Johnson’s Chapter 8 describes the many ways that dominant group members deny, minimize and erase the oppression of targeted social groups in the U.S. It’s very true that the dominant groups will do anything to not look like the “bad” person. It seems to me that the dominant groups in most situations are white males, but not all the time. Whites have power and privilege over non whites with the big problem being racism and males have power over females. These groups try to make it seem like it’s the victims fault and that they shouldn’t have any blame for targeting a social group. In our culture whites tend to deny that there’s racism out there by acknowledging it exist but that it doesn’t amount enough to acknowledge it. In our culture racist stereotypes have such an authority that it makes it so easy to blame the victim. In our culture I believe men oppress women by targeting their behaviors. When a woman is being too friendly to a man, the man just assumes they’re asking for it but when we aren’t friendly enough we’re being stuck up, it’s like no matter what it’s a lose-lose situation. Not only do men judge women in that manner, but women do the same to men as well.
Another strategy Johnson mentions is that “It Doesn’t Count if You Don’t Mean It.”People seem to think when you make a racial comment or target any social group they can just follow up with “that was a joke” or “I didn’t mean it” and everything will be alright, that it never happened. Unfortunately that’s not the case, the consequence still remains the same and the person can still be harmed from the comment but they are now just left to deal with it on their own. Oppression just keeps continuing because if one person does it then the next will do it and so on. As I was reading through this chapter I definitely realized that I’m surrounded by these strategies. Half the time my friends and I will say rude or racist comments between each other as a joke, which I feel as the biggest problem. Most people think that since they’re joking it is 100% okay. The biggest part of interrupting this cycling is realizing that you’re doing it and that you could possibly be offending others, but they just don’t speak out.
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ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your "It doesn't count if you don't mean it" comments. Hahaha, while I was reading that section I thought of my sisters because, in the past, they would say some very racist things and then say it was just funny since they did not really believe in those things. I tried to tell them that it doesn't matter since they still said them, but they would never take what I had to say to heart. Fortunately, they have grown out of this bad habit (I'm not sure if those words are the right ones to use...but....) and have stopped doing this. It seems like you have realized some of your mistakes and want to stop repeating them...and, Lord knows, I have done that as well and continue to do so.....just so you don't think I believe I'm better than you since I'm not.