Oppressors= Dominant Race???

    After Wednesdays discussion and class and after reading both the textbook and Lum's chapter 3, I learned a lot about social justice but also realized a lot about myself. The discussion in class was a bit intense. Like Desiree, I was also scared to speak up afraid to say something wrong. However so many things were going through my head I knew I had to let it all out here on the blog. 

    First of all, I don't agree that the oppressors are always the dominant race. Any race can be oppressive towards the other. My high school was predominantly Hispanic and African American. Unfortunately, many people from both of these races were oppressive towards the other. I personally have never felt oppressed by a Caucasian person. As an American I have always felt like I have the same rights any other citizen has. But as I began to think about it, I was also thinking that maybe I have never felt like a lot of other Mexican Americans feel because of the color of my skin. I am very light and I have also been mistaken for a Caucasian girl. Even people who are Mexican often speak to me in English and when they hear me speak perfect Spanish, they get very surprised. I believe that for this reason I can't relate myself to a lot of Mexican Americans who feel oppressed by the dominant race. 

    Another thing that I found interesting was how our textbook mentioned how when many minority people are asked who they are, they immediately mention their race or their sex. When I think back at times I have been asked who I am, for example, in this class the second day of school when we were asked this, I did not mention my race or sex. I simply mentioned my strengths and weaknesses as a person, disregarding my race. With this i realized that it is how you view yourself and how you feel about who you are what matters the most. Maybe those who feel oppressed are those who feel the need to express their race and ethnicity to others. I also disagreed that the minorities focus on survival. I feel like survival is a very strong word in this case. I agree that there is still discrimination and oppression in this world but I do not agree that survival is the correct word. 

     Overall I learned a lot from both the readings and the discussion in class. I realized that even if some of us are the same race or ethnicity, we all have different views, different experiences. What is important is to realize the inequality some people face and address those issues. Like the book said, diversity and inequality are very different. It is easy to talk about the diversity in our school but not too easy to talk about inequality. And inequality is what needs to be addressed.