Thread by @trollhuntress

The crisis we are experiencing today was probably inevitable. This has been in the works since the founding of this nation.

It has to do with power, who gets it. and why.
Considering how we got here can show us how to get out.

Thread

1. Many of us see that Trump as a tyrant and unfit for office in every way, yet his supporters honestly see him as a true leader. They forgive his abuses yet will spend billions to stop a brown person from doing the same.
Why? The unhealthy hierarchy.

2. As a social species hierarchy is part of life and affects all of us.
However, while hierarchy itself isn't bad (someone has to teach the dog to pee outside) who gets the power and how they treat others once they have it determines if it's a healthy or unhealthy system.

3. In a healthy power system (incl. family, tribe, business) the wise & capable rise to leadership positions. These people are strong but compassionate, good communicators and listeners. They share power with other capable ppl to make decisions that are best for the whole group

4. An unhealthy system is power via abuse. The hierarchy is determined and maintained by abuse. Those capable of the most abuse are at the top. All other positions are chosen by them.
It is not merit that determines power, but power that determines merit & then seizes more power

5. Dominance and bullying are key in this system. Rape is key in this system. Can a master get away with raping his slaves, but a slave who rapes his mistress get a county wide lynching? That society doesn't care about rape, it's a system of hierarchy via abuse preserving itself

6. How does abuse maintain itself? Have you ever felt a sense of outrage when a child or pet defied you? This is a natural hierarchical reaction. What you do in that moment in response will depend both on what was done to you and how much introspection and healing you have done.

7. The writers of the constitution came from a unhealthy hierarchy and were trying to escape the cycle of power by birth, station and wealth, maintained by abuse. They made the constitution to artificially create a healthy system for a people who were born into an unhealthy one.

8. Prior to this, they knew healthy systems often fell to tyrants who seized power. When abusers take power the first thing they do is encourage widespread abuse especially of resistors, to beat, rape, imprison and "break" them into the new unhealthy hierarchy

9. The Constitutional system of Democracy was radical because it fostered a healthy system when correctly implemented. It encouraged the rise of people with merit who then make decisions that create a better society for all. The society itself then begins to heal.

10. The founders had a vision of reforming hierarchy for the better, but were blind to the abuse they came from and upheld against natives, blacks, women and children. However, the document they wrote when implemented slowly began to change that.

11. By slowly reducing various levels of tyranny the whole country became healthier and more capable of recognizing abuse. Companies, institutions, and the wealthy ideally got in trouble when they abused power, and eventually so did slave masters and husbands.

12. But it was far from perfect. Hierarchy is so intrinsic and automatic that it is often missed by those participating in it and bias is dismissed because to those within the same system the bias is as invisible as water to a fish.

13. Hierarchy is part of identity and affects what people aspire to in life and how confident and powerful they feel. In a hierarchy of abuse a rape will "put someone in their place" but in a healthy system the same rape will put the rapist lower in the system.

14. Truly healthy people don't abuse others or the environment when faced with a hierarchical situation, and neither do healthy societies. They learn to enforce healthy leadership and fair rules without destroying souls. They perpetuate and instill health in their citizenry.

15. I believe we are faced with this crisis today because everytime we become healthier on an issue we create a new tipping point for society. In fact we "tipped" with Obama, a good, capable man who was outside of the old hierarchy on every level except "male".

16. The backlash is Trump. A man who is a perfect abuser. His supporters see him as a leader because he actually represents the pinnacle of an abusive hierarchy they are part of. He makes them feel safe. They think he speaks the truth because what he says maintains their system.

17. It is helpful to recognize that many Trump supporters have an invisible system around and within them that originates with age old abuse, but also that just a few generations ago many more were stuck in that system. Back then a Trump wasn't electable because there were others

18. Who weren't as crazy or incompetent but still just as bigoted. But now he won as the last best hope of pure bigotry on an ever shrinking field. His election has jolted many sleepers awake. Many are noticing the water around them, and changing it.

19 Trump's base isn't getting smaller and won't, but the # of us who understand a healthier society are getting bigger, and the next generation is even better at this than we are.
When we are healthy and we keep educating, informing, & loving others we will win.
#TuesdayThoughts