Jordan Neely's Lynching and Martial Arts
Jordan Neely was publicly lynched. But this is somehow not obvious to the corrupt and racist US media to too many people online, especially the martial arts (which includes combat sports and self-defense) community.
Having covered martial arts on and off for 20 years and having trained for nearly 20 more, I knew the English-speaking martial arts community was going to have some shit takes.
I asked this online:
Have the racist takes started to come in yet from the martial arts community on the murder of Jordan Neely (a Black man) because a choke was used? Or automatic good faith and defensiveness because the murderer was US military?
One online user replied:
Honestly, that's the fantasy scenario for half the people who walk into BJJ gyms. So we all know how most of those takes will sound.
I want to expand on this comment because it gets so much right about the martial arts and self-defense community.
Why many train, the scenarios (power fantasies) they've been imagining or training for, is exactly what that former US Marine and his confederates accomplished. They have probably been waiting for a moment like this.
Some men in the martial arts community have similarly looked for ways to "test themselves in real life." The victims are often unhoused, mentally ill and disabled, or someone just unlucky.
These stories build epic myths. Rather than accounts of assaults, they're used to sell heroism and expertise, and paint inhumanity as warrior code.
Naturally, power dominance culture sorts for those that belong and those who do not. Those who find horror in stories of assaults and power fantasies leave, and those who find awe in power dominance stay.
For some, power over others is a feature of martial arts. They're the ones who tacitly or explicitly endorse racism, bigotry, and sexual abuse because these are issues that condemn power, and they'll always side with power. This is why they default support the military, police, guns, whiteness, and other symbols of power.
Their calculus is simple: Since power is always good, there can be no oppression. From this framework, their reactions and behaviors make complete sense.
And like Jordan Neely's lynching, if there are a few rotten eggs, but everyone else condones it, then that is the culture. However, in martial arts, there are more than a few.
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