Oppression means the dominance of one group over another, imposed by asymmetrical power and often reinforced by hostile conditions such as threats or even real violence. To be oppressed is to see that another group, more powerful, threatens or attacks our own group. It’s feeling humiliated and insulted, feeling like you have fewer opportunities, and the laws don’t apply the same way.
Is it enough to be oppressed for violence to either either? Initially, oppression was considered the cause of violence, this theory is rooted in the assumptions of frustration-aggression and relative deprivation, these assumptions suggest that oppression, frustration and humiliation are some of the variables that trigger violence.
- One of the first theories that served to explain how violence arose was the theory of frustration-aggression.
- This theory claimed that aggression is always the product of frustration.
- However.
- This has not been proven in reality.
The data indicated that frustration did not inevitably lead to aggression, frustrated people did not need to use violence, sometimes frustration ended with solving the problem, and at other times violence occurred without the presence of frustration. due, for example, to the intolerance or misinformation of those who used it.
Therefore, it makes no sense to regard frustration as a necessary and sufficient factor in provoking aggression, so the theory has been reformulated so that only threatened winter frustration is what can lead to aggression, so frustration could lead to anger and hatred. In turn, these emotional states, faced with a threat, would be what would cause aggression.
However, this new proposal does not always seem to happen either, frustration under threat can facilitate aggression, but it will not determine aggressive behavior.
Faced with the failure of the theory of frustration-aggression, a new theory emerged, that of relative deprivation, which understands frustration as a condition caused by relative deprivation, relative deprivation is a distorted perception of necessity, is to believe that someone is depriving us of a need or a right. According to this theory, revolt would occur when the person cannot withstand the conditions of inequality that live in his group.
Over time, it has been found that relative deprivation can facilitate certain attitudes, or even violence, especially among members of a social class or oppressed group; However, it cannot be considered a trigger for violence, while poverty and economic inequality can lead to violence, this will not always happen, even in most cases.
Perceived oppression is not an imperative or sufficient reason for violence to occur, however, it is a cognitive-emotional variable that is a potential risk factor, oppression does not have to be real, it can be perceived, to believe that another group threatens us may be enough to feel oppressed. The concept of oppression encompasses previous theories, so it includes negative feelings, such as frustration, and cognitive sensations, such as deprivation.
However, while oppression is not necessarily part of the cocktail of factors that eventually precipitate violent behavior, it is intimately related to certain clinical conditions, such as anxiety or even depression, in addition, people who feel oppressed tend to develop increased emotional stress, which plays an important role in supporting violence.