide, slavery, ethnic cleansing and stolen land, and in these times of massive change, to lead the transition toward localized ecologically-based communities. If this generation of able-bodied white men don't engage with the paradigm shift, then who will, and when? There really is no other activity worth pursuing. Yet many activists and feminists would argue (and with good reason) that men will NEVER step up to dismantle the patriarchy that has given them so much privilege and entitlement. But just because their relinquishment of the power paradigm seems an impossible dream, doesn't make the responsibility for them to do so any less factual (or urgent).
ATTENTION: MEN OF THE AMERICAS ~ feel free to step up and take on this important and sacred work, as this is YOUR TIME! Kindly right the wrongs of history, clean up the mess your fatherlines bequeathed us from their greedy “Kings and Conquerors” rampage, and fulfill your true destiny. The planet is at stake, and in these historic times, can there be any higher cause that would ensure full liberation for both men and women, all beings, and our entire Earth Community??
See Robert Shetterly's complete set of marvellous portraits ~ >here<
RESOURCES:
Dear Fellow Men, It's Time We Break Our Silence
How Tender, Loving Male Friendships Can Save Us from Toxic Masculinity
ATTENTION: MEN OF THE AMERICAS ~ feel free to step up and take on this important and sacred work, as this is YOUR TIME! Kindly right the wrongs of history, clean up the mess your fatherlines bequeathed us from their greedy “Kings and Conquerors” rampage, and fulfill your true destiny. The planet is at stake, and in these historic times, can there be any higher cause that would ensure full liberation for both men and women, all beings, and our entire Earth Community??
See Robert Shetterly's complete set of marvellous portraits ~ >here<
RESOURCES:
Dear Fellow Men, It's Time We Break Our Silence
How Tender, Loving Male Friendships Can Save Us from Toxic Masculinity
 | Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores social justice, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Stone Circle Press // Amazon |
