Wednesday Reflection for Week 2

In Wednesday's class we discussed in our small groups where we had observed oppression in society as a whole, within the church, and in our own lives. Within society, I thought of areas that many in the class mentioned as well: class, age, race, gender, and so on. I was intrigued by the mention of the media in this category. This really resonated with me. People often talk about the bias of the media, but I think the way that we are influenced and directed by the media goes beyond how they put their own slant on the information presented. We are instructed on how to dress, what we should find funny, what is and is not appropriate, and much more. After class, I also thought more about the word oppression. It might be simply a question of semantics, but in some of the situations I quickly labeled as "oppression" for the purpose of group discussion, I later reflected on and decided they would be better described in milder terms. For example, I have no problem labeling racial discrimination as oppression; however, I have a much harder time labeling inequalities I may have encountered (due to gender, age, etc.) as oppressive situations.