Week 13

Privilege. It allows some to walk free while others have to pay with their life. It is what covers up the most intense issues happening in society. Privilege is never acknowledged because it makes people uncomfortable. No one likes to be called out, and recognizing one’s privilege can lead to guilt and shame fueling oppression. A never-ending cycle that can only be stopped by defying the status quo.

If the issue of oppression makes people uncomfortable, then how can we, as a society, tackle the problem? By removing what silences the oppressed, change can occur not only within individuals themselves but with the system itself. I see the media manipulating certain instances, involving minorities and the dominant group, to where the incident pins it on the less dominant group by minimizing the trouble, blaming the victim, calling it something else, or even overlooking it because everyone likes how things are going. By doing so, the more dominant group is portrayed as the better person, and the oppressed are being viewed negatively once again.

One thing I really liked is how Johnson addressed the ways to conquer oppression, and it was to simply get through it. He elaborated on how oppression is probably the worst kind of divisiveness, because silencing the oppressed from the truth can only lead to cutting ourselves from...ourselves. We do not get the chance to really know our true potential based on the current societal system the dominant white American male has placed upon us.

The first step ANYONE has to take before making a change is becoming aware. Being aware allows people to realize what is happening and learn more about the issues before they make any kind of change. If white people were a lot more aware, opposition would be bound to happen more. It’s all about taking the little risks and doing something, like Johnson mentioned. Make yourself be seen, because oppression thrives on silence. It can start off with minor actions such as not laughing at demeaning jokes about others and gradually progress into bigger and louder actions. Showing others that you are against the status quo will draw attention, and you can use this opportunity to inform others about the occurring problems. Whenever I go back home to Houston, I visit my friends and they ask about what I’ve learned and they pick up on my views and opinions about what is going on. There are times when we’re around other friends who are blatantly ignorant, and I call them out on it. Making people uncomfortable is another point Johnson brought up, because if we can’t even bring up the problem, there is gonna be no way to fix it. Ever since I started attending college, I have seen more discriminatory crimes take place on campus with the president hardly addressing the problems and instead focuses on other minor things. Recently, one of the frat houses on campus was vandalized with words like “rapist” and “racist”, and instead of focusing on why someone wrote them, he focused more on the actual action of vandalization. When administrators respond to the wrong issue at hand, it discourages people from coming forward and receiving help. When Fenves sent out the email saying that they were going to get to the bottom of who vandalized property, outrage broke out on Twitter. People were furious and were calling him out on his views. By doing only this though will not allow for action to take place. Nothing ever changes when everyone is ONLY peaceful and respectful towards authority. Johnson mentioned paths of least resistance and how they become more visible when people choose alternative paths. Much like how rules become more apparent when people break them, same goes for these alternative paths. It creates a tension and leads to change in the system whenever new paths are created.

Week 11

Apparently, I mixed up last week’s assignment with this week’s, so I’m writing about week eleven on week twelve!

I really liked how Ash spoke about how to be an ally, and how apathy is a big part of being an ally. A lot of people I interact with on a daily basis often say that they see no differences, and that they consider themselves to be “color blind” who view everyone as one race: the human race. The point that they are blatantly trying to say is that they do not care how you perceive yourself, because at the end of the day you are the same as everyone else in their eyes. According to Ash, this type of approach is filled with apathy: a trait that separates true allies from the rest. When someone is apathetic, they tend to look past, not only your differences, but as well your troubles. An actual ally will recognize what makes you different from the rest AND acknowledge the issues occurring within your community, and will use their privilege to better the problems and make a difference without overstepping. Empathy, as Verna put it, is what goes into building relationships with allies. Another thing Verna mentioned was our biases. I am guilty of having some of biases even now that I unknowingly fall back on. The only way to get over these biases is to face them head first and become uncomfortable before allowing myself to become comfortable. It can be a challenge, but like Verna said, it should not be about perfection but rather about connections we make.

Clint’s video was probably my favorite. The way he spoke about giving up his voice but realizing it is something that was given up long ago resonated with me. I know there have been several times where I wanted to speak up about something, but I was too afraid. Clint pointed out that we often pay attention to what people say rather than what they do not say, and I feel like this can be an observation that can be used daily. Pay attention to what people tolerate and what they will not speak out against. The action of them staying quiet is much louder than what they do say.

The Atlantic article was a really interesting read for me, especially since I identify myself as a leftist. This generation is one of the most unique groups to have been involved in politics, and this past election really allowed us to voice ourselves. Sure, the results of the election were not ideal, but the push that was initiated by the nomination of Bernie Sanders really allowed millennials to voice the issues that are affecting our generation thanks to past generations. The revolution of rising expectations is what happens when issues have been prolonged and shut out in the dark for too long. The issues were always there, but there comes a point where we try and try to do something about it, but nobody is complying to work with the hopeful. I feel like with the presidential election of Trump, this is what happened. Even under Obama’s presidency, there was still a lot of systematic oppression happening, and everyone was so hopeful for a presidency from someone like Bernie because of how much the country was slowly progressing, but the day that Trump was elected, protests took place and the people spoke out. To this day, five months after the election, people are still out here trying to make a difference at twice the speed.

Week 12

The theme for this week made me to feel inspired to go out and make a difference! The first TED talk by Drew, Everyday Leadership, was one of those videos that you will think about from time to time and mention to people when you are on the topic. It was short, but that lollipop moment he spoke about has managed to stay on my mind. I admit, the concept of leadership for me intimidates me – well it did – until Drew put it in perspective for me. Leadership should not be a topic that easily frightens us, we do not necessarily have to go out and change the world; to do something different every day can influence the world around us. To those who have given us that lollipop moment, we should thank them and let them know how important that moment was to us. We all like to be appreciated, and to have someone tell you that can only encourage you to embrace that leadership and to continue to distribute those moments.

Nate’s video put the pieces together. Everything in our everyday lives can be considered tools, because…well…they always have been. The tricky part is regulation: how do we regulate the tools in our lives to better the atmosphere around us? We create habits that stem from our habitat, so why not put these tools to use and better both? Every generation has been different than the next, and it shows throughout the years. We have to be the generation that changes everything, because at this rate we are regressing and by far too much. Nate mentioned healthcare and how society in the U.S. tends to value you more if you are sick. People SHOULD go to the doctor every six months to receive a check-up, but we all know that is nearly impossible. Even then, people hardly go to the doctor whenever they are sick because of how expensive it may be, or possibly finding out something IS wrong and now they have to pay for the care and medication they need. The focus should go to the outcome of situations and work towards bettering the outcome rather than the output society puts forth.

The Hidden Influence of Social Network changed my outlook on networking and just staying connected. Knowing how everyone around us is connected fascinates me, because we are all an influence of our world! If my friend’s sister is happy, then chances are I will be happy. This kind of reminds me of what Drew talked about, and how one little thing can change the environment surrounding us. I have always heard that who you hang around with influences who you are, and I believe it. No matter how much people deny it, you manage to pick up habits from the people you surround yourself with. Emotional contagion is something very real that I, myself, have experienced. Once I surrounded myself with those who have drive and positivity instilled in their life, I was able to pick up on their little habits and emotions that, in the long run, have influenced me for the better. Everything is interconnected, the entire world runs off of social networks, all that matters is who we choose to associate ourselves with and how we should let their healthy habits overcome us in order to pass it on! 

Week 10

The readings for this only proves my point based on institutional discrimination and racism. Whenever someone tries to argue that minorities can be racist towards white people, I immediately start discussing on why that cannot be real. Reverse racism is a fairytale, but people still want to believe it! In the reading, Discrimination Comes in Many Forms, reading about the differences between individual versus institutional discrimination made the picture a little clearer. Knowing that minorities could not be racist towards white people, I could never really add on to that point whenever people would ask things along the lines of, “Well, what if a minority refuses service to a white family?” I never knew exactly how to answer it mainly because I did not know what term would appropriately fit that until I read about individual and institutional discrimination. Reading that mostly white students, and honestly a lot of the white population in general, are more difficult to convince them that institutional discrimination existed in more recent times extending throughout the 90’s kind of surprised me. At the same time when I think about it, it should not though and looking at the results of the Gallup poll only makes the previous point more concrete. It goes to show that fish do not notice water; in other words, white people do not realize the privilege they are given, and their views show how closed off they can be when it comes down to social issues that are not necessarily affecting them but it is affecting the world around them. How blinded could they be when 1/3 of them answered that discrimination is not a big issue in the community, and 2/3 of Black people answered that it is a serious issue?

The documentary had me yelling at my laptop because of how mad the ways of these prison institutions made me! Institutions everywhere LOVE to use incarceration as a scare tactic, because they believe that fear will make the people listen. In reality, the opposite tends to happen. Back in high school, arrests were made a lot for almost anything. It is a pattern I see in many public schools, especially those located in lower-income areas, and all it does it repress the reasons why students did what they did. Same goes for those with a drug addiction problem. My first year in my intro to social work class, one of the first things we discussed was how the prison system handles recovering addicts. Countries that tried to follow the United States scare tactics would often fail and end up with more people in their prisons, but once they decided to focus on actually helping the inmates recover through medical care, rehabilitation, and even decriminalization, the results showed signs of progression for the prison system. Not as much money was spent on throwing recovering addicts in prison, the ones who were already there were receiving proper care, and those who were seeking help were no longer afraid to ask for it without fear of incarceration. I do not see the US using this practice because at the rate they are going, the institutions here are more for the capital and profit rather than the health of the people. 

Week 9: Stigma

The readings and videos for this week really brought light to the stigma imposed on genders, and for some it was the intersectionality of gender and race. In There's Something Absolutely Wrong With What We Do To Boys Before They Grow Into Men, the boys talked about how toxic it was to not show emotion. The concept of “being a man” is concluded as keeping a straight face and never showing any signs of weakness. In schools, teachers assume that the reason boys act up is because they want to be trouble makers, but based on what the guys were talking about, it seems to be that a lot of the times they bottle everything up with no outlet and lash out when they start to become overwhelmed. Becoming isolated due to their lack of communication could start as early as elementary school and their troublesome behavior could really be signs of depression that carry over throughout the years. Teachers, staff, and even parents turn a blind eye to these early signs, and it only worsens the longer it is ignored.

Cyntoia’s story really got to me, especially since she herself was able to talk about the case and her feelings on it. She protected herself based on self-defense, and the court still decided to try her as an adult at sixteen, and rule her as guilty sentencing her to life in prison. Cyntoia experienced a tough life growing up, and it only became more difficult once she started reaching her teenage years. When she pulled out the list she made of people she had sex with throughout her life, it surprised me at how many people there were on the list that she did not want to have sex with versus those that she did. A total of thirty-six people was on the list, four of them she liked, and twenty-eight of them were unwanted. When the crew asked her why she cut her hair, she said “I don’t wanna be pretty anymore. It only causes trouble”, it broke me (Birman, 2011). The fact that a sixteen-year-old wants to change her appearance based on her experiences with men hurts because she’s not doing anything wrong to have that happen to her. The part that got to me was her response when asked about her view of men; she concluded that all they wanted was acceptance and admiration. Her dad only wanted money so he left, Kutthroat wanted to use her to earn money for a truck, and Johnny wanted to make love with desire (Birman, 2011). The case never seemed to look at the actions of the men that harmed her because such actions seems to be pretty common amongst the men.

            The Pro Infirmis video made me tear up a little honestly. The faces of admiration the people had once their mannequins were complete was too pure and wholesome! I believe that there needs to be more a more diverse representation for all to feel included.

            Hearing the stories of the girls on A Girl Like Me was sad at some points. Many of them felt like they had to prove themselves by changing their physical state based on what they had been told throughout their lives. The different expectations set on these girls is terrible; the more these issues become ignored the more they become a taboo (Davis, 2005).

            The Myth of the Gay Agenda TED Talk was comical, but Ganderson made his point loud and clear. People have this certain outlook on the LGBTQ+ community that sets toxic stigmas onto us that can put our lives in danger; this “lifestyle” that society talks about is no different than someone else’s, and many people fail to realize that. 

Week 7

The reading’s this week were interesting seeing that it consisted mainly of how white Christian Americans ruined history thanks to their beliefs and outlooks on the foreign. Blumenfeld talked about Young’s five forms of oppression: “powerlessness, exploitation, marginalization, cultural imperialism, and violence” (Blumenfeld, 2013). There is an apparent form of powerlessness amongst the minorities that has carried out throughout the years in America starting with the first settlers. I honestly find it kind of ironic since one of reasons why the Pilgrims fled was for religious reasons, yet once they arrived everything was either their way or the highway, and they were not giving up easily on their beliefs. Depriving the natives of their land, committing cultural genocide, forcefully stripping them away from their way of life…the settlers were not willing to stop at any costs. With this pattern occurring, the same type of system that was set up by the settlers has been passed down to our current system where Christianity is the most influential religion enforced throughout the country. I remember in elementary school I became aware of the different types of religion that differed from what I was used to, and one of the first rules my parents taught me was to not speak about religion since it could be viewed as disrespectful and on top of that it was just a rule of thumb to not bring it up. I was pretty confused once I learned that the pledge had the word “God” in it, I took note of the different religious holidays that appeared on my calendar and nothing was ever said about them in school but once Christmas time came around the entire school was focused on the “holidays”, and the days of the typical work week was focused around the Sabbath. When I got, older I questioned my teachers about it once or twice but they all would tell me that the school respects other religions even though I never saw much of an attempt at it. The different bans the U.S. had enacted upon other countries entering the country has not seemed to stop. I did not know that there was an Immigration Act of 1917 and for it to have been active for 48 years is pretty wild, but it does not surprise me either.  

Being an ally to the disabled would further advance their rights and allow others to become aware of the problems occurring. I believe myself to be an ally, but I do realize that I need to inform myself more on what is needed by them. I did enjoy the chart that was given; it could give those who are completely unaware the first steps to becoming an ally. I admit that some of my vocabulary that I used to use fell under some negative connotations but I have become better and more aware of my word choice. It slipped right by me the issues the elderly who are disabled have. The elderly already have enough problems with receiving help and attention from the government and society because they are seen as not needed, but those with disabilities are portrayed as needy receiving little to no help, and it’s something that has to be focused on more.

Week 4: Structures and Institutions

The readings for this spoke to me on a lot of different levels! In Capitalism in America, it talked about the different things that often set off Americans, all which lead back to fiscal matters being tied into fairness. In the reading, it mentioned how unsentimental people get when local businesses get swept aside but those same people are willing to be open to innovation. I am still trying to understand how many Americans are business-minded but are not willing to help those businesses that are struggling to keep up with the consumer market. Individualization was talked about in Privatization of Hope, and with this ideology it manages to affect people from lower classes as it weakens the capacity to solve problems especially those who come from a prevailing system. A revolution happens once too many people are angered and bothered by a flaw in the system, and I believe that each day we are getting closer to having a social revolution take place by those who are unemployed and struggling economically. Even though it was mentioned in the reading I have been seeing the progression become stronger and stronger, and eventually the day will come where those people overthrow and punish the wealthy and privileged ones that placed the people in that position. In America, it is apparent that having a sense of individualism usually means that you have a strong sense of self-reliance based on America’s deep rooted history of immigrants. Coming from a family of immigrants, I realize that our voices are hardly heard; we are managed to be pushed back along with the other minorities. Aronson made the point that even our citizenship hardly makes a difference when it comes down to participation. Lower class people can be the ones to vote the most, and it “rarely offer[s] genuine alternatives to prevailing systems”; as minorities we stand on the side lines assuming that things for us and for those from lower classes will become better and fixed by voting but as history shows it is apparent that it will not happen. In chapter two of Privilege, Power, and Difference, Johnson did some calling out. I admire his ways of acknowledging his privilege and speaking about the problems that derive from it; privilege will always be at one’s expense since it is in relation to others. As much as minorities fight back and speak out, changes are much more difficult to happen without the help of those who are in power, A.K.A. white, middle class, college educated men. If they do not address the problems and trouble occurring, then almost nothing can be done about it, and that is the hard truth.

Learning more about education in less privileged areas makes me want to help more! In both the video, Dropout Nation, and the article, Can Schools be Fixed, they addressed the struggles students go through in high school and how the government can drastically hurt the education of students through underfunding and budget-cuts. The number of homeless children has doubled within the last few years, and it affects so much! Thanks to the smart act of No Child Left Behind, thousands of schools got shut down and negatively affected through coercion; if schools did not meet the expectations set up by the state, then funding would be cut and schools would even shut down. On top of all of that the government would not help fund schools in order to better them for the students; it’s all a way to filter out those from lower classes, and I’m glad it is no longer in play. 

History of Privilege

First off, the video I loved; it put a lot of sensitive subjects (for some) into perspective, and even for me, a person of color, who was taught to approach such subjects a certain way, realized how messed up and direct the settlers and White Amerikkka were to the minority population. In school, I was taught that Christopher Columbus was a savior for the Americas and without him there would be no United States of America. I was taught that white men accomplished all the greatest successes throughout history with virtually no help. I was taught that racism does not continue to exist in society; that it only happened in history and now it should all be forgotten. Little did I know that much of history was hidden under the wraps.  

In White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knacksap, by Peggy McIntosh, she heavily mentions the differences that set her apart from the minorities, specifically focusing on her differences with Black people, all the while comparing it to male privilege as well. It gave me insight from another perspective I would not have thought about, but probably because white women had not faced the oppositions Black people have before, although she did make the point of how race and sex are key factors to giving the system an advantage (McIntosh, 1989); arguably, she CAN compare to a certain extent. McIntosh noted that her skin color “was an asset for any move [she] was educated to want to make” and it is such a true statement. The fairer the skin, the greater chance one has at life. My mom came to the US when she was fourteen, and my dad arrived when he was nineteen; they each had SOME type of advantage that still managed to hold them back making them work twice as hard versus their white counterpart. My mom is a somewhat fair skinned immigrant with a heavy accent who, at the time, was undocumented; my dad is a brown immigrant with a Spanish accent noted in his English who simply was in the country because of a visa. They lived in a small, lightly-populated city in Arkansas, and they did not have any background education useful for the workforce. They knew of many white families that were able to advance in their life with ease while they were over here being constantly declined for loans, treated unfairly in work, and continuously discriminated against in public. Even though they had the two slight advantages – my mom being slightly fair skinned and my dad being a man – it still was not enough.

I remember when the Black Lives Matter movement started, and I began following the hashtag on Twitter until I became informed enough to be am ally. Once news about Ferguson hit mainstream media – months after it really began – many false stories surfaced that were quickly proved wrong.  I really liked how the editors incorporated the survivors of Katrina into the movement. Although it was a natural disaster that happened years ago, it is something that affected thousands of people that to THIS DAY it continues to impact them; those in power turn a blind eye to the survivors without even thinking twice. 

Week 2: Socialization

The “Love Has No Labels” video was honestly adorable! I loved the message it sent out about not discriminating and just letting people be. In chapter six, “The Cycle of Socialization”, it begins with talking about the different ways society categorizes and separates individuals in society based on characteristics, both physical and non-physical, such as skin color, ethnicity, religion, class, gender, and so on. Bobbie Harro makes the obvious point that everyone SHOULD “appreciate differences and treat each other with respect” and although many people jump to that conclusion, they do not realize that they must put in the work too to erase oppression (Harro, 2013). Throughout our lives, we will inevitably fall into the stereotypes society, and especially those in power, groups us in even if we do nothing to feed into the actual stereotype. Eventually “our discomfort becomes more powerful than our fear of insecurity…compel[ing us] to take some action”, which I noticed has been happening lately with movements all across the country. Only through educating yourself can you reach that new level of awareness.

In the video, “Park Avenue”, they talked about the troubles of college for those coming from a lower-class background. For example, among the people that reside in a low-income area, such as the Bronx, the unemployment rate sits at 19%. Those who come from a higher class often think that the reason for high unemployment rates is because people choose not to work when in reality that is not the case at all. Since 1980, college tuition has gone up 500% (Gibney, 2012). Individuals who come from a disadvantaged area typically only have a high school diploma which cannot guarantee them high-paying jobs, so most of them work in a place where they receive a low wage. Because areas like this are saturated with people from similar backgrounds it does not leave many open job opportunities for the rest. In fact, there is a 7 out of 10 chance that someone with a high school diploma does not have a full-time job (Gibny, 2012). How does the government always complain about people using the system by choosing not to work when the government itself places multiple obstacles in front of the oppressed? 

Week 1: Conceptual Frameworks Reading (1/29)

1/29

It amazes me still that in 2016 when we think that we, as a country, have progressed, we immediately get backhanded with events that prove us wrong. Watching the video and reading the chapters has only further proved my points that White America are the oppressors and the rest of the country are the oppressed ones. I am looking forward to finishing Privilege, Power, and Difference because it would give me an insight into what the mind of a white privileged man processes when it comes down to issues that do not regard them but they still manage to come up with an unsolicited opinion. I realize that he acknowledges his privilege which makes me more comfortable reading it seeing that he has respect for minorities and active problems pursuing the community. I liked how the book and the video made connections with the issues privilege brings; they both made points on how easily privilege can silence the problems occurring. Since power and privilege go together, problems frequently happening in lower classes and low-end communities are often muted and rarely addressed. Thanks to younger generations and the power of social media, issues are more than often brought to light and something is usually done to fix the problem. On Twitter I follow a variety of social justice accounts which help me become connected with others around the country and even around the world that speak out about issues affecting them directly and the community around them. In the video Junot Díaz addressed the idea that there are two types of worlds existing today: the official world and the real world. In the official world, nobody talks about social issues and the problems affecting society, and everyone continues to live as if nothing is going on. Then in the real world, we acknowledge the erasure White America is doing to the cultures of minorities and the existing problems. I tend to see this a lot especially in my environment. Immigration matters is what matters to me the most, especially right now with bans going on, and there seems to be no promising plans for immigrants in politics anytime soon. Here we have a country that we seem to present ourselves as, how we imagine ourselves, how we project ourselves, and the reality of America. Immigrants tend to see this country as great with much potential for them and their families, but White America has drastically changed these views. I cannot think of anything that I like about this country or about the policies being enacted; all I can think about is the change that everyone will endure. Díaz stated that he believes that minorities should be the ones to make a change, but I believe we have been fighting for far too long; I’m not saying that we should stop rebelling at all, but some type of change must come from the inside. It was the white elitists that prematurely placed this country in a position that benefits no one; not the minorities.