The Importance Of Oppression In The Workplace

The first time I felt like I was othered was just after I moved to Brooklyn from my native home of Trinidad. My neighborhood was culturally diverse but divided. For example, you knew when you were in a “Jewish” area because it was much cleaner and more affluent. The transition was immediate as you stepped onto the sidewalk in a Jewish community. Buildings would look newer, more pristine and even the sidewalk were free from gum, garbage and drug accoutrements. The Hebrews were very adamant about recognizing outsiders in their space because they were often condemned by the oppression of anti-Semitism. The most common forms were that of verbal and physical abuse. To this day, one of my closest friends of over thirty years, still receives derogatory comments of extreme frugalness and myths of fabled gold. Anti-Semitism feels the same as it did upon my first encounter; although, today those same slurs are spoken as light banter, as if it has lost the its original meaning. Coming from an entirely different culture this attitude was immediately jarring to me. I could not understand why they were targeted, but I felt …show more content…
Social justice will not be accomplished in my lifetime, but progress has to be made to insure its inevitability. Systematic oppressions have not diminished much, it has changed and we need to change as well. Education is a great place to start, but we need social justice advocates, like social workers, to push for change on the micro, mezzo and macro levels all at the same time. The scary assumption is a loss of power for the dominant and very privileged but there is no sealing or limit to growth and progress. We as a society just have no understanding of what that is so we hold steadfast to our old systems. As we grow as a species we have to evolve our understanding and sense of humanity. In closing, true equality and advanced humanity is not our hope but our