Talking Points #10 on Johnson

Privilege, Power, and Difference: What Can We Do?By Allan Johnson

Premise- This article is about:

• privilege


• power


• acceptance


• difference


• community


• social systems


• exclusion


• rejection


• oppression


• schools


• harassment


• discrimination


• violence


• society


• gender


• silence


• saying the words


• solutions


• problems

Author's Argument: Johnson argues that the better we educate ourselves on privilege and oppression, the more successful it will be to put the system of discrimination that causes privilege and oppression to an end.

Evidence:

1) "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" (125). Johnson is explaining that privilege and oppression are significant problems and once we are able to see them we can fix them.

2) "The reluctance to acknowledge and use power comes up in the simplest everyday situations, as when a group of friends starts laughing at a racist or sexist joke and you have to decide whether to go along" (133). Johnson is basically saying that each and every single one of us have the duty to stand up to racism or sexism even if it means going against our friends.

3) "We won't end oppression by pretending it isn't there or that we don't have to deal with it" (137).

4) "Dare to make people feel uncomfortable, beginning with yourself" (145).

5) "In the end, taking responsibility doesn't have to involve guilt and blame, letting someone off the hook, or being on the hook yourself. It simply means acknowledging an obligation to make a contribution to finding a way out of the trouble we're all in and to finding constructive ways to act on that obligation" (153).

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

I liked started off the blogs with Johnson, and it is natural for me the enjoy concluding on this author too. It is so easy to comprehend his argument and his message he gives to the readers. I agree with his argument, we must all work together to solve the problem because as they say there is no "I" in "TEAM". One person alone did not ignite the problems with privilege and oppression, so it is going to take more than one person to end it. His readings have made me more aware of what I need to do to help end the problem and he helped me find my own voice so I can be prepared when a racist or sexist situation occurs.

It seems so unreal that this is our last blog, it went by so quickly! FNED 346 really improved my confidence and I have participated way beyond my own personal expectations. Although our topics are sometimes hard to talk about, I always feel comfortable saying what I believe in. All of this openess is really going to help my confidence in becoming a teacher, hopefully!