Cries from Counter-Culture

Cultural hegemony is not necessarily the enemy. It allows mass amounts of people to coexist under one structural order. The enemy appears when this hegemonic system exercises its influence through force and violence on those that do not fit into the system as nicely as those that can.

On Tuesday, Jan. 29th, Empire actor Jussie Smollett was attacked in Chicago. The police do not yet have enough information for a description of the two assailants. According to the Sun-Times Smollett told the police that they yelled homophobic slurs and said “This is is MAGA country.” Then proceeded to punch him in the face, pour an “unknown chemical” on him, and wrap his neck in a rope.

To some, this may seem like two stray extremists that will be easily brought to justice. To those of us that exist in the world with colored skin, and LGBTQ membership cards, this looks more like another Tuesday in America.

Cultural Hegemony is the idea that there is one domination over many people that is maintained through ideology and culture. The thought here is that these two men felt that Smollett was deserving of this brutal treatment. Not because they had a random thought to attack a specific person, but because they exist in a society that reinforces a norm that does not include the fair treatment of black, gay men like Jussie Smollett.

What does cultural hegemony have to do with hate crime? The only way to effectively inflict change on a culturally hegemonic system is to overthrow the current seat of power. Though it’s not easy to do, underdogs are still a threat to those that fit into the system. These underdogs are considered to be in “Counter-Hegemonic” cultures. These counter-cultures have potential because they are a natural attraction to those that seek political power.

This is not to say that Smollett was making a career move from television to politics, but the normalization of black gay men in the media poses a threat to the current hegemonic system. The freedom for minorities to express their grievances and garner support from those who stand on a national platform, will call for a serious change. Through this lens, this is reason enough for MAGA hats to be on the defense. Reasonable does not mean excusable.