The Corrupt Power of Propaganda and Systemic Oppression

Jeremy Arellanos

Mrs. R. Heywood

English 2

26 September 2024

Social Justice

Did you know 37% percent of prisoners in America are African Americans? Did you also know that as of August 8, 2022, 53% of all exonerated criminals (because they were falsely imprisoned) in America were also African American? It’s no secret that social injustice and racial inequality exists plentiful throughout America, the real secret is what can we do about it? How can we, the citizens of America, even as highschool students, do anything at all to positively change this injustice? Social justice is the equal treatment and oppurtunity of people without prejudice because of the color of your skin, your ethnicity, gender, or social class.

From what I can remember, from the moment I gained consciousness to this very moment where I’m sitting here typing this, I haven’t experienced much direct racism, at least to my knowledge. I know many stories from friends and family, however, of their own personal experiences and racist encounters. These stories and the small amount of personal experiences are what made my morals and shaped my convictions. For example, when I was younger, when me and my mom didn’t have a car yet, we were denied service multiple times for no apparent reason. One I remember was at a shopping center, where my mom sent me to start getting in line while she grabbed one more thing. The cashier, with about 2 other clients at her register, told me to go to another lane since she was closed. I went to another line that was way longer than hers, and by the time my mom came back, she asked why I was in the longer line. I told her the other was closed, but it was very much open, and had already 2 new clients, who were white in complexion. My mom, knowing this was either some racist act or simply sadistic, talked to the cashier and ended up screaming at each other and telling the cashier she was a racist bigot. Just to spite her, my mom went to her lane and forced the cashier to attend us. I still never understood why the cashier discriminated against us, given she was clearly hispanic, but this moment only served to teach me people within my own ethnicity, that I thought I could trust, are also bound to doing the same racist acts that others can as well. I also think the media is very responsible for hatred and racism propagated around our country, which I hate. This is connected to an experience my friend told me about, where in school and coming back to school, before and after the pandemic, she was outcast and basically segregated from the rest of the classroom. Asians were put into a corner of their own, because they were deemed as possible carriers of the virus more than others. They weren’t allowed to go on trips either apparently, and if they signed up to go the trips were canceled, even if everyone was wearing masks. The reason I think the media has to do with this is because of everything circulating at the time, with Corona-Virus being something that came from eating a bat, a lab breakout, and other rumors, Asains were put as the culprits. My friend recalls being called all sorts of names and feeling ostracized at times, since she and all her asian friends were avoided when walking in the halls or put anywhere near other people that unreasonably feared that even being in the presence of an Asian person would kill them. I’ve known other people from Asia that have had similar experiences, who have even told me they were denied services at shops sometimes simply because they were Asian during the pandemic. These stories told to me by friends have taught me to almost never take anything on the media at its word, that it’s worth looking into things more instead of possibly being caught in propaganda or misinformation being spread.

Bringing politics into it, discrimination due to social classes is very prevalent. Rules and laws are constantly exploited, loopholes are made, and inequality spreads. Using the mirror of humanity that is Animal Farm, Napoleon would constantly change the commandments in order to suit his needs, give himself better food, and benefit himself while making things worse for the lower class, for example, "No animal shall sleep in a bed"(Orwell 43) was changed to "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets"(Orwell 79). Napoleon also changed "No animal shall drink alcohol"(Orwell 43) to "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess"(Orwell 113). Same thing happens in the real world. The lower classes are constantly knocked over and have life made harder for them, while those at the top just keep getting richer. And since minorities make up about 46% of the middle class, and about 55% of the lower class , these big corporations, which are majority white owned, slowly price gouge their products, making them richer, while we suffer the consequences. We’re being systemically drowned out, being impoverished, and left work like slaves while those at the top relish in what they’ve done. This is not to say that the owners of the mega corporations are racist, but that in the pursuit of money, minorities are being more and more drained of their money as time goes on, creating an environment where white Americans are those who can continue to grow in wealth way easier.

Social justice, to me, is the equal treatment of people without prejudice because of the color of your skin, your ethnicity, gender, or social class. If you ask me, even if it’s far-fetched, is that the constitution needs to be rewritten, again. The law, as it is, is too weak and old (similar to those in government). There are too many loopholes allowing social injustice to keep going unpunished. Laws that let the big monopolies in our country keep rising and destroying us, Laws that let police officers commit violent crimes and get away with nothing but a slap on the wrist. As American citizens and the new generation, we should aspire to revolt and make change. Hold values of equity and fair judgment. And if it takes a riot to get justice, then a riot they shall have.

DMU Timestamp: October 30, 2024 00:42