Power, Control, and Collective Liberation: Understanding the Patterns of Abuse in Our Society and How We Can Break Free
A deep dive into how power dynamics and control manifest both personally and collectively, and why your role in creating change matters more than ever.
Hey beautiful souls!
Today I want to share some of my insights about power, control, and how these dynamics are playing out both in our personal lives and on a collective level.
As a licensed clinician, I've spent years working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. This experience, combined with my own journey as a survivor, has given me a unique lens through which to view our current societal challenges. I believe understanding these patterns is essential for our collective journey toward genuine liberation and harmony.
Content Warning
Before we dive deep into this topic, please note that this post discusses domestic violence, collective control, systemic oppression, and other potentially triggering topics. Your wellbeing matters – take care of yourself and step away if needed. This content will be here when you're ready to engage with it.
The Current Landscape: Media Control and Power Dynamics in Action
We're living in a fascinating and deeply concerning time where the intersection of media, power, and control is becoming increasingly apparent and dangerous.
Let's look at what's happening with social media platforms as a prime example of how power and control manifest in our digital age.
The TikTok Saga: A Case Study in Power Dynamics
The recent situation with TikTok perfectly illustrates how media narratives can be manipulated to serve those in power. We've witnessed a remarkable sequence of events where the platform was initially targeted for shutdown because it was giving people too much information about what's really happening. The subsequent narrative manipulation, involving various wealthy power players and conflicting messages, demonstrates exactly how information control works in our modern era.
What's particularly telling is the manipulation of this narrative over time. Back in 2020, Trump actively tried to ban TikTok during his first presidency, facing significant backlash from users of the platform who weren't afraid to speak critically of his actions. Fast forward to today, and we're seeing a masterclass in narrative control: Trump's own supporters in Congress put forward the ban legislation, creating a crisis, only for Trump to swoop in positioning himself as the savior "fixing" the very problem his allies manufactured.
The subsequent narrative manipulation, involving various wealthy power players and conflicting messages, demonstrates exactly how information control works in our modern era. It's a perfect example of creating a problem to then present yourself as the solution – a classic tactic of those seeking to consolidate power.
This situation shows the true power dynamics at play: It's not about left versus right, or any other artificial divisions we're fed. Instead, the real issues stem from those with enormous wealth and power versus everyone else. When we look at figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg – who are actively working with political forces to reshape our social media landscape – we see how economic power translates directly into control over public discourse and information access.
Understanding Power and Control: From Personal to Political
As someone who survived an extremely violent and controlling situation for nearly seven years and went on to work professionally with hundreds of survivors, I see striking parallels between interpersonal abuse tactics and what's happening at a societal level.
This is a documented pattern that we need to understand to break free from it.
The Power and Control Wheel: A Blueprint for Understanding Abuse
The Power and Control Wheel is a fundamental tool in understanding domestic violence, and its applications extend far beyond personal relationships.
Let's break down these tactics and how they manifest both personally and collectively:
1. Using Intimidation
Personal level: Creating fear through looks, actions, gestures
Societal level: Using economic threats, policy changes, and institutional power to create widespread fear and compliance
2. Emotional Abuse
Personal level: Putting someone down, making them feel bad about themselves
Societal level: Gaslighting entire communities, questioning identities, reinforcing internalized phobias
3. Isolation
Personal level: Controlling what someone does, who they see, who they talk to
Societal level: Creating divisions between communities, limiting access to information and resources
4. Denying, Minimizing, and Blaming
Personal level: Making light of abuse, shifting responsibility
Societal level: Discrediting legitimate concerns, creating "alternative facts"
5. Economic Abuse
Personal level: Preventing someone from getting or keeping a job
Societal level: Systemic economic oppression, wealth hoarding, limiting access to resources
LGBTQIA+ Specific Power and Control: A Critical Lens
The LGBTQIA+ community faces unique challenges in this power dynamic, and understanding these specific tactics helps us see how personal oppression connects to systemic issues. Additional tactics include:
Threatening to out someone's identity
Using gender identity as a weapon
Denying access to medical treatment
Weaponizing heteronormative ideology and transphobia
Isolating people from their community
What's particularly alarming is how these personal tactics are being weaponized at a societal level. Right now, trans folks are being targeted as the current "boogeyman" – a deliberate strategy to maintain power structures by creating an "other" to fear and fight against.
The Myth of External Salvation and the Path to Liberation
Here's a truth that might be hard to swallow, but I have to say it anyway: there is no external salvation coming.
No president, no god, no parent, no billionaire is going to sweep in and fix everything.
The work of liberation starts within ourselves and extends outward through community support and collective action.
Breaking Free: Personal and Collective Liberation Strategies
1. Start with Personal Healing
Examine your own shadows and biases
Challenge internalized oppression
Take accountability for your actions and impact
Develop your emotional resilience
Practice self-compassion while pushing for growth
2. Build Resilient Communities
Connect with others doing the work
Support and amplify marginalized voices
Create networks of mutual aid and support
Share resources and knowledge
Foster spaces for authentic connection and healing
3. Practice Pleasure Activism
Find joy in daily moments as an act of resistance
Cultivate gratitude practices
Embrace pleasure as a way to reclaim your power
Create art, music, and beauty in defiance of oppression
Celebrate small victories and moments of connection
Intersectionality and the Path Forward
It's essential at this point to understand that these dynamics impact different communities in varying ways. The intersection of multiple forms of oppression creates unique challenges and requires nuanced approaches to liberation. A black trans woman, for instance, faces very different obstacles than a middle-aged white Christian man. Understanding these intersections helps us create more effective and inclusive liberation strategies.
Hope as Radical Resistance
Despite everything I've shared, I hold onto hope – not as naive optimism, but as a form of resistance. As Anne Frank wrote from hiding during one of history's darkest moments: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." While we must hold people accountable and not bypass harm, we can maintain hope and compassion as tools for change.
And, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words remain powerful, especially today as we remember his legacy: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that; hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
It is time to be strategic and understand that sustainable change requires both fierce advocacy and deep compassion.
Join the Movement for Collective Liberation
This work isn't easy, but it's essential, and you don't have to do it alone. I invite you to:
Watch the full episode on my YouTube channel where I talk about all of this
Join our community at https://livinglunas.com/socials where we support each other in this journey
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to explore how we might work together on your personal liberation journey
Share this message with others who might benefit from joining our movement
Your individual healing contributes to our collective liberation. Every step you take toward personal freedom helps create ripples of change throughout our society.
Shine your light, be the love you want to see in the world, and take gentle care of yourself, beautiful souls. Together, we can create the change we wish to see. ✨
All My Love,
Safrianna Lughna
Safrianna.com
PS: If you're experiencing domestic violence or abuse, know that you're not alone. There are resources and people ready to support you. Reach out to domestic violence hotlines and support services – your safety matters.
