The Causes And Traits Of Oppression

Racial oppression in the United States has been present for almost a century now. Although slavery was abolished in the 1860s, people associated in target groups are still being mistreated by racial oppression in different ways. In the article “Being Poor, Black, and American” written by William Julius Wilson, a sociologist and professor at Harvard University, Wilson shows that political, economic, and cultural forces are the primary forces that contains the distinction between target and agent group positions. From the immigration policies, the workplace policies, and stereotypical views portrayed by society, these all have an impact on how an individual can live their life. Altogether, these forces ultimately keep people in check with society’s rules and regulations on what is right and wrong and keep them from stepping out of their place.

After this week's readings, it definitely helped me understand more about the concept of oppression and how it is connected with discrimination and prejudice. Through reading the chapter in "Is Everyone Really Equal?", it was presented in a way where it was very informative, describing current issues that individuals face in their everyday lives. There was a lot of information to take in, however, it made me realize, without question, how little I know about oppression and how it greatly affects an individual's life. It was also interesting to read about the women's suffrage portion in the chapter. That no matter how much women wanted to be granted the right to vote, only men had the power to vote and also having the power to give women

Institutional oppression as we see it today, often does not develop intentionally but rather continues to thrive because of policies which create structural inequalities between the privileged and non-privileged groups in

Oppression has change in history in the following ways: lower class people are treated different than higher class, people are discriminated by their race, and minorities knows how each class behave. People should not be obligated to change their lifestyle only because they are oppressing them to change for good. Each one of us should have freedom of what they want to do and enjoy life by not being forced to or feeling less than others

Generally speaking, discrimination is rooted in within the “cultural fabric of the United States” along the lines of “housing, employment, health, and the criminal justice system” (Camara & Orbe, 2011). Hecht (1998) describes the term, “discrimination involves the power and capacity to act followed by actual selective/targeted action against someone else emanating from one’s

It is a great annoyance to witness at every turn in society a great outpouring of proclaimed victimhood, where in fact very little is truly found. Whether problems or insignificant tiffs are denounced as racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, or a great many other forms of “oppression,” the people of our nation are quick to victimize themselves. Everything that ever happens to someone is a great oppressing force, though the United States is easily one of the most accepting countries in this day and age.

Oppression- noun, the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner (dictionary.com). People throughout human history have fought against this practice. The disparate speeches and articles seem completely disconnected at first glance, but in actuality they are all advocating for the end of a form of oppression. The authors of these speeches and articles knew the dangers and hardships of being oppressed and wanted to make a change in society to prevent it.

I believe I am oppressed, while at the same time, I believe I am given equal opportunity. In terms of my heritage, I am Mexican, and my entire family line comes from a small town in Mexico, as far as I know. Most members in my family believe that we are oppressed because no matter how hard we work to achieve higher status in America, we will continue to be unheard and unseen as equals. I, personally, believe that I have the potential to become someone greater and ultimately leave my mark in this world, one way or another. However, the long-felt, heavily implemented, overshadowing thought that I will not be able to succeed because of my origins continues to haunt me. I’ve experienced both sides of the axis, but I believe it’s a matter of perspective

Oppression deals with not having the requirements of people of power and privilege. Five defining features of oppression are pervasive, restrictive, hierarchical internalized, and complex, multiple cross cutting relationships. The pervasive feature has spread through the minds of every individuals that the inequality of oppression is wildly accepted as a regular custom in societies. The restrictive feature delimits development and determination of ones self-possibilities. The hierarchical feature deals with dominant groups having a huge advantage over the less advantaged targeted groups. Internalized feature lies in the human psyche where beliefs are internalized by oppressed victims and the victimizers. Complex, multiple cross-cutting relationships implies to non-privileged individuals, who have an advantage like a high economic and professional status, still suffer limitations for being less advantaged in other categories.

Every single person on this planet has been a victim and or enforcer of oppression. The act of oppression or oppressing are caused by social orientations. Meaning people are subjected to unjust treatment based on how they live and the choices they make. Examples of social orientations are sex, class, age, and ethnicity. Along with other aspects that make a person a person. The idea that people are getting put down for being who they are is the ridiculous reality we live in. Oppression can be direct or even unintentional. The fact is that it happens times and time again. To myself included.

I do think citizenship is an oppressive concept. I am a citizen of the United States, but I was not born here. There have been many instances that people questioned my citizenship and made me feel like I had to prove my citizenship. I do not think we should get rid of citizenship, because it is unrealistic but I do believe we need to change the idea of citizenship. In Young’s “Five Face of Oppression”, he argues that there is a difference between oppression and discrimination. He believes that oppression targets a group of people while discrimination attacks individuals in a group. A person can detach themselves from that group, but the group will always represent them. Young describes five types of oppression, which are exploitation, marginalization,

Oppression is the root of most serious, everlasting issues in the world today. Oppression occurs between the government and the people that abide by these authority figures; in the battle of sexes; between employers and employees; indifferences between heterosexuals and homosexuals. As a whole these aspects combine to form the root of oppression, however, many of these issues are rooted within racism and sexism. It effects the way women and African Americans live their life day to day. The amount of opportunities lost due strictly to their race or sex is endless. People try and argue whether sex and racism are connected or have a direct correlation with one and another. Unlike the sex of a human, race can be

“Conjugated oppression occurs when an economic structure…conflates with ideology…to create an experience of oppression that is more than merely the sum of its constituent parts: class and ideology.”[footnoteRef:3] [3: Ibid. 330]

As Collins states, “whether we benefit or not, we all live within institutions that reproduce race, class and gender oppression” (Ferber et al., 2009). It’s our personal experiences with each of these types of oppressions that give us insight into our own lives and the roles we play in being both the privileged and the oppressed. As Allen Johnson points out, “privilege is always a problem for people who don’t have it and for people who do, because privilege is always in relation to others. Privilege is always at someone else’s expense and always exacts a cost. Everything that’s done to receive or maintain it – however passive and unconscious – results in suffering and deprivation for someone” (Johnson, 2016).

Blindly following rules and traditions without question can erode one’s human nature and contribute to the demise of society. Imposing strict compliance to social norms and traditions limits open-minded opinions and can restrict a society’s ability to expand its boundaries and prevent individuals from growing and maturing. Not being able to overcome the controlling ways of unbending and authoritative figures introduces the possibility of corruption and oppression against society. A society without the room for diversity and change imprisons individuals, limits innovation, and prevents society from evolving. It is important to respect traditions and society’s rules in order to learn from the past and create social order but not blindly