structural violence, narrative control, identity, and purpose

While it is no secret structural violence exists, this paper attempts to lay out more explicitly what it is, how it can be perceived, how it can be controlled by the ruling global oligarchies, and how it can sap both individual liberty and communal solidarity. In addition, this paper seeks to address the role imposed narratives play on the individual level, perhaps removing individual liberty and autonomy from those who have the least control over their narratives. This paper is divided into five sections; the first defining structural violence, the second defining narrative, third identity, the fourth purpose and the fifth bringing them together, effectively illustrating their arc.

Structural Violence

The most commonly accepted definition of structural violence belongs within the family of the early sociological/ economic thought of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Herbert Mead, and Max Weber. Communism, socialism, functionalism and symbolic interactionist theories richly come into play. Much research, thought structures, economic and political systems have risen from these genesises with the conceptions within contemporary society very much relying upon their footing. It is true Thomas Moore wrote on egalitarianism and Machiavelli on political realism, but these were written generally, and weren’t clearly defined and understood as structured applicable theories, even though the framed understandings of society were headed in that direction and used much of what was written. It was when Marx, Durkheim and Weber built off of those theories and gathered further philosophical evidence to support their arguments that they took hold. Structural violence, according to Johaan Galtung, is a direct, cultural and structural triangle. None of which can be divided from another. Structural violence includes racism, sexism, heterosexism, poverty, income inequality and much more. Galtung also claims that working toward positive peace is the aim of addressing structural inequities and achieving social justice. In order to understand structural violence, however, one needs to understand Thomas Boudreau’s assertion of human agencies in opposition; which state, that in the struggle for resources, the “social imprints” left cause further social struggles among the defeated and victor alike. It is in these conflicting systems of economies, status, power, race, gender and sex that structural violence is found. For in the robbing any individual or group of their fullest development, we find structural violence. In current economies, the systems in place have erected an oligarchical structure masked as meritocratic structure, providing resources and opportunities to the haves, whilst creating boundaries, both physical and abstract, for those who do not. These limiters dam the very ability of individuals and micro-cultures to act for their own benefits. This creates further power struggles within the individual psyche, as well as within regard to gaining access to the very means the underprivileged need to take care of themselves and their families. Both are forms of severe structural violence, and both are debilitating.

Often times, the effects of structural violence are hard to see, due to their being shaded under the trees of political affiliation, economic doctrines and privileged enculturation.

In fact, According to Ian Bremmer, the new state-capitalism that has risen since the great recession, is more closely aligned with the nationalism of old (also tied within oligarchical systems of oppression), where nation-states use capitalist mechanisms to fill coffers and wield power. Brewer names this guarded globalization. In this schema all companies are potential national interests and must be used for the national benefit. With companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Patagonia and many more, these companies become power players in world affairs, giving the countries they originate from a very big stick. Also within the current climate, it is proposed by Bremmer that markets and once-international companies are tempted more than ever to stay within their own borders, only venturing out at the behest (or in the form of subisdies) of their nation-patron. This behaviour leads to micro-markets. Which, Alex Pentland, out of MIT, and author of Social Physics, states is how the vast majority of economies run anyway; face to face. But in staying within their borders, as Brewer purports, these companies only ebb outside the flow of the market and home nation-state to be of use to the state. This may create further volatility between nation-states. And these instances are not yet fully developed.

Structural violence, in short, is the set of social systems built and erected in such way as to create and/or perpetuate resources, assets, capital and freedoms into the hands of a particular group, while neglecting to a large extent the rest of society; producing conflict and/ or violence. In contrast, as Galtung, proposes, peace isn’t the just the absence of violence, but requires a set of systems working toward a positive peace. This positive peace must also yield Louis Kriesberg’s mutual benefits. This points toward local, national and global egalitarian society built on equanimity in access, opportunity, and cultures of peace. In the past, the world’s attempt at intervention to address the social and economic inequality, almost universally observed, has resulted in “war by other means,” as Cramer points out. And begs the question if international economic assistance should then be formally separated from nation-states, instead coming from objective third parties who receive resources for these intended purposes, thus negating the political and paternalistic requirement imposed on those who are already caught underfoot.

Narrative

Narrative, as defined by Jessica Senehi, are the stories people tell each other in their own cultures and languages. They provide the background and context for which people understand themselves. Put even more simply, narrative is how a person describes themselves.

This can become complicated as outside actors influence these stories. Whether it’s government propaganda, different racial or ethnic groups, discriminatory practices embedded in the criminal justice system, or school teachers in their expectancy rates, when someone/a group of people projects a meaning onto someone else/another group of people, we end up with labels and prescribed expectations.

Under labeling and symbolic interactionism, even referring to a nation-state in need as a state or country detracts from the people within them, further perpetuating their isolation, and lack of political will to solve the problems. They effectively become their country, not the people who happen to live in said country. Labeling, according to Sociologist, Ashley Crossman, is based in othering.

Labeling theory is based on the idea that behaviours are deviant only when society labels them as deviant. As such, conforming members of society, who interpret certain behaviours as deviant and then attach this label to individuals, determine the distinction between deviance and non-deviance. Labeling theory questions who applies what label to whom, why they do this, and what happens as a result of this labeling.

Powerful individuals within society (politicians, judges, police officers, etc.) typically impose the most significant labels. Labeled persons may include drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, delinquents, prostitutes, sex offenders, and psychiatric patients, to mention a few. The consequences of being labeled as deviant can be far-reaching. Social research indicates that those who have negative labels usually have lower self-images, are more likely to reject themselves, and may even act more deviantly as a result of the label. Unfortunately, people who accept the labeling of others—be it correct or incorrect—have a difficult time changing their opinions of the labeled person, even in light of evidence to the contrary.

Labeling is interwoven with othering, identity, narratives and inequality; be it social, economic, or political. As a result, persons who have been negatively labeled find themselves in the uncomfortable position of inhabiting the blank face behind the mirror as it were, playing roles assigned them, being relegated to mere ideas and abstract concepts of people, not human beings, inherently worthy of assistance and purpose.

Othering can and does happen subconsciously as well. People, in seeking to define themselves, separate themselves from those around them. This results in dichotomous thinking. These controlled labels, mirroring, and othering, by their nature, also control the narrative of individuals, cultures and societies when that other is in a disadvantaged position. According to Senehi,

'Elites devise destructive stories of past events to perpetuate new myths and group history that becomes enshrined in the collective memories of ethnopolitical groups . . . This history of mistrust, composed of myth and reality, is [then] passed orally from one generation to the next . . .'

If people then see themselves as bad, whether due to the colour of their skin, gender, or class, how they dress, their history, or the value systems they espouse, there will also exist a self-loathing. And when any semblance of escaping this label forces them to accept the narrative of the othered, they then accept the narrative and story of the oppressor’s charity. Solidifying themselves in a place of continued inferiority.

Even if one were to find their way past the labels thrust upon them, there then lies the social and political institutions playing on the deepest fears within society; drawing out the worst in us. And when a society eventually does recognize the violence, they may still not reach out due to economic or political complications. Then if they do offer humanitarian aid, it may not always be in the most effective manner. Traditionally elites have given aid with political motivations, seeking to further retain/increase power relationships, and in some instances, subjugate the already suffering. There is much more demand than supply in the areas of social welfare. Philanthropic organizations continually fall far short of the demand for the working poor, the middle class, and the destitute in desperate need for an increase in assistance programs and economies that work for everyone. This shortage is due to the limits on available funding sources, as well as the potential empathy gap and lack of political will as society becomes more and more shelved, isolated and unequal. It is worth noting in this instance, the more egalitarian and altruistic a society is in its policies, the greater percentage of GDP offered to other nations in need of humanitarian aid. This has far-reaching consequences, both philosophically and for policy’s reach.

As persons are able to more effectively empathize and sympathize with others, they are more likely to display convergent resonance. Or, demonstrate familial/close bonds; meaning, as P. Ekman has found, “I suffer when you suffer, I feel angry when I see you angry.” It is in these states of identification and empathetic response that immediate reactions are generated and can be developed into compassion as those who originally controlled the narrative, understand the foundations of why a people, culture or group voice a particular narrative.

Identity

Identity in its simplest form is the ‘us,’ or ‘me’ self-conceived. There are various communal groups for preferences and dislikes making up each individual, group, society and culture enveloped in these identities. Identities are often, “created by a transformation in the process of a social struggle.,” as Celia Cook-Huffman states. She continues, “Identities are complex, historically bound, socially constructed , and thus ever moving . . [they are] bound and shared through story, myth, history, and legend.”

According to Jay Rothman, identities are, “deeply rooted in underlying individual human needs and values that together constitute people’s social identities, particularly in the context of group affiliations, loyalties, and solidarity.” John Burton adds the, “frustration of these basic needs along with the denial of human rights leads to social conflicts.”

Identities make up the structural skeleton of how people individually and collectively see themselves. They form the foundational underpinnings holding them up, and together. It is clear identity and narratives are very closely tied to one another, but are still separate and unique. For example, when a society shares a social identity (lets use the example of active Mormon members), their individual identity is tightly woven into the cultural narrative of the religion and ancestral history of the members. For instance, a contemporary Mormon member will look back on the Mormon pioneer era (mid 1800s) and glean life-lessons from the Martin and Willie handcart companies, or in shared stories involving the Utah state bird, the seagull. These stories, though a separate narrative, then play into the individual and communal identity as being good, a worthy history and one deserving of emulation; this establishes a narrative that cyclically reinforces the identity, and returns back to a mirrored positive social narrative. However, this mirroring, producing parallel imagery, which is, in the act of defining oneself as good and worthy one defines the outgroup as unworthy and bad, can also then lead to controlled out-group narratives. Problems can arise further when there are discrepancies in a cultural narrative when identities are questioned; ex: to continue within the Mormon case, the Martin Meadows massacre, or polygamy’s marrying of young teenage girls to its founding members Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. By the simple act of bringing these facts of history to light, they can be perceived as threats, or what Mormon’s themselves would call, “anti” literature. This is because these instances are a perceived attack on their own moral identity and cultural narrative, as they are contemporarily perceived as morally bad. This is a very natural occurrence, and in their defence, early Mormons were one of a very select few cultural groups in history to have a legal death warrant/ extermination order at large on their people, and as a result can be defensive. Also quite recently authorities of the LDS church have started to address these perceived hard issues that have historically plagued the church. Many members of the LDS faith have a conflicted identity as these narratives are challenged and have been even further challenged on the church’s stance on same-sex marriage.

Identities are vital to our understandings of persons and groups, as they facilitate predictability and positive insight into the why of what people do.

Purpose

Purpose can be a sticky concept to define. But without it people fester—depression and anxiety rise, increasing stress and lowering quality of life standards. Purpose can be synonymous with meaning in many cases. However, purpose must have liberty/autonomy and actionability at its core; and if purpose is found in group relations, they must occur with the active choice of participation leading then to in-group acceptance and emotional resonance. Author Daniel Pink includes purpose in his three-fold elements to motivation—the other two being autonomy and mastery. Purpose can occur on multiple levels simultaneously through religion, school, family, writing, running and reading groups or even in group counselling sessions. Again, if one finds purpose in a said group, what is then vital is membership stability, mood-regulation norms, task interdependence and social interdependence. Purpose differs from motivation in that it exceeds or transcends the basic fulfillment of needs, and also that one feels they are a part of something greater than themselves, or get into what is called a flow-state. There are the obvious motivators, or triggers, in purpose. These motivators became quite popular in the 1940’s and 1950’s as Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs came into fashion in popular psychology circles. We will use the expanded hierarchy of needs for our purposes here:

1- Biological and Physiological Needs

2- Safety Needs

3- Love and Belonging Needs

4- Esteem Needs

5- Cognitive Needs

6- Aesthetic Needs

7- Self-Actualization Needs

8- Transcendence Needs

What is interesting to note is that in points four through eight, there are opportunities for intrinsically motivated purpose and/or transcendent flow-states. It is also very clear motivators can arise from extrinsic sources, but as mentioned before, for them to become positive motivators they must be adopted, and internalized. There are many ways people lead fulfilling lives, but in each case the person themselves must choose it, it cannot be thrust on them. In the act of having a motivator/purpose thrust on them, without internal adoption, it ceases to become a positive motivator, and turns into oppression, triggering traumas and detrimental outcomes.

Taken Together

When structural violence, narratives, identity and purpose are taken together, it can be clear to see the parallelisms. As definitions of identity and narrative fold in on themselves and become institutionalized within political or hierarchical systems (government, let’s say), this can lead to outgroup cultural discrimination woven into the very fabric of an ethnonational identity; engendering a potentially hazardous national identity. Case in point, the current practices of the judiciary and law enforcement systems in the United States have within them structurally racist policies and training practices. In 2008, an astounding 58 percent of the prison population were minorities; when these same minorities only constituted one quarter of the total population. The American systems of justice have, in fact, created their own criminals by othering them through mirror-images, narrative control and labeling. Much like Sir Thomas More said in the fourteenth century,

'For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.'

In contemporary applications, this statement brings with it a hint of condescension. It assumes and supposes the educational and social institution of the elite are better-suited to fulfill the needs and wants of the peasantry, which traditionally, were marginalized groups; whether through classist or racist means. This logic carried out fits nicely into the historical context of the Native and Aboriginal Tribes of the North Americas and their interaction with British, French, American and Canadian peoples and governments.

In both instances of the historical Natives and the historical American judicial system, narratives were controlled, identities projected, creating institutionalized racism and structural economic violence and classism with the othered groups. The results of this violence have been a lack of community cohesion and purpose as the introduction of natives to reservations, and disrupted and scattered communities has done. These have also brought conflicting identities awash with racism and paternalist motivations for minorities caught in the structural violence that is American society.

For another example, a recent journal entry reads:

'I first met Shelly on Feb, 19, 2016. It was on the way back from grocery shopping that I ran into her. It was an unusually warm spell in Winnipeg, and since I had missed my bus, I decided to walk. Shelly was standing outside the new Sobeys on the corner of Killarney and Pembina looking confused and more than a smidge distraught. As I was walking past, she stopped me with a question. She simply asked if she could buy a smoke off me for a dollar. Seeing as how I don’t smoke I told her as much, and she proceeded to tell me her life story. I have found this to be a common occurrence when speaking with the disenfranchised. They love to share their stories, even if it causes them pain, and I greatly enjoy listening. Perhaps their joy in sharing is due to their isolation. For example, most of the time the disenfranchised (whether housed or not) spend in public, they are shunned. Whether it is because they are perceived dirty, or smell bad, or people just don’t want to be bothered, they are actively avoided; thus discriminated against. This is a global (so very human) phenomenon. Whether it’s in New York, Calcutta, or apparently Winnipeg, the destitute and mentally ill (oftentimes both) are ignored to the point of being blatantly unacknowledged. I often wonder if they ask for change, a smoke, or some food just to be acknowledged, and not looked through. Anyway, I have found, when really spoken with, they unravel the knotted quagmire that are their lives happily, and with an air of a shared struggle. Shelly was the same.'

'She asked if she could walk with me down the street for safety; she was afraid she’d fall over on the ice. I obliged, and we began our short walk. She appeared to be under the influence of a drug of some sort, and was disheveled, with odd thought patterns bounded in closed loops. She also had the markings of a recently realized ex-meth addict: rotted teeth, and painfully skinny with sunken and scarred skin. She had traveled from Toronto to see her daughter in Calgary, who also has a daughter and is going to school there. She couldn’t be more than 35 years old. Which would insinuate a teenage pregnancy on her behalf, and now she’s a grandmother. She had run out of money on her trip from Toronto to Calgary, and assured me she was going to get a western union sent to her in the morning. As we spoke she cried a few times, sharing stories of her four daughters, mood disorders, and bad luck. She missed her girls and her Mom, and not to mention, a kind word form a stranger. We finally stopped at a public assistance housing complex, where we parted ways. She was all smiles and expressed her knowledge tomorrow would be better as she entered the complex.'

In this entry, it was clear to me her life-story was no accident, and there is a great deal that can be gleaned from her experience.

1- she has at least one mental disorder

2- she lives in poverty, or at the very least is working poor.

3- she is unemployed -no financial freedom or self-direction

4- lives in an assisted housing development (that have their own qualifications)

5- she hasn’t and doesn’t have custody or much contact with her girls, and hasn’t seen them in years.

6-if she did indeed have a teenage pregnancy, this would insinuate she would be perpetuating a culture bounded within impoverished conditions.

7- drug abuse

All of these, taken together, when overlaid with structural violence, narrative, identity and purpose can help us understand just what is happening with Shelly. Her chosen purpose is her kids (she said as much), yet she lacks autonomy and resources to facilitate this purpose. Recognizing this inability she wept, and doesn’t have the community assets and infrastructure necessary for acknowledgment and healing. Shelly walks with a weathered gait, that is evidence of either physical and/or psychological exhaustion; showing possible narrative and identity conflicts within her. She leads a highly stressful existence as her anxiety and mood disorders dictate, with these distorted realities placed on the backs of poverty and potential drug abuse, as a short-term means of escape. Also, within the qualifications to be approved for assisted living, certain inabilities are required, or at the very least transitional accommodations must be satisfied. Meaning, Shelly has had to prove she needs the assisted living, in paperwork and interviews with social workers. In her attempts to reach out, Shelly had consistently been rebuffed and or shunned directly as her psychological response to me was indicative of as much. Much as in Murder is No Accident, the state of affairs Shelly finds herself in are the result of what Prothrow-Stith and Spivac call, “toxic environments exacerbating risks and reducing resiliency.” And indeed, are no accident. From our perspective, seeing as how I just met her and have no critical background on her, it is hard to tell which occurred first, the mental disabilities or the poverty. However, research says the two are so inextricably connected, and it may not matter. Resiliency is founded in inclusive communities with purpose and with persons in control of their own positive narrative and identity. As the logic then flows, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a lack of resilience where these supports are absent, and as many instances have shown with the disruption of the primary, extended and cultural communities.

In conclusion, structural violence is at its most pervasive when the narratives of individuals are controlled with isolated and dejected identities, where a lack of autonomy and social, economic, political and cultural infrastructures create peoples oppressed and raging against the reigning oligarchies. This leads to subcultural rejection of projected narratives, with people and communities seeking to create their own narratives and identities with a collective purpose. Current systems and practices, though developing their capacity, are still paternalistically addressing the issues on the shoulders of realism’s philosophical political history, this, with scattered successes, wrought perhaps through misplaced social impact measurements and false historical narratives.