Paths of Least Resistance Lecture Notes PDF

Paths of Least Resistance It is especially difficult for members of privileged categories to talk about inequality. “Rarely do white people, for example, sit back and listen to racial and ethnic minorities without interrupting, without being defensive……without criticizing or judging.” It’s risky to...

Paths of Least Resistance It is especially difficult for members of privileged categories to talk about inequality. “Rarely do white people, for example, sit back and listen to racial and ethnic minorities without interrupting, without being defensive……without criticizing or judging.” It’s risky to talk about privilege. There is no way to do this without people feeling uncomfortable, frightened or threatened. But, the risk isn’t as great as you might think. Having a basic awareness and understanding of the issue is crucial. How can this be applied to TANCH? According to sociologists, many people see the world divided up into simply “good” and “bad” people. Sociologists challenge this simplistic assumption. Sociologists don’t focus primarily on i ndividuals. Sociologists focus on groups (race, class, gender) and entire social systems (capitalism, patriarchy). Keeping TANCH in mind, how do we explain the wretched conditions that LaJoe and her family live in? Are they just lazy? Can’t they just leave?” It’s not individual people that should be our focal point. It’s the social system. If a man is a sexist pig, he is a product of his patriarchal (male dominated) upbringing. He wasn’t born that way! People are not born inherently “good” or “bad.” Social systems shape inhabitants. The point? If we would like to see a social system changed, we should not focus on “bad” people. Don’t focus on “therapy” or “counseling” after the fact. Rates of rape vary significantly around the world. If rapists were “born that way” we wouldn’t see much, if any, variation because men are biologically the same all over the world. Rape rates vary because of differences in social systems, beliefs and values. We are shaped by and shape social systems. We participate in them every day. Before I explain the title of this lecture (Paths of Least Resistance) I need to back up. We must first understand that social life occurs between people and social systems (remember CW Mills sociological imagination?). We are shaped as individual people in two ways. First, through the socialization process. We learn to participate in social life through family, education, religion and the mass media etc. We learn to see ourselves in relation to others. Second, through “paths of least resistance.” In every social system there are an almost limitless number of choices we might make. For example, right now I could stop explaining everything and call it quits because I’m tired. This would create a little crisis in this social system. The path of least resistance for me, is not to go to bed, but continue working on this “lecture.” Even if I don’t feel like it. Social systems are set up in a way that encourages us to follow certain paths, i.e., the paths of least resistance. There are other paths…..but sometimes they are not known or they seem too risky/difficult to follow – afraid of what might happen. The next time you’re on an elevator, face the rear of the elevator and see what happens. The next time you hear a racist or sexist joke object to it. You will be taking an alternative path. Don’t smile, laugh, or remain silent. Your silence may be interpreted as acceptance/agreement. If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem right? Here are a couple of examples of taking a path that involves resistance. First example. The year is 1960. Four African Americans sat at a “white only” lunch counter at a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina. They deliberately stepped off the path of least resistance. In the days that followed, black and white people protested until one day the entire restaurant was filled with protesters. Soon, similar protests took place all across the south. Within six months, 26 cities across the south had desegregated their lunch counters. Other public facilities such as public swimming pools, libraries and theaters were desegregated during that time as well. By challenging the social system, the protesters made it work differently. They changed the social system. Second example. Look at what you are wearing right now. Where was your top made? Where were you pants made? Shoes? Probably in countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan, or Singapore. You, by wearing clothes made in those countries, or similar countries, are participating in a global economic system that maintains a tremendous amount of inequality. How does wearing clothing made in places like the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Singapore, make you a participant in a system that produces and maintains inequality? We are all involved in perpetuating privilege and oppression. The people, who make our clothing – primarily women, make very little money and are arguably slaves. The only reason why people are exploited in this way is because of the capitalist social and economic system. You and I are not bad people for wearing clothing made by slave labor. We are simply following a “path of least resistance.” Good people with good intentions make systems happen that produce all kinds of injustice and suffering. How can we stop this from happening? Good people have to wake up. We have to become conscious as to what we are participating in. How are we being” set up” to reproduce systems of privilege and oppression? The next time you go to the supermarket, pick up some produce (tomato, lettuce, banana) and ask yourself “what country did it come from? How did it get to the US? Who picked it? What is their life like? How much do they get paid? Do they have health insurance? What do they do during the offseason? What are their children’s lives like?” What you are going to find, is that it is pretty hard to eat without participating in somebody’s misery. The low price of bananas is the result of somebody else’s misery, somebody’s exploitation. Nike footwear – Indonesia. It is virtually impossible not to be complicit. If we live our lives normally, like we have been, we will be participating in someone’s misery. Doesn’t this make our lives uncomfortable? Yes. So what can we do? We have to live with a consciousness that this is going on. I didn’t create this monster. I’m not to blame for it. I can’t entirely change it. But, I have some obligation to participate in it with some kind of consciousness so that when I can make a choice, I make a good one.