Bullying & Patriarchy (Part 5)

Where Patriarchy Fits in with Bullying

When I moved to Portland, Oregon — driving over seventeen hundred miles to do so — my number one motivation was: I was so utterly sick of perpetual playground bullies, particularly verbally and psychologically abusive relatives (narcissists, narcissistic sociopaths, and their flying monkeys). These same individuals — and those all around me in the Midwest — enthusiastically embrace white supremacist patriarchy. I could not experience interconnectedness firsthand as long as I dwelled in that part of the world, and I was convinced living in a progressive West Coast city would mean I’d finally have a place in the world. I succeeded in distancing myself from the evil side of the family, but it’s apparently inevitable that bullies will always see me as an easy target.

Portland is certainly laid back and nonaggressive compared to the Midwest. Unlike in Indiana, Kansas, and Missouri, in Portland I can go for an entire day — and even an entire week or so — without bullying, and I can usually walk around outdoors without even a whisper of insults from misogynists.

However, even Portland isn’t a post-patriarchal utopia. Bullies are still by the droves. I thought bullies were only the vast majority in the Midwest, but a recent bullying incident brought home to me that no matter where I am (as long as I’m in a…