The Emergence Network reposted this
Does the notion of care sometimes arrive with the invisible structures of harm? I discovered that Steve Bannon drew his inspiration from George Soros in a Natalia Antaleva piece for Coda Story. It appears Bannon modelled Soros's cadre-based structure of philanthropy and attempted to replicate it. Which reminded me that the grassroots building of right-wing politics in India was also modelled on the missionary structure -- get to all aspects of the village social life, start young by setting up schools and change textbooks to reflect ideology, have large faith gatherings, teach natural farming practice to farmers, support women and elderly. Reach out to adivasis and shape their faith practices. Be there in crisis. Decades of work. The social "dividend" is converted to a political and economic dividend. In the Bayo Akomalafe's session "curapoetics" in the Becoming Monster festival of Emergence Network, he questions the existing understanding of Care. Care, he nudges, is not a pre-relational determinant. It is, instead, an emergent phenomena within a relationship held in integrity. He reflected on how harm co-exists with external assertions of care and that coloniality may continue through it, re-imprisoning folks in new ways. He calls it plantation-care. In the movie "The Settlers" by Chilean director Felipe Galvez, mestiza Segundo recounts the horrors of deceit and violence perpetrated by the settlers on the indigenous population to a Chilean Government official who is there on a mission of Justice for the Natives. After the witnessing is over, Segundo and his wife Rosa are forced to attire in the "civilised" European clothes and drink tea for the camera. Rosa defies. The official insists, "Don't you want to be part of the nation?" Cancel culture is another version of this, a way to monoculture what care should be. In a world that is more interested in how-to achieve pre-decided outcomes, of structures and boxes instead of processes, maybe the thrust ought not to be the nominalisation "Care," but our ability to deep attend with what Otto Scharmer calls "Open Mind Open Heart Open Will" that is important. Interested in your thoughts... 💭 #weaveourlightstogether #thelightweavers #earthcoach #earthcentred #ecology #emergence