The Problem With Men In Power

Why LANY get away without acknowledging allegations.

Every time another important figure gets called out for bad behavior, there’s a question of: How many people are we going to deplatform? This is not a one-dimensional question; it summons millions of other questions, including: How many people are going to abuse their position of power? 

Because so many people do abuse their position of power, the process of deplatforming slowly loses its credibility. People begin to think that it’s useless if so many people are being deplatformed and called out; there’s no way that many people can be bad. 

But, of course, there’s faults with this mindset. Someone abusing their position of power doesn’t instantly make them a bad person. Besides, what are we thinking of when we think of a “bad person”? Probably something that overlaps with what we’ve been brainwashed by capitalism to think of — probably something that has to do with incarcerated people.

I recently came across a video on Twitter captioned “Whiteness is cannibalistic.” It’s a TikTok video about the ties between race and greed: “Whiteness will eat its own before it ever gives up financial or political capital.”

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. In Eula Biss’ Having and Being Had, she quotes Max Webster’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: “A man does not ‘by nature’ wish to earn more and more money, but simply to live as he is accustomed to live and to earn as much as is necessary for that purpose.” But because of capitalism (and an overall imperialistic, power-driven world), people, especially white men, are programmed to desire more. Greed is forced.

Men are raised to believe their entire purpose is to gain power and capital. Men are raised to be confident and entitled. Men are raised to view people, especially marginalized people — women, especially women of color — as a means for gaining that power and capital. People are not people.

Here is an excerpt from Having and Being Had that I return to quite often when meditating on power dynamics between men and women:

Cars don’t always signal their intentions. And cars aren’t always nice to each other, though they usually show each other some respect in deference to the damage they can do to each other. They are like important men in conversation with other important men. Bicycles are sometimes kindly accommodated by cars, often ignored, occasionally respected, sometimes nervously followed, and frequently not even seen. In this sense, riding in traffic is not unlike being a woman among men.

I used to wonder why so many people kept getting “cancelled,” why I was being subjected to having so many of my favorite artists be persecuted. It’s a selfish mindset, obviously. The problem is not the system of calling people out for bad behavior; that is a result of the actual problem, which is deep-rooted, large scale. While it’s beneficial to hold individuals accountable for their actions, the issue is widespread, generational.

And I am constantly torn about what I believe the next step is. Previously I was a firm believer in a process of redemption and forgiveness and reintegration, because I don’t want to be hypocritical as someone who is for prison abolition. However, prison abolition relies on a long process of rebuilding, it hopes for a new infrastructure entirely.

“The institution that gives primacy to forgiveness—a primitive sort of Christianity—is in the field of the same institution that shames women into submission,” wrote Ellena Savage in Yellow City. To ask survivors to forgive their abusers is unfair and even unsafe when the system that allows and encourages power to be abused is still intact. How do we know the same thing won’t happen again?

Biss quotes Marilynne Robinson: “Our heavily redacted history has meant the loss of many options.” Biss adds: “One of those options being a society that understands itself as valuing people above capital.” 

It’s why power dynamics are inextricable from life. Power structures are everywhere; they’re impossible to avoid. It’s why people think that there’s something wrong with today’s culture and everyone getting “cancelled” — we’re all so sensitive. This isn’t true. We’re just more aware of the way capitalism and greed infiltrate communities, like the music scene.

The truth is… there’s no such thing as a bad person. There’s a bad system, a system designed to dehumanize and lower marginalized and underprivileged people. The problem with men in power is that they will forever be in power, continuing to prioritize capital over lives, the cycle will never end.

The problem with men in power is that they are already in power. They are already dominant forces. When platformed, the greed is intensified.

Capitalism brainwashes us into internalizing this binary of “good” and “bad” people so that we can’t recognize the real problem is capitalism itself. People are not the problem but power is. Creating art should not lead to power structures, and art should not be ruined by power being abused — that is another fault of capitalism, the belief that the artist has ownership over the art they put out into the world. Art is not property; art is not a commodity.

What does this mean for individual cases of abuse of power? Like I said with the Ellena Savage quote, asking survivors to forgive their abusers cannot happen until the system is, well, basically burned down. However, I think a long process of self-reflecting is necessary for the abuser — especially in the context of capitalism and how the abuser views and treats people and interpersonal relationships. I don’t think individuals should get away with bad behavior just because the system enables it. There is no excuse.

Even though art is a commodity because of capitalism, the system disregards art so much that consuming art does not equate to supporting the artist. Spotify streams, in my opinion, give a ridiculously small amount of capital to an artist that I don’t feel guilty streaming artists who’ve shown bad behavior. The most important part of deplatforming is ensuring safety — preventing a musician from having the ability to tour again where they can harm more people.

For example, Paul Klein of LANY recently tweeted a tour announcement despite some serious accusations of manipulation, domestic abuse, and being a general predator. These allegations, to my knowledge, have gone unaddressed, and this tour exacerbates them — “pls don’t be scared to come to a show alone,” he wrote in the tweet, “designed these pink bracelets that we’ll pass out in line if u came by urself.” Supporting LANY by attending on of their shows is objectively dangerous. The fact that the band was able to be booked at all is irresponsible, and the fact that these bracelets for teenage girls to signify that they’re alone is actually happening when it’s a clear predator tactic is devastating.

Deplatforming, in this case, would be for safety more than anything else. However, because of the way “cancel culture” has gradually turned into a joke and deplatforming has become so oversaturated that people don’t trust it anymore, Klein is still in power. This is capitalism turning us against each other. Teenage girls in the replies believe Klein can do no wrong as a result of celebrity/idolization culture; he is infallible, as a person in power. At this point, his power has made him less of a person and more of a symbol. He can do what he wants.

Flaunt Magazine literally profiled Paul Klein last month. DIY Mag, uDiscover Music, and Stereoboard have covered the band’s tour/album announcement without any mention of the allegations. And who is covering the allegations? Which publications are reporting on the danger of this situation?

That’s why I’m writing this newsletter. That’s why I started this entire newsletter. Few places are looking for writers to explore things like this. Why? They want clicks, traffic, no potential lawsuits. This shit matters. This is what journalism is supposed to be for. How do we start the process of rebuilding if there is no reporting?

Accountability is a real thing. It’s not just a term to throw around online. I hope everyone involved in this LANY comeback is held accountable, especially Interscope Records. It’s all just a bunch of powerful people protecting each other. The commodification of art has led to the deterioration of morals. The music industry isn’t a community. It’s a capitalist hellscape. I hope this can change.