The dominant narrative involves three components when it comes to human relationships. First, it demands the right to control whomever it deems worthy of needing constant interference. Second, it demands the right to control the perception of those it deems worthy of constant interference. Finally, it demands the right to a stellar reputation, regardless of what that control/interference might entail. Not nearly enough people question why people feel entitled to both control others and the narrative, and this is one of the reasons that chaos is beginning to descend on the empire, including the wealthy.
People will humanize abusers but never humanize targets, and they are surprised that bullying has become rampant and that “civility” is a thing of “the past.” Every time I hear that “civility” no longer exists, I see the person as demanding the right to control someone else’s behavior without being honest about it. Those who coerce millions to behave a certain way will always be justified as “products of their time” or “set in their ways,” but those who are affected by those individuals and object to that behavior are seen as “not being compassionate enough.” I have seen very little recognition that time marches forward, and those who refuse to move forward with it deserve disengagement and general isolation. Someone can stay mired in the past and in their feelings, but everyone on the planet is not required to stay there with them.
Furthermore, there is a constant misrepresentation of “freedom” within the imperial United States. Obviously, way too many white people believe that they have the unmitigated “freedom” to harass and target whoever they want whenever they want without ever reaping any consequences, or losing their positive reputations. “Free speech” is not consistently seen as the right to challenge the dominant narrative, but as something to uphold against marginalized people, perpetuating and strengthening the control that makes oppressed life unbearable. Consequently, “freedom” is interpreted by most non-white people as the freedom to be left alone without constant interference, which is never seen as a right by the beneficiaries and sycophants. This is why true liberation is seen as the right to life as one defines it, often within cultural understanding and in a way that guarantees the continuation of the socioecosystem.
Basically, the dominant narrative maintains a general failure to acknowledge that the right to control is not real, and that harassing people without cessation is a path to destruction. Nobody is required to stay stuck with people who abuse them, and there is no time in history that one is allowed to live in that gives them the right to existence without responsibility. People have stopped being tolerant of those who cannot get their minds around the concept of “No,” and there will not be any more coddling. Maybe their time would be better spent if they spend their time learning to control themselves instead of others. As someone close to me has said, “The party’s moving on, whether you’re there or not.”
Chasing A Dying Empire 