This week’s question is kind of a complicated one: How am I
complicit in patterns of injustice?
There are probably thousands of ways I am complicit in patterns of injustice and I am only going to talk about a few that I see within myself just about every day.
I can relate this question to a class that I took a few
semesters ago. As a former education major, I had to take a class called
Democracy and Education where we focused on how to create effective,
meaningful, and autonomous education within our current education system. While
we centered our discussions on education, my teacher also made us examine systems
of injustice that cause certain norms and social patterns, which, in the end,
affects education. We read a book called Wheels
in the Head by Joel Spring where he argued that we all have certain wheels
of thought forced in our mind, some from the minute we are born, that we need
to start being aware of in order to create a more just society. For example, a
wheel that is typically enforced by our culture is that pink is for girls and
blue is for boys. From the minute we are born, boys are wrapped in blue
blankets and girls in pink. If you were to see a woman holding a child that was
wrapped in a blue blanket, you would most likely automatically assume it is
boy. This is a wheel that is created through gender norms and standards.
There are multiple wheels in our minds that compel us to
think in certain ways that will not change unless we start becoming aware of
these wheels. I often find myself thinking certain things that I know have been
forced upon me by our society. I don’t always actively stop my thinking, but I
try my best to be conscious of it and always question why I think the way I do. For instance, the whole idea of slut
shaming that is all over the internet nowadays. Calling someone else a “slut”
is something I actively try to stop doing. Women often call other women sluts
when they feel threatened. However, I don’t agree with the word slut because I
feel it holds a lot of political and social baggage. And it is often that these
women are not sluts, rather they are choosing to do something that their body
is naturally meant to do.
There are also problems with race that I deal with that I
find have been created inside my head. I have recognized what racism is from an
early age. I have never agreed with or condoned acts of racism. Racism actually
makes me very angry when I think about it. However, for a long time, I thought
about racism as simply black and white. Now, I see racism as something between
cultures and through different types of religion. Whenever I am traveling, I
feel nervous or worried when I see someone in a long turban and Middle Eastern
garb. I always always always ask
myself where that fear comes from. I am aware that it stems from the way Middle
Eastern people have been portrayed in our media ever since 9/11, but it can be
very hard to change a feeling that has been so deeply engrained within my
thought.
There are many ways I am complicit in injustice. However, I
am always trying to be aware of everything I do, say, and think and question why I am
like that. I often realize it stems from societal views and pressures, and I
find it hard to break free from my thinking, especially when the majority of
society is still thinking in ways that perpetuate injustice. My main question
for myself is how can I begin to eradicate certain thoughts and feelings I get
when I see someone that has been forced into an unfair stereotype? I am trying
to be aware, but is that enough?
