The Power of Cruelty
We’re living in a cruel season—unlike any I’ve ever lived through. The headlines abound with stories of the powerful inflicting great cruelty upon those caught in their crosshairs. Where once it might have seemed merely to be the unintended byproduct of a blind, faceless, and inflexible bureaucracy (from a privileged perspective anyway), cruelty is now being used as a strategy in and of itself. The cruelty of today is blatant, overt, shameless, and unapologetic. The cruelty of today is a tool.
Upon reflection, I can see that cruelty has been used throughout
history in this way. My own naivete that our society might have moved beyond it
was likely due to my coming of age as a member of the dominant culture after
the Civil Rights Era ushered in a certain semblance of decency and respect for
human rights. What was lynching, after all, but a cruel and terrorizing show of
force to warn others to “stay in their place.” What were the whippings and
mutilations of recaptured enslaved individuals but a cruel and terrorizing spectacle
to prevent others from “getting any ideas.”
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| Leg shackle reportedly cut from an enslaved woman. |
The cruelty of today is similarly calculated and utilitarian.
Cruelty is not merely an indication of the ruthlessness or moral and spiritual
deficit of those in power, it is in fact a tool that enables the perpetrator to
wield power with expediency and efficiency. Cruelty creates fear which discourages
opposition and encourages preemptive compliance. Cruelty is not merely the
result of power wielded by depraved individuals; cruelty allows the depraved to
wield more power than they could otherwise.
How many people have been silenced from speaking out against
the shirking of our due-process responsibility out of fear that they too may be
deported? How many citizens, likewise, have been silenced by the fear that an
administration that can act with such cruelty may try to deport them as well?
How many of our Congresspeople and potential whistleblowers have been silenced
by the specter of a cruel and vindictive administration releasing their
personal information and siccing their cruel mob upon them?
Yes, I’ve been thinking a lot about cruelty these days, for
obvious reasons and some not so obvious. My mother and father-in-law traveled
quite a bit on behalf of the Christian Church—much of it in Africa, and all of
it at the invitation of people living there. It was a remarkable time of life
for them, and they collected many souvenirs of their rich experiences: carvings,
woven baskets, maps, posters, photos, etc.
Regular readers here will know that my mother-in-law passed
away just over a year ago. Shortly thereafter, in preparation for his move to
smaller quarters, my father-in-law began dispersing many of their
once-treasured belongings. While most of the artifacts of their life together are
positive and uplifting in nature, at least one of them carries with it a story
of untold cruelty and suffering. I’m speaking of a cast bronze shackle that looks
as though it has been chiseled from an enslaved person’s leg.
Indeed, that is precisely the story that had been passed
down as the shackle changed hands. It had once confined a woman. But who she
was and what ultimately became of her are points of fact lost in time.
Nonetheless, we can infer at least something of what she must have endured,
because we’re seeing it happen today.
Mothers are being ripped from their children. Loved ones are
being torn from their spouses. Innocent travelers are being held, confused, for
days on end before learning their fate. Students and researchers are being forced
to abandon their work without warning. People are being shipped about the
country in order to keep them disoriented and without support. Some are ending
up in a prison in El Salvador that is indistinguishable from a modern-day
concentration camp. Yes, we’re seeing something of what that enslaved woman
must have experienced. It’s happening as we speak.
So, will we allow this cruelty to leave us cowering in
silence? That is what those in power would like. Worse yet, will we allow such
cruelty to become us? Will we cheer it on or amplify it? Will we wear it as a
fashion statement to prove our tribal affiliation? Will we begin treating
others cruelly ourselves because that’s what the tribe says we should do? I
wish I had perfect confidence that all was going to end well. But I do have a
shackle sitting on my shelf reminding me what’s at stake.
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This post is in the Power, Practice, and Peace series.
Find a running list of all posts in this series by clicking here.
Images
Courtesy of the author.
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