Political + Spiritual Imperatives for the Future - Co-Optation, Critical Questions, and Contradictions: the Future of Healing Justice
Erica Woodland discusses how our culture and movements can be co-opted and commoditized by capitalists and culture setters. It is also evident that philanthropists and wealthy donors often flex their outsized power to define how the organization approaches their work/goals/programs. This is counter to the efficacy of organizations and deprioritizes the people they serve, often leading to “solutions” that will never resolve the base issues of the community. Community-led approaches to mutual aid and harm reduction will always achieve more in improving the conditions of their community members than outside approaches based on the whims of wealthy donors. Woodland writes, “Co-optation is the process by which a group or system takes on the language, appearance, culture, and traditions of another group to erase, criminalize, and weaken its power… It is the strategic displacement of a people from the source of their wisdom and power,” pg 252. To avoid co-optation and cultural appropriation, we must be vigilant about our lineages, learn the roots of traditions we participate in, and respect the traditions of others. Yoga is a prime example of a cultural practice that was exported from its land and people of origin and commoditized in the west, who adapted it and removed it from its cultural context to further profitability. As liberatory movements through a healing justice lens, as individuals and communities it is important to divest from participating in the commoditization of other’s cultures and work to uncover the roots of our own practices.