Types Of Oppression In The Caribbean Society

Since the first civilizations emerged thousands of years ago, there have been systems in place that have subjugated a specific group of individuals and have made each group in question a lesser being compared to their counter-part. A variety of social systems range in what they pertain to. Some of these systems concern the discrimination of a person’s skin tone, socioeconomic class, and a multitude of other things. The social systems bring forth with it unique and unfair treatment to those that are affected. When it comes to which system has the most elaborate history, in terms of length, the system of patriarchy comes to mind.

Slavery represents an important part of Jamaican history and the cultivated dominant atmosphere. For one, plantations highly depended on slave labor to maximize profit margins. Between 1655 and 1808 one million slaves were forcefully brought to Jamaica (Waters, 1985: 21-23). Persaud (2001: 72) suggests, “the plantation system, the totality of institutional arrangements surrounding the production and marketing of plantation crops, has seriously affected society in Jamaica”. In other words, the slave mode of production was a crucial factor in the establishment of Jamaica’s structural society. “Jamaica’s class structure today reflects its history as a colonial plantation society and its beginnings of industrial development

In every culture, there are the strong and there are the weak, the oppressor and the oppressed. Sometimes they are of the same race and sometimes not, but they all rely on a difference in power. Socrates, Frederick Douglass, and WEB Du Bois each experience this power differential through the course of their lives. Socrates experiences this through his experience with the jury of Athens and his trial; Douglass through his life as a slave and his eventual escape. Du Bois experiences it through being a black man in the time of Reconstruction and being well of in comparison to other African-Americans at the time. Each man’s unique perspective on equality can illuminate why authority is so instrumental in the development of equality.

Many cultures have had “dark” pasts and histories. Some have had terrible wars, while others have had mass killings. Other cultures have had problems with discrimination towards diverse or dissimilar cultures and races. There are many reasons for this discrimination, but in the majority of cases, the most common reason is simply because of a difference between them. These differences can vary from physical appearances to cultural, traditional, or religious beliefs. Differences can lead to a culture’s social status of privilege for one race or group over another. One culture, or country, where this was apparent, was in the United States, specifically in the South. Slavery can be seen as one of the United State’s negative times in history.

"Capitalism & Slavery," (published by The University of North Carolina Press, 1994) was written by Eric Eustace Williams and first published in 1944. Eric Williams' book, was at the time of its publication, considered years ahead of its time. It should be noted, early on within this report that, literary works on the history of the Caribbean or slavery for a matter of fact, was done by Europeans. In the preface of his book, Williams clearly asserts that his work, "is not a study of the institution of slavery but of the contribution of slavery to the development of British capitalism."1 His work takes an economic view of history, which is at the

In today’s society systematic oppression has really been a factor regarding on the issues of minority groups. In our opinion, we feel like if Bill Cosby wasn’t a colored man suppose he was a white man this case would have been a lot more lenient because people of color have them labeled as bad people. People who kill, rape, sell drugs etc. and white people that sometimes are the worst, always they treat white people with like more finesse of have more them respect. At this time the colored people not only suffer from racism, but also immigrants from different countries are suffering a lot of racism. Another example of systematic oppression is about Bill Cosby accused of raping women was harshly accused and especially for being black.

#, 1991). Consequently, this placed individuals in vulnerable positions that disabled them from achieving equality in society. Crenshaw explores these historical efforts through an analytical framework, to address the different intersecting identities that ultimately create multiple oppressions and discrimination in society. For example, on a personal level, a young, white, middle-class woman will experience different oppressions in society, such as gender identity. However, a young, upper-class African-American woman may experience different oppressions and privileges based on her race, sexuality, or socio-economic status.

In Audre Lorde’s story, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” she reveals the difficulties that women of color have and are experiencing. Based off of money and profit, she argues how society challenges superiority. Which leads into the classification of “dehumanized inferior(s),” who are considered as “Third World people, working-class people, older people, and women” (Lorde 114). She provides her experience of inferiority by discussing her personal thoughts of inferiority. Lorde thinks that “[I]t is the responsibility of the oppressed to teach the oppressors their mistakes” (114). She believes that society should be open-minded in seeing difference. Lorde argues that individuals are ignoring it and they aren't realizing

The structure of gender relations throughout these transitions, help us understand the sense of minority group powerlessness. Slaves in the American system were brutally repressed and exploited, but females faced greater subordination. For black female slaves, inequalities tripled and they became the most vulnerable group to sexual victimization. For example, the men of the dominant group saw their female slaves as a resource for more profit. They were often raped and used to breed more slaves for their owners to sell. Under the Jim Crow system, African American women were “free” but were relegated to domestic service or agricultural positions, and denied access to the education needed for social mobility. In the postindustrial era, structural inequality is less overt, but exclusions for opportunity abound in housing, and career mobility.

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.

In both Nation of Nations and People’s History, oppression is a main theme for these sections. A chain of oppression throughout levels of society and wealth was apparent, and no matter one’s status, one typically was under pressure from another. Indentured servants and slaves were oppressed by their masters, masters were oppressed by taxes and merchants who bought through monopolies, and the entire colony was being wrung out by England, who only cared about making a profit.

Every single culture is a unique social creation wherein the population of a given location has worked together for years to develop attitudes, perceptions, artistic and aesthetic interests, and ideologies which will be individual to the culture. It will also develop important attitudes about which groups within the cultural community will comprise the majority and which the minority. Those in the majority culture will have the power and those in the minority will have to abide by whatever rules and sanctions the majority population devises. The majority culture also determines how the minority culture will be treated and how the two groups will be classified. Often, differentiation of groups is determined by race, religion, or social and economic class. Throughout literary history, authors have endeavored to capture the past as well as recreate and articulate sociological inequalities within that past in order to better understand the psychology and sociology of those who exist in the present. Issues of race, being one of the primary examples of social inequality, often appear in controversial and important works of literature from around the world. In the Caribbean Sea, people have had to deal with centuries of racial prejudices and sociological inequity since the first explorers arrived on the island and demanded that those with darker skins become the slaves of those with light skin, a period which still affects the populations of the Caribbean to

Slavery, religious persecution, and patriarchies all have one common quality: the dominance of one group over another. This inequality of power can create the oppression of a population and lead to an unstable society. To address the injustice, we need to ask how certain groups are able to achieve superiority over other populations?

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.”

The aim of this essay is to address the problem of inequality and oppression through three separate texts, The Second Sex, The Death of the Profane and Killing Rage. The Second Sex focuses on the woman and her role compared to man. The Death of the Profane and Killing Rage are both texts that describe experiences about the constant racism felt by blacks. To thoroughly examine these texts and how they are related to oppression and inequality it is important to first define what each mean. Oppression and inequality each have different definitions but they go hand in hand. Oppression is the state of being subject to prolonged unjust treatment. While inequality is defined as lacking equality, equality is the state of being equal especially in status,