Exploring and Understanding What It Means to Be an Ally
Becoming an ally, I have instilled knowledge about ally and ally ship. In this journal, I am going to reflect on how to become an ally; how being an ally could shoulder responsibilities towards the oppressed group, and gain insight on being aware of the oppressive practice while working within the community settings. To commence with, being an ally means willingness towards anti-oppressive practice and fight against prejudices for oppressed people. Understanding and distinguishing between the oppressor and oppressed is a vital trail to becoming an ally.
To be an ally is to take on the struggle as your own; stand up; transfer the privilege to those who lack it. Also, being an ally does not necessarily mean that I should completely feel as the oppressed does, by remembering that they are not the member of the marginalized group and stand for the justice. At first, we have to learn about self as an oppressor, learning that I cannot feel like the same because I have never experienced oppression. However, standing out as an ally is challenging. The problem with ally ship is that good intention is not enough. Ally ship offers a safe haven from harsh realities and the dirty work of creating change. It offers a comfortable distance that can be terribly unproductive.
Moreover, there are certain points need to be kept in mind by an ally. Learn and reflect on, understand the trim, always take risks to defeat your fear. Try to help understand about oppression; always listen and then reflect; beware of the implicit biases, and remember that everyone in the oppressor group is the part of oppression. There are certain features of allies that includes their connection with people and grasp of "power-with” as an alternative to "power-over”, honesty, openness, and knowledge of history.
In addition to this, I would like to express my personal experiences about being an ally. Well, I have never seen myself as an oppressor, but I can say that we all hold unconscious bias somewhere in our mind that indirectly involve in oppressive practice, but I learned that this does not makes me a bad person. This concept of becoming an ally is totally unique to me. There are many unheard voices in the society that seek attention. I gained insight of the ally ship and the responsibilities with it over the time. Help other see the privileges, do not expect anything in return from the oppressed group but always stand up first, and do not wait for others. I learned that patience is very vital in ally ship, because those who are feeling oppression may outburst with anger many times. I would endeavor to study everything about oppression, provide support and show respect is of utmost importance in becoming an ally. The people who are oppressed have high expectation from the allies because they cannot breathe freely, deprived of freedom and always at the target. I have to equip myself to the fullest, keeping all the concepts into consideration while serving in the social work environment. It could happen that I encounter oppressed clients in the future, and at that time I should be prepared to face the challenges. I really need to be aware and conscious regarding how it feels like being oppressed for race, identity, ethnicity, class or religion for instance. Not only I need to learn oppression, but also I should learn that not every member of the oppressed group experience in a similar manner. For some people, I might be the oppressor that ultimately affects them; I should be alert to what I express verbally or non-verbally.
All is the learning process that upgrades throughout the lifetime. My career is very demanding and learning about ally ship and oppression would aid me to a greater extent and so I need to be more effective. In conclusion, becoming an ally is the hard concept that demands patience and learning. Always keep in mind that actions and words expressed are laced with oppression. Society will not change in a day; neither can I become an ally just by learning all about it at a time. The oppression will continue until the privileged group does not offer the hand to stand with dignity and respect. Although, the learning would prepare me to deal with marginalized communities in the professional field, becoming an ally is a step towards ending oppression.
