Q A (Question Answered - there's only the one)

During my last splurge of Incoming Insight posts, someone sent me a question about the potential benefits of suppression. Discounting the (in my opinion short-sighted) view that there are several benefits for the oppressor, it does leave an interesting question about when and where enforcement of will is appropriate. Superficially, law enforcement "suppresses" criminals, by refusing to allow them to do bad things to other people (and occasionally themselves). Likewise, parents could be said to "suppress" children, by disallowing certain activities - or only permitting them under special circumstances or after certain criteria have been met.

I think, however, there are two distinctions between these examples and the example I gave of cultural suppression. The first is intent: the intent of the suppressor in my examples was to keep themselves in power and the suppressed population...well, suppressed. In the case of my illustration, the intent was the acquisition and maintenance of power--at the expense of the suppressed culture. In the examples above, you have two very different motivations, namely protection (in the case of law enforcement) and protection/education (in the case of parents). I think many cases of abuse of power by these groups is often identified, in no small part, by their intent. If the cop pulls you over because you were speeding, that's keeping people safe, and (while annoying) a general good. If the cop pulls you over to shake you down, however, that's utilizing power to promote the officer at your expense, and that is suppression. Thus, intent has a substantial role in identifying cases of systematic suppression and their possible impact.

Of course, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The fact that you want to protect/help people is only marginally useful as a defense if what you have actually been doing is inflicting various degrees of psychological/social/economic trauma on them. the second difference between suppression and these other examples is proper application of power. Namely, that those who hold power are diligent in analyzing the impact of their actions, and willing and able to change their approach in the event that the results do not match with their intent. (Someone is always going to hold power, by the way - we don't get to actually live in a "balanced" or power-neutral world.)

The area of intent is where you get your "moral monsters" - those who walk over other people or cultures to get what they want. They are the obvious examples of terrible things, and everyone can name at least one Terrible Person who has willfully harmed others to advance themselves. The area of application, however, is where I think the most harm actually gets done. We like to feel good about ourselves, and often make the mistake of believing that because we have good ideas or intentions, that we are helping others. As a friend of mine says, we front-load our help, looking at how our plans should benefit people, without taking a hard look at what those actions are really doing. One example I have heard personal testimony about are the education of Native American tribes. While, ostensibly, the goal was to help the tribes "get up to speed" with Western culture,* the actual effect of much of this education was to separate the tribal culture from their language and heritage, causing substantial fractures in their identity and sense of ability. The government may have thought it was doing good, but the actually effect was really quite terrible.

So to sum up, I do believe that controlling persons or groups is necessary for social order and development, but it has to be done very carefully. With this in mind, allow me to clarify my concept of cultural suppression. Cultural suppression is the control of one culture by another culture in such a way as to suppress the identity and ability of the controlled culture, resulting in fractured identity, loss of perceived ability and worth, and dependence on the suppressing culture. This does not necessarily overlap with other definitions of suppression (suppressing fire, suppression of crime, fire suppression, etc.). Yes, this is a complicated concept, but since when was life actually simple? As noted, our drive for simplistic explanations and actions are part of the reason we see so much damage in our global society today.

Busy Week

I have had a lot going on this week, but proportionally not as much in the IRI department. With the trip to Alaska cancelled, I am in the process of reorganizing my schedule and helping some friends (who are moving). It isn't terribly exciting, but it is very much a part of life. I am planning another Incoming Insight before the end of the month.

In other news, Inside Out is great. If you can, go see it - it covers the impact of change and stress in a creative, entertaining way. How Pixar manages to keep producing creative films this frequently is beyond me, but they are doing a bang-up job. Go to the movie - take the kids (it is ostensibly for them, after all) and have fun...and possibly try not to cry (it is Pixar).

Trip Preparations and Changes

It appears I get another schedule change. I will no longer be going to Alaska this year - the meeting was postponed for scheduling and financial reasons, but is being rescheduled for next year. I will be heading to Mozambique and South Africa, however. I am still working on the details, but it appears I will be heading over mid-July and staying for at least a month or more. Of course, procedures for getting a visa for Moz. have changed, so I also have to figure out how to get the visa so I can get there. It's things like this that keep life interesting.

Insight Into Suppression - Stage 5: Recovery (?)

Previous Article - Stage 4: Rebellion

Stage 5:

Freedom!!! The Culture has achieved freedom from The Suppressor, and is now back to managing its own affairs. Now the recovery can begin...or can it? As you may have noticed, the illustration for Stage 4 and Stage 5 is identical. The problem with habits is that they are stubborn. They are born not of reason, but of action, and like it or not, the actions of The Culture for a long time now have been actions of suppression. Thus, the habits of The Culture, conscious or unconscious, physical of mental, are still habits of suppression. While The Culture is free, they remain suppressed. This creates an incredible tension in The Culture. The expectation is freedom, but it doesn't take long for The Culture to realize that suppression is still ongoing. Since The Culture still has habits of suppression, it still feels suppressed, which may feed the resentment for The Suppressor that is already (justifiably) feels. Thus, one of the most frequent outcomes of ending suppression is...more suppression, as The Culture proceeds to suppress The Suppressor, out of feelings of anger, resentment, vengeance, and the lingering sense of suppression felt by The Culture.

Note that The Culture feels suppressed because, in terms of habits (mental and perhaps physical) it still is suppressed. This does not mean The Suppressor is still suppressing The Culture - it may still be doing so (after all, The Suppressor will have gained habits of being a suppressor as The Culture gained habits of being suppressed), but that isn't required. The Suppressor may want The Culture to develop - but no matter what they do, The Suppressor and The Culture seem to quickly fall back into old patterns. Thus, the two groups find reconciliation and a true end to the cycle of suppression incredibly hard to find. The truth is, they are both trapped, and the chances of escape are minimal until the underlying habits of suppression (for both sides) are addressed. Only then can each side reestablish an identity free from suppression and begin to live at peace - both with each other, and with themselves.

This change, however, is not easy - habits are often hard to identify as such, especially mental habits, and even harder to change. In order for The Culture (and The Suppressor, for that matter) to truly find its way out of suppression, it must first regain its ability to think through and understand its situation (A). Unfortunately, at this point, The Culture's thinking has become strongly based on action (traditions, for example) and established relationships (BC), and comprehension (A) has nearly been lost (they are currently BC...a, as noted previously). To overcome the legacy of suppression, then, The Culture must recover its understanding (A), and apply that understanding to its situation in a way that allows old habits to be discovered and addressed, and new habits to be built not on suppression, but freedom and understanding, without resentment or old pain clouding their judgement.

This is how IRI attempts to help people - by providing that (A) that allows them to recover their identity and understanding, and create a new habit of life free from the old habits of suppression, fear, and pain. We do this because it is needed - the world cannot become a better place is people are stuck in destructive habits. We do it because we believe God wants people to become the best they can, and desires servants who understand what they are doing instead of following blindly. Most of all, though, we do it because it is the right thing to do.

Insight Into Suppression - Stage 4: Rebellion

Previous Article - Stage 3: The Culture of Dependence

Stage 4:

Well, it seems The Culture is finally fed up with being suppressed. Can't blame them - being suppressed is really bad for you (as is suppressing others, but that's a different discussion). Thus, The Culture rebels, driving The Suppressor out, and taking back their culture/city/homeland/etc. In most cases, remnants of The Suppressor are, themselves, suppressed (which is bad - more on that next time), and control of The Culture is rightly placed back in the hands of The Culture. Unfortunately, habits being what they are, The Culture has not escaped unscathed. With the exception of throwing off obedience, it still has all the habits that were introduced while under suppression, including the surrender of its identity. The Suppressor, however, is no longer there to provide the ceded identity and understanding, so The Culture now has no identity to speak of - it is adrift, and no longer understands its place in the world. In response, The Culture is likely to fall back to known traditions and relationships within the culture, even while its understanding continues to dwindle (BC...a).

Next Up - Stage 5: Recovery (?)

Insight Into Suppression - Stage 3: The Culture of Dependence

Previous Article - Stage 2: Establishing a Culture of Suppression

Stage 3:

At this point, the suppression of The Culture is complete. Obedience to The Suppressor has become habit, and The Culture is now dependent on The Suppressor for its identity, purpose, and direction. This is true even if The Culture hates The Suppressor and everything The Suppressor is doing. Habits are not reasonable - they do not require justification, only repetition, to establish. The repeated pattern of (forced) obedience creates a tendency toward obedience, even while The Culture seethes with resentment over the treatment it is receiving. This is a nasty situation, and one that eventually will blow up for The Suppressor. In the meantime, however, The Culture has, intentionally or not, ceded its understanding and identity to The Suppressor, and is now running mostly on obedience, tradition, and relationships (BCa).

Next Up - Stage 4: Rebellion

Insight Into Suppression - Stage 2: Establishing a Culture of Suppression

Previous Article: Insight Into Suppression

Stage 2:

Now the suppression of The Culture is truly underway. With local resistance and troublesome traditions (at least temporarily) eliminated, The Suppressor now controls the understanding and the actions of The Culture. At this point, the only internally initiated actions taken by The Culture are some of the surviving traditions (if The Suppressor didn't wipe out all of them), and the relationships within The Culture. At this point, The Culture is resigned to suppression - it may not be good, but it is just how life is. The Culture begins to lose its understanding of itself, as this is being overshadowed by The Suppressor's culture and understanding. Thus, The Culture's cognition slips from ABC to BaC, with the commands and requirements of The Suppressor coming first, and reason only being used to justify the commands. This stage is transitory, however, as acceptance quickly turns into habit.

Next Up: The Culture of Dependence

Insight Into Suppression: The TLDR Version

So my last post on suppression was a rather long story. While I enjoyed writing it, I wanted to make a more illustrated explanation of the impact of suppression, as we at IRI currently understand it. To make this a bit easier to digest, I am going to spread the illustrations out over the course of this week - one post a day, Monday-Friday. Since I also have a pre-suppression stage, today will be a double-long post.

Stage 0: Pre-Suppression

This is the culture before it is suppressed. In this case, we will assume the culture is a conceptually advanced, independent, self-directing culture. It's a healthy community that is growing and developing and perfectly capable of managing itself. It has a direct connection between what it understands about itself and it's activities and relationships. Good stuff.

Stage 1: Introduction of Suppression

Now we have a new player enter the picture. This group (which I will call The Suppressor from now on) takes over the general operation (including education) of the suppressed group (which I will call The Culture henceforward). The Culture still retains its old understanding of itself, but is now forced to comply with the wishes of The Suppressor. This means The Culture's identity will also be impacted, since part of that identity has changed from an independent culture to a subordinate one. The Suppressor may initiate additional changes to The Culture's identity, since The Suppressor is now in charge of The Culture's education to a large degree.

Next Up - Stage 2: Establishing a Culture of Suppression

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

So it appears there will be some rearranging of schedules for IRI over the next few months. As a result, I will still be going to Alaska, but after that I may be heading off to Mozambique for a few months to document the work being done there and encourage our partners in the area. The plans are still in flux, so I don't have specifics yet, but this summer suddenly got much more interesting. Stay tuned, and I will try to keep people posted on everything that's happening.