Curious Eyes, thanks for your input. No, not every...

2006-09-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

Curious Eyes, thanks for your input. No, not everything has to be "about race, hearing status, class membership, and dominance or oppression." In fact, people who think that way frustrate me because I'd like to believe there's more to life and interacting with others than that. I'm not one who is quick to say "I'm being oppressed." This is the FIRST time I've ever believed I was being oppressed. So believe me, that's _not_ it. Allow me to address each of your points one by one.

1. "Daisy," the person who declared us mistaken IS strong-minded and domineering. But she is also very, very sensitive about being "different." She is quick to take offense if she thinks a comment or an action is racially motivated. My mentioning ethnicities was done more to note the irony of the situation than anything else.

2. The person in charge is not wimpy most of the time but I believe (based on the discussions we had) that she was afraid of offending Daisy by countermanding her demand.

3. "Sticking to my guns..." I DID. I called in an expert and this expert talked to the whole team, backing me up. Many heads nodded in agreement. Many people came to me privately saying they agreed and they, too, felt squashed and dismissed when they said so during meetings. I openly disagreed with Daisy a respectful tone every time we discussed it and presented my perspective, to no avail. The person in charge told me privately that she agreed with me, but did not feel this was something she could pursue due to the "strong feelings present." Believe me, I stuck to my guns and presented a convincing point of view. I was assertive and spoke up for myself.

4. Daisy's words were, "Not everything can be the Deaf way. Just because something is done in a certain way by Deaf people does not make it what we should do. For this, we need to do it the hearing way. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

5. #3 and #4 are why I felt so oppressed and called it such. This is the first time I have *ever* felt oppressed. In essence, the person in charge said it was more important to placate someone than to stand up for what the majority of her team believed to be right and Daisy said she didn't give a damn as to what was right according to most of us. Dictionary.com Unabridged says, "To oppress is usually to subject (a people) to burdens, to undue exercise of authority, and the like; its chief application, therefore, is to a social or political situation: a tyrant oppressing his subjects." This is what this situation was.

6. Picking your battles - yup, I do pick my battles carefully. This was one I had to fight... and I tried every single approach I could think of.

7. My main point in the post was actually not about the situation itself. It was a cautionary tale to all of us, reminding all of us (myself included) that we have a responsibility to be sure that we don't cross that line when we are standing up for ourselves or asserting our opinions and squash other people in the way that I felt squashed, as I said in the last paragraph and a half.

I hope this clarifies your questions. Again, thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

hmm... instead of making it about oppression, isn'...

2006-09-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

hmm... instead of making it about oppression, isn't it simply about being assertive and speaking up for yourself? Does everything always have to be about race, hearing status, class membership, and dominance or oppression? That person who announced all of you wrong may be just strong-minded ... maybe a dominating type of person. And the person in charge may be wimpy by nature ... not a fighter or someone who enjoys argument and confrontation. The bossy sorts sometimes respect you more if you stick to your guns and present a convincing point of view. Just an idea. I've been in those shoes myself too, and often, geez... I have to pick my battles when it comes to that kind of thing. Some things just have to be approached or dealt with differently.

Comments on Random Thoughts and Musings by moi: The Nature of Oppression

Curious Eyes, thanks for your input. No, not every...

hmm... instead of making it about oppression, isn'...