Power Dynamics | Stop Abuse and Oppression

As children we watch and learn the power dynamics in the home between ourselves and our parents. We observe who is to be respected and who has the authority to punish and reward us. Kids learn what phrases and what behavior classifies as disrespectful or appropriate.

People learn that dependency on others forces us to sacrifice our self-respect and sometimes our self-esteem. A classic concept that most parents pass down is the notion that independence equals freedom. We are bound to our providers’ will and must comply with their orders until we gain self sufficency.

This dynamic is often the conservative reasoning for classism: the opposition to government welfare programs. It’s also the justification for financial abuse. Above all, we are forced to give up our humanity in order to survive. As the dominated, the option of this barter system was never provided. This aspect is essentially what’s morally wrong with racism and sexism. The victim of this dynamic is subjected to the mercy of their oppressor.

However, the people who don’t see this as problematic are the same ones who are lucky enough to trade very little of their humanity away. Victims of inhumane treatment carry the scars and emotional trauma that dictate our interactions with other people and themselves.

A common example of this internalization is the compromised child as a personality trait. The compromised child seeks validation and avoids punishment from their parent, who’s judgmental and often unnecessarily critical. This transforms into the need to seek social approval by any means, including the erasure of personal boundaries. Once the compromised child reaches adulthood, they speak to themselves in a similar way their parent did to reinforce the search for affection (by calling themselves stupid after making a simple, minor mistake for example) and comply with others demands. The compromised child will submit as a survival method instead of by choice.

Inner Personalities of the Chart by Ginger Chalford

Inner Personalities of the Chart by Ginger Chalford

Many black and brown Americans can attest to the physical dangers of police brutality. What doesn’t make the highlight reel of the evening news is the PSTD like symptoms that people experience when a cop car drives by. The heart rate increases, a flight or fight response goes through the body despite the absence of a broken law.

The abuse of police authority coupled with the lack of accountability creates an environment where actual criminals within the community can operate with no repercussions. Why would a black victim of a crime want to call on public servants who may mistake them as the criminal? Black people aren’t inherently criminal, criminals who happen to be black take advantage of the fear the black community has of law enforcement. Even law-abiding citizens suffer from the negative effects of abuse.

In a similar fashion, women fear demonization as promiscuous thus will excuse sexual misconduct and assault. Even women who aren’t victim of such violence will justify the sexual violence other women face in fear of becoming victims themselves.

As the black feminist author bell hooks reasons, class, race and gender all intersect in American society to form a hierarchy of privilege/power. Particularly, it grant those at the top access to commit harm with little accountability, it also demonizes those at the bottom. It goes above and beyond to make excuses for the wealthy, the white race (and those who appear to be white ie light skin), and men. The social system bends over backward to portray the poor, the black race (and those in other races who have darker skin tones), and women as trouble makers who make poor choices.

Subsequently, it justifies the damage inflicted on the disadvantaged while leaving room for the advantaged to continue to inflict harm. The dominated defend and uphold the system of oppression because of social conditioning to accept the psychological effects of internalized hatred. Poor Republicans have internalized classism, anti-black black people have internalized racism and pick me’s have internalized misogyny, all in the hope of one day proving their worth to escape the treatment of their identity group. Especially keep in mind how the effects compound itself for people who occupy multiple groups at the bottom (for instance black women, poor black people, poor women, etc).

One way some people try to escape their domination is to become dominators themselves. Groups of people who occupy the top of the hierarchy and the bottom simultaneously (white women, black men, white lgbtq, etc) tend to only recognize their personal oppression while engaging in the oppression of others. Rearranging the totem pole is not the answer for a country that was founded on injustice and privilege.

In conclusion, we all must work to dismantle the pole and arrange each group on an equal level to achieve an egalitarian society, where the merits of each individual can shine. We all must recognize toxic beliefs held within us, so we don’t pass it down to our children. We all must practice compassion and empathy in every dynamic, so that humans can prosper psychologically and physically. The process of unlearning and challenging deeply held beliefs is difficult. It takes time, resources, and keeping an open mind but the reward is long-awaited justice. Justice that generations before us have died for. We all must do our part to call out abuse when we see it. Always challenge those among us who accept injustice as normal. Seek establish a society where identity does not determine your value.