I posted this article because in the short time that I've been back I've already seen quite a few discussions involving the Oppression Olympics, as it's been aptly named, when discussing minority...
I posted this article because in the short time that I've been back I've already seen quite a few discussions involving the Oppression Olympics, as it's been aptly named, when discussing minority issues and discrimination. These conversations do nothing but attempt to breed resentment, especially when imposed by outsiders on the affected group, and do nothing but breed resentment and make the outsider look uninformed to the insider groups. It not only fosters this resentment culture, but it makes people view their own oppression as worse than for other groups. Worse yet, outsiders making such claims coming from positions of power are often unaware of the dissonance this can sew, especially when conversations are derailed by individuals attempting to make a point about how different kinds of minorities experience discrimination differently. The author tackles this expertly with a reflection upon some of the past failures of progressive movements:
People of color fighting for anti-racism and LGBTQ rights have expressed concern that the prevailing progressive narrative has focused on the experiences of trans women with violence and public slander, while neglecting the quotidian struggle of cis-gendered women against domestic abuse, rape, and harassment. Feminism at large has also been accused of perpetuating white supremacy by failing to include the struggles of women of color, and the reality of white privilege has left many women disenchanted with the friction between gender and racial equality.
In ways I find it ironic, that this website appears to hold a strong "let's not promote infighting" stance, quick to jump to this conclusion during conversation while simultaneously holding Oppression Olympics, championing ideas such as "what about the oppression that men face" on threads devoted to sexism against women. The two cannot be juxtaposed against each other without addressing the cognitive dissonance present. A thread about minority phobic behavior shouldn't be populated with arguments about how others are oppressed or minimizing the experience out of discomfort or some intent to direct limited resources. We must acknowledge the oppression happening all around us and elevate these voices rather than seek to suppress them out of discomfort or to replace them with other stories of the oppressed. If you wish to draw attention to your own voice, you should do so in the appropriate venue, in order to avoid quashing the voice of another.
I posted this article because in the short time that I've been back I've already seen quite a few discussions involving the Oppression Olympics, as it's been aptly named, when discussing minority issues and discrimination. These conversations do nothing but attempt to breed resentment, especially when imposed by outsiders on the affected group, and do nothing but breed resentment and make the outsider look uninformed to the insider groups. It not only fosters this resentment culture, but it makes people view their own oppression as worse than for other groups. Worse yet, outsiders making such claims coming from positions of power are often unaware of the dissonance this can sew, especially when conversations are derailed by individuals attempting to make a point about how different kinds of minorities experience discrimination differently. The author tackles this expertly with a reflection upon some of the past failures of progressive movements:
In ways I find it ironic, that this website appears to hold a strong "let's not promote infighting" stance, quick to jump to this conclusion during conversation while simultaneously holding Oppression Olympics, championing ideas such as "what about the oppression that men face" on threads devoted to sexism against women. The two cannot be juxtaposed against each other without addressing the cognitive dissonance present. A thread about minority phobic behavior shouldn't be populated with arguments about how others are oppressed or minimizing the experience out of discomfort or some intent to direct limited resources. We must acknowledge the oppression happening all around us and elevate these voices rather than seek to suppress them out of discomfort or to replace them with other stories of the oppressed. If you wish to draw attention to your own voice, you should do so in the appropriate venue, in order to avoid quashing the voice of another.