Slope

The systemic failure that advances inequality

Reading the article by Sippin the EquiTEA made me better appreciate the part that systemic structures play in this battle of privilege between Black and White; Male and Female and all other players in this global battle for equality. To put it in context, it goes beyond Black Lives Matter, in fact I would argue that like a dreaded virus, it is a strain that latches itself to every human DNA from the moment they are socialized into this world.

I will start from the premise that all inequality stems from an imbalance of power. One person (or being) finds itself (or positions itself) in a place of power and exerts that power to their own advantage, towards advancing their own cause. In time, this person or being realizes that this power will not last forever. They may also come to see the many counter interests that aspire to depose them and take their place. To further entrench their position, the person or being in the seat of power then institutionalizes it. This phase of institutionalizing power as a means of preserving it for its benefactors is where the real problem lies. Once power is institutionalized, it seeks to establish its credibility and how it does that is by telling stories that advance its agenda in convincing others, especially the marginalized, that the institution is essential to maintaining a ‘necessary’ balance.

And as it is the nature of stories, the telling and the retelling over time, alters it to resemble the truth even when systemic fault lines are apparent in its story structures. Over time, depending on how long these institutions last and for how long its carefully curated stories have been interwoven with the truth, it becomes almost impossible to unravel and revert to the time before the institutionalization of power. Some of its benefactors and their forebears may have changed. They may have come to the realization of some of the inconsistencies of their privilege. They might even have become converts who have ‘given up’ their place of privilege for a desire to pursue equality for the marginalized but the systems the institutions have built are not as amenable as the minds of the offspring of the benefactors that built them. And because of this, you find that these ‘converts’ with all their good intention and noble purpose may be blind to the devious…