CR #5: Inside Oppression
Before knowing what Young and Diaz defined oppression as, I wanted to know what the general definition was. According to Oxford Dictionary, it’s a “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority.” Now for Diaz, there are many types of oppression but does not overpower one and the other. She goes on by explaining how there are five modes of oppression: exploitation, marginalization, ethnoracism, powerlessness, and structural violence (Diaz 46). She later explains how they are not individual blocks of oppression but they are all combine into one. When I was looking closer to what each of those meant, I was able to connect it with my community partner. My partner is placed in Canal and I can see each of those within the community. But the ones I do see the most are structural violence, exploitation, and marginalization. Families work long hours to be able to sustain themselves. And most of the time, it is not enough for them. There are many occasions where many families live within one apartment. This raises many stresses towards their children. The stresses of parents can transmit to their children which can affect their school performance.
Diaz later on adds that she is “oppressed and impoverished.” She goes on to explain the phrase. It’s individuals, in this case her, that are aware of the oppression that are happening and are struggling with. But being aware of the community as well. She later adds, “a commitment to the impoverished and oppressed is precisely a commitment to create spaces that will allow them the opportunity to become more conscious of the reasons for the injustices they suffer” (Diaz 47). This plays along with Kid’s Club. They created a program for children in the community to help them with their education, especially their literacy. They are aware of an ongoing problem with education and having Kids Club in Canal is greatly helping students.
Young has an interesting viewpoint of oppression that comes in hand with Diaz. Young has a similar view. She goes on by saying that there are “five faces of oppression.” I thought it was interesting because Diaz also named five things that come with oppression. The five faces of oppression as mentioned by Young are: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. Diaz mentions the first two but Young brings 3 new views. Powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence (Young 45–58).
Going back to Diaz, she mentions lo cotidiano. Reading about the multiple aspects of it made me have a bigger understanding of things that happen to people. It can be either conscious or unconscious in their everyday life. It is about things that are repeated in people’s lives that are done awarely. As it mentions, there are many cotidiano. I believe this is something you can see everyday and since it is something you see everyday people ignore this. It’s part of an everyday thing for some and has been normalized. But if people decide to one day stop and reflect to see the things people go through, it could be impactful. More awareness can drastically happen. One of the examples Diaz mentions is about how one day she was waiting for the bus and two Latinas were waiting with her as well. But when the bus came one of the Latinas went into the bus first and used her card and then gave it to the other Latina (Diaz 51).
Diaz mentions how these Latinas have to be aware of the cost and have to support and help each other to be able to transport. When I think about this, I think about when I drive to Canal. When I get to the neighborhood, I see how mainly women at the bus stop then men. I thought this was interesting but not only were they alone but they were in groups. But not in groups of strangers but they were familiar with each other. They would have their kids with them while they sit in the bus stop. Just how Diaz mentions, these women help each other out with the transportation cost. I think that when you think about these things you become more aware of things. I feel that sometimes we forget that there are people that have to debate over things like food or transportation. One of the examples that Diaz mentions shocked me because I saw this with parents of the students I serve. The children all have uniforms but almost every student has their uniform super clean and ironed. But when the time comes for parents to come pick up their students, they come with worn out clothes. The parents all look like very hard workers in their work clothes. It was interesting to see how Diaz and I could be able to relate to this because we noticed how parents put their children out there and presentable. But no matter how members of the community look, they always have a smile when they come in to my community partner.
