Blog Post #5 in response to Question E

After reading Johnson’s Chapter 8, I was exposed to many viewpoints on privilege and oppression that I had not considered before. Johnson explains how privilege allows people to ignore and avoid the issue of racial oppression. I like how he mentioned that when you deny oppression you also deny privilege. I agree with this statement because it’s easy for people to pretend that oppression isn’t still a major issue, especially when they completely overlook their own privileges. Blaming the victim is another strategy dominant group members use to deny oppression. When a person who had an underprivileged upbringing is working at a low income job and doesn’t have an education, “dominant” people often react by saying something like “well why don’t they get their act together and get an education and try to make something of themselves?” These people are quick to assume that the individual must be stupid or lazy as if it’s their own fault. Johnson stated that in this case, oppression is blamed on the people who suffer most from it. What angers me is how quickly dominant group members can assume that individuals that are less privileged than them are stupid or lazy, just by looking at them. Those who are privileged likely have no idea how hard growing up in the shoes of that individual was, but often assume they have an idea and any limitations could have been overcome with some effort.

Another strategy that grabbed my attention was the one labeled “It’s better this way” meaning, for example, that whites assume that blacks want to live with blacks and that’s the major reason for residential segregation. It annoys me that the dominant group would assume the desires of those who are subordinate to them and pretend like the dominant group is just trying to accommodate them. However, the truth is that the dominant group is most concerned about living with “others of their kind” which is why residential segregation is enforced.

I found the concept of how being polite can be patriarchal fairly interesting. Like the other women in this section of the chapter, I don’t always like when a man opens the door for me. I cannot stand being thought of as a meek, helpless female who is completely dependant on a man. I can handle myself, so if a man tries to do everything for me that could be considered physically demanding, I may get irritated. I was brought up in a household where my parents share the housework, but I would say that my mom is actually the dominant figure in our family. My dad is originally from England and is extremely proper about everything he does to the point where my mom sometime gets annoyed with him. If he opens the car door or tries to carry something heavy for her she often rolls her eyes and says, “let me do it!” I can see how men might get confused because they are genuinely trying to be polite, but it’s because they don’t see how their simple act of kindness reaffirms their dominance over women.

I agree with Johnson that dominant individuals get defensive and often say, “I didn’t mean it” when confronted with their wrongdoing. It’s irritating because I’ve seen this type of situation between my friends and their boyfriends as well as in my own relationships. I can’t stand when someone says something that really hurts you, and if you confront them, they claim it was only a joke, they didn’t mean it, and they almost make fun of you for getting upset about it. Clearly they knew you’d be hurt by their comment and how is it a joke if you don’t laugh or think its funny but are actually hurt by it? Racial jokes really irritate me. Why do people who are assumed dominant over another race feel they are entitled to joke and laugh at racial inequality? It’s sickening.

I feel a sense of guilt that allowing privilege and oppression in my own personal experiences technically makes me part of the problem. Reading this chapter makes me more aware of how I can do my part to help stop oppression. Like Johnson said, the cycle of denial and defense must be broken to stop privilege and oppression.