The "In" Group

Who are the oppressors and who are the oppressed?

Today in class today, we were asked to look at the 7 major groups that are often talked about in terms of having an oppressor and oppressed, and asked to put on group as the "in" group, or group with most institutional power, and then list the out groups.

The 7 major groups were,

1.Race
2.Gender
3.Religion
4.Socio-Economic Class
5.Age
6.Sexual Orientation
7.Physical Ability

Now for the first two we almost instantly were able to say that the white male is a group that in the United States is the oppressor, and the "in" group, with access and opportunity to obtain this institutional power. Religion, we debated over two points, whether Judaism has access, and whether we can say Christian, or do we need to be more specific and say Protestant. However, after deciding on Christian, we moved on and quickly breezed through number 4, by admitting that the wealthy are the "in" group.

Then came number 5, one that for most people might be simple, or easy. Some might put down a huge age range as some people in our group suggested, by saying that 18-55 is the "in" group, and it was on this question where I found myself and our group in a stand still over an interesting question.

Do 18-25 year olds have institutional power?

I say no, I do not believe that people from the age 18-25 have power, and I believe this for a couple reasons. One is because, when I think about institutional power within the United States two things come to mind, Industry and Power. In both of these situation people below the age of 25 in my opinion have no power. We have limitations on age when it comes to politics, and when it comes to industry, it is a rarity to find someone under the age of 25 in real power.

However, my teacher made the point, 18 year olds, can vote, they can serve in the military, the can have access to education and to the roadways that lead to power and privilege. However, I don't believe that gives us any real power, because woman and people of color can also vote, they can serve in the military, etc. so if we are going to say they are in the "out" crowd then we cant include 18-25 year olds.

Another person brought up the fact that our generation has mastered the use of technology, giving us a voice in a public way that has never been seen before. We use social networking, and other technological tools to gain collective power, and have a strong voice and create change.

However, I believe that the access to the Internet has also has a negative affect on giving 18-25 year olds power. It is because anyone and everyone can have a voice in this forum that I believe at the same time that it gives power, it also limits it. I mean, who is to say that anyone on the Internet is more qualified then anyone else to say something. I mean for example, I am sitting here writing about this, but with what authority? What gives me any real qualification to say something on the Internet of meaning, the simple access to it? And so I continued to voice my opinion, that I believed the right age range for the in group is 25-50, a still large age range, but one which I believe is given great respect and credibility solely based on age. However, I also do find this particular category interesting, because it is the only in which a person will move in and out of the in group naturally, without having to change anything about oneself.

So there it is, the "in" group, the group which for a long time in this country has had complete access to power, and opportunity for success in all sorts of industry without going up against any real obstacles, but then again, I am just a person writing on the Internet, so what do I know?

1.White
2.Men
3.Christians
4.Wealthy
5.25-50
6.Straight
7.Able