Racism as Zoological Witchcraft

1. White supremacy is a zoological witchcraft practice that consumes and manipulates both human and animal bodies

White supremacy is a zoological witchcraft mechanism that seeks to ingest the essence of minoritized people and reanimate their bodies with white supremacist projections and fantasies.

Zoological witchcraft. White supremacy operates as a consumptive force that devours and manipulates both human and animal bodies to reinforce its power. This practice goes beyond physical violence to metaphysically "eat" the souls and essences of the oppressed.

Historical examples. The author cites disturbing historical examples, like slave owners literally consuming parts of enslaved people's bodies or using their skin to make objects. This cannibalistic impulse reveals how white supremacy views certain bodies as consumable resources.

Reanimation and control. Beyond consumption, white supremacy seeks to hollow out and reanimate oppressed bodies, turning them into vessels for white fantasies and control. This is likened to taxidermy - preserving the outer shell while replacing the inner essence. The goal is to render Black consciousness extinct while making Black bodies hyper-visible props.

2. The human-animal binary is central to racism and must be deconstructed for true liberation

Animal doesn't just mean "cat" or "squirrel" or "cow." Animal is a label. It's a social construct the dominant class created to mark certain bodies as disposable without even a second thought.

The animal as a construct. The concept of "animal" is not a neutral biological category, but a social construct used to mark certain bodies as inferior and disposable. This construct is central to how racism operates.

Shifting definitions. What counts as "animal" shifts conveniently to serve the needs of the dominant group. The author uses the metaphor of a glass that can hold different liquids - the contents may change, but the function remains the same.

Deconstructing the binary. To achieve true liberation, we must deconstruct the human-animal binary altogether. This means recognizing how animality has been weaponized against both nonhuman animals and racialized humans, and finding new ways to conceptualize our relationships to other beings.

3. Mainstream animal rights movements often ignore critical race perspectives on animality

How did this happen? How has the rich tradition of racial scholarship centered on the human/animal binary become disconnected from the mainstream animal rights movement?

Disconnected movements. Despite a rich tradition of racial scholarship examining the human-animal binary, mainstream animal rights movements have largely ignored these critical perspectives. This disconnect limits the movement's effectiveness and perpetuates harmful racial dynamics.

Eurocentric foundations. The animal rights movement is built on Eurocentric foundations that often exclude or marginalize perspectives from people of color. Concepts like "speciesism" are treated as universal truths rather than one possible framework among many.

Need for new frameworks. To truly liberate animals, we need frameworks that go beyond the current limitations of the animal rights movement. This means embracing diverse epistemologies and recognizing how animal oppression is entangled with other systems of domination.

4. Intersectionality theory fails to capture the full complexity of oppression and liberation

Intersectionality doesn't account for the messiness of race and gender and in part also misses how racism itself is sexual violence.

Limitations of intersectionality. While intersectionality theory aims to address multiple forms of oppression, it often fails to capture the true complexity of how different systems of domination interact and constitute each other.

Flattening complexity. The author argues that intersectionality can lead to a "social layerism" where different oppressions are piled on top of each other without truly intersecting or revealing their deeper connections.

Need for new models. Rather than trying to make different movements or oppressions "intersect," we need entirely new models that can account for the multidimensional nature of oppression and liberation. This requires moving beyond the categorical thinking that underpins much of current activist discourse.

5. A multidimensional approach is needed to understand the entanglement of racial and animal oppression

[G]ender is not an independent category that is analogous and parallel to race, but rather a category that is refracted or lived through race.

Beyond intersections. The author advocates for a multidimensional approach that sees different forms of oppression as fundamentally entangled and constitutive of each other, rather than separate categories that merely intersect.

Visualizing oppression. The book uses the metaphor of a house to illustrate the difference between two-dimensional and multidimensional understandings of oppression:

• Two-dimensional: Separate structures for each form of oppression
• Multidimensional: A single structure with multiple entry points and hidden connections

New activist possibilities. Embracing a multidimensional framework opens up new possibilities for activism. It allows us to see connections and leverage points that might be missed when focusing on single issues or simple intersections.

6. Popular media like "Get Out" reveal the zoological dimensions of white supremacy

Get Out represents a mediated shift toward envisioning afro-zoological rebellion as anti-racist activism, and it exemplifies a burgeoning genre of media that depicts Black people as internally healed from double consciousness when they explicitly confront the zoologo-racial order that keeps white supremacy intact.

Media as theoretical lens. The author uses popular media, particularly Jordan Peele's film "Get Out," to illustrate complex theoretical concepts about race and animality. This approach makes abstract ideas more accessible and reveals how these dynamics play out in cultural narratives.

Zoological imagery in "Get Out". The film is filled with zoological imagery that reveals the animalistic dimensions of white supremacy:

• The deer hit by the car and mounted deer head
• The protagonist being bound to a leather chair
• The "coagula" procedure that turns Black bodies into vessels for white consciousness

Afro-zoological rebellion. The protagonist's ultimate escape and triumph represent a form of "afro-zoological rebellion" that reclaims animality as a tool for liberation rather than oppression.

7. Afro-zoological resistance reclaims animality as a tool for anti-racist activism

Chris shows us that we need to abandon our former choreography of resistance, which relies upon stepping on the animal, and instead move our bodies closer together for true liberation.

Reclaiming the animal. Afro-zoological resistance involves reclaiming animality rather than rejecting it. This means recognizing how animal oppression and racial oppression are intertwined and finding ways to resist both simultaneously.

New choreography of resistance. The author argues that we need to abandon strategies that try to assert humanity by distancing ourselves from animals. Instead, we should recognize our shared vulnerability and find strength in those connections.

Examples from "Get Out". The protagonist's use of cotton (a symbol of slavery) to block out hypnotic control and his wielding of the mounted deer head as a weapon represent this new form of resistance that reclaims rather than rejects animality.

8. Nature and animals have been weaponized to bolster white supremacy but can be reclaimed

Nature is not merely the material environment. . . . Race and nature are both material and symbolic. . . . Natural character is written into discourse and expressions but is also worked into flesh and landscape.

Nature as racial construct. The concept of "nature" itself has been racialized and weaponized to support white supremacy. This includes framing certain spaces as inherently "white" and using animal imagery to dehumanize people of color.

Historical reclamation. Despite this weaponization, nature has also been a site of resistance and liberation. The author cites examples like enslaved people using their knowledge of the land to escape to freedom.

Contemporary possibilities. Reclaiming our relationship to nature and animals offers new possibilities for resistance and healing. This involves challenging dominant narratives about who belongs in natural spaces and how we relate to other species.

9. Double consciousness fractures the natural senses of the oppressed

The sunken place becomes a physical manifestation of the wretchedness of double consciousness; it is where we become paralyzed passengers in our bodies and where our souls are metabolized by the dominant class.

Fractured consciousness. W.E.B. Du Bois's concept of "double consciousness" describes how oppression creates a fractured sense of self in marginalized people. The author extends this to show how it disrupts our natural senses and relationship to the world.

The "sunken place". In "Get Out," the "sunken place" represents this fracturing of consciousness. It's a state where Black people become passengers in their own bodies, their essence consumed by white supremacy.

Reclaiming natural senses. Part of liberation involves reclaiming our natural senses and trusting our own perceptions rather than internalizing the dominant narrative. This is symbolized in "Get Out" by the protagonist finally trusting his instincts and using his own "lens" (camera) to see the truth.

10. The animal rights movement doesn't own "the animal" - new frameworks are needed

If we don't have the freedom in our liberation movements to think new thoughts and be messy, what type of liberated world are we actually fighting for at the end of the day?

Limitations of current frameworks. The author argues that the mainstream animal rights movement, with its focus on concepts like "speciesism," limits our ability to fully understand and address animal oppression.

Need for diverse perspectives. True animal liberation requires embracing diverse epistemologies and recognizing how animal oppression intersects with other systems of domination. This means looking beyond the boundaries of the current animal rights movement.

Rethinking activism. The book challenges readers to rethink what counts as animal activism. Sometimes the most effective work for animals might come from unexpected places or take forms not traditionally associated with animal rights.

Last updated: November 19, 2024