Spiritual Grounding

(From Inspired Faith, Effective Action by the UUA Witness Ministries)

We draw inspiration and truth from experiencing each other and the  world around us. In doing so, we necessarily witness both the beauty and  brokenness of our larger community and environment. We are here because  we want to help heal the brokenness. We have chosen to do social  justice work in our Unitarian Universalist congregations; in our  religious community. Therefore it is important to remember that:

• Unitarian Universalist congregations are religious communities, not  secular activist organizations. Seeking social change may be a major  part of what we do, but fostering personal growth and building  relationships are also critically important.
• How the work is done is as important as the end goal of promoting  justice. If the justice work we do fails to build community—or worse  yet, destroys it—then we will not have served our congregations or  Association well.
• Any congregational decision can be divisive if done badly, which  typically means that it was done too fast and congregants felt that  their voices were not heard. The solution is not to avoid the decision,  but to use an appropriate, healthy process that gives everyone a voice.
• This is about personal transformation. Our ability to create social  transformation is linked with our willingness to go through personal  transformation in the process. How can we expect the world to change if  we’re not willing to?
• We learn from reflection. Educator and writer Paulo Freire, author  of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, argued that we learn not from action, but  from reflection on action. The cycle of action-reflection is often  referred to as “praxis.”
• We need strong relationships. The more we are in relationship with  each other, and approach social justice in ways that value this  relationship, the better off we’ll be as a community. This type of  sharing, namely personal, ethical, emotional, spiritual, and/or  theological, is necessary both for effective justice work, and for  personal and congregational development.

(Adapted from The Four “I’s” of oppression, © YouthBuild USA, 58 Day Street, Somerville, MA 02144.)

Ideological Oppression

First, any oppressive system has at its core the idea that one group  is somehow better than another, and in some measure has the right to  control the other group. This idea gets elaborated in many ways–more  intelligent, harder working, stronger, more capable, more noble, more  deserving, more advanced, chosen, superior, and so on. The dominant  group holds this idea about itself. And, of course, the opposite  qualities are attributed to the other group–stupid, lazy, weak,  incompetent, worthless, less deserving, backward, inferior, and so on.

Institutional Oppression

The idea that one group is better than another group and has the  right to control the other gets embedded in the institutions of the  society–the laws, the legal system and police practice, the education  system and schools, hiring policies, public policies, housing  development, media images, political power, etc. When a woman makes two  thirds of what a man makes in the same job, it is institutionalized  sexism. When one out of every four African-American young men is  currently in jail, on parole, or on probation, it is institutionalized  racism. When gay or lesbian couples are banned from the military, it is  institutionalized gay oppression. When young people are excluded from  decision-making in almost every area that affects their lives, it is  institutionalized oppression of young people, or adultism.

Interpersonal Oppression

The idea that one group is better than another and has the right to  control the other, which gets structured into institutions, gives  permission and reinforcement for individual members of the dominant  group to personally disrespect or mistreat individuals in the oppressed  group. Interpersonal racism is what white people do to people of color  up close- -the racist jokes, the stereotypes, the beatings and  harassment, the threats, the whole range of personal acts of  discrimination. Similarly, interpersonal sexism is what men do to  women–the sexual abuse and harassment, the violence directed at women,  the belittling or ignoring of women’s thinking, the pornography, the  sexist jokes, etc.

Most people in the dominant group are not consciously oppressive.  They have internalized the negative messages about other groups, and  consider their attitudes towards the other group quite normal.

No “reverse racism”. These kinds of oppressive attitudes and  behaviors are backed up by the institutional arrangements. This helps to  clarify the confusion around what some claim to be “reverse racism”.  People of color can have prejudices against and anger towards white  people, or individual white people. They can act out those feelings in  destructive and hurtful ways towards whites. But in almost every case,  this acting out will be severely punished. The force of the police and  the courts, or at least a gang of whites getting even, will come  crashing down on those people of color. The individual prejudice of  black people, for example, is not backed up by the legal system and  prevailing white institutions. The oppressed group, therefore, does not  have the power to enforce its prejudices, unlike the dominant group. For  example, the racist beating of Rodney King was carried out by the  institutional force of the police, and upheld by the court system. This  would never have happened if King had been white and the officers black.  A simple definition of racism, as a system, is RACISM = PREJUDICE +  POWER. Therefore, with this definition of the systemic nature of racism,  people of color cannot be racist. The same formula holds true for all  forms of oppression. The dominant group has its mistreatment of the  target group embedded in and backed up by society’s institutions and  other forms of power. Women cannot be sexist.

Internalized Oppression

The fourth way oppression works is within the groups of people who  suffer the most from the mistreatment. Oppressed people internalize the  ideology of inferiority, they see it reflected in the institutions, they  experience disrespect interpersonally from members of the dominant  group, and they eventually come to internalize the negative messages  about themselves. If we have been told we are stupid and worthless and  have been treated as if we were all our lives, then it is not surprising  that we would come to believe it. This makes us feel bad.

Oppression always begins from outside the oppressed group, but by the  time it gets internalized, the external oppression need hardly be felt  for the damage to be done. If people from the oppressed group feel bad  about themselves, and because of the nature of the system, do not have  the power to direct those feelings back toward the dominant group  without receiving more blows, then there are only two places to dump  those feelings–on oneself and on the people in the same group. Thus,  people in any target group have to struggle hard to keep from feeling  heavy feelings of powerlessness or despair. They often tend to put  themselves and others down, including their own children, in ways that  mirror the oppressive messages they have gotten all their lives. Acting  out internalized oppression runs the gamut from passive powerlessness to  violent aggression.

It is important to understand that some of the internalized patterns  of behavior originally developed to keep people alive–they had real  survival value. For example, many a slave mother had to systematically  beat her male child in order to break his strong will, so that he would  “submit” to the horrors of the slave master and not be killed. Some  claim that the practice of “the dozens”–a game of exchanging  ever-sharper insults without losing control–is a direct descendant of  the slavery conditioning to survive brutal insults.

Intersectional Oppression

At all levels of oppression, different -isms or systems of oppression  (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, adultism, cissexism, etc.)  intersect and operate in conjunction with one another. These systems,  which grant privilege and penalty to people based on their social  position, shape the multi-layered and multi-faceted identities and  experiences of all people. Effective activism and organizing will  recognize that every person is positioned at the intersection of their  many identities, and are affected uniquely by the privilege and penalty  granted based on identity.

The Pyramid of Hate shows biased behaviors, growing in complexity from the  bottom to the top. Although the behaviors at each level negatively  impact individuals and groups, as one moves up the pyramid, the  behaviors have more life-threatening consequences. Like a pyramid, the  upper levels are supported by the lower levels. If people or  institutions treat behaviors on the lower levels as being acceptable or  “normal,” it results in the behaviors at the next level becoming more  accepted. In response to the questions of the world community about  where the hate of genocide comes from, the Pyramid of Hate demonstrates  that the hate of genocide is built upon the acceptance of behaviors  described in the lower levels of the pyramid.

(From Inspired Faith, Effective Action by the UUA Witness Ministries)

Do some relationship building and personal, theological discussions  before jumping into the work. Discuss the differences between working in  a Unitarian Universalist congregational setting and secular one. Talk  personally about why you’re passionate about the given issue, and why  it’s an important issue for Unitarian Universalism.

Examine how systemic power, privilege and oppression impact the  issue. Find out if there are groups who are the most affected by the  issue that are active; act as allies and take your leadership cues from  them.

Be the change you wish to see. Model being centered, passionate,  open-minded, and welcoming. Ask personal questions and share personal  stories. Talk about your work in religious terms.

Present your arguments using this model: I believe ____________  (theological statement) therefore________ (impact). Example: I believe  in the interconnectedness of all life; therefore, if we hurt  our  planet, we are hurting ourselves.

Identify yourself as a person of faith/Unitarian Universalist: make references to your congregation, minister, congregants etc.

Include rituals in your activities: start with a chalice lighting,  reading, and/or meditation. End with a closing reading or brief sharing.  Always plan time for reflection and discussion following significant  activities or events.

Participate in a small group ministry such as a covenant group to  help stay centered/grounded (i.e., do an activity that just meets your  self-care needs).

Hold “one-to-one” meetings with fellow members of your social action  group to discuss personal and spiritual motivations for why you are  involved. You might be surprised by what you share!

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