The Nature of Oppression

One situation at work has really rankled for a few years and it was recently resolved. Without going into specifics, we as a team were discussing whether or not we wanted to change one policy, and if so, how we would change it. Most of us wanted to change it in a certain way to reflect Deaf cultural norms and the change would be linguistically appropriate in ASL. One woman insisted that it had to be changed in a way that reflected hearing mores and values. She basically squashed all of us and I feel that the person in charge totally wimped out, letting her do it, even when we protested. I even tried to talk to the person in charge privately explaining why she should not allow this person to dictate this policy, only to be ordered to drop it.

This situation has now been resolved as of a couple of weeks ago, but it’s made me reflect on the nature of oppression, who does it, and who’s on the receiving end. Not only that, it’s made me think about how feeling oppressed can magnify issues.

Truth is, the policy change was not that big a deal for me. I happened to be doing it myself anyway, but it was a personal decision, and I was not going to criticize others for choosing differently. When it was brought up by someone else a few years ago, I supported it but it wasn’t a big issue for me. But because I was told straight out that I was wrong and because the administrator allowed one person to make the decision for all of us, in spite of many objections, it became a huge deal to me. In other words, because I experienced oppression, it heightened the issue for me and made it more important than it ever was before. Being squashed and dismissed like that was such a horrible feeling, one that shook me to the core of my being. It’s also one I will never forget and I think I may always find this topic a sensitive one from now on, when it wasn’t before. This could be a valuable insight on how disenfranchised minorities feel. H’m!

This situation proves that members of a minority group are not immune from oppressing others. The person who declared all of us wrong is an African-American, and I know she is sensitive to racism. The administrator who decided not to stand up for what was right is also a member of an ethnic minority. I'm not saying that all members of minorities oppress others, but it highlights something I believe is important. We are all capable of oppressing others, regardless of our membership in groups or our experiences.

This capacity for oppression that we apparently all have regardless of our experiences should make us pause and consider our words and actions carefully. It is one thing to disagree, but it is another to impose one’s opinion on others and to devalue others. To do so could end up making others hyper-sensitive about something and make unity even harder than it already is. This should be a valuable lesson for all of us, myself included, especially now with all the discussion about how fragmented our community is.