Oppression Of Ideas

After I read the article, I had to sit back and digest the material for an entire day. The article force me to do some soul searching regarding my position on power, privilege, and oppression. Have I been so oblivious to my surroundings? I quickly thought about the six core values of social work: service, social justice, dignity and worth, importance of human relationships, integrity, & competence. Will I be able to help others; because like Spencer (2008) I took somethings in life for granted? It was ironic when I was reading the article that Martin Luther King Jr, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandella came to mine. They all fought for the injustice and sacrificed much to change the minds of the one in the position of power.

5. Every member citizen shall have an equal right to elect the members of the

The first source I will use is Andrea Ayvazian’s essay “Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change”. She discusses how allies can change in a good way, our society into something better in increasing oppression and the power behind it. The author explain why it is so important to interfere and end the never ending circle of oppression, discrimination, stereotype thinking or prejudice. Oppression can be found in every group and we face it unfortunately every day, for example opportunities for those who are poor get often denied by the wealthier part of society which as we know out of the book are just a small part. Ayvazian defines the word ally and what it is to be one. Furthermore she discusses the importance

Throughout history women have been overlooked and left in the shadows of the powerful men who controlled them. In Pre-Colonial time being oppressed, beaten, and raped was a method to train women to be domesticated. During the epoch of industrialization women in lower class societies would prove to be essential for the economic growth of America. Chapter 6 THE INTIMATELY OPPRESSED by Howard Zinn points out important distinctions between societies that seem to make women subservient in their roles as wives. In fact, he states “the very invisibility of women” and how they suffered double oppression as both slaves and women, is a sign of their submerged status. He also restates the Native Indian communal

January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, a boy by the name of Michael King Jr. was born. He would soon become the civil rights activist we have all come to know, Martin Luther King Jr. MLK faced oppression during his youth and throughout his life. Many people see him as this strong civil rights activist who stood up for what he believed was right, however, what many people aren’t taught is what he had to deal with in order to get there.

I do not agree with totalitarian ways of governing, and I also do not believe in the censorship of information that would cause any significant harm. The phrase “ignorance is bliss: suggests being unaware of certain occurrences or facts will keep one safe and reduce the disquietude of knowing.

Oppression and discrimination has plagued our society since early times. As a collective society one would think that over time oppression and discrimination would turn into acceptance and equality. Conversely, our society has taken sluggish steps towards diversity, acceptance and equality. Our society is focused on labeling people and putting them into limiting boxes. Oppression occurs across various groups of people based on gender, sex, race, religion, and disability. Members of these diverse groups are discriminated among work places, schools, and other places. Work places and schools promote diversity and non-discrimination, however little seems to be practiced. Oppression across generation leaves damaging consequences hindering society in the growth towards a more accepting environment.

We’re taught to believe that we left europe due to religious persecution, many people don’t realize that religious oppression was only toward the end of the decision to flee. There are many other factors that led to our decision to flee that system. Why aren’t we taught these in school? Because, if we were, we would have a drastically different outlook on what our country has been going through for the past few decades. What we aren’t taught, at least not to the degree of importance that most will actually remember, is that the major issues that led our ancestors to flee were economic and governmental.

If the ideas of individuals are neglected, it can result in not only death, as seen in Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird, but an overall hindering of a society/group. The society would be hindered as it would not examine all ideas impartially and thus not always choose the best option. Unfortunately, all too frequently, groups, towns, countries and even societies are held back as they only hear what they want to hear, but fortunately, it does not have to be this

This research paper will outline the causes and traits of oppression in America. Dynamics such as the social, historical, and psychological systems that serve as vessels of oppression will be addressed. Using academic research, the goal for this essay will be to discuss the characteristics of oppression and how those characteristics are connected to its origin. The research will develop major themes that will serve to define agents, including classism, discrimination, and the intersectionality of different types of oppression. Discussions on strategies for addressing and ending the current oppression in America and recommendations for the future will be highlighted as well.

It’s a common argument that those of us – all of us – who work in social justice movements face: the straw man of reverse oppression. Even within the in-crowd of people who are quote-unquote “socially conscious,” this argument pops up now and again.

If you were addressed with a situation of discrimination that you have never dealt with before what would you do? Would you calmly ignore the situation and act like nothing has ever happen; or would you blow things out of proportion? In most situations, the second “solution” happens simply because not many people are willing to let go when it comes to discrimination. If you were being treated differently, you would be either annoyed or angry at whoever treated you badly. When people are faced with situations they do not understand or feel comfortable with, they fear or shun it because “society” does not accept it.

Growing up I spoke quietly; I was informed I had to speak up is anyone was to hear me, what I wasn’t taught is it’s imperative to speak out to be genuinely listened to. In light of recent times when we have demagogues pinning groups of people against others it has never been more vital and burdensome to speak out. Our voices is the pinnacle of our freedom, but in today’s society when someone speaks out against oppression they are slapped across the face for being too politically correct or sensitive, this has brought unnecessary discretion for speaking out. I have a dream that those silenced will find the courage to speak out and loud to have their grievances heard. Countless times I’ve heard insulting things from my peers. When mocked because

Why students purposely come up with organizations that distinctively want certain people in it, for example Black Women United.

I am stating the Five Faces of Oppression based on my understand after reading Shaw & Lee. The first face is Exploitation. Exploitation is, “A process that transfer the results of labor of one social group to benefit another.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of exploitation is sweat shops. Children in many parts of the world are making clothing items such as Nike for pennies a day. While these children are underpaid people who aren’t sweat shop workers’ pay multiple dollars for the items made. Marginalization is the next face, Margination is described as, “The expulsion of an entire group from useful participation in social life.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) A group that fits this category are the homeless. Homeless people were unable to pay their bills therefore, they’re without a home. Powerlessness comes next and is described as, “lack of respectability.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this would be minority groups. In the media you see many videos of white people disrespecting minorities for being “different.” Cultural Imperialism is the fourth face. Cultural Imperialism is, “Recognizing the dominant group experience and culture as the norm.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this is white culture in America. In America it’s the norm for mothers to be stay at home moms while the husband is the sole bread winner for the family. The last face of oppression is violence. Violence is described as, “Members of a subordinate group who live with the threat of violence.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) Transgender individuals live with a lot of fear and violence. Many people don’t understand or support the trans community and tend to thing in order to solve the “problem” they must hurt and kill trans individuals. Iris Young said described the acts as “Using people’s labors to produce profit while not compensating them fairly.”