In the reading and analysis of Miller’s “Domination/Subordination” and Cheney and Lair’s “ Elevating Dissent” some important and diverse views on inequalities and the idea of superiority were introduced. Early in Miller’s chapter in the section about inequality they make the statement: “the superior person is supposed to engage with the lesser in such a way as to bring the lesser member up to full parity; that is, the child is to be helped to become the adult.”(Miller). While this makes obvious sense in the example used (child and adult) I believe it is very important to recognize the subjective nature one should take to approaching a person or population that they perceive as inferior.
This connects me to a concept I learned in my World History class, “the white man’s burden”. The “white man’s burden” revolves around the idea that in history, individuals in western societies that believe they are superior’s sense of obligation to help “inferior” countries or populations. While in some cases in history this is all out of good-natured desires to help those they view as less-fortunate, this idea is rooted in racist and religious beliefs that are very subjective and ignorant. This has become an extreme issue because of differences in beliefs and cultures; who decides what is a “superior” way of life? While these moments in history and even present-day may have been out of good intention they have lead to major conflict and struggles in the said “inferior” countries. Some examples of this are imperialism or religious expansions were in some cases the more powerful party enforces their own ideologies on another society that may not want their interference.
We are currently learning about “the white man’s burden” in my Justice and Civil Society class as well– it is definitely a direct manifestation of the domination and subordination concept. Imperialism intended to dominate “lesser” human beings through religious conversion, conquest, and even genocide.
i think the “white mans burden” was a good point to bring up. it is very hard to decide who is superior or inferior ad if you decide wrong it can lead to generations of oppression.
I really enjoy this and I completely agree with you when you mention the different dynamics of other relationships. I feel like while I understand where she was going by inserting the child/parent example, she applied a lot of problematic claims onto subordinate/dominant relationships that were simply not applicable.
I think the white man’s burden is a really good example! I can easily see how the dominant group defined in the reading could approach the permanent inequality structure with that mindset. Hopefully, instead of falling into that, the environmental causes (ie systemic racism) will be addressed to solve inequality rather than ‘fixing’ subordinate populations.
I think that the white man’s brigen is a really great example that encompasses what dominant people think about when dealing with subordinates. I think that the inequality structure you mentioned with the parent and child could be related to this because the parents most likely feel that they are burdened with making sure their child grows up with all of the resources possible.
Domination and subordination is always a controversial subject, especially when it comes to race. Your point about the white man’s burden is spot on, and fits into this topic perfectly. Deciding what is “superior,” should be based on fact and not other subjective measures like the ones you mentioned.
I definitely agree with you about how we look at “interior” countries. With the white mans burden they believed they were better and tried to change the “inferior” to be more like them. But now we can see all the bad and hurt it’s caused those societies.
I liked how you tied in the concept of the white man’s burden. In Miller’s article, she talks about how “the dominant group is the model for ‘normal human relationships.’” In terms of the white man’s burden, the white men justified their actions by believing that they served as the model for “normal human relationships.”