Talking post #6

Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change
Connection with Allan G. Johnson: Privilege, Power, and Difference

First I'd like to say how this was my favorite read! Probably because it was the only single digit reading I had the  whole "semester." But to what the post is actually about lol....

• "An ally is a member of a dominant group in our society who works to dismantle any form of oppression from which she or he receives the benefit."

• "All of us are part of the problem.... a way of thinking about the trouble that has the potential to help us become part of the solution by getting us unstuck."

In a way Ayvazian and Johnson want us to do the same thing; they want us to be the solution to a problem that we are part of. Johnson says that if people don't feel the power of oppression then they won't feel the need or ambition to try to change the system. In order for change to occur they must first change the way they think, which he says the first step is admitting that their is a such privilege. This is similar to allied behavior i believe, Ayvazian says that allied behavior is a behavior that "challenges prevailing patterns of opression, makes privileges that are so often invisible visible. and facilitates the empowerment of persons targeted by oppression. 
Ayvazian and Johnson both talk about the privileged group, which is the "one that receives the unearned advantage, benefit, or privilege." The group that isn't privileged, which Johnson describes as not being white or  male or heterosexual or of a privileged class and Ayvazian calls the group that isn't privilege, the targeted group who is denied the advantage, benefit, or privilege that the privileged group receives.


She talks about the dominant group being "whit people, males, christian, heterosexuals, able- bodied people, those in their middle years, and those who are middle or upper class." This reminded me a lot of Leslie Grinner and SCWAAMP: Straightness, Christianity, Whiteness, Americaness, Able-bodiedness, Maleness and Property Ownership. 


She also talks about an African-American named Kenneth Jones who was an anti-racism trainer. It's funny that he called being an ally, being at someone's back. Which is exactly how we defined it in class. Thought that was interesting.


I found this website called Lipstick and Politics which is women addressing issues in society that limit women in our society and they had a post about allies, so check it out here, I found it very interesting! Intelligence is Sexy.




Point for class:
I found this following quote really strong, it summed up a lot of points we made in class so I want to discuss it in class:

"I believe that it is difficult for young people to grow up and become something that they have never heard of. It is hard for a girl to grow up and become a commercial airline pilot if it has never occured to her that women can fly jet planes. Similarly, it is hard for younger people to grow up and fight racism if they have never met anyone who does."

This quote talks about privilege and how we don't try to change it. It talks about sexism through jobs. If we don't step up and show kids how to make a change, they won't try to make a change. You can't tell the younger generation to fight for something they believe in if you don't fight for things you believe in. Especially younger girls, we can't let them fall into these "women" jobs. How do we as adults change this for the younger kids?