Yesterday I was emailing with a friend who’s been studying MOVE for decades and he raised points that helped me think in some useful ways. In this piece, I’ll be reflecting on the thoughts his perspective generated for me, so I may not be presenting his points perfectly. The first thing that his writing reminded me of is how useful MOVE’s way of thinking can be at first encounter. For me, I met MOVE at the same time that I was discovering the anarchist ideals of punk rock and, from a distance, MOVE seemed to provide some very useful and creative ways of embodying those principles. Like many, the friend I was emailing with has never become a close MOVE supporter, and for him, MOVE’s ideas have continued to bear fruit and inspiration, even though he has long been aware of some very serious problems (though he was not aware of even a small percentage of the hidden reality).
The version of MOVE that I fell in love with was the one that Mumia writes so beautifully about in “Death Blossoms”. I still really wish that organization existed. The thought of a group of people, predominantly people of color, living an intentionally simple, communal life is still inspiring to me. A group that is not united solely by race, but is uncompromisingly pro-Black, and stands in stark opposition to the dominant culture is still beautiful. Thinking of a collective of these people rising up against the brutality of Mayor Rizzo’s police force is beyond compelling. A group who rejects the drugs and alcohol so prevalent in many of their backgrounds eschews all modern conveniences and embraces a diet of simple raw vegetables and vigorous exercise-- the imagery has an almost mythological force. When you add in the mystique of the man who came to be known as John Africa the package is complete.
The values that draw most people to MOVE are generally healthy values. Many gravitate to MOVE out of empathy, concern for the environment, animal rights, or in opposition to a racist criminal justice system. Most people seek out MOVE because they have an interest in justice. I maintain that the values that pulled me toward MOVE are the same values that have put me in this current awkward position. I’ve thought a lot about why so many of these groups that start out with such good intentions soon become a twisted caricature that embodies the very ills of the system it claims to oppose (Nietzsche’s warning about the danger of fighting monsters is applicable). There are many reasons for this, one of which is that these groups tend to attract a high percentage of empaths and people-pleasers who have no defense against narcissists and psychopaths. However, that’s a topic for another post. The thing I’d like to focus on most specifically today is the problem of the reification of “the group who has all of the answers to save the world” and “The System.”
When first encountering MOVE, initially it appears that the system they are referring to is the interdependent network of the government, military, police, corporations, and other institutions. However, as one travels deeper into MOVE they realize that MOVE’s conception of the system is everything that is not MOVE. In the early days of MOVE, most of the targets for the first protests had nothing to do with what most people think of as the system; most of those targets were other activist groups or speakers who were working around the same issues that MOVE purported to be able to solve. There are a variety of reasons why I believe this strategy changed. One is that I think that Pam Africa actually believes in organizing people for revolutionary social change, and is a very skilled organizer. And the other, likely Alberta’s reasoning, is that isolating yourself by alienating every other activist group is not a very lucrative business.
Despite the political organizing and all of the rhetoric about unity, the inner teachings— the teachings of John Africa— are that MOVE’s way is the only way. This is another example of how the rhetoric used by MOVE towards outsiders and how MOVE Law is taught within the group are in stark opposition. Within MOVE, John Africa is viewed as the perfect being. Everything he ever said and did was righteous and true. This standard of perfection, and the unquestionable teachings he left behind, make a very effective weapon that Alberta and Ria (Sue) wield brilliantly. This is because the binary between MOVE and the System also runs right down the center of MOVE, and the line can be moved by whoever holds power.
Within MOVE this weapon is applied through “meetings” which can occur at any time and in practice can only be called by a more powerful member on someone with less power. Once a meeting is called the individual the meeting is called on is in the hot seat, often for many hours, sometimes overnight, and some have been known to last for many days. Typically most of the participants in the meeting are following the lead of the alpha in the room (if Ria or Bert are present then people follow their lead) and point out all of the ways that the subject of the meeting is “violating” (MOVE’s word for sin). The claim is that these meetings are for correction, to point out systematic training in members so that it can be weeded out, but these meetings are clearly a method of control and of exerting force by those in power in order to keep other members in check. Because everyone in the group is in fear of having the meeting turn on them they typically go along with the direction the alpha pushes the meeting in no matter how cruel and humiliating it becomes. A long and severe meeting can be called on a lower member for something as simple as forgetting to lock the front door (by doing so that member was actually subconsciously trying to get Alberta killed), while gross violations of MOVE’s belief by the leadership are completely ignored.
For MOVE’s leadership, it’s incredibly easy to find an excuse to call a meeting on someone because every single human activity can be framed so that it is a violation. This is because simply being human is a violation. One person who was born in MOVE (who is also defecting but is not comfortable doing so publicly yet) has brilliantly described that for John Africa the root of violation is human consciousness itself. According to John Africa, the ability to think about two possibilities, to imagine a reality that is not the one in front of you and make a choice based on that thinking, is the origin of mankind’s departure from nature. Because of this, thinking itself is a violation. MOVE members are supposed to be working towards following their instincts, which are conveniently whatever Alberta and Ria say they are. Once this thought-stopping idea has been accepted then the enemy to be fought is your own prefrontal cortex. The enemy is within, and MOVE Law is the only thing that can fight it.
The firm dichotomy between MOVE and the system means that anything that is done against a MOVE person (who is powerful enough in the group for others to care) can be used to mobilize the whole force of MOVE against the responsible party as an avatar of the entire system. This is how John Gilbride was transformed from a father seeking custody of his son to a justifiable target in a war. This is also why the neighbors on Osage Avenue were acceptable targets for threats of violence and physical and verbal assault. Anyone acting against the interests of MOVE, no matter what those interests are, is the system and can be treated as such. This is all according to the logic that MOVE and the System are in fierce opposition, so anything that is not MOVE must be the system.
This psychological maneuver is woven deeply into the Guidelines (MOVE’s scriptures) which set the standard for acceptable thought patterns within the group. Because everything outside of MOVE is the system, everything outside of MOVE can be categorized as being on the same level as the worst atrocities that have ever been committed. If one is questioning MOVE Law then they are siding with the same force that was behind the Holocaust, slavery, and nuclear bombs. Any corruption or hypocrisy within MOVE is treated as part of a process that will lead to purification, but any actions by “system people” (anyone who is not in MOVE) are implicitly linked to every horrific thing that has ever occurred. Once this way of thinking is accepted it becomes nearly impossible to think your way out of it. After all, why would you want to go into the same system that is responsible for the slaughter of indigenous peoples? The difficulty of escaping from this thought trap makes the survivors coming forward publicly right now even more incredible.
In the email exchange I mentioned above my friend pointed out, correctly in my view, that labeling some groups as destructive cults reinforces its own type of binary thinking. He then went through the list of the six most common reasons people become stuck in cults from my post the other day and rewrote my list using the example of our dominant consumer culture. I have to admit that he made some very good points and that there are aspects of cult-like control in many of the establishment institutions such as the military, patriotism, institutional religions, etc. He expressed concern that many of the anti-cult groups often have a bias and a blindspot towards establishment institutions, and that many former cult members make anti-cult work their identity in the same unhealthy way that they embraced their cult identity (I am very aware of this risk).
The word “cult” is a powerful tool. Cults often develop their own nuances of language, and language within these groups is used as a means of control. As one has worked hard to free themselves from a group like this, understanding that it is a cult, and using the word, is like an incantation that takes some of the power of the group away. As one begins to see that the patterns of the group are not unique to the group but fit into a metapattern, that of a cult, then the control techniques of the group diminish and one no longer feels so alone in that experience. I know that that was my experience at least. There are many traps and pitfalls on that path as well and I agree that one must be careful not to make an obsession with exposing cults the new cult.
It’s also important to recognize that many of these control patterns run on a spectrum within most of our institutions. It’s easy when leaving a group such as MOVE to become very comfortable with the status quo because it feels safe in comparison to the abuse suffered within the group. However, I do believe that it’s possible to hold all of these things in a kind of beautiful tension. One can see that MOVE is not what it claims to be, move on, and still have the same criticisms of the dominant culture that led them to MOVE in the first place. Just because MOVE isn’t the solution doesn’t mean that the question was invalid.
Along these lines of thought I’ve also heard from those who say “Why are you dividing the movement? Even if MOVE is as bad as you claim, that pales in comparison to ‘fill in the blank atrocity’ that’s being committed right now by ‘fill in the blank perpetrator.’” Though what has gone on in MOVE for nearly 50 years is absolutely horrific, that is very true, there are certainly worse atrocities happening around the world right now. However, I know and love the people who have been most harmed in this situation. I was deeply affected by the manipulation within MOVE; so was my wife, Maiga, and our marriage. This is important to me because it affects me very deeply emotionally. This is not about political movements or abstract ideals. This is about incredible people who have experienced immense amounts of pain and trauma that was justified by an abstract cause. I believe political movements that have supported the romantic vision of MOVE owe it to the children born into MOVE to struggle through the discomfort of working through this complicated reality.
Without the binary thinking that the mythology of MOVE was built upon, the entire thing comes apart. In the last year, MOVE has received more positive press than at any other point in its history (here are just a few examples: mural, city apology, Guardian articles, the commemoration of Consuewella). Due to the political pressure of the Black Lives Matter movement Philadelphia city officials and media outlets have been clamoring to present MOVE in a positive light. If this trend had continued this may have actually been the thing that finally did MOVE in after nearly 50 years. After all, if MOVE is accepted by the system then it loses the force it builds its power against.
I’m also painfully aware that by proposing a counter-narrative to the MOVE version of history there is the potential for us (all of the MOVE members and supporters who are leaving, myself and my wife Maiga, and Beth McNamara and Bob Helms of the “Murder at Ryan’s Run Podcast) to strengthen MOVE by providing a target for opposition. There is a danger that in opposing MOVE we could become just the villains they need to regain their strength. Even if this were the unfortunate case, I think that what is being done must still occur because people often need to speak their truth and tell their story in order to heal. I also don’t believe that MOVE itself even exists as a cohesive force anymore. In the last few years the internal corruption, backstabbing, and manipulation have caused most members to distance themselves from Ria and Bert, even if they prefer not to do so publicly.
The main reason I’m hoping that what I’m taking part in now doesn’t simply reinforce the binary and strengthen MOVE is that I hope we can all hold enough nuance to not make them the “other” that is responsible for all of the evil in the world. Emotionally, this is not an easy thing to do. As I’ve learned more about what Ria and Bert have done in order to keep their power and control, and I think about how many people were complicit through silence (or worse), it makes me incredibly angry, sad, and disappointed. It’s tempting to begin to see them as some sort of caricatured super villains. It really feels safer that way. However, that does nothing to protect us. What has happened within MOVE; the child abuse, the harassment campaign against John and the Gilbride family (and possibly the murder), the threats and psychological torture of members, is tragic and devastating. It’s tempting to distance ourselves by making it simple. But none of this is simple. If we can try to follow these threads wherever they lead, while holding firmly to the values that led us down this path in the first place, I think we can get to a place where these tensions are resolved and healing can begin.
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