CR #5| Lo cotidiano: a new kind of awareness
According to both Young and Diaz, oppression can be described in 5 categories: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence. In Young’s article, these 5 categories are explained in greater detailed compared to Diaz’s definition of oppression. Young believed that some categories of oppression were worse than others whereas Diaz believed that all categories were interconnected and none of these different forms of oppression are more unjust or causes more destruction than the others (Young, pg. 53;Diaz, pg. 46). Young simply defines oppression as the inability for an individual to express their concerns, feelings, and thoughts. Both Diaz and Young believe that oppression is created through institutional rules and it is the following of these rules where people experience the consequences of oppression.
On the other hand, Dias identifies herself as being “oppressed and impoverished” meaning that she is aware of the historical oppression and struggle for liberation within her own community. Because she is oppressed and impoverished she has this sense of awareness and knowledge of the injustices that they endure and why they have to endure them. In order to be oppressed and impoverished, one must be conscious of their own oppression and it is only brought by oppressive institutions and structures rather than personal failures.
Furthermore, Dias bring further insight to how our thoughts, behaviors, and decisions play into a more holistic and greater picture. Lo cotidiano, a rather difficult concept to define even for Diaz herself, is the idea for people to be aware of the decisions they make day-to-day and the awareness of how one’s decisions can affect an event or even a community in the future. The simplest way of understanding lo cotidiano was understanding the story of the mother and her son at the bus stop. The mother looked disheveled and unclean while her son had an ironed shirt on and cleanly dressed. Diaz observed that the mother had to make crucial decisions that morning which was to sacrifice her appearance over her son’s and also to worry about what cheap breakfast she would have in order to have enough money to pay for the bus fair. Additionally, lo cotidiano is important because it “allows us reimagine a different world with a different societal structure and a different way to relate to ourselves to understand who we are and what we do” (Diaz, pg. 50). This term allows us to be aware of how our decisions shape ourselves and what we do in everyday life. It is important for us to be aware of this but many of have no knowledge of lo cotidiano.
I think the best way to become aware of lo cotidiano is to be highly observant and exercise ethnographic skills. Just as Diaz was able to observe the mother and son at the bus stop, it might just be as easy to eaves drop on a conversation at the the Ritter Center. For example, if I am doing some work by the front desk, I could listen to the conversations that Leticia is having with a client. It is also to easy detect someone’s body language and energy. For example, in certain situations you can tell if someone is feeling anxious or hurried if they talk quickly and can’t stand still. Another situation might be when someone only chooses a little amount of food because they say, “This is all I could carry with me.” In this moment I could recognize the lo cotidiano in which they need to make a choice to get only the amount of food that they really need because they might not have a car to transport all of their stuff, or because they are injured and can’t carry heavy amount while taking the bus back home. It is important to pick up on what people say and be critical of why they say it. Lo cotidiano not only allows us to recognize the decisions we make for ourselves but why others choose to sleep rather than eat or even why people walk several miles rather than take the bus.
