SOCI 2F60 Foundations of Community Engagement
Reflection 8 (Grace Week)
Petition Against Violence
Ā Description
As part of my activism OOCLO, I started and signed a petition. The petition I started was to end violence. This is a very broad subject, but violence is a growing situation and must receive more publicity to help fight against it. The petition was addressed to society as a whole because everyone should help contribute to end violence. There are many types of violence and they include physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, spiritual, cultural, verbal, and financial abuse. Violence also can defined as neglect, wheels of power, control and equality. This petition was created so that people know and understand all the different types of violence and many of the common groups that are affected by it. Top groups include women, gays, lesbians, blacks, and Asians. Being informed is one of the ways that can help prevent violence because when people understand something they can feel passionate about it and help fight against it. Violence affects many peoples lives and there are statistics that prove it takes over 1.5 million lives annually. This is a large number that needs to be reduced. After creating this petition I shared is on the internet through my Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr accounts.
Ā After starting and sharing my petition I had found an article named Five Faces of Oppression, which was written by Iris Majon Young. This article focuses on one of the oppressions being violence. After writing my petition and reading the article, I realized all the different types of violence and how many lives it affects. Ā There are many groups affected by violence such as women, blacks, Asians, Arabs, gay men, lesbians, Jews, Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, and other Spanish-speaking Americans (Young, 2012, p. 334). The article also taught me that it is a symptom of social injustice (Young, 2012, p. 335). āWhat makes violence a phenomenon of social injustice, and not merely an individual moral wrong, is its systemic character, its existence as a social practiceā (Young, 2012, p. 335). Ā One example that the author presents is to prove is that women have a reason to fear rape (Young, 2012, p. 335). I had always known that women were a larger group that is affected by violence, but that is it almost social acceptable for them to fear it instead of having everyone fight and help them.Ā They also state that violence is a social practice because people understand and know that rape happens and that they know it will happen again. āThis rule-bound, social, and often premeditated character makes violence against groups a social practice.ā (Young, 2012, p. 335). Ā This needs to completely end.
Ā Articulation of Learning
Ā I have learned that violence is a known occurrence that is continually growing. Not only did I learn this when I researched for starting the petition but also when I read the article. It informed me, not only how big of a deal violence is, but that it is a social practice. A quote used to show how violence is almost accepted is shown through this quote, āTo the degree that institutions and social practices encourage, tolerate or enable the perpetration of violence against members of specific groups, those institutions and practices are unjust and should be reformedā (Young, 2012, p. 336). This shows that we must stop the stigma around violence and prove that it is a bigger deal thenpeople believe.
Ā Ā I learned this learning when I read the article and did research for the petition. I had understood that violence happened but I never thought it affected as many lives as it does and how it is perceived in society. When reading the article I realized that I too think the same when is comes to violence being a social practice. The examples that gave like the women one stated above are āRegardless of what a black man has done to escape the oppressions of marginality or powerlessness, he lives knowing he is subject to attack or harassmentā (Young, 2012, p. 336). We all know about the stigmas and ignore or barely do anything about it.
Ā This learning matter because violence is a social practice that does not help society at all and needs to be stopped. This is a social injustice and affects many people. Violence is not something that we can continue to ignore because it will continue and become more of a social practice that will be accepted. People know that violence happens and that it is going to continue to happen, but we continue to not help as much as we can. We need to raise awareness of not only violence but how it is seen in societyās eyes.
Ā In light of this learning I will continue to support my petition and have it shown throughout social media so others will continue to see if and hopefully sign it to help people become aware. I will also change how I view violence and know that it cannot remain as a social practice. Being able to educate others about this will benefit society because that can use the pay it forward model and educate others. Ā
Young, Iris Marion. (2012) Fice faces of oppression. In James De Filippis & Susan Saegert (Eds.), The Community Development Reader (pp. 328-337). New York and London: Routledge.
