Across history, from ancient empires to the present day, a stark and enduring contrast has defined human societies: those who wield tyranny build lasting institutions of power, while those who suffer under it rarely match that strategic permanence. Nationalists, fundamentalists, Nazis, racists, and other oppressors have long mastered the art of institutionalizing their ideologies. They erect schools to indoctrinate the next generation, churches to sanctify their biases, banks to hoard and redistribute wealth in their favor, legal frameworks to perpetuate rivalry and control. These structures are not mere buildings; they are conduits of enduring power, ensuring that their influence outlives individuals and adapts to changing times.
Yet the marginalized, those historically oppressed by colonialism, racism, religious extremism, or economic exploitation, not forgetting the worlds most marginalized; LGBTQ communities, often remain trapped in a cycle of tactical responses rather than strategic advancement. We protest, we advocate, we voice our grievances on social media and in forums, but we rarely coalesce into building the legacy institutions that could rival or surpass those of our oppressors. I invite you to see the fundamental wrongs in how marginalized groups organize (or fail to), exploring the deep seated causes of this indifference, the denial of tyranny’s spiritual dimensions, and the paralysis that turns advocacy into empty rhetoric. Drawing from historical patterns, psychological insights, and key publications, I call for a paradigm shift: from words to actions, from human centered efforts to divinely inspired legacies.
At the heart of the issue is a misalignment between tactics and strategy. Marginalized communities excel at reactive measures, boycotts, marches, viral campaigns that address immediate injustices. These are vital, but they are ephemeral. Once the spotlight fades, the underlying power structures remain intact, often stronger for having weathered the storm.
Oppressors, by contrast, think in generations. White supremacist groups in the United States have embedded themselves in education systems, influencing curricula to downplay slavery’s horrors or promote “heritage” narratives. Fundamentalist regimes in various parts of the world fund churches, madrasas and mosques that double as recruitment centers for ideological warfare. These are not accidents; they are deliberate investments in infrastructure that channels tyranny through legitimate channels.
Why do the marginalized lag? Resource fragmentation plays a major role. Oppressed groups often lack the concentrated wealth or access to capital that oppressors inherit through systemic privileges. Colonial legacies in Africa have left indigenous communities with fragmented land rights and economic disenfranchisement, making it hard to pool resources for large scale projects like community owned banks or schools. Yet this is only part of the story. Deeper still lies an indifference born from exhaustion and division, where systemic barriers such as segregation deny access to well resourced neighborhoods, perpetuating cycles of educational and economic inequity across generations.
The Roots of Indifference: Trauma, Division, and Self-Doubt
Indifference among the marginalized is not apathy; it is a survival mechanism forged in the fires of prolonged suffering. Centuries of hurt, slavery, genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, have instilled a deep seated belief that systemic change is futile. Psychologists describe this as learned helplessness, a condition in which repeated failures or oppressions lead individuals and communities to internalize defeat. We rally for a cause, but when victories prove pyrrhic or are reversed, enthusiasm wanes. Historical trauma manifests as this helplessness, evident in educational settings where young Black children face discriminatory practices, reinforcing self fulfilling prophecies of failure.
This trauma also fuels internal divisions. Marginalized groups are not monolithic; intersections of class, gender, ethnicity, and religion create fault lines that oppressors exploit. In Uganda tribal rivalries, exacerbated by colonial divide and rule tactics, hinder unified action. Globally we see the pattern: Black communities in the diaspora fractured by colorism, LGBTQ+ individuals within ethnic minorities sidelined, indigenous peoples divided over resource allocation. This infighting prevents the formation of legacy structures, enduring institutions such as cooperative economies, cultural academies, legal aid networks that could outlast current struggles. Research on failure dynamics in marginalized areas reveals how socioeconomic and environmental factors interlock to sustain these cycles, often overlooking political influences that further entrench division.
René Girard’s mimetic theory sharpens this analysis, revealing how human desire is inherently imitative, leading to rivalry and violence when groups covet the same resources or status. Oppressors channel this mimetic rivalry into structured tyranny, mimicking one another’s dominance to maintain order through exclusion. Marginalized communities, often cast as scapegoats in this primal mechanism, internalize the cycle, perpetuating division rather than uniting against it. Girard’s insight exposes how such violence, born from undifferentiation and envy, becomes sacralized, founding oppressive institutions that masquerade as divine or inevitable.
The dangers of this indifference extend further, as it has led many among the marginalized to exploit suffering as a means to collect funds through sympathy, amassing personal wealth and falling prey to the same traps of power and tyranny they decry. These opportunists, posing as advocates, monetize pain without building communal legacies, mirroring the tyrants’ self serving structures. Meanwhile, the genuine prophet who has no home, who wears sackcloth in humble dedication, is despised and ignored for apparent lack of class, trend and capacity, their visionary calls dismissed in favor of charismatic fundraisers. Could it be that we unknowingly share the same worldview with the tyrant, one rooted in mimetic desire for power and status? This unconscious alignment perpetuates the cycle, as we imitate the oppressor’s pursuit of individual gain over collective uplift.
Moreover, there exists a denial of the spirituality inherent in tyranny. Oppressors frequently frame their dominance as divinely ordained, manifest destiny, chosen people narratives, holy wars. This spiritual armor makes their actions resilient. Yet the marginalized often secularize their resistance, removing God or higher purpose from the equation. We center ourselves, our pain, our rights, our identities, limiting inspiration to the human realm. This anthropocentric approach treats our work as man made, fragile and uninspired, rather than divinely sanctioned missions that tap into eternal strength. Studies show that spirituality fosters resilience and transcendence among oppressed groups, enabling persistence through integrative faith practices that counter historical oppression. Afrocentric and Black liberation spiritual practices, for instance, build critical consciousness and communal support, helping young Black Americans thrive amid racism. Girard’s theory further illuminates this denial: by ignoring the mimetic origins of sacred violence, where scapegoating restores false peace, we fail to reclaim true spirituality that exposes victim innocence and breaks the cycle.
In this denial we overlook how tyranny thrives on spiritual warfare. It is not just physical or economic; it is a battle for souls, where oppressors build churches not for worship but for control. By sidelining faith, we deprive ourselves of the moral and motivational framework needed for sustained action. Hurt for so long, we deep down disbelieve in victory, turning advocacy into a forensic ministry, dissecting injustices like autopsies, eloquent in diagnosis but impotent in cure. We end where words end, never stepping into the arena of creation. Racial trauma exacerbates this, creating a developmental cascade where youth internalize helplessness from vicarious exposures, yet activism emerges as a key coping strategy. Mimetic theory warns that without confronting imitative rivalry, marginalized groups risk mimicking oppressors’ violence inwardly, deepening self doubt and fragmentation.
From Words to Walk: The Paralysis of Advocacy Without Action
Voicing out is essential, but it becomes a crutch when it substitutes for building. Social media amplifies our cries, yet algorithms favor outrage over organization. We become performers in a theater of resistance, where likes and shares masquerade as progress. This forensic ministry satisfies the ego but leaves no tangible legacy. Action requires risk, financial, personal, communal, that trauma has conditioned us to avoid. The politics of pity in activism reinforces learned helplessness by framing trauma as the core identity, normalizing defeat and hindering agency.
Historical examples abound. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States achieved legal wins through advocacy, but economic empowerment lagged until figures like Marcus Garvey pushed for Black owned businesses and institutions. In India Dalit communities have begun building their own temples and schools to counter caste oppression, yet such efforts remain sporadic. The marginalized must ask: Why can’t we rally to erect our own banks, funded by diaspora remittances? Why not community universities teaching decolonized histories? The answer lies in reclaiming spirituality, not as escapism, but as fuel for action. Religious institutions play pivotal roles in positive development, fostering resistance and altruism in urban Black communities.
A Peacemaker’s Path: Building God’s Empire Amid the Ashes
My own life exemplifies this calling. For decades I have walked into the burning ashes of conflict, not as a mere advocate, but as a builder. In regions scarred by tyranny I have labored to establish legacy structures: community centers that evolve into policy think tanks, faith based networks that channel resources department by department. This is not self aggrandizement; it is a testament to what is possible when we mesh the resourceful marginalized under a higher empire, God’s empire. Spirituality, rather than institutionalized religion, can catalyze transformation responsibly, avoiding oppression while promoting social equity. By transcending mimetic traps, as Girard urges, we reject scapegoating and build through participatory imitation of divine peace.
To become aware of our shared worldview with tyrants and change it, we must first engage in self reflection through spiritual practices that reveal mimetic desires, prayer, communal dialogue, and study of prophetic traditions. Awareness dawns when we recognize how envy and imitation drive exploitation within our ranks, then shift to modeling divine justice: valuing the sackcloth prophet’s wisdom over the wealth accumulator’s charisma. Change follows by prioritizing collective institution building over personal gain, fostering accountability in advocacy, and embracing humility as a counter to tyrannical pride.
We need a global web: policy by policy to reform laws, community by community to foster solidarity, extending to the earth’s farthest ends. Start with spiritual recentering, prayer groups that birth economic cooperatives. Harness technology for virtual banks serving the diaspora. Educate youth not just in protest, but in institution building. The oppressors’ structures endure because they are seen as inevitable; ours can thrive if viewed as divine mandates.
The fundamental wrong is not inherent weakness; it is self imposed limitations from trauma, division, and spiritual denial. Institutional habitus, status linked identities and constraints, often derails diversity efforts, with only mid-tier organizations making progress. To break free the marginalized must transition from tactical survivors to strategic architects. Rally not just voices, but visions. Build not for today, but for eternity. In doing so we dismantle tyranny’s foundations, erecting our own empires of equity and peace. The time for words alone is over; let actions echo across generations.
Read more about the Author here: Philip Kakungulu
References
1. Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World by René Girard. Stanford University Press, 1987. The foundational text on mimetic theory, scapegoating, and the origins of violence and sacred institutions.
2. I See Satan Fall Like Lightning by René Girard (Orbis Books, 2001) A more accessible and spiritually focused work that connects mimetic rivalry, violence, and the biblical revelation of the innocent victim.
3. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing by Joy DeGruy. Joy DeGruy Publications Inc., 2017. powerful examination of multigenerational trauma, learned helplessness, and pathways toward collective healing and agency among descendants of the enslaved.
4. The Raven Foundation – Excellent free resources and articles applying Girard’s mimetic theory to racism, violence, and social justice. https://www.ravenfoundation.org/
5. Mimetic theory overview by the Girardian Lectionary project (clear, concise introductions and applications) https://girardianlectionary.net/
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