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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Talking Points #10

* I know this is late but I wanted to make sure I did do this last blog entry before the end of the semester ! *

Allan Johnson: "Privilege, Power, and Difference"

Premise:

~ exclusion
~ rejection
~ privilege
~ harrassment
~ discrimination
~ violence
~ silence
~ invisible
~ oppression
~ language
~ barriers
~ change
~ power
~ difference
~ interaction

Argument:

Johnson argues that change is definitely possible as long as people become aware of what is going on and aren't afraid to "learn to say the words." He believes that when you do learn to say the words, the first step towards change has been completed.

Evidence:

1. "Large numbers of people have sat on the sidelines and seen themselves as part of neither the problem nor the solution... Everyone is aware of people who intentionally act out in oppressive ways. But there is less attention given to the millions of people who know inequities exist and want to be part of the solution. Their silence and invisibility allow privilege and oppression to continue. Removing what silences them and stands in their way can tap an enormous potential of energy for change." (125)

2. "...it's easy for members of privileged groups to lose sight of the reality of privilege and its consequences and the truth that the trouble surrounding privilege is their trouble as much as anyone else's." (128)

3. "Once we can see and talk about what's going on, we can analyze how it works as a system. We can identify points of leverage where change can begin." (126)

4. "Learn to listen... Listen to what's being said. Take it seriously. Assume for the time being that it's true, because given the power of paths of least resistance, it probably is. And then take responsibility to do something about it." (141)

5. "Sometimes stepping off the path of least resistance is a matter of directly calling attention to the system and how it's organized... Choosing to call attention to such patterns means changing your own behavior, but it does more than that because the focus of your choice is the system itself." (143)

6. "Small acts can have radical implications. As Edmund Burke said, if the main requirement for the perpetuation of evil is that good people do nothing, then the choice isn't between all or nothing, but between nothing and something." (152)

7. "In the end, taking responsibility doesn't have to involve guilt and blame, letting someone off the hook, or being on the hook yourself. It simply means acknowledging an obligation to make a contribution to finding a way out of the trouble we're all in and to finding constructive ways to act on that obligation... As powerful as systems of privilege are, they cannot stand the strain of lots of people doing something about it, beginning with the simplest act of naming the system out loud." (153)

Other Stuff:

I absolutely loved this article. To tell you the truth, I couldn't wait to read Johnson again because I liked him from the beginning. He puts everything out there for you to see and his argument is extremely clear. I thought that this article was an awesome way to end the semester because it wraps up everything we have learned. I also thought it was cool that we read Johnson as our first article and now as our last. I know that I understood him more the second time because we have been working with these issues all semester and it was much easier to get through because we have read many articles like this. It was cool to see how much i have grown from the beginning to the end of the semester and how many of my ideas on the issues we have discussed have changed.

1 comments:

Dr. Lesley Bogad said...

Glad you got this posted, even though it was late. YOu should look for other things Johnson has read, too, since you enjoy reading him!