Let’s Start the Matriots! One Possible Answer to the Racist Patriarchy

An idiocracy, or a matriarchy?

Rumors abound that Mr. Trump wants to start a new political party called the Patriot Party, or the Proud People, Patriot Pride, or America Firsters, or some such paternally inspired name. It really doesn’t matter what they call themselves, (I have speculated about the Booger Loo Boys, myself, but that’s just me being a sore winner,) the point of any such party is to MAGA on with ill intent toward those excluded from the tribe.

My thoughts on this are extremely cynical — as that I believe the one, Trump, they once called a useful idiot — is in fact more than willing to play other useful idiots to continue his lawsuit pyramid scheme to protect his adoration and weak ego lifestyle. He uses racism and misogyny as they are proven effective to sow division and shred truth into confetti for his party.

His supporters may or may not have genuine patriotic love for this nation, but it comes across as idiotic love for their supremacy.

Looking back to the summer when thousands of people marched for racial justice, I remember the women and moms. It is women, mostly moms, who show up. Some began the Black Lives Matter movement, the #Me too movement, the Climate Justice movement, and more. What is most striking about all the social activism performed in these, and many more groups, is that they are inclusive. They all seek to include everyone, even conservatives.

Given that, and looking back to the thousands, if not millions, of moms who put their lives on the line for justice, it struck me that we need a Matriot Party. The Matriot Party may be instigated by women and moms (matriarchs), but it is not limited to their membership. Maternal instinct does not exclude. By definition, it includes, seeking to nurture and protect all the children, not just the lib tard babies, to coin a phrase meaning “You are all my favorite child.”

The role of a mom, real or metaphorical, is to guide, teach, correct, and encourage, not to exclude. They do not fulfill this perfectly, but they are committed to try.

One of the shortcomings of paternalistic guidance, from which we get both the word patriot and the word patriarchy, (among others) is that psychologically, it sets women aside. Also, It paternalistically has historically set any marginalized people of color, or actual nativism, or gender difference off to the side as well.

When I say it psychologically affects people, I mean that societal norms and status quo are set with the idea of a white man, usually rich and influential, at the top. His very similar looking associates support him in this role. We have in our own country a woman of color who is vice president, but it took more than 240 years for this to happen. For centuries, power or representation have never been ceded without a struggle.

Build that wall!

Last summer I watched while thousands of moms formed a Wall of Moms to protect their children, often grown men who happen to be people of color, or those who support people of color. What struck me most was that they braved the tear gas, rubber bullets, and other assaults even though many of them had no children, (myself included) at all. Nor did anyone shy away from participating due to feeling that it was not “my fight” because I am not “in this demographic.”

While this “domestic terrorism” of peaceful protestors occurred, there was no plan put in place should the anti-protestors decide to escalate their violence, supported by state militia. It was only when the law makers themselves felt the terror of being potentially injured or killed that the truth of the situation dawned on many: we sanction violence against some, while decrying violence against others. The summer’s violence against others, by the way, was mostly looting and arson committed by non-organized individuals who opportunistically saw openings for their own interests. Or, done by “patriots.”

The Moms were against this form of “looting protest” as they saw it as counterproductive to our cause. It only managed to provide footage to state media outlets such as Fox, Newsmax, and thousands of lesser-known outlets who used the looting propaganda to demonize Black Lives Matter. It did not matter in the least that the millions of people on our side were overwhelming peaceful, unarmed, and constant. Less constant and persistent groups such as Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer were celebrated in every skirmish wherein an escalation only occurred when they showed up.

Why did they show up, at all? Most likely to publicly fight anti-fa, or other presumed enemies. However, there is a tremendous difference between highly trained and obsessed gun nuts and highly organized peace groups in Seattle and Portland rallying for BLM.

Moms have widely varying opinions on their activism.

Anti-fa — which it cannot be emphasized enough — stands for anti-fascist, is not an organized group that trains with God-given guns. It is in fact, more of an idea — a stance: “I am against fascism,” — -than it is a militia.

Matriots are driven crazy by this false equivalency. A Matriot is simply a female “p”atriot who organizes for inclusivity, equality, and a national pride based on the idea that we can be a nation to be proud of in the long run. Nor would a Matriot want all power at the exclusion of men. The entire point of being inclusive is to identify silenced voices of all, and to amplify them.

The white male supremacists have a large voice. Yet they feel in their snow-flakey victimhood that they are being canceled. Whether or not their voice is silenced is really up to them and to their ability to sort lies, propaganda and true patriotism — matriotism — from false nationalism.

Defeated before we even begin

I have little hope that Matriots will gain traction any time soon. Misogyny and racism are so baked into the systems that we have, that people will object to the “M” over the “P.” All my life for example, I have wondered why more men don’t identify with feminism, and I have finally come to accept that it is due to the “FEM” part of the word. It is seen as exclusionary to men, although in all definitions of technical use it is a stance of advocating for equal human rights. But, whether due to my own internalized sexism, or due to my unconscious fears of those who would rather hurt certain people rather than see them gain voice, I don’t think we will soon become Matriots.

People hugely invested in their own power and control can not realistically concede any of that power. I know this is true from personal experience. I can’t ever be convinced that men run the world better than equality would run the world, for example. Even if heavy and very strong evidence were presented to me that said equal representation of color and gender would never work, I would most likely reject that evidence as prejudiced. I believe in hard science and facts, but I don’t know if I could accept them as filtered through human confirmation bias.

The truth is that human beings are very hard to convince, even given solid evidence, when their perspective is based on genuine experience of either racism or sexism.

Ironically, this is also the reason that those who support the millennia old status quo also could not accept the matriarchy as being somehow more inclusive and benevolent than the patriarchy.

Therefore, in summary the Matriot party would likely fail, defeated before it was even begun.

There may be a chance we will someday find the words that are wholly inclusive, if so, it is unlikely they will be derived from any self-gendered terms.

Meanwhile, most of the lessons widely taught by moms still apply: Don’t hit. Share. Be kind to others. Clean your room. It’s okay to be proud of yourself. No throwing stuff — bullets, tear gas, insults — in the house of the people.

Why? Because I am your mother. Also, a house divided cannot stand.

—

Previously published medium

***