Issue Of The Week XXXV: Do You Believe Your Actions Can Help Stop Social Injustices?

I think it is really important that we act against injustices, even if our actions seem like they won’t make a difference. A tidal wave effect can form – when someone sees us acting against injustices and racism, it can motivate them to do the same. In a recent conversation with my father, he questioned if racism was even prevalent anymore. I was really surprised to hear him say this. I am white, born and raised in southern California to an upper middle class family. Racism and social injustices weren’t something I ever experienced first-hand. But just because I might not have gone through it advertently, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. I think it is really easy to just assume that if we haven’t struggled, others haven’t either. I didn’t respond right away to my dad. A few days later, I sent him an email with a list of links that showed accounts of racism and social injustices. Even if he didn’t see that racism still exists, I know I did my part to try to show him what other people go through. Social injustices don’t always look the same as they did, but they are still there. For instance, homosexuality isn’t considered a mental illness or cause for imprisonment like it used to be. It is something that people are prejudiced against though. So many teens and college students lose their lives due to the struggle of dealing with their sexuality. Maybe they aren’t being beaten to death like Matthew Shepard, but there are tons of accounts of suicides because of bullying. It is important to me that I am part of the solution, because if not, I am just part of the problem. What I can do to act against social injustices is to hold a standard of behavior for myself, and the people that I associate with. I can be thoughtful of how I behave, and choose to not interact with people or institutions that are practicing social injustice.

I could be wrong, but I cannot think of a single time where one person made a radical difference in history. Yes, there are movements with standout leaders, but those leaders typically have a large following and the people in that following are who end up creating change. Whether we are the leader that draws a following or a part of the following ourselves, our job is to be a part of movements of change. It is naive and ignorant to think we could do it on our own.

I was born and raised in the U.S. and my family and I are Taiwanese. Although I was not born white, growing up, we were considered middle class and honestly I don't really recall facing any injustices personally. Perhaps because as people say, asians are the "model minority," we keep to ourselves and very quietly go through life in a country that we didn't originate from. However, just because I didn't have to face those issues does not mean that I didn't see them happen. It's hard to be one person and think that you can make a difference, but the author is right. If everyone thought that way, there would never have been any differences made in our past history. Therefore, I think that all it takes is one voice, one person to say something to another person and so forth. Hopefully these voices will carry far and wide and result in a movement of social change.

As someone earlier stated that throughout history 1 person really cannot make a difference alone. It takes a group effort to get anything done, and along with a group effort it takes a real passion to want to try and guide people to make a difference. One person alone is weak but if that one person can get a group together, and the larger the group the higher potential of the strength of the group is to be. But I think that I, myself, alone wouldn't stand a chance on my own when trying to do something that noble.

I too, agree that it is hard for one person to make a change at least a noticeable change, when dealing with social injustice. There are various different social inequalities that are prevalent today and I urge people to stand up for what they believe in because I was taught to do just that. I was taught not to treat others unfair because they were considered different. I am just one person though and I may treat others with the respect I hope for in return but I just find it hard for one individual to be able to make a significant obvious social change. I think it comes down to a personal level too where if someone personally recognizes their good actions and feels like they are making a change then that is great. People do lead by example and gain support that way but as someone mentioned before, it takes groups and movements to make evident social changes.

This post makes a valid point, as I often thought about how my race has shaped my frame of thought in regards to difficulties that other races deal with. As a white female, raised in an English speaking household, middleclass and heterosexual, I am aware that I view this world differently than perhaps, those who come from a background that poses more difficulties. Would I have such a positive outlook? Would I find frustration in individuals who aren't so fortunate? I must agree with this author. Everyone, regardless of their race and upbringing has a civil duty of promoting progression in the world. We need to spend more time tearing down the barriers that divide us and making a difference in the smallest ways. As a college student, joining clubs with a diverse student body, and enrolling in courses with a cultural focus, have made a tremendous difference in my worldly outlook. Education makes all the difference.

There is always going to be inequality unfortunately. I agree that we cannot fix every thing around the world. If I could help solve all the problems around the world, I would, but it is not possible. I think we can all make a difference at a smaller level though, like volunteering. We can make a big difference if we get enough people to work towards a good cause. I also agree with her dad in saying it’s just a sandwich. I understand where she’s coming from, because you don’t want to buy from a company that has beliefs that you disagree with. I think she thinks when she buys a sandwich from Chick fil-a, her money is going to the “CEOs” and they are spending it on their own beliefs. But she has to realize that although a few people might have a certain beliefs, a majority of people who work for Chick fil-a probably don’t share the same beliefs. I think it would be unfair to boycott a company, which would be bad for the workers at the restaurants (ex: cooks/cashiers). I believe in standing up for what you believe in and go make a difference in the world.

I think that being part of the solution is a good thing to aim for. You're living by your morals and making a point o not supporting something that you're against and that's a good way to live because every action leads to another. So by telling your dad the whys behind you not supporting discriminatory restaurants maybe he'll start not supporting them either. As a human being it is important to make any positive actions that you can to make the world a better place.

I am also a heterosexual, white female who has been given the opportunity to educate myself and do something great with my life. I find it essential to use every avenue we have to provide and make a great life, not only for ourselves, but for our families and loved ones around us. If we are able to use our great opportunities to help others that only adds to our credibility as a strong able-bodied white female. Being female isn't always the easiest, but we can use it to our advantage and show the world, especially men, just how capable we are of making a name for ourselves, using the opportunities we have, and becoming successful on our own.

I love the fact that your educated your father on why you were not willing to enter the Chick fil-a restaurant. I do believe that a social justice movement can begin with the power of one individual. Now that you have made your father aware of the this restaurants discrimination he may go on to share this with other members of his circle and so forth. I would challenge others to consider that this is how any social justice movement can gain momentum. By educating those around us we can evolve into a group of enlightened individuals who mobilize for change. If enough outraged people stop going to this establishment the owners may choose to change their practices or face going out of business. Consider the message that this would send to those members of society who were discriminated against.

I love this whole idea. It takes every person doing something to change the system, but this wont happen if no one changes how they live. It takes a whole society shift, but that starts with one person. We can all do something to change how this society views people who are "different". I am doing my best to work on changing myself, to support what i believe in and to make sure i take a stand when i hear things that i dont.

The message of this article is a very powerful one. There are so many times when people make offensive comments and I do not say anything because I question how it will make a difference, but this article gives hope. If I start telling people that using the "R" word around me or saying "that's so gay" is offensive and explain why, then maybe they will become aware of what they are saying and more cautious with their word choice because they never know who is listening. It may not be a lot, but it is a start and if more people start taking that step, maybe we can get rid of those expressions. People always say it only takes a spark to start a fire and if people start speaking up, maybe we can spark something in society and finally see change.

Every big change begins with baby steps. It is those baby steps that help create social and permanent change in our society. I personally really like Chick-fil-a, but I had a similar encounter with my father when the whole homosexuality thing was happening with Chic-fil-a. He and I triggered a conversation about this topic and he is the type of person who doesn't really like to talk about harsh realities like the Chic-fil-a vs. traditional man and woman marriage. I told him that even though I support gay marriage and think it's wonderful, I'm still going to eat at Chic-fil-a, and the CEO or whoever he was that did not support gay marriage brought his beliefs to light was great. Fine, everyone has the right to voice their opinion, but it really stirred up a lot of drama in our country. My dad still has the traditional mind set that 'gay marriage isn't right' or 'normal' and I hope that my small nudges towards him and the rest of traditional society (or what's left of it) that gay marriage is okay. You love who you love. It's the baby steps.