School Oppression

Schools oppression.

We have lived through history, we have learnt the dates and the names and yet we fail to identify the very thing that we’ve learnt about countless times. It surrounds us every single day and there are no recordings of it, there are no dates or names to recall to avoid this. Oppression. More specifically, oppression subjected by an entire system that reaches every single country – irrespective of your financial status, your race or your gender.

We are enforced into a system of oppression from the day we can talk. Ironic, isn’t it, that once our brains start developing, we are immediately shoved into a school – where we become nothing but barcodes. A product that is mass produced specific to a certain formula. We are trained, programmed and influenced from the time we are at our most influential ages. We are taught to line up, take stance and greet. We are a military troop dressed in uniform, marching into classes in form – and god forbid you are one step out of line. We are taught to raise our hands to speak, and only once we are acknowledged can we utter a word. Yet, they wonder why we can’t find our voices unless we’re shown attention. There are no hands to raise when issues arise, because the only time hands are raised are when there are signs of protest or hands in the form of fists. Yet, we wonder why we are so confused as we grow up. Our names are lost in the alphabet, while our identity is nothing but an order. Bells shrill every half hour, a ringing etching ever so slowly into our brains – conditioning us to “normality”. A sound that is stamped into our heads for twelve years. A simple procedure to program our routine. We learn about Hitler and Napoleon in the form of people, but how can we identify something so cruel when we’re so focused on people, and not a system. Our light bulbs are dimmed to match the rest of the people in the room – how symbolic that we end off our last day of schooling with a cap on our heads, indicating the end of the process of our dulling. Our barcodes become another number, one in an ocean of barcodes.

Somewhere along the line we become prisoners. Our every move is watched by cameras at every corner monitoring our behavior. The bells start sounding more like sirens and the cameras start glaring. Wardens usher us to our next chore, taking us to write a test to see whether we’re improving or not. Marking their production process based on exams, seeing where our progress lies. Until finally, we are no longer juveniles in our own skin, and we are expected to find our way in the world as if we haven’t been locked away for twelve years, but damn does freedom feel good.

They predict a future of robots, and I’ve always thought “how terrifying”. The thought of something with a program so advanced, yet mechanized that it may revolt, is horrifying. “The future is nearer than we think”, they say. They’re not wrong, you know. We are programs of mechanization, we are robotized. We are also fully capable of revolt and destruction.

LETS TALK ABOUT SEXISM

Lets talk about sexism.

It astonishes me, first of all, how often the word is thrown around carelessly which takes away the seriousness of the topic. Today, we need to start becoming conscious of how predominant it is in our every day lives.

Today, I read an article about how a tennis player, Alize Cornet, was punished for taking her shirt off at the US Open. This both angers and saddens me at the same time. Understandably, if it is a rule, it should not be broken. However, when a rule supposedly does not apply to men, that is a double standard. I  have seen Nadal take his shirt off numerous times, and yet there has never been a single complaint? Similarly, Djokovic sat shirtless during his break as well. It worries me that something so simple causes such an uproar. She clearly felt discomfort – which would have affected her game. Which brings me to the fact that Serena Williams was banned from wearing her catsuit that was specifically made for her by Nike as a support for her in the case of a health issue.

Women are being so openly victimized by sexism and no one is even batting an eye. It concerns me that women are being so restricted as to what we can do and how we can do it. It has been like this for centuries – how has the conversation not increased? How has this not changed? It happens everywhere. Not only in sports, but sports sure is exposing it to a larger audience. I have heard countless stories whereby women send emails to clients and the message is received loud and clear with respect. The second this same woman is on a phone call or face to face with the same client, her words slip through the air unheard because there is a realization as to what gender she is. As women, we are a force to reckoned with, and I think people are realizing that more now than ever. That is why sexism exists. Our strength is far beyond what anyone can even begin to comprehend. We are endless, we are powerful, we are filled with galaxies and planets with storms and oceans inside of us. That, that is why they will not give us a chance to coexist equally – because they are afraid that we might flood this world with power. We are monumental creations and sexism will not tie our arms and make us submissive, it will only provoke the elements that are waging war inside of us.

We can not stay silent forever, especially not in the face of inequality and double standards.