Talking Points #10 on Johson in Chapter 9 "What Can We Do?"

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Premise:
This article discusses...

• Recognizing the problems dealing with privilege and oppression.
• How to deal with privilege and oppression.
• Changes in societies views and the systems.
• Making a difference.

Author's Argument:
Johnson argues that one of the biggest challenges that people face in every day life is change. Change needs to happen in societies due to the fact that privilege and oppression are not being recognized like they should be. People need to know that change is entitled to occur and need to be well-aware of it in order to make it happen.

Evidence:

1. "The challenge we face is to change patterns of exclusion, rejection, privilege, harassment, discrimination, and violence that are everywhere in this society and have existed for hundreds (or, in case of gender, thousands) of years."
2. "The problem of privilege and oppression is deep and wide, and to work with it we have to be able to see it clearly so that we can talk about it in useful ways. To do that, we have to reclaim some difficult languages that names what's going on, language that has been so misused and maligned that it generates more heat than light. We can't just stop using words like racism, sexism, ableism, and privilege, however, because these are tools that focus our awareness on the problem and all the forms it takes. 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."
3. "The more you pay attention to privilege and oppression, the more you'll see opportunities to do something about them. You don't have to mount and expedition to find opportunities; they're all over the place, beginning with you...As you become more aware, questions will arise about what goes on at work, in the media, in families, in communities, in religious institutions, in government, on the street, and at school-in short, just about everywhere...If you remind yourself that it isn't up to you to do it all, however, you can see plenty of situations in which you can make a difference, sometimes in surprisingly the simple ways. Consider the following possibilities...Make noise, be seen...Find little ways to withdraw support from paths of least resistance and people's choices to follow them, starting with yourself.. Dare to make people feel uncomfortable, beginning with yourself...Openly choose and model alternative paths...Actively promote change in how systems are organized around privilege...Support the right of women and men to love whomever they choose...Pay attention to how different forms of oppression interact with one another...Work with other people...Don't keep it to yourself...Don't let other people set the standard for you...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."

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
In order to make a difference people have to recognize change. To me, Johnson is one hundred percent right. Privilege and Oppression are very common in societies around the world, in fact they are so common that we as humans do not even realize they exist. Communities need to work together in order to make things happen. To create a difference is to overcome the impossible and recognize what can be accomplished with it. Overcoming obstacles is basically what life is about. People have to change themselves to fit the obstacles that are thrown at them throughout their lives whether by force or choice. If there was no such thing as change in today's world, then it would be one heck of a world to live in with so much more chaos and struggles then there already are with the struggle of power. Power, being one of the main controls of societies today, is always changing in different ways and it takes people in general to create these changes. By people being more recognizable and open to change, the world would be an easier place to live in. By reading this, it has opened up my eyes to the changes that are going on right now and the changes that need to occur in my life and the lives of others and it takes people to make a difference in this world, starting with me.