In his book, Privilege, Power, and Difference (Chapters 1-3), author Alan Johnson argues that privilege and the power that comes with it is a social construct, and understanding that, along with talking about that, is the only way we can fix it.
Johnson writes, "The concept of oppression points to social forces that tend to 'press' upon people and hold them down, to hem them in and block their pursuit of a good life. Just as privilege tends to open doors of opportunity, oppression tends to slam them shut"(40). Both of these provide a way for power to come into play. If someone has "privilege" they will have the power and ability to do more, have more, and be seen as more likely to succeed. Johnson frequently touches on the idea that no one cares who you are as a person, and what makes you, you, is just what they see. If you are a white male, you will be viewed differently. You add female next to the word white, and you automatically lose opportunities or will be treated differently. There is no power in that. Oppression reinforces the idea of social inequality.
How did we end up here in society? Was it born out of some deep seeded psychological wants and needs? "Whether it's a matter of can't or won't, the truth is that we simply don't get along" (2). In the past we have not gotten along, today we don't get along, and so the question remains, will we get along? What will it take to do that? Can it be as simple as just reading and doing research, and getting comfortable talking about hard things, and changing how you think and act as an individual?
"Privilege is always at someone else's expense and always exacts a cost. Everything that's done to receive or maintain it-however passive and unconscious- results in suffering and deprivation for someone" (10). While I was reading, the piece that stood out to me was passive and unconscious. If these things are happening, regardless if someone is aware or not, how does one bridge the gap? I struggled a bit here, because if privilege is a problem for those who have it, and those who don't, what do we do with that? Is there a conscious piece? What would that look like?
Before reading these chapters, I watched the video The Four I's of Oppression with Luna Malbroux.
After watching the video and finishing the reading, I found the video made deeper connections to some of the points made. The video explains how oppression operates and she, like Johnson, suggest that, to experience oppression, you have to be placed in a category. Those categories are based on gender, race, class, etc. This process of being placed in a category is constructed really early on in life and reinforced as we grow up. For example, we see and hear the stereotypes for what a "boy" should do or not do, like not cry, not rely on their moms too much or they'll be a "momma's boy" (26). Both the video and reading touch on the experiences people have, and how it shapes them later on.
Another connection I made was related to the supplemental reading The 4 I’s of Oppression. This reading highlights that “because ideology often presents itself as ‘common sense’ or a way of understanding the world, ideological oppression can have long-standing cultural and historical roots.” The idea of "common sense" helps us understand how oppression can be made.
In another course I'm taking, we spent time discussing what it means to say "this is common sense". Who decides what is common? Common sense is shaped by personal experience, and personal journeys. Something that feels like common knowledge to one person, might not be true for another. Johnson takes his own experiences into account when he wrote this book. He stated "to some degree this book cannot help having a white, straight, male, middle-class point of view, because that is what my background is" (ix). We are all shaped by different experiences and those impact how we see, view, and live in the world. No experience is the same. We have to learn from others to improve ourselves and try to solve the problems.
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