Power Oppression and Society - Term Paper Example

 Power Oppression and Society Introduction The character of a society can be judged from it treats the least fortunate in that particular society. Of course, people with disability can be considered the least fortunate in a society because of a number of factors. First, unlike people living in poverty, disability is not something that one can eventually overcome; disabled people have to live with their disability for the rest of their lives. Poor people on the other had can turn their economic fortune and cross over to the other side. Secondly, disability is an obvious challenge that can be detected easily and so those who are prejudiced against disability can easily target their victim. However, it is not easy to just look at an individual and know if they are poor or not (apart from the few cases like in a homeless person whose mode of dressing may betray their economic condition). In many societies, people with various disabilities face discrimination and sometimes maltreatment. Even in societies as advanced economically, socially and democratically as the United Kingdom, the discrimination of people with disability still remains a big problem (Albrecht, Seelman &Bury, 2001). Not only do these people face discrimination, but also their care givers. Discrimination comes in various forms and at various levels. While these people may face discrimination at the societal level, they are also likely to face discrimination at the legislation and policy levels in which case the various legislations and government policies seem to work against them (Dalrymple & Burke, 2006). A good example is the issue of people with dementia. In the UK, people with dementias face discrimination in all its ugly facets. In the general society, these people are likely to receive prejudice because of the general fear and misunderstanding of that exists about dementia. Discrimination against people suffering from dementia is fueled by the ignorance as well as the prejudice with regard to the disability. Secondly, apart from facing discrimination and maltreatment in the general society, people with dementia are also likely to be discriminated with regard to receiving care in public hospitals and other care centers. For instance, dementia patients are more likely to not be treated with seriousness, probably due the prejudice among healthcare givers that the disease cannot be treated. Yet, despite this prejudice, the truth is that dementia patients can enjoy a long and happy life if serous treatment is offered to them. Secondly, these people with dementia also face discrimination at the policy level. For instance, the available policies do not offer proper ways to aid these patients get the right treatment that will improve their quality of life. As Kholi (2007) says, the barriers that make it almost impossible for disabled people to be included in the mainstream and be treated equal to those without disabilities are many and varied. These include prejudice and hostility as well as condescension. Unfortunately, even pity is a major part of discrimination. Most people think they are doing the disabled a favor when they offer their pity to them. This unfortunately is in itself as bad as discriminating because what these people need is not pity but to be treated like normal human beings. On the other extreme of this continuum is indifference. Those who understand that the disabled people should not be treated with pity are likely to lie on the other extreme of this continuum by treating them with indifference. This is also a setback to these people who need the support of the society in which they live (Langley, 2001). This is unfortunate because it is estimated that in UK, over 8.6 million people live with one or other kind of disability. Organizations that deal with advocating for disabled people actually argue that this number is actually lower than the reality. This, they argue, is because the number is based on the traditional definition of what disability is and therefore fails to capture the reality on the ground. What is frightening is that these people are more likely to be from poor economic backgrounds (which further puts them in danger of discrimination and marginalization), and are also likely to be unemployed (Morris,1991). Over 8 million people in the UK people being disabled means that 1 in 7 people are living with one kind of disability. This is a very big part of the society to be ignored and in this case, it means that unless these people are treated in way that makes them to fit in the society, the society will always have a problem. According to Thompson (2003), the other factor to be considered is the fact that the discrimination of these disabled people also offers a challenge to their care givers. For instance, when a disabled person cannot get a good stable and gainful employment because of discrimination, it means that his family members have to be the ones to take care of such a person thus placing an even bigger burden, both social and economic, to them (Thompson, 2003). At the same time, when these people cannot get the right healthcare in the public hospitals due to discrimination and prejudice, like in the above case of people with dementia, the family members of these people have to suffer more, again, both economically and psychologically (Thornicroft, 2007). It is necessary to note that as indicated above in this paper, these people are more likely to come from poor families, that is, families with low or diminished economic resources. As a result, when they are discriminated against, whether it is economically in terms of their ability to get social services, the families have to suffer even greater pressure. According to Wilson (1977), disabled women in the UK are even at a greater risk of discrimination and maltreatment. To begin with, they will suffer discrimination first as a matter of their gender, and then they will suffer even more discrimination as a result of their disability. As Langan and Day (1992) say, these disabled women are likely o be from poor families, live in the rural homes and have limited education as well as exposure. While there have been various efforts to take care of disabled people and to eradicate discrimination against disables people in the UK, these efforts have done little to help the situation. In most part, the reason that these efforts have been unfruitful is because they are misinformed and are done within the prejudiced environment. As a result, even government policies and the various legislations and laws that have been put in place in the past have not even scratched the surface. According to Beresford (2012) disabled people face a renewed tidal wave of discrimination. He also coincides with many other concerned people that the various efforts that have been there in the past years with regard to giving power to disabled people and protecting them from oppression are not effective in achieving a good environment for disabled people. In his view, he argues that most of these efforts are actually counterproductive. He cites the London Paralympics as the most formidable detriment that deters disabled people from being able to get their rights. Although on the surface efforts such as the London Paralympics seem to support the disabled people, they actually work in the opposite direction (Beresford (2012). This is because of a several factors. First, the London Paralympics do not aid a lot in helping to bring about a paradigm or attitude shift in the general society with regard to disabled people. While most people can and do enjoy the Paralympics, this does not in the least bit help in changing the attitude of these people with regard to the way they regard disabled people. However, that is the worst part of it. The biggest problem with regard to the Paralympics as a way to support the disabled people is that these games are sponsored by organizations that are themselves involved in the oppression and discrimination of the disabled people. For instance, as Beresford (2012) points out, the main sponsors of the Paralympics have been involved in the discrimination and oppression of the disabled people. The main sponsors of the London Paralympics are the Atos and the Dow Chemical Company. The later has been especially known for discrimination against people with disability in its company policy. In this regard, while they may be applauded by the government and by the general public for their generous act of supporting the Paralympics, the very fact that their act is based on hypocrisy means that it does more harm than good. Thirdly, the other problem that arises is that such efforts as the London Paralympics only work to help a few disabled people and with the same effort mask the many others from ever getting a good chance to make it in life. As Beresford (2012), says, the London Paralympics only help in showcasing what disabled people are capable of if they given an opportunity and treated with respect and love. However, it fails to take care of the rest of the disabled community. Worse, it creates an impression that disabled people have been given an equal opportunity. Meanwhile, millions of other disabled people in the UK continue to face discrimination and oppression on a daily basis as they go through their lives. Much more than the Paralympics need to be done in order for disabled people to be taken care of. In fact, the rest of the society needs to strive to have a better attitude towards the Paralympics. Exploitation Most disabled people are more likely to be exploited in a number of ways as compared to the able-bodied person. Unfortunately, this dimension of oppression of the disabled people is done both by the larger public as well as by the family members and close “friends” (Thompson, 1995). Disabled people get exploited on a daily basis. Domestic violence in the form of cruelty, humiliation and violence is inflicted on these people. Many families, due to lack of acceptance can humiliate the disabled member of the family by both treating him or her as part of the family or by ‘hiding’ the person to avoid embarrassment from the public. This has fundamental negative impact on the individual both psychologically and physically. Although there are organizations that are committed to helping disabled individuals who are in these kinds of situations, they are not able to reach out to all of them. After all, most of these organizations are in urban centers while a great majority of these disabled persons are likely to be in rural and suburban areas. More so, even in the urban areas, the disabled person does not have much chance because these organizations do not go house to house asking for disabled people. Even in a modern society of today, there are families that still hide their disabled members, to the point that even their closest neighbors may not know about the existence of such a person. This unjustified isolation and exclusion is a form of oppression and discrimination and it has big negative impacts on the individual (Thompson, 2003). Physical impacts of such isolation come in the form of these individual not being able to extreme their bodies as well as not being able to get enough sunlight. The psychological impacts are obvious, given that any individual suffers psychological when isolated from the rest of the social world when they are treated in a way that does not express love and appreciation. Marginalization Marginalization is another way that the people living with disability have to face on a daily basis. According to Dodenhoff (2014), marginalization is the confining of a part of society to lower positioning so that they appear to be of lower social status and importance. Needless to say, disabled people in the UK face this kind of discrimination on a daily basis. Here, a very important issue comes up. For instance, where does this discrimination come from? The first place to look for this discrimination is in the workplace. Not only are disabled people likely to be discriminated during the hiring process of almost any firm, they are also likely to be treated with discrimination even if they manage to get the job (Amos, 2012). The discrimination comes mainly due to prejudice, the attitude that these people may not be able to perform in various tasks like the rest of the people. However this prejudice is misplaced. While a disabled person may not to perform some tasks like the other people who are not disabled, this does not fundamentally mean that they are not able to do some work. For example, if an individual has a disability but is employed to do intellectual work, assuming that the disabled individual is not going to be as effective as the person who is not physically disabled but has the same intellectual capability as the disabled person is a prejudice against the disabled person. There is overwhelming evidence that disabled people can be able to do most of the tasks that the able bodied people can, but this has not changed the negative attitude towards the disabled people. Cultural Imperialism Cultural imperialism is another way in which the disabled people are oppressed through. According to Dodenhoff (2014), cultural imperialism involves a situation where the dominant culture is adopted as the main culture and any other culture that deviates from this main culture is considered as inferior and worthless. Cultural imperialism seems to be the source of all the other forms of oppression that disabled people face. Through cultural imperialism, the disabled people are seen as outsiders and this leads to the disabled people being treated negatively. When they are regarded as outsiders or abnormal, it becomes easier for them to be discriminated, maltreated and even marginalized. In the United Kingdom, this manifests itself in many ways. For instance, regardless of the fact that that there are several efforts to make the various public spots to be conducive for disabled people, there still exists problems that have to be sorted out in order to make them possible to have a high quality of standard of life (Best, 2005). It is very obvious that the able bodied people have a much greater advantage and almost anything is optimized to suit them. Most firms for instance never take the consideration of disabled people when designing their offices. While they may have reserved parking spaced in their parking lots, the rest of the premises do not consider the disabled people. This arises from the fact that the disabled people are not regarded as normal part of society and so when various designs are considered, they are not anywhere in the picture (Best, 2005). Conclusion It is very evident that the oppression of disabled people in the UK continues to be a major issue. Past efforts seem to be fruitless for the greater part because they are misinformed. The only way that this oppression can be eradicated is by every member of the society doing their art by first of all refusing to be prejudiced about the disabled people. Additionally, a lot more needs to be done so as to ensure that disabled people are given an opportunity to participate in the society like the other people. Reference list: Amos, P. (2012). Dissability and Work, A Case for United Kigndom. London, UK: Guille Publishers. Albrecht, G.; Seelman, K; Bury, M (eds.)(2001). Handbook of Disability Studies London: Sage Best, S. (2005). Understanding Social Divisions London, Sage Beresford, P. (2012, August 30). Disabled people face a tidal wave of prejudice and discrimination. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from The guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2012/aug/30/disabled-people-tidal-wave-prejudice-discrimination Dodenhoff, P. (2014, 14 May). Five Faces of Oppression - Disability Hate Crime in the UK . Retrieved November 18, 2014, from Disabled World: http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/discrimination/faces.php Dalrymple J. and Burke B. (2006). Anti-Oppressive Practice: Social Care and the Law. Maidenhead: Oxford University Press. Kholi R. (2007). Social Work with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Langan M & Day L (eds) (1992). Women’s Oppression and Social Work, London: Routledge. Langley, J. (2001). Developing Anti-Oppressive Practice with older lesbian women and gay men in British Journal of Social Work (2001) 31, 917-932 Morris (1991). Pride Against Prejudice: Transforming attitudes to disability London: Women’s Press Thompson N (1995). Theory & Practice in Health & Social Welfare, Buckingham: OU Thompson, N (2nd ed.) (2003). Promoting equality: challenging discrimination & oppression, Basingstoke: Palgrave Thompson N (2003) (3rd Ed) Anti-Discriminatory Practice, London: Macmillan Thornicroft G. (2007). Shunned: Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness. Oxford: Oxford University Press Wilson E (1977). Women & the Welfare State, London: Tavistock Read More