On the (Often Western, White, Male) Privilege of Self-Defense

Abstract

Here, the author presents a critical, rhyzomatic collage of previously published writing. Foucault argues dominant discourses have specific bodily effects, that such discourses shape-shift in reaffirming the status quo, and that resistance requires continual critical engagement. This textual assemblage suggests affinities with and comparisons between: conservative political discourses; legal frameworks for claiming self-defense; justifications for war; replacement theory; the re-framing of Critical Race Theory as itself racist; and variations of social support for racism and White supremacy in the United States. The text becomes a performance designed to meet the moment.