Cultures of domination
The Holy Enemies of Pax Americana, its mirrors in militant fundamentalism, and papal Catholicism's love affair with power all seem transparent examples of institutional domination. So much so that we can fail to notice that the excesses of the imperia we have elected, or adopted, or had thrust upon us… torture, state terrorism… the killing and traumatization of civilians… are on a continuum that includes the world we inhabit and support.
I call this continuum, a culture of domination, a multi-threaded mix of custom and practice, close at hand, in us and around us, that makes the bullying, victimhood and damage of domination seem natural and inevitable.
As evidence of this naturalisation, to bring it into awareness, I collect images of my local cultures of domination. Take a look at the selection of them below. I've found, as I hope you will, that rather than seeming to be a given, like the weather, by bringing them out into the light of day they become more susceptible to choice, interruption and confrontation. And less undermining of ‘living from love’.
I have organised the images into a series of picture galleries listed at the left of the screen.