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Journal #3

Journal #3 – Systems of Power

Diane Gonzalez

Pacific Oaks Collage

HD-341 Communication for Empowerment

Professor Silvia Toscano

February 6, 2017
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One specific system of power Andrea Smith address in her article “Heteropatriarchy and the

Three Pillars of White Supremacy” (2013), is the issue of modern day slavery in our current prison

system. She compares this issue to past slavery when blacks were brought and sold and considered

“property” to the white man. She shares that after the thirteenth amendment was passed, banning

slavery, the black people who had been slaves were “reenslaved” and became property of the state.

This is important because although being in prison is not considered slavery, it is one other way the

white man continues to oppress people of color. Smith talks about a “racial hierarchy” where blacks are

at the bottom of the hierarchy and all other races are above them. The mass imprisonment of black

people speaks truth to this racial hierarchy that she mentions. She claims that since blacks are at the

bottom of the hierarchy everyone else who is not black will tend to accept their positions within the

hierarchy because at least they are not at the bottom, “at least they are not slaveable” (p67); therefore

everyone else will accept their positions and not challenging the authority of the white man for fear of

retaliation upon them.

Another system of power Smith talks about is Orientalism/War. “The logic of Orientalism marks

certain peoples or nations as inferior and as posing a constant threat to the well-being of empire” (p68).

In this system of power certain people are labeled as “threats”, “foreigners”, or “systems” by the

oppressors to validate their reasons for war against the “enemies”. From our own experiences, we can

relate this issue of orientalism to the United States’ “War on Terror”. With this logic, the United States

government justifies targeting Muslim Americans who have origins in the Middle East because they are

considered “threats” to the American people and therefore refused certain rights within our country.

They are victims of internal colonization. They are oppressed people within their own land.

Robert Blauner writes about internal colonization as well. In his article “Internal Colonialism and

Ghetto Revolt” (1969), he writes about black ghettos and the oppression the black communities have

faced throughout American history. The systems of power within the ghettos are the “white business
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men and the police who operate the Black community…protecting the interests of outside exploiters

and maintaining the domination over the ghetto…” (p399). The white business men and the policing

agencies are the oppressors within the black communities. These systems of power impact cultural

differences in the ghettos because people of color see the police and white business owners as outsiders

in their communities. Blauner writes, “One of the most significant consequences of the process of

colonization is a weakening of the colonized’s individual and collective will to resist his oppression”

(p399). This is significant because the “weakening of the colonized’s individual” is accomplished through

police brutality on black individuals, and the police abuse their power through acts of oppression; thus

the “will to resist his oppression” is generated by creating organized parties, like the Black Panthers,

riots causing destruction to the white owned businesses and protests in the streets.

Similar acts of resistance have also been the theme in the United States to oppose the election

of President Donald Trump. Individuals who do not agree with his foreign policies have taken to the

streets to protest certain executive orders placed on some American citizens. He is contributing to the

division of cultures within the United States. He is using his power to contribute to the biases already

instilled in the minds of some Americans that feel it is acceptable behavior to oppress individuals based

on the color of their skin, ethnicity, and race. This is relevant when considering interpersonal

communication because by contributing to this division among races it causes feelings of anger,

frustration, and animosity toward the people in these systems of power. As a result, the forms of

communication used to fight this oppression are the protests in Washington D.C., Oakland, Los Angeles,

and Chicago. Social Media is also used to communicate their opinions, thoughts and ideas about these

political issues. Letters are also written to senators and organizations that help fight these ideals.

Finally, these readings relate to my own identity because I feel what is happening right now

within our country is a personal attack on my personal identity as a Mexican woman and our culture. I

support the individuals and groups protesting the injustice and I have used various forms of social media
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and emails to express my disapproval and my thoughts about Trump’s executive orders and oppression

upon minority groups.