Normalized Empire
Eugenics, ICE, and the Normalcy of Empire
During World War 2, the Soviet Union killed millions of nazis. In contrast, the United States hired thousands of them. The ultimate ability of a global superpower is normalization, even if it means absorbing your enemies.
Aviation English, the angle of screw threads, and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) were all established by the United States due to the specific interactions of nations during World War 2. Blood was being spilled primarily in Europe, but the war was manufactured in the U.S.A. This expanded the already-growing superpower of the United States. War is very profitable, indeed. In addition, due to the war causing instability in supply lines, the U.S was learning that instead of relying on the exploitation of their colonies for raw materials, they can mass manufacture in the mainland. (They eventually learned they can combine both options by manufacturing in the exploited colonies). Despite the millions dying in war, corporate interests would be pleased. In the face of suffering, the American economy grew at the fastest rate it has ever achieved. The United States’ GDP went from $88.6 to $135 billion between 1939 and 1945.* The U.S wants us to think that violence is normal; it has built its economy around that belief.
Despite being on the opposite sides of this war, The United States inspired many of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany. One of these atrocities is eugenics, a powerful term that has unfortunately evolved to escape its negative association. Eugenics as I discuss it is the (incorrect) belief that you can systematically improve human society by reducing the prominence of negative traits and encourage superior ones. Eugenics began in developed nations just like the United States and United Kingdom before spreading around the world. It is the justification that empowers other concepts like racism, ableism, and ageism. These concepts are alive and well, upheld by powerful systems like those in the United States today.
Eugenics has always carried a particular appearance to the public eye: restriction of abortion, forced sterilization, and out-right killing those that are deemed inferior. This sets it apart from accessibility and the idea that all humans deserve to live safely, comfortably, and with dignity. However, in recent history, we have begun to see that eugenics has evolved to remain as a relevant ideology as the values of society change. It is trying to become “normal”.
Nazis evolved to people in positions of power today like Pete Hegseth and RFK Jr. These are people that advocate for whatever they believe will give them money or power, to the detriment of their communities. Through these people, the laws they support, and the policies they pass, violence against people can become normalized. When questioned on their beliefs, they have no real answers, because there was never substance or critical thinking behind it. They hope those beliefs are just accepted as “normal”.
Eugenics fundamentally has also changed. From aforementioned atrocities like forced sterilization to today’s idea that there are acceptable losses when it comes to viral infection. Do you think a virus can hit a point where we can end precautions if “only a few groups of people” are vulnerable? With the rise of disability and death, will we work for public spaces to exist for all, or we allow this to become our new “normal”? When white people learned that other races were at higher risk to COVID-19, support for safety precautions plummeted. This along with corporate pressure is what led the U.S Government’s Center of Disease Control to go against the advice of the World Health Organization and effectively end all safety measures and tracking of the deadliest event that has ever impacted citizens of the United States.
Safety precautions in the United States didn’t see much advancement at all. If anything, it regressed. Initially the virus was thought to be droplet-based, but when scientists learned it was airborne, little was done to warn communities of how to better protect themselves from it.
Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good are not the first victims of systematic violence engineered and maintained by the U.S empire. George Floyd, who also was killed in Minnesota, wasn’t the first either. If we are to progress past the injustice that ended their lives, we must not accept the actions as normal. We must also re-frame the idea of violence itself.
It often is thought that violence is physical, but violence can take all sorts of forms. Violence can also be systemic. It can be built into societal standards or language. It can be normalized. It should not surprise anyone that the same government that allows ICE agents to kill people without consequence is allowing an airborne virus to disable and kill millions.
The government murdering its people is violence. The government allowing children to die is violence. The government restricting access to food and water is violence. The government withholding healthcare is violence. The government refusing to reduce its emissions is violence. The government accepting a failed response to an ongoing viral pandemic is violence. This violence is unacceptable, immoral, and not normal.
Combating fascism is an intersectional task that requires both learning and action. The United States response to COVID-19 is a failing one. Within the disaster, we unveiled the normalized systemic violence, then that system told us to go back to shopping and working as normal. Our community must not fail now. ICE is not good and has never done any good. However, the way our community rallies against ICE now is opening an opportunity to undo the disguise of normalcy and attack the root cause of this violence: Capitalist empire.
As pleasurable as it may be, a return to normalcy is a signal to a watching empire that we are conceding to their violence. We cannot concede. Only together can a community reject eugenics. When people are exploited as victims of imperial evil, change starts when we can reject the push for us to accept violence as “normal.” We must reject all forms of imperial and colonial violence.
Start small! Just like exercise, you don’t start at the biggest weights. Resistance is the same way. Work alongside your community for what works for you. I trust you :D
*The U.S also effectively burned the city of Manila in the Philippines to the ground at least four times during this time period, as an example of its “normal” treatment of occupied colonies.
Inspired by reading:
- “How to Hide an Empire” by Daniel Immerwahr
- “Poets Square” by Courtney Gustafson
- “The Viral Underclass” by Steven W. Thrasher.
I recommend all three books!