There is a sociologist who suggests that although oppressivesystems seem stable, they actually straddle multiple levels. Theycan never be stable and unchangeable because, as the sociologist(Johnson) notes, it is “impossible for everyone to participate inany system in an unvarying and uniform way.†Thus, it is importantfor each of us to realize that we are constantly affecting thesystem of oppression and that change is a long-term, complexprocess. The first steps of change, then, are acknowledging thatoppression exists and paying attention to how it works and how weparticipate in it (often unknowingly). It is possible for people toengage in “little risk activism†by engaging in small actions suchas not laughing at jokes based on inequality, daring to make othersuncomfortable in order to make a point, or correcting people whenthey make stereotyped assertions about other groups. Johnson notesthat we should think about change as “small, humble and doablerather than large, heroic and impossible.†Discuss this approach tosocial change and social movements noting any efforts that you mayhave made/participated in to do so.
