The ISIS Papers and Internalized Oppression - Essay Example

?The Isis Papers and Internalized Oppression The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991) is a compilation of Frances Cress Wesling essays on racial discrimination, white supremacy practices and related themes. One of the most important theories that this work has highlighted was the concept of internalized oppression or internalized racism. The idea is that the systematic white supremacy practices across the world have created, reinforced and maintained such type of oppression. Theoretical Framework of Internalized Oppression Based on the theories underpinning white supremacy and its impact, she provided the framework explaining how blacks and people of color – the people at the receiving end of the systematic racist attacks – came to accept their condition and the way they are treated. The practices, norms and negative messages institutionalized by white supremacy particularly in Western societies have caused the people of color to doubt their own abilities, identity and self worth to the extent that they believe it, expect it and act on it towards others as well. For example, as discrimination against the blacks persists in society at all levels, they became resigned to it, recognizing it as norm that is difficult to go against. This is not different from the theoretical underpinnings of other forms of oppression such as that imposed on gender. Oppression becomes internalized after the inculcation of the racial centric schemes perpetuated by white supremacy in its victims and is reinforced by the process of socialization. White Supremacy In order to understand the theoretical foundation of internalized oppression or internalized racism in the context of Wesling's position, it is crucial to outline what white supremacy is in her point of view. In her own words, she explained that it is: the local and global power system and dynamic, structured and maintained by persons who classify themselves as white, whether consciously or subconsciously determined; which consists of patterns of perception, logic, symbol formation, thought, speech, action, and emotional response, as conducted, simultaneously in all areas of people activity (economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war) (p.ii). The above definition is anchored on Wesling’s melanin theory. It is considered by some as reverse racial discrimination in the form of black supremacist ideology such as Finszsch and Schirmer (2002), argued that it is no less narrow-minded and chauvinist than the white supremacist theories (p.116). Nonetheless, the theory argues that the high amount of melanin on people's skin makes them superior and that that race with less quantity are deemed inferior, displaying several weaknesses and inhumanity. To illustrate, she cited that because of their outward appearance, whites defensively developed an uncontrollable sense of hostility and aggression (Wesling, p.5). Wesling used the melanin theory in order to explain the root of white supremacy practices. She argued that because of envy and fear of their inferiority, racism were perpetuated and institutionalized. This is further considered as part of a larger "purpose of white genetic survival and to prevent white genetic annihilation on planet Earth" (Wesling, p.ii). This position is anchored on Wesling’s core argument that the black man is far more superior than the white man – he is virile and has great genetic potential, supposedly capable of causing white genetic annihilation. Internalizing Oppression White supremacy became deeply embedded in global socio-cultural reality as whites fought and killed their way to global domination. She was insistent that the whites’ inhuman nature, with their cold and propensity for violence allowed such feat, making the system of white supremacy persist. Her observation points to a global conspiracy – an international alignment and the annihilation of blacks in the cities as evidences. Wesling mapped out the path of these activities throughout history. She cited the manner by which whites waged war and violence over non-whites in the past, controlling and subjugating the world. Then she cited the indirect attacks to people of color in the present where the thrust towards superiority is driven towards material accumulation, technological culture and power (p.10). In the past, oppression was in the form of killing, lynching, violence, inhuman treatment and slavery. Today, the racial oppression, though indirect, is still as effective and came to be institutionalized. There are discriminations in schools, at work and in communities. The potency of white supremacy as an oppressive force, hence, becomes clear. It is a threat to the very survival of the white as a racial group and, hence, white supremacy had to be preserved at all cost. For this purpose, there is a systematic attempt, according to Wesling, to destroy blacks today by persistent norms and messages that depict them as uneducated, criminals, violent and rubbish (p.v). Institutions such as the government and the media treat them as such, so do society, the people, the law, culture and so forth. The dynamics of this modern oppression is aligned with the theories about discrimination. For instance, there is Sue’s (2010) theory about how discrimination becomes pervasive presently because it occurs every day in the form of microaggressions, which are “brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership (p.24). This variable has been highlighted in Wesling’s discourse on narcissism where she pointed out that this behavioral characteristic is prominent among whites. It is considered one of the factors that drive oppressive behaviors, particularly in how white view and behave towards people of color. As evidence, she cited the third Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association, where the disorder was explained to have specific criteria, with grandiose sense of self importance, preoccupation with power, brilliance and beauty, a lack of empathy and a sense of entitlement, among them (p.36). Wesling observed that any non-white person who have spent time with whites and had extensive dealings with them would inevitably display such narcissistic characteristics themselves (p.36). The idea is that belonging to a white society and partaking in the socialization process therein would lead to an internalization of the ideology of white supremacy even for those people who are the object of its oppressive practices. Other theories consider such internalization the same with the psychology of habit. Consistent oppression and mistreatment becomes a habit making the oppressed group incorporate and accept the perspective of the oppressor. According to Harak (1997) such habit emerges because it is a response to the systematic oppression even though it is contrary to nature (p.2). This explains how people behave according to how they are stigmatized. As blacks are stereotyped as violent, they become violent as a consequence. This is also demonstrated in the way the oppressed also perpetuate the same oppression towards others. Poussaint (1970), for instance, wrote, “It is as if, in a sheer mood of desperation, Blacks seeks to become a part of the White mainstream and obtain so-called manhood by turning to physical brutality and petty crimes against one another” (p.143). This is the impact of internalized oppression on people. It forces them to accept the injustices and discrimination to the point of committing the same oppression on themselves and on their group, marginalizing them further in the process. Conclusion The Isis Paper and Wesling’s theories about internalized oppression are not radically different from other frameworks about other types of oppression or discrimination. A common element is the manner by which systematic and consistent practices of oppression become dominant social norms. In the socialization process within a society, such norm is internalized and, hence, reinforced to further persist. In the experience of Black Americans or people of color in America, the ultimate cause of the oppressive practices is white supremacy. Wesling’s work provided deep insights on the dynamics of this kind of oppressive system. In the process, she was able to explain an effective way by which its victims could overcome its manifestations. The answer is to address the internalization of the oppression. By resisting it, as what happened during the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s to 1980s, the culture, the system, the norm or the habit can be changed. References Finzsch, N. and Schirmer, D. (2002). Identity and Intolerance: Nationalism, Racism, and Xenophobia in Germany and the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harak, G. (1997). Aquinas and Empowerment: Classical Ethics for Ordinary Lives. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Poussaint, A. (1970). Why Blacks Kill Blacks. Ebony, 25(12), p.143-150. Sue, D. (2010). Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Wesling, F. (1991). The Isis (Yssis) Papers: The Keys to the Colors. Chicago, IL: Third World Press. Read More