Jewish students attacked at Auschwitz

[Josh Hambright]

First off I'd like to go on the record as saying that i think that the idea that a oppressed minority cannot oppress, is crap. Everyone has the power to oppress. Maybe not on the grand level of oppression that we have witnessed throughout history, like the holocaust or african slavery. But at the same time we can be oppressive on a personal level. If i walk upto someone on the street and punch them in the face for wearing nike shoes, and every time i see that person wearing nike shoes, i am attempting to oppress their right to wear nike shoes. Now if there is a person who starts attacking someone else for the color of their skin or their ethnic background, then that too is oppression. Its basicly the same idea as the argument that has been around for awhile that a minority group cannot be racist, because racism implies some sort of greater power. But thats not true either. Everyone can commit acts of racism, its most likely just not as systematic and grandious as many of the famous acts of racism (jim crowe laws, Hutu/Tutusi Genocide in africa, armenian genocide in turkey....). Saying something like this is like saying "ohh well since you've been picked on its cool now if you pick on this other person". Thats not right, its still oppression and its still racist, and its still wrong. Now i am not saying that i cant see how these people who struck back would see as their actions were justified, i'm sure they had their reasons but its never allright when someone resorts to violence. Because when someone resorts to violence then they are always becoming the oppressors, if not of more then they are atleast oppressing someones right to not feel pain.