To Those Who Don't Understand Oppression

The beautiful thing about words and our human vocabulary, is that we can understand them without experiencing them first hand. We understand what coffee is, and does, before most of us ever taste it. We recognize where babies come from, though most of us have never reproduced ourselves. But oppression, that word is somehow different. Many people think I cannot stick up for injustice because I have never experienced the injustice first hand, or that I can’t march for women’s rights just because women in other countries have it worse off than I do. Oppression, racism, and fascism are nouns that people do not seem to comprehend, they push them aside because they are not personally affected by them.

I am tired of seeing this everyday. So I want to enlighten those who do not understand oppression. I want to write this to all of those who do not support the marches and peaceful protests across our nation, and I hope they listen.

Oppression does not have to be life-crushing, but it will be life-changing.

It is a common misconception to think of the worst-case scenarios when discussing oppression. Many said that women in the United States aren’t oppressed because there are women in other countries who face far worse than we do. Oppression is not black and white; people can be oppressed but not depressed. Oppression does not mean that your life is over, but it does mean that life will be different. You will have a different view on human rights, on humanity, and on respect. Most racist or oppressive acts are not the worst case scenario, but that does not mean we can diminish the way we respond to those actions.

We are allowed to be privileged and oppressed at the same time.

As a white woman from a middle-class family, I am considered privileged. I grew up with a roof over my head, a warm meal on the table, and nice clothes on my back. I was not spoiled in most senses, I was given what I needed to survive and was taught to appreciate the items in life that were extra. But that doesn’t mean I do not experience oppression. I am privileged in most ways, but I am often talked over by males, I am often talked down to by males, and I have been harassed by males who think they hold power over me. Yes, I recognize my privilege, but I also recognize injustice. Sticking up for oppression doesn’t have to be done by someone who is only on the latter side of this discussion, it can be done by all of us.

“He who allows oppression, shares the crime”- Desiderius Erasmus

This continues from my last point, in that my privilege is what gives me the tools to stick up for those who don’t have it. When you recognize racism or sexism in public, it is up to you to say something. By letting people continue to oppress other people, you are oppressing them as well. It is simple; do not let people be sexually assaulted, help disabled people when they need it, stick up for people of color or different religions when they are talked down to or profiled. We all have the ability to recognize oppression, but we need to gain the confidence to say something about it, because being a bystander is just perpetuating the issue. So be the male at a women’s march, be the humanitarian at the scientist’s march, be the Caucasian at a Black Lives Matter protest, because you can, and should, stick up for those who are oppressed.

At the end of the day, Martin Luther King Jr., said it best: “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” I will not stay silent because you do. Rather, I will stick up for what I believe in, because I understand the word oppression.