Systemic Oppression Paper

“Racism is oppression based on colour.” (Bishop,1994) therefore social workers must be aware of the extent and impact that racism has on the wide range of ethnic minorities that they work with.

Privilege and Oppression are fueled through systems and the participation of society. Systems are “dominated, identified and centered” (90) around privileged groups, which make them superior to the non-privileged. To be privileged is to go through life “with the relative ease of being unmarked” (33), which is not the reality for the oppressed women who reside at Safe Haven. Safe Haven is full of “marked” individuals who are oppressed through systems and society. Specifically, the women I work with are individuals who have not been able to thrive in society due to the oppressed culture in which they live in. These women are shunned away from society, because it is the “privileged groups that are taken as the comparison that represents the

“Racism is a bad thing, you find it everywhere in the schools, the clubs and also in the streets.”

Throughout history, race, social development, politics and colonization have played a major role in the indoctrination of modern day Caribbean peoples mind subconsciously. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are two countries that were once one nation, however, the long-lasting effects of colonialism have separated the island which the nations sit into two independent Caribbean countries. Numerous events have led to the modern day conflicts and issues between these great nations, which include violations of civil rights, deportation and violence. To illustrate, relations that developed after the Parsley Massacre and the independence of these nations played a major role in their current social and racial battles. While the nations hatred for each other is clear today, it is important to note that the feud between Haiti and the Dominica Republic has been going on for more than 400 years.

In our Society, we deal with many form of oppression in our daily lives. Unfortunately, different groups of people are more oppressed than others. Oppression is the unjust treatment of a group of people. I believe, our government is a major culprit as they are responsible for oppressing most of society. This involves many groups, such as single mothers, the working class, African Americans, gays and lesbians. In my paper, my personal views will be addressed incorporating ideas from several readings pertaining to different forms of oppression. A summarization of each article will be provided as well.

Here in America, people of color will tell you that they’ve been subjected to a government that doesn’t have their best interest in mind, and, for generations, American people of color have been treated as second class citizens. In this day in age, this community has been using the internet, media, and academia as outlets to discuss systemic racism and oppression. In this essay, I want to inform you on what systemic oppression and American prison systems have in common, why communities of color typically run rampant with crime, and why the American justice system discriminates against people of color.

The role of Critical Race Theory provides us with the idea of “racial realism”, the idea that racism, the normalcy of white supremacy is part of the everyday life of an ‘other’, in other words, racial or indigenous minorities in Canada. Consequently, the Critical Race Theory gives an understanding of the power that can be given to a definition such as ‘race’, and how heavily influence the way society functions and sparked in a cultural divide in Canada due to the simple idea that biological and aesthetic difference. The Critical Race Theory gives us the understanding of how common it is for an individual, but most dominantly, a person who is Caucasian or who has light complexion can easily identifies with their ‘race’, and view a person of another colored complexion as an ‘other’ because this normalized.

“We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others”-Will Rogers

Today, a serious problem exists all over the world. Racial oppression takes place in the poorest and the richest countries, including America. Racial oppression is characterized by the majority, or the ruling race, imposing its beliefs, values, and laws on the minority, or the ruled race. In most areas, the ruling race is upper class whites that run the “system”, and have a disproportionate amount of power. In other areas, it may not be the white race, but it is still the race that is comprised of the majority, makes the laws, or has the most money. These are the keys to domination over the weaker minorities that don’t have the power to thrive under the majority’s system according to their own cultural beliefs,

Critical theories of race and racism have been used by sociologists to not only describe modern societies, but also address issues of social injustice and achieve an end to racial oppression. Critical race theory is one of the most widely used for this purpose. Its utility rests upon the assumption that race is a social construct and not an inherent biological feature. In place of the concept of inherent race, critical race theory proffers the concept of racialization. The tenet that the concept of race is created and attached to particular groups of people through social processes. In tandem with this, critical race theory contends that identity is neither fixed nor unidimensional. It also places importance on the perspectives and experiences of racial minorities (Ritzer and Stepnisky, 2013:66).

In the United States and internationally, there is a multitude of indicators that the racial environment is changing. Environmental pollution and racism are connected in more ways than one. The world is unconsciously aware of environmental intolerances, yet continues to expose the poor and minorities to physical hazards. Furthermore, sociologist continue to study “whether racial disparities are largely a function of socioeconomic disparities or whether other factors associated with race are also related to the distribution of environmental hazards” (Mohai and Saha 2007: 345). Many of these factors include economic positions, health disparities, social and political affairs, as well as racial inequalities.

Oppression signifies an authority over another group, disengaging that particular group from the rest of society. “The term oppression encapsulates the fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life in our society” (Bell, 1997). In one way or another every individual experiences some form of oppression, whether it be through race, sex, gender, religion, age, wealth and/or sexual orientation. These cultural minorities experience inequality where a dominant culture casts its authority and power through exercises of unjust and cruel methods; these methods have been experienced through the Women’s Movement, the

The common sense definition of principle of least privilege would imply that one doesn’t have permission to carry out a function. The technical definition states that principle of least privilege or (POLP) is an information security term that makes reference to a design objective in computing that a given user should only be able to access the information that he or she requires for a legitimate cause. POLP signifies that every component of a system such as a process, user or program should have the “least authority possible to perform its job”. (Janssen)

The social injustice I humbly relate to is the intolerance toward Hispanic populations in America; whether the person is documented or undocumented. Before moving to Carthage, Missouri; I had essentially no interaction with Hispanic people. Embarrassingly, I admit, I relied on stereotypes to build my opinion of the Hispanic population as a whole. On May 22nd, 2011, we lost our home, every personal belonging, and our car in the Joplin tornado. We anxiously awaited our homeowner's insurance payout; with three dogs and nowhere to stay, we fretted, meanwhile homes available for sale shrunk by the hour. Soon, an acquaintance approached us, he had a home in Carthage; that was for sale and vacant. Built in 1910, I immediately fell in love with the home; it is my perfect home, with historically abundant features.

The following paper will discuss two of the major dimensions of my cultural identity, and analyze the way in which my identity holds privileges, or has exposed me to oppression. Being that I am white, I have lived a life of privilege simply because of the color of my skin. I have been afforded opportunities, and lived a life free from persecution due to my skin color. I have also lived a life that has been impacted by oppression because of my female identity. This unique position between privilege and oppression is where I live my life.