Steven Hale
2 min readJul 10, 2020

--

You sent me back to the dictionary.

According to Merriam Webster online, "OPPRESS suggests inhumane imposing of burdens one cannot endure or exacting more than one can perform." In that sense, you may not be oppressed, but others may be, depending on their circumstances.

The synonym "persecuted" may not be applicable in your case either: "PERSECUTE implies a relentless and unremitting subjection to annoyance or suffering." Systemic racism may be seen in a general sense as a form of persecution for minorities, however.

"Aggrieved" may come closest to your view of your status: "AGGRIEVE implies suffering caused by an infringement or denial of rights."

But there's an example sentence of the term "oppress" in the online entry that is, I believe, applicable:

"They condemned attempts by the government to oppress its citizens."

In this case, none (or only some) of the citizens may be oppressed by the government, but that doesn't mean that the government (or whoever) isn't trying to oppress them, or that one day it may not succeed.

In any individual's present situation, that person may resist attempts by a force that wants to oppress that intended victim. And that resistance is admirable. Your courage and determination too are admirable. But that doesn't mean that any one individual is always going to be unoppressable.

From my perspective (we're about the same age), I think it's dangerous to assume that a particular person or group is immune to oppression (and I do acknowledge this isn't what you are saying). The Jews, Gypsies, Christians, homosexuals, et al. in Nazi concentration camps were not there because they allowed themselves to be oppressed.

I hope we never get to the point in this country when you will count yourself among the oppressed. But I believe it is imperative for all of us to listen to the cries of those who are truly overwhelmed or overpowered, like the families of immigrants separated from each other by the government, or those who are victims of police brutality through no fault of their own.

--

--

Steven Hale
Steven Hale

Written by Steven Hale

Music: Discovering the lost and forgotten. Politics: Exposing injustice. Screenwriting: Emotional storytelling.

No responses yet