Friday, January 21, 2011

Post Fifteen: Making Change Happen


The readings and conversations throughout this class has furthered my thoughts on oppression and my need to act for equality in a major way. As Alix Olsen's voice drives me in her clip called Women Before Me, "truth crushed to earth, will rise again", I will be sure to spread truth about equality and oppression to my friends and family, as well as to random people I meet on the street. I will live my life in a way that works towards equality, even if that means I have to start by just changing myself.  Olsen says, "to pull out my thumb and make friends with my voice", and I believe that is very true. I will speak out when I hear people being ignorant on race, sex, religion, and the many topics we have studied. I know it will not be greeted with open arms, but it will be the start of positive change.
                In the article by Jan Arminio, she mentions " All whites must wake up. This means acknowledging who we were as a group, questioning whether this is still part of who we are as individuals, and deciding who we want to become." I think that this is a very important point, as I myself am white, and I need to realize that I can't change that, no matter how my people may act or I have acted. I can change and work for positive equality, but I must first except who I am in society. In the future and starting now, I will work against oppression and no matter what I face, I will follow the words of Maya Angelou in her poem And Still I Rise, "You can shoot me with your words, you can cut me with your lives, you can kill me with your evilness, but just like life, I'll rise".

3 comments:

  1. I loved your post. I'm glad you mentioned that all whites must wake up. I have also realized that I as a white female, need to wake up to see that I am as much as a problem as those who have prejudices. We all have a chance to make a difference and we should embrace it.

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  2. I like how you pointed out that your white, and can't change that, but rather you can change how you act with that privilege.

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  3. Thank you both, over this session it was really interesting to have so much privilege exposed. I want to be able to go out and make a difference, like Samantha said, in this world,

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