Just as the twelve-step programs teach that the process of healing from addiction is never finished, so it is with the process of unlearning oppression. There is a parallel here with the principles of the twelve-step addiction recovery process. In fact, the minute I hear someone claim to be free of the attitudes and actions of a certain oppression (as in 'I'm not racist") I feel they have barely begun the process.Ĥ Humility is the mark of someone who has gone a piece down the road and has caught a glimpse of just how long the road is. It is an ongoing task, like keeping the dishes clean. I do not believe anyone raised in Western society can ever claim to have finished ridding themselves completely of their oppressive attitudes. It runs in our veins it is as invisible to us as the air we breathe. All members of this society grow up surrounded by oppressive attitudes we are marinated in it. No matter how much work you have done on that area of yourself, there is more to be done. Remember that everyone in the oppressor group is part of the oppression.ģ It is ridiculous to claim you are not sexist if you are a man, or not racist if you are white, and so on. Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen 4. Try to help members of your own group understand oppression and make the links among different forms of oppression. Learn, reflect on, and understand the patterns and effects of oppression, take action with others, take risks, walk towards your fear to find your power. It is important to be a worker in your own liberation struggle, whatever it is. Ģ I hope these observations will be as useful to you as they have been to me when I find myself in the ally role. Therefore, we still find ourselves dealing in most instances with one form of oppression at a time, and in a given setting, we are either in the role of oppressed or ally. Most people in our society do not yet see the connections between different forms of oppression, or even have a general sense of how oppression works. I can, however, use my growing analysis of the process and my experience to offer some guidelines.
Published by Fernwood Publishing, Halifax "How To"- Becoming an ally Having written that subtitle, I must now admit that I cannot tell anyone exactly how to become an ally. Excerpt from Becoming an ally Breaking the Cycle of Oppression by Anne Bishop. 1 HOW TO BE AN ally ? Food for thought: Becoming an ally to oppressed people.
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