Fatima Al-Saedy

ETH2400

Period: 6

Types of Oppression

Talking about oppression is crucial for change, it is also important to identify the set of

oppression that can range from explicit racism to dependency when having a conservation about

suppression.

A form of oppression that induces or results in hate can be seen in different forms that

can be from a background of prejudice or purposeful discrimination is explicit racism. An

example of this type of oppression is the rise of hate crimes against East and Southeast Asians

for believing they are the source of covid. The effect of the oppressor is a way of channeling

their anger, and beliefs onto someone who they can blame while the effect of the oppressed is

having an intoxicated fear of living in peace that it will happen again and the high chance of

losing their lives.

A form of oppression that works through laws, hierarchy/ structure, and social values is

systemic oppression. A way we can see this systemic oppression through the lens of our legal

system is through the War on Drugs and the laws that were made that targeted specifically Black

and Hispanic men. The effect on the oppressor is it causes a superiority complex, love of the
system, and getting more rights than the suppressed group. The oppressed don’t trust the system,

feel an unexplainable type of anger, and the rise of punishment for the people targeted.

Using biology, pseudoscience, and academia to promote groups higher than another is

scientific oppression. An example of this oppression is the half-caste system that was made in

Australia and didn’t end till 1970. The government would kidnap the half-caste children and put

them into segregated boarding schools trained to be more civilized and be servants then if a

female was old enough they were impregnated with white sperm. The ¼ child would be taken

and repeated steps until the child was ⅛ and adopted by a white family. This caused the

oppressor to feel as if they were “saving” or helping races that were under the top race. We can

see that through imperialism and when going into Asian countries the oppressor was trying to

make a society that has worked for the white world. It caused a deep complex of superiority. It

made the oppressed seen as undervalued, fearful, and trying to rebuild their identity to fit the

norms of academia has proved to be better than the stereotypes in place.

Acting as if the color of skin and different cultures don’t apply in today’s civil

conservations is color blindness. The prime example we see today is right-wing conservatives,

Lindsey Graham, Fox News, Ted Cruz, etc., when talking about race in general saying racism

died when Martin Luther King jr. said, “I have a dream that one day my children will not be

judged by the skin character, but their character.” The effect for the oppressor is simply not

listening, or even trying to understand POC stories and current events. It gaslights the stories of

POC. The oppressed feel a wall between the oppressor and not being able to reach the oppressor.

Colorblindness feels like a chokehold on POC reality.

This is an oppression that teaches an outsider to be an insider. In the United States we can

see with Sioux tribes that lived off the Buffalo and how over time the French original plan for
searching for information of the land would be received from the Sioux. In return they were

given guns. Over 4 generations of Sioux tribes, the Sioux started depending on the guns more to

hunt for Buffalo. After the French no longer needed information the Sioux were soul tied to guns

for survival. This caused the oppressor to gain information, understanding, on the higher end of

the power dynamic. For the oppressed is caused by the lack of freedom, self respect, power, loss

of culture/ identity, and having to redefine identities as well.

Though all are very oppressive the most prevalent/ dangerous one we see in our society

today is color blindness. It restricts the stories of those who are facing all of these types of

oppressions. Color Blindness seems to have clear traits of being brown and hijabi, yet feel

ignored which can shut down the experiences I live through which can range from explicit

racism to dependency experiences. Those traits I have should be celebrated not be ignored like

your favorite ice cream’s expiration date. It simply ignores what it is seeing, for some kind of

peace, or self respect for the oppressor. Which in itself causes the issue. Okay, you don’t live

through my experiences, but gaslighting or saying it never happened is only the first step in

denial. It is as if colorblindness is the five stages of grief but has been in denial for 59 years. The

oppressor has this thick skull filled with stubborness, the only way to show your stories are

happening is if they actually see you hate crime, or life at risk, EVEN THEN there will be doubt.

My self reflection is focusing on how to better myself when identifying these issues.

Colorblindness just stabs me in my soul. It just holds me down so much when trying to open up

my experiences. I think my biggest self reflection is that I have been jumping between

bargaining and anger for so long, that I have acceptance of how different types of oppressions

have been formed to benefit types of people and systems. Learning from tactics of changes, and
making my own tactics, learning from the past, and trying to fight colorblindness is my eye

forward.