Mx. Luna Corbden<p>Power only works *de facto*. Whatever the outcome is in any given situation, whoever wanted that outcome, is the person or entity who has the most power.</p><p>Most power is illusory. There's a reason why "prestige" originally meant "illusion." Many people get their way in this world because people *believe* they should.</p><p>It doesn't matter what the law says, or who the military supports, or who has the most money, or who was properly elected or appointed — if someone else is able to regularly make things go their way, that is who has the power. (Think about this as you think on the role of racism in American history.)</p><p>Ultimately, every form of power is backed by physical force, and whoever is in charge of directing the strongest physical force theoretically has the final say, if they are allowed and willing to fully wield that power. But that form of power can be and is circumvented and checked in many, many ways.</p><p>I like principles, but principles are a privilege. All of life operates not by principle but by power struggle. Those who love power know this and understand how it works. If we enjoy access to forms of power like "equal rights," "culture," and "laws" that allow us to appeal to principles and keep physical force in check, it behooves us to learn about how power works, and fast, or the powertrippers will monopolistically control most forms of power and get their way for a very long time into the future.</p><p><a href="https://defcon.social/tags/AbuseCulture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AbuseCulture</span></a> <a href="https://defcon.social/tags/antifa" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>antifa</span></a></p>