The 5 oppressions that Young mentions are a very accurate representation of some major problems that America is filled with currently. In summary, Young explains that the five oppressions are exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. In terms of exploitation, first it should be a crime in itself to have minimum wage be below $8 in many places. An example of this would include Louisiana itself. Many statistics and people have come out to explain how that is an unlivable wage. On top of this, withholding benefits and deducting salaries also harms the employers that depend on a job and play into making the rich people richer.
Another oppression Young mentions is violence. I think there is no lack of this in the US right now. Nowadays doing normal things like going to school or shopping malls come with an attached risk. America is also known for having set a horrible example in the world’s eyes when it comes to mass violence and violence regarding minorities. There are countless examples of school shootings just in this last month alone. There are also new examples everyday that highlight police brutality. The country seems to be stuck in an endless loop where violence occurs everyday and nothing in the near future seems to reduce this. While Young does a great job of listing 5 oppressions that describe problems with America, there are definitely more oppressions that could be defined when talking about the US. Regardless of what the oppressions are called, the bottomline is that all kinds of oppressions are a very prevalent problem in America and all around the world today. Serious reform has to take place to actually present solutions to all these problems.
