Autonomy and Agency
In The Fight For Freedom, Let Me Give You Some Matches
Morning Comrades,
Like many of you I woke up on Tuesday morning with the news that the Supreme Court of the U.S. has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and yes, we are going to talk about this, more in the abstract and practical to give you a sense of what is what and what to do. Buckle up.
For starters, I am not going to get into the legalese of it all. Not only do I not accept moral authority of any court or government in their present form nor do they have moral authority over anyone. Technically speaking, they use violent means to enforce their so-called morality but that’s as far as it goes and thus, there is no point to discuss the legal realities here.
Additionally for anyone that was / is unsure where I stand and what I consider to be the lowest common denominator for this community: Total autonomy or bust. Nobody is free unless everyone is free and the goal of my political work is just that. Freedom, something I have written about at great lengths here, both in regards to the philosophical and practical part. As long as a person doesn’t have autonomy said person has no agency and with that, injustice incurs, again something that gets me real fired up and quickly.
In regards to a woman’s right to choose, not just in regards to abortions but everything, at the bare minimum, I call for total self-autonomy. Even if the communal consensus was inhibitive for the greater good ( thou shall not kill, for example ) a hugely politicized and biased court that utilizes the threat of and actual force is the definition of immorality and thus to be rejected, on principle and practicability. In regards to a persons body and choices, it’s the persons right to do as as they consider correct. Not that we are even, or have ever in the last 500 years been at the point where we could have had a level-headed, neutral discussion about this. No, a radical minority rule has always been the decision making power and this case, once again illustrates this perfectly. Especially so, as this goes beyond women’s right to choose, misogyny, racism but goes to the core of the non-existing social contract we are forced into, but more about that shortly. Lastly, do not be misconceived by the fact that I am focusing solely on an U.S. issue and that the the oppression and violence there are a singular event, far from it, the reality here in Europe is equally frightening and violent.
How The Fuck Did We Get Here?!
In the case of the US, the anti-abortion movement, that was later rebranded into the Pro-Life movement ( and yes, it was professionally rebranded with heaps of money, political strategists, infrastructure and communication outlets ) was initially started by the Catholic Church, I know, no real surprises here, but what follows is vital to understand how the U.S. is on a high speed trajectory to a sequel of “Handmaids Tale”.
Paradoxically, as Americans became increasingly pro-choice in the 1960s, pro-life forces captured the domestic agenda by overhauling the traditionally libertarian Republican party. This occurred because Republican analysts saw that the Democratic New Deal coalition was cracking and the traditionally conservative south and west began to control more seats in the House of Representatives. Efforts were made to bring social conservatives, especially pro-lifers, into the Republican party with scare tactics used in the wording of direct mailings. In the late 1970s, fundamentalist Christians became outraged by Supreme Court decisions banning school prayer and legalizing abortion and by Jimmy Carter's decision to withdraw tax-exempt status from segregated church schools. This group was mobilized by radio and television preachers, especially televangelist Jerry Falwell who also used scare tactics to promote his Moral Majority. The new right also tried to reach the nation's 50 million Roman Catholics through the right-to-life movement. The Catholic bishops worked closely with the new right and when Ronald Reagan won the presidency in 1980, the new right was quick to claim the victory, and the rest is more current history that I reckon most of you are well aware of.
The infuriating and hypocritical aspect of this trajectory post-Reagan is that the Republican party in the US was ultimately highjacked by a minority of religious fanatics, whose fanaticism guaranteed huge sums of tax-free money, and essentially at this point has become overwhelmed in a continuous, self-destructive cycle of having to out-radicalize each and every faction in order to maintain tactical power over this merry band of lunatics. Meanwhile, the Democratic Power has never implemented, despite often enough having had the political power, the majorities will by guaranteeing a women’s right to abortion ( and readily available access to this mind you ) and have used the threat now becoming reality as a pressure tool for reelection.
Make no mistake, both parties and all involved people at one point in our lifetimes and beyond that had the opportunity to not only do what 2/3 of the nation want but more importantly would be a first, important step in creating equality among the genders in the US by guaranteeing the right for women to choose. No one did. No amount of bullshit and bullying you into giving them even more money, both of which you by now will already have heard, especially from the Democratic Party can obscure the fact that no one in power chose to do the bare minimum for equality.
I know that my understanding of marxism is probably causing a bias here in regards to the reason for this but I don’t think the blame can be placed at misogyny but rather the upholding of a power structure that relies on at the very least 50% of any societies members to provide free labour and care. Women, in the case of the 600 year destructive history of European Capitalism that utilized its various religions as a tool and an excuse to structure the nucleus of our economic relation with the world, i.e. the Family. Without women giving birth and engaging in unpaid care and reproductive ( not only in the human reproduction sense, but additionally in the sense of reproducing energy for the “man” to return to work ) work, this entire system would not be able to produce the unfathomable profits for the those in charge. It’s not that capitalism would cease to exist if everyone would be treated equal, capitalists simply wouldn’t reap the benefits of this global exploitation that they have for the past 500/600 years, hence making the entire system irrelevant.
Now, do these knuckle-dragging cave men that implement the laws that repress women think of this? Mostly, I doubt it, much of the patriarchal hatred and violence is rooted in social conditioning resting on coercion and mythology, but enough people with power and money understand that were “we” to be entirely equal ( read, everyone at the very least gets the same amount of money for the labour and enjoy the same inhibiting rights ), well, there simply wouldn’t be any purpose for the bastards. Now, the same obviously applies to any minority outside the white, European, Christian, heteronormative male group and even within that group, large parts of that soon-to-be-minority get royally shafted, but that’s besides the point here.
The fact remains, due to the all-blinding greed of our political systems, partially hijacked by religious fanatics, the US takes a massive, additional step to fascist theocracy. As with all theocracies, this has little to do with religion or spirituality but all about asserting control over a “rebellious” population in the context of social economic breakdown. A self-destructive trend of nationalism, authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism reigns, not only in the U.S., but in India, much of the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe and increasingly here in the Western part of this part of the world also. Whenever systemic inequality, exploitation and corruption bring these systems to the brink of in/explosion, these system never have and never will offer anything other scapegoats. For the political elites and their masters, this offers a way to shore up legitimacy without ever having to address, let alone improve, material conditions.
So, What Now?
Essentially, that’s it. Burning the whole place to the ground would be my gut-call at this point as I see no redeeming qualities or possibilities in reform, on the contrary. I do think it is absolutely vital, if you are in the U.S. specifically, to ignore all the manipulative lying and bullying you will be subjected to in the coming days from members of the Democratic Party, specifically.
If you are in a position of privilege, you know, like myself, white male perceived individuals, then do what you can to help in your community and I am not talking about voting here. Go to places that specifically work in the fields of abortion and care work and ask how and if you can help. That’s a good start. Offer logistical support and if possible financial - as with so much in the U.S. a lot boils down to money but don’t let that be your only involvement here, putting bodies to work, in the streets is what will create pressure on those with power. Not online petitions, I mean, sure, sign those too if you want but don’t let that be the end of your involvement.
This is not a new fight and there are plenty of people with experience and know-how that always rely on support systems and that power is something we can offer. If the last few years have radicalized you enough to want to actually do something, now is the time. Again, I have to stress this fact, ask those with experience in this fight how and if you can help. This is not about individualism but about putting an organized front against the highly connected and financed religious fanatics who have a stranglehold on everyone with even half a brain. This goes for everyone reading this even if you are outside of the U.S. because the same insanity is awaiting all of us. Once the capitalists have decided for themselves that they no longer need to offer the illusion of “democracy”, “freedom” and “agency” we will be faced with an alternative reality of theocratic, corporate fascism the world has not seen outside of science fiction stories and it is down to us, as always, to make sure that once and for all, we can put these bastards to an end.
Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.
Thank you for your time and interest. Please feel free to share this far and wide. I will include several hot shots and visual over in our telegram channel for you share also.
See you on the streets, comrades.
Until then, I remain yours, without compromise,
V.