Agamemnon And Clytemnestra Analysis

(Draft)

Discrimination, Prejudice and Oppression When I look at the word oppression, images come to mind; images like being inferior and downtrodden. The word “oppression” can and is a powerful weapon. Let’s look at the meaning of the word, “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel or unjust manner, the state of being oppressed.” (dictionary.com, 2013). During South Africa’s fight for freedom from the cruelty of apartheid, Steve Biko made many speeches to help raise the consciousness of his black brothers and in one of his speeches, he made this statement, the most important weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the MIND of the oppressed.” (Boddy.Evans, 2013). This is a powerful statement and it makes the meaning of “oppression” very clear. Words like oppression and discrimination are powerful and painful. They are tools that have been used in the past and are still in use today. You can be oppressed and discriminated by words as well as action. There have been many times when certain groups have been oppressed and treated with unbelievable cruelty. I am referring to the enslavement of the African people and to the mass killing and displacement of the Native American Indians. During that time, blacks were captured from Africa and brought over to America to do hard labor. They were treated as property, shackled like animals and they endured unbelievable cruelty. This is what I would call the ultimate meaning of oppression. There rights and dignity as a human being was taken away from them. Slavery lasted in this country for over 300 years. That time was during slavery in America. (Schiller, 2011). The American Indians were beaten almost to annihilation just because the land that they were on was coveted by the American settlers. (“North American Indians, 2013). We live in a society that has thrived on discrimination