Miles Chen, Period 2, 11/17/2022

 

• Socio-political Consciousness

• What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

• How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

I think that inequity and oppression are reflected in Guseyn Zarbaliyev. He constantly oppresses those that are unfortunate enough to be on his team in a first person shooter. I know him as Gus, but the North American server knows him as “The Weight” because players must fight and drag him to a victory for a chance to climb up the ranks. In a way, I guess Gus has power because he is completely in control of the winner of each of his games, although it tends to be the opposing side. I could ramble on and on about Gus and his teammates' inevitable rage at his inability to hit anything in a shooting game, but on a much more real note, this situation is concurrent with modern society and the growing disparity between the “powerful” upper class and the lower class as well as the minorities. The rich only continue to earn more money by the hour, while the poor continue to suffer. It saddens me to see the groups of homeless people huddled at the bases of skyscrapers, which are probably worth millions of dollars. Too liken it to a game again: even if a beginner had good aim, they would still lose in a game full of pros because of the difference in game knowledge and experience. It is a bit of a jump, but what I really mean is that I believe our society could be so much more advanced if we simply focused our resources on making sure that minorities and the poor are able to have access to the opportunities and resources they need to support themselves. After all, the saying is “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link”.

After really thinking about this problem, even something as amazing as the recent attempt at reaching the moon seems trivial and even unreasonable. I guess it only goes to show why this problem has existed for so long though. Power lies in the hands of the rich, whether it’s to further their own wealth or to fund research for new advancements. I’ll admit that there isn’t a reliable way to completely support every single person that needs help, but I still believe that there should be at least more attention being given to our situation. I also admit that even after saying all this, I don’t think I’d do much to further this cause either because I need to make sure I can sustain myself and my family first, so maybe that’s something I have to work on before I start judging others. I consider oppression as including withholding resources from a group of people even if it is because they can’t afford it, so as an aspiring engineer I hope I can find a career in aiding in the construction of affordable housing for poorer people. I don’t know much about agriculture or any possible solutions for starvation, but maybe if I do my best to provide every person with a house others will be inspired and come forth with the same goal.