by m. mayuran tiruchelvam

The American State is looking for its penis. To do so, it has traveled across the globe to exert its failing masculinity on the little kid in the big patriarchal clubhouse. While we might yearn for a less violent and militaristic era – it is important to remember that “manliness” has been entwined with the American identity from day one.

Some two hundred and twenty-five years ago, a few blokes got together and started a little scheme we now call the United States of America. They made it clear that all men were created equal, by swiftly kicking out their oppressive colonial masters, establishing the so-called meritocracy, and setting up a fine set of institutions to keep women, the poor, and people of color out of the power. The “Founding Fathers” are the first in the proud tradition of America’s institutionally male organizations (preceded perhaps by the ubiquitous Freemasons).

I am of the opinion that the current military actions of the State have as much to do with the recent tragedies as with a collective crisis of White-Western emasculation. Power in this world is still judged on a masculine scale – might means right. In this framework, other governments are expected to emulate the West with patriarchal interpretations of nationalism, culture, government, and most importantly, the market. Through that lens certain theocratic fascists of the Third World have gotten a bit too big for the britches that the West sewed for them. They decided not to give the State a little piece of the pie.

Enough with the baseless criticism, you say. America is liberating Afghanistan from an oppressive regime. Certainly this is a chivalrous mission – for we must save the poor brown women from the cruelly barbaric brown men (a recurring theme in the racialized history of US militarism - when they’re of color we call them “Evil Monsters,” when they’re white we call them “Mr. President.”). If the American State had any real interest in dismantling patriarchal apartheid, why not turn an eye towards our oil rich “friends” in Saudi Arabia, who officially practice the same ultra-puritanical interpretation of Islam as the Taliban.

This crisis of masculinity has transformed America into something much like “Fight Club.” Manhood is regained and upheld by exerting dominance over those who aren’t straight and male. After all, if we have nothing else, we still have our phallus to prove our worth. I can see this defensive mechanism of manhood in the rash of hate crimes around our nation in the wake of September 11, as well as an increase in verbal and physical assaults. Several of my friends in the City have been beaten up over the past few weeks – a race related mugging of a South Asian man and an assault against two queer dykes over a meaningless altercation.

Recently incidents on campus have become increasingly violent. On Home Avenue, Public Safety officers had bottles thrown at them by rowdy partygoers. The sukkah was wantonly destroyed simply because someone had no better way to vent. Eight to ten white dudes attacked two students of color, whom they referred to as “faggots,” in the lobby of Hi-Rise. Fraternity initiates in costume were heard joking “We’re taking back the night” as they walked through the Science Tower, only one evening after the U.S. began its own “taking back” of a different sort in Afghanistan. While the motivation behind these destructive behaviors is unclear - these actions can be interpreted as sexist, homophobic, racist, and anti-semitic - the common theme is the exertion of masculine frustration through violence.

A digression: You may ask what is violent about the frat initiation incident. By making such statements during the initiation, even in “jest,” men are verbally assaulting space that has been reclaimed from them to empower victims of sexual violence. The percentage of Wes women surveyed last spring that witnessed and/or were victims of a sexual assault at a fraternity party was 44%. This statistic does not mean that the perpetrators of the alleged assaults were fraternity members, but rather that the inherently oppressive fraternity space is an environment where people feel that such behavior is acceptable and invisible.

We used to be able to pretend that Wesleyan was relatively free of violence. Given the rash of incidents cited, I dare not make such claims of safety any longer. While we advocate for peace abroad, members of the campus are releasing their own aggression onto our community. For this we are all collectively responsible. We have allowed an environment of terror to emerge on our very own campus, under the pretext of being unable to deal with our problems due to our communal pain. When a man makes it unsafe for women to walk on this campus – that’s terror. When a student is sent to the hospital after being attacked in a residence hall – that’s terror. When a space promoting multicultural understanding is violated – that too is terror.

Oppression is not simply overt acts of individual intolerance. Institutions that value the dominant groups in our society and exclude others are inherently oppressive. As subjugated peoples continue to voice themselves, the patriarchy becomes more and more alienated. It feels its firm grip on the scepter of power slipping. Its reaction is to lash out or disengage. In the past few weeks, we have seen subtle and overt manifestations of both methods.

In order to heal these gaping wounds, we should not pass up any opportunity to be educated about how we might create a less oppressive world. There may be disagreement on the methods of change. Some may even believe change is unnecessary, but if terror can crack through the so-called bubble of Wesleyan, then preserving the status quo is dangerous. Of course, one can ignore the problem. One can continue to work for those “tangible” rewards – the degree, the nice job, the safety of what is known. But the era for radical transformation in our society is fast approaching, perhaps not in my lifetime, but soon. These institutions and those who support them must be willing to adapt or face extinction.