If you fight fire with fire you'll get burned

 Audre Lorde's main argument in the essay, The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House reminded me of the saying, “If you fight fire with fire you’ll get burned”. Feminists are fighting patriarchy with the same tools oppressive groups use and by doing so nothing will get better. People try to ignore social problems and leave them as something of the past, however, those problems still exist, and it is important to acknowledge them. While differences exist, those should not divide us but make us better individuals.

Society has established that differences are bad and should be a reason for separation. For some reason, people are afraid of what is different from them and instead of learning from those differences they move away from them. According to Lorde (1979), “As women, we have been taught to either ignore our differences or to view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than as forces for change” (p. 95). The weight of tradition is so heavy that it is hard to see differences as something good. Embracing what makes every individual different is what can make us stronger and better.

Similar to Lorde, Carmen Lugo-Lugo also notices the separation that society has imposed between groups. Even though people like to believe that differences do not exist and that everyone lives in happy, united world does not mean it is true. Lugo-Lugo writes, “… not only was there an “us” and a “them,” but obviously, more importantly, the “them” was always and without question a threat to the security and safety of “us”’ (p. 45). Once a person drifts away from what it is considered “normal” then they become a threat to society. It is a divide and conquer type strategy which is something that as members of the modern society should be very familiar with. Outsiders are seen as bad people that are going to destroy out “perfect” world, for example, immigrants and Muslims. Immigrants are threats because they are outsiders that want to take what belongs “us.” Then, Muslims are part of what is considered the normal religion and since some members have done terrible things it is easier to blame all of them instead of looking for the real problem. Every day we see in the news people talking bad things about these “outsiders” which divides society into “us” and “them”. That separation weakens everyone and puts one group against the other for a never-ending fight.

Lorde (1979) presents an alternative for the divide and conquer strategy. She says, “Divide and conquer, in our world, must become define and empower” (p. 96). Acknowledging and embracing differences will make the feminist movement so much stronger and better; especially when some people are afraid of what it means to be a feminist. When the oppressive group start “losing” power to minorities they start feeling like they are being oppressed. Equality means sharing power and that makes them vulnerable, therefore it is important for them to maintain the differences. The advice Lorde is giving almost acts as a critic of critical feminism because she asks to embrace differences that make an individual not just what marks their gender.

In conclusion, Lorde’s essay is still important now because the feminist movement is still not able to act as a unity. There are still many things that separate one from another, which weakens the movement. It is important to understand the techniques oppressive groups are using to be able to fight them; however, they should not be copied. When the techniques are copied a vicious cycle takes place and nothing ever gets better. In modern society, we are playing a game of divide and conquer and we should ask ourselves who is winning to wake up and reach unity.

Reference List

Lorde, A. (2015). The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House. In C. Moraga & G. Anzaldúa (Eds.), This

bridge called my back (pp. 22-29). Albany, NY: Suny.

Lugo-Lugo C. A Prostitute, a Servant, and a Customer Service Representative. In A Latina in Academia (chapter 3).

Retrieved from https://blackboardlearn.utep.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2390676-dt-content-rid-15809469_1/courses/CC_La_Chicana-2017/04%20-%20Module%204/Module%204%20Spr%202017/assets/lugo_lugo_a_prostitute_servant.pdf