Why Do We Accept Such Horrible Things?

7/29/20

Let’s talk about the psychology of normalization and complacency, and why we normalize things we absolutely should not. As well as how the state and the media use our natural psychology against us, and how to guard against that.

In sociology and psychology, normalization refers to the process by which things that have previously thought of as abnormal become normal. That’s fairly easy to understand, but the concept itself is important. It’s the difference between treating something as other, or even scary, and adopting it into your lifestyle as something that’s to be expected. There is another definition, specific to military discipline, that comes to us from Foucault: “Considering the mechanics of the disciplinary apparatus, I will be looking at their effects of normalization, at what they are directed toward, the effects they can achieve and that can be grouped under the rubric of ‘normalization.’” “The norm functions positively in the domains in which it is applied (the family, the army, production, etc.) to bring about correction and transformation.” His definition says normalization is used for discipline, particularly in the military; by presenting ideals a soldier, for instance, is supposed to adhere to and then punishing (so, “correcting”) those that don’t fit those ideals. I think this definition is very interesting, and it tells us more about contemporary society than you might think. 

Now, you may not think of yourself as living in a society driven by disciplinary power. You might feel very free, and if you don’t personally, you probably think some others do, on account of their privilege. Which is, after all, partly true; we all have different levels of privilege. But even white, cisgender, straight, able-bodied, neurotypical men become trapped, no longer free, and are put in danger the farther they stray away from this country’s ideals. You may hear that we punish those who stray away from our ideals and values, or who stray from following the rules, like Edward Snowden, and think it’s a good thing, because after all, this country teaches you it idealizes a liberated, free, happy, and fulfilled life for all. But Edward Snowden took the action he did because he felt his country wasn’t following through on that promise.

If you want another example of forceful discipline we use to punish those that don’t fit our ideals and follow our rules, think about the former cops like Stephen Mader who have been fired for trying to be good - or, not even good, but decent - people. For showing restraint.  For not using weapons. For not killing a black man, which was exactly what Stephen Mader was fired for, a black woman, or nonbinary person. This particular punishment upholds white supremacy and continues the normalization of the same system of policing that has been around since the very first police patrols - which were, incidentally, to catch escaped enslaved black people.

The biggest danger is what follows normalization: complacency. Once something becomes “normal,” we are no longer so averse to it, no matter what the thing is. I’ll give you another example, this time of how we’ve become complacent: Trump is still President. See? That sentence doesn’t get much of a reaction anymore. “Wait, wait,” you’re going to tell me, “I don’t like that Trump is President.” Of course not, you don’t have to like something to have let it become normal and not immediately horrifying. “But I am horrified!” Sure, but do you remember what it was like during the very first month of his Presidency? Do you remember the unshakeable rage and grief you felt? If you went, do you remember what the first Women’s March was like? For me, it was my first experience being at a march or a rally. Do you remember how bad we thought he was before he got elected? Many, many people said they would move if he won, during the weeks before the election, and obviously, most of those people didn’t. But the emotions there were real...so what happened? And even though they’re saying the same thing about this time around, with the 2020 election, how many would actually pack up and leave if they could?

We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and in Portland, Oregon, unidentified federal agents are snatching protestors and putting them in unmarked vans. This could be the plot of a wild, dystopian, apocalyptic novel, and yet it’s real - which is even worse - and yet...we haven’t all broken down.

Why is it so easy to normalize even the worst kind of behavior, and the worst events?

It is imperative that we understand why we do it, so that we can hope to fight the worst of our nature. We can’t let Portland, Oregon, become the new normal. We can’t allow people to be taken and be fine with that.

The Normalization of Corruption in Organizations by Blake E. Ashforth and Vikas Anand brings up a proposition, that normalization, like Foucault’s thoughts, can be expanded and broadened to be applied to everyday life, including corruption in non-profits and businesses: “We propose that there are three pillars that contribute to the normalization of corruption [in an organization]: (1) institutionalization, the process by which corrupt practices are enacted as a matter of routine, often without conscious thought about their propriety; (2) rationalization, the process by which individuals who engage in corrupt acts use socially constructed accounts to legitimate the acts in their own eyes; and (3) socialization, the process by which newcomers are taught to perform and accept the corrupt practices.” I invite you to focus on pillars 2 and 3 in particular, and even more specifically, to focus on these two phrases: “socially constructed accounts,” and “perform and accept the corrupt practices.”

“Socially constructed accounts.” All rationalization of “corrupt acts” has to fit into whatever the society of the moment deems is correct. This is why greenwashing, for instance, exists. It’s a company practice to make products seems as “eco-friendly” as possible to the consumer, even though no changes are actually made to the product or even its packaging, because companies know many people care - or like to pretend they care - about the environment. For instance, in 2018, Starbucks came out with a new lid to replace plastic straws - but that lid contained more plastic than a straw would. And that’s just an example. Rationalization - otherwise known as propoganda - is often extremely convincing. Rationalization has to make you think everything is fine. It’s the hardest pillar to take down. Because it has to be. If the “rationalization” doesn’t sound correct to the majority, or isn’t believable, anymore - that’s one pillar down.

“Perform and accept the corrupt practices.” “Newcomers” doesn’t just apply to immigrants. It applies to people new to a situation or scenario, as well as a country or nation. So far, we are all “newcomers” to what is happening in Portland. We haven’t normalized it just yet, thank goodness. It would be a horrible day to wake up to if it was still happening and the mainstream media - and indeed, most people - no longer cared. But often, normalization is more subtle than sitting up in bed and deciding to no longer worry about people being snatched.

Here’s an example you might be uncomfortable with talking about, and that’s okay, let’s talk about it - racism, and the “soft,” insidious side of white supremacy. I’m talking specifically about every time a black person gets shot and killed. We pick one out of the twelve or so that may have died in a week or a month, we pick the one we want to pity the most, and then we force ourselves to feel something for them. For a short time, we whites, and non-black people of color, we care. We might even cry. We might even begin to think about racism and white supremacy and anti-blackness as a systemic problem, and we might say to ourselves, “Something has to change.” We may even earnestly believe that, but then in a week or so, two weeks if the victim was “especially innocent,” the media will move on, and so will most of us. If we’ve been posting about the death and racism, we’ll likely stop, acting as though we have to wait for the next one to care again. This doesn’t sound like you? Are you sure about that? If you’re afraid of owning up to having to force yourself to care, don’t be. I’m calling myself out too, and a lot of my friends. It’s a terrible thing, that white people who don’t consider themselves evil, have normalized black peoples’ deaths.

 We have normalized it.

We’ve also normalized ableism. We think of disabled people as ugly and rude and pathetic. In films, from The Lion King to Batman to Nightmare on Elm Street, the more disabled you are, the creepier you are as a villain, with facial disfigurement being an even more specific scapegoat for otherness. We don’t have enough basic respect for disabled people to make healthcare free and accessible architecture a given, and exposure to disabled people as artists and creators is rare, even for other disabled people. I wasn’t able to find others like me until I began actively searching for them this year.

I - on the autism spectrum, physically disabled - forgive abled people. On a case by case basis, it’s true, but generally I do not harbor rage inside of me for abled people.

And it’s not because y’all haven’t fucked me over.

It’s because I recognize that it’s not about you. Certainly, it’s your job to learn and practice anti-ableism, but you are not the center. We disabled folk are. Why harbor rage for you, when I could harbor love for myself and my disabled comrades?

I also recognize that whatever pattern you’re stuck in, whatever way you normalize ableism, so am I, so do I. It hurts me more than it hurts you, but if you don’t know what a world without ableism looks like, I’m not going to blame you, because I don’t know either. I’d rather you work with and for me to dismantle it than leave it well enough alone, as it affects both of us. Normalizing your own bad behavior doesn’t excuse it, but it is a rather hard pattern to break out of.

So, as I hope I’ve illustrated, it might not immediately work like, “People are being snatched in Portland. Eh, I don’t care.” But it could work more like this:

Week One. “...People are being snatched in Portland. It’s absolutely horrible.” 

Week Three. “People are being snatched in Portland. It’s absolutely horrible. I have no idea what more I can do about it, though.”

Week Five. “People are being snatched in Portland. It’s so messed up. Thank goodness it’s no one I know.”

Week Eight. “People are being snatched in Portland. And now Chicago, too, I guess. At least it’s not anyone I know, though.”

...Week Fifty. “People are still being snatched up in Portland? I guess if we follow the rules, we’ll be fine. I wonder if it’s going to get even worse. I mean,” you say, laughing nervously, “Can you imagine? What could possibly be worse?”

.....Week One Hundred. “Oh, people got snatched up in Portland? Don’t you worry, honey, that’s because they’re not following the rules. As long as you follow the rules, you’ll be fine.”

…...And finally, Week One Hundred and Thirty. “People are being snatched in Portland. Eh, I don’t care.”

And it doesn’t only work for corrupt behavior and tragic events, it also works for global-scale crises.

California fire season. “...Eh. That happens every year.”

Australian bush fires. “Didn’t that happen last year?”

We are currently in a pandemic. “Yeah, I already knew that.”

Normalization is, after all, partly normal. Even from a biological standpoint. As we all know, emotions come from your brain, which is a part of your body, and it’s affected and regulated just like another body part. Your brain wants to be happy. A happy brain is a productive brain. And brains can’t be happy or productive if they are, for instance, forcing themselves to feel grief for strangers constantly. It’s objectively normal to be individualistic enough that you remain functional. But the state and the media take advantage of this, and use your brain’s survival tactics to keep you accepting of oppression and silent.

If you are now terrified, because I’ve reminded you of our current real-life nightmare, I have a suggestion.

It is not foolproof.

But it will help you avoid becoming completely numb.

One. Every day, find a journal or a random piece of paper, and write down ten things that are not normal. Or that appear to be, but that you feel and know in your heart should not be. My first three for today are going to be, “We live on stolen land,” “shelter, food, water, and medicine, which have been designated as the four basic human needs, are not free,” and just plain “gender.” With each thing, think about it deeply and try to feel the dissonance in your body as you write it down. Take a deep breath as you write each thing down. It’s okay to write the same things down every day, and it’s okay to share with others.

Two. Take one of the ten things you write down each day, just one, and take the whole day to address it. Either research it, or take real action that may even feel risky to you.

Because the more we normalize, the more complacent we become, the more likely that we will be in a living Hell. The risk will be even higher then, I can promise you that. Eventually, sooner or later, we will need to risk something.