A break in the chain

Sorry it's a little long!

In the U.S. we minimize, deny, and erase oppression towards a certain group of people. When we minimize something, we are brushing the situation off of our shoulders. If a woman was talking to a man, and he said a rude remark, something like “Women belong in the kitchen”, she would hopefully stand up for herself and explain to the man what he did wrong. He would then minimize the woman by telling her “you’re over reacting” or something of that taste. Like Johnson said, minimizing something is like denial. It used the example that men are more in trouble now than women and I find this interesting. When a white man gets angry and says something like this, he’s just trying to minimize the true situation and is trying to turn the tables. My example of the conversation before also is an example of blame. The man blamed the woman for being irrational, which is another way people can get away with oppression. When someone does this, something you could do would be to try to explain to them how they oppressed you and how they offended who you are. We all need to stop blaming someone else for what has happened in the past, and most importantly what is going on in the present. It’s all our fault for the way society is now, and we need to work harder to stop minimizing the situation.

            I found the section about “being with your own kind” interesting. Living in a state that is mostly white, it’s hard to picture a more diverse neighborhood. But thinking about how the US is, it’s not surprising. “In fact, however, research shows clearly that most blacks would prefer to live in integrated neighborhoods. If anyone wants to live “with their own kind,” it’s whites”. This line really struck me because it’s so completely true! Whites deny everything that goes on when it comes to race. The reason we can’t fix anything and haven’t yet, is because we just travel in a circle. We oppress someone, categorizing them by their gender, their race, or sexual orientation, then we go and put them down. When they finally gain the strength to fight back, we deny them that strength, tell them they’re overreacting and push them back down. We then make everything better by saying that’s how THEY want it and we’re just respecting their wishes, which in turn leads to more oppression. This never ending cycle truly needs a break in the chain.