Let's say that there's two sets of kids. North side kids and South side kids. They live a few hours apart, but only have a single school to go to that they must share.
And the school is on the South Side
Now it only takes the kids from South Side 15 minutes tops to get to school. Walking.
But the North side kids have a two hour commute.
Let's say that classes at South Side start at 8am. And being late to homeroom penalIzes your grade.
Now these rules apply to everyone equally.
But they affect the North Side kids more deeply
A North side kid has to get up way earlier in the morning than a South side kid to make it to class on time.
This means that the likelihood of being late to homeroom is also higher.
Which means that they have to work harder to not get grade penalties.
The North Side kids also either have to choose between getting less done after school (homework, family time, recreation, extra curriculars) or getting less sleep.
Both put them at a disadvantage versus the South Side kids.
Now let's say that not only are there penalties for poor attendance, but perks for coming in early.
Anyone who does, gets a boost in their grade.
Now the North side kids are falling behind twice. They're less likely to get boosts AND more likely to get docked.
Someone simply looking at the raw student grades might say "Wow. North Side kids are much worse students"
Sentiments like these can affect education policy for those students if they are held by policy makers.
So despite a lack of malice or hatred, despite a rule that was written to apply equally to all students, despite a lack of conspiratorial intent...
We have simple systemic oppression.
Likewise, the South Side kids, having done nothing to earn their proximity to school, are still both rewarded for it and insulated from the negative attendance effects of living on the North side.
This is called privilege.
Now because South Side kids grow up in the shadow of school, they internalize that if one of them are late, either there was a huge excusable crisis or they were just delinquent.
To them there is no other logical reason that someone would have a hard time getting to class
Because of this failure of perspective, South Side kids rest pretty comfortably in the notion that even though they may like them just fine, all in all they're better students than the North Side kids.
And they begin to believe they are more worthy of their education.
Now the South Side kids haven't done anything WRONG. They just happen to have it easier with regard to attendance than the North Side kids, and pointing out that this is a fact isn't insulting to them
The problem begins when the South Side kids insist everyone is treated equally
As we can see from this example, systemic inequality can arise organically as the result of decisions that didn't take the potential conflicts into account.
It is the refusal to acknowledge and address it, or worse, to justify it that compounds the oppression
That systemic oppression is, also not likely (without intervention) to resolve itself but is rather likely to perpetuate itself.
Each difficulty experienced by a North side kid compounds the strain on them and their ability to succeed.
It's not simply a matter of the attendance penalties. Their direct influence on grades may have less effect than reduced time for homework or tutoring, for sleep, for exercise, for socializing.
Even for breakfast. All these affect success in school. And life.
This is not to consider the potential psychological tolls.
Constantly being chastised
Reduced attention due to inadequate sleep
Peer/Teacher stigma
Inability to engage in socializing activities
Stress induced by pressure to succeed
Internalized inferiority
Etc.
Now with this in mind. Please join me in shifting gears to the thread below and seeing how this understanding of systemic oppression leads into the following discussion of what it looks like when people attempt to correct systemic oppression.
It has been 72 hours of the most ridiculous @ATT customer service experience ever.
It's ongoing as I write.
So. My sim card has been acting up. Just doesn't show up for work from time to time...
So I call into Customer Service and they explain that sim cards deteriorate over time and they could either send me a new one or I could just grab one at an AT&T store.
I pick store.
It's faster and I'm passing one anyway. Right?
No.
I get to the store and am greeted by a smiling tech.
I ask how long a swap should take. He says five minutes. That's cool cause I have fifteen to spare before getting back to work.
A lot of you are still confused about this whole consent thing and how you should navigate it. So I wanna just bring it down to something y'all are all familiar with.
Navigate your consent like a good barber.
Most of y'all get haircuts from time to time.
Some of y'all go regularly
Some of y'all go occasionally
Some of y'all have a favorite barber
Some of y'all go to whoever.
None of y'all want people coming up to you on the street trying to just cut your hair.
But for those of y'all who have been to a new barber, what happens?
You meet them. They don't just start cutting your hair the minute you sit down in the chair.
They talk to you about what kind of haircut you WANT.
One of the reason that conspiracy theories, magical thinking, short-sighted policy and knee-jerk policy positions are increasingly easy to make is that we have a declining understanding of how systems interact.
This isn't ALL bad education. Everything is increasingly integrated
While STEM fields push us forward in engineering and empirical measurement and manipulation of the world, humanities teach us how to grapple with the ramifications of our technological and scientific advancements.
We need BOTH the tools and the aggregated wisdom to use them well
It has occurred to me that people frequently don't mean the same thing when they talk about Capitalism which makes it difficult for people to understand each other and how their opinions actually relate to each other.
Let me try and help a little.
Firstly. Capitalism is not the same as commerce.
Being against Capitalism is NOT being against people starting businesses or innovating or buying and selling goods or being paid fairly for their work.
People often get stuck here.
If we don't mean commerce when we discuss Capitalism, then what ARE people referring to?
Well it could be at least one of three things:
1) An economic system 2) A guiding governmental principle 3) An ideology
The arguments for and against depend on which you're talking about.
As much as we all love to hate it, News Media works exactly the same way that our brains do....
It takes in a functionally infinite amount of information, ignores 99.99% of it, and then after running the remaining .01% through bias, creates a narrative that makes it make sense.
We tend to think of the News as "what happened" but we also know that's not really what it is
There's:
What happened
What people witnessed
What there's evidence of
What people told News
What the News thought was important
-How the News framed that-
THAT'S what News actually is
At each level, the amount of data loss is immense.
Most of...
...what happens, nobody accurately witnesses.
...what people witness, there's no evidence of
...the evidence is never told to the News
...what is told, the News deems unimportant
...what is important, is biased
How To Lose Your Principles and Become A Corrupt Politician: A Handbook.
So you want to make positive change for your community and provide a counterbalance to the self-serving corruption you see in your legislative bodies?
Cute.
Let's talk.
Chapter 1: Campaigning - I bet you didn't realize your moral code would get challenged so early huh?
Here's the thing. Your community is struggling. That's why you're running. They have no money. So funding yourself through their donations alone is a no go.
You are going to need campaign cash. You're probably gonna have to take some money from some organizations and corporations.
Now I know you don't want to do that, but listen. You can choose groups whose values align with yours! No worries!