Reflecting on Power, Privilege, and Oppression many different angles; especially when analyzing the different experiences and approaches expressed by other classmates. I discovered that power, privilege, and oppression played a huge role in my clients' development as well as my own development as a man and a professional in the human services field. I also discovered many challenges related to the client approach within the different agencies I worked with throughout my career; virile by being able to identify the problems experienced by each client, to correctly assess how they are currently functioning as an adult in today's society. As I examined my individual BPS and how it related to these factors and my own agency experience, I found that oppression, in particular, played a huge role in my own personal development. Looking at things from an anti-oppressive lens, I was unaware of the depth of macro and micro forces that affected my life and how they also influenced how I affected clients' lives that I serve. My experiences of oppression were growing up in the mid-80s, at the start of the AIDS epidemic. Around this time, I was becoming more and more aware of my sexual orientation and the fact that being a gay African American man at that time was socially unacceptable, even more so than it is today. I've experienced cruelty on many levels, from growing up in a house full of women who insisted on calling me a sissy, to handling many situations where it was implied that I wasn't a strong enough man. This was my first experience with anti-heterosexism, another form of...... middle of paper ...... that is occasional and even problematic. No matter how often or how much I consumed it, it was the cause of the problem in my life at work, at school, at home, and in my relationships. I don't remember what helped my recovery process, but I knew I had to change. Now a decade sober. I see things clearly now. By writing this summary, I am able to see things with a new pair of eyes, allowing me to see and feel what an anti-oppressive lens looks like, especially experiencing it first-hand. Sobriety is the greatest gift I have ever given myself. For me, sobriety is about discipline and certainly a new way of life, and with this new outlook on life there is a chance to do different things, not just my academic training, through my experiences of life, and to help less fortunate individuals still caught in the grip of oppression. I believe that every moment of everyday life offers unlimited possibilities for change..

Essay / Reflecting on Power, Privilege, and Oppression many different angles; especially when analyzing the different experiences and approaches expressed by other classmates. I discovered that power, privilege, and oppression played a huge role in my clients' development as well as my own development as a man and a professional in the human services field. I also discovered many challenges related to the client approach within the different agencies I worked with throughout my career; virile by being able to identify the problems experienced by each client, to correctly assess how they are currently functioning as an adult in today's society. As I examined my individual BPS and how it related to these factors and my own agency experience, I found that oppression, in particular, played a huge role in my own personal development. Looking at things from an anti-oppressive lens, I was unaware of the depth of macro and micro forces that affected my life and how they also influenced how I affected clients' lives that I serve. My experiences of oppression were growing up in the mid-80s, at the start of the AIDS epidemic. Around this time, I was becoming more and more aware of my sexual orientation and the fact that being a gay African American man at that time was socially unacceptable, even more so than it is today. I've experienced cruelty on many levels, from growing up in a house full of women who insisted on calling me a sissy, to handling many situations where it was implied that I wasn't a strong enough man. This was my first experience with anti-heterosexism, another form of...... middle of paper ...... that is occasional and even problematic. No matter how often or how much I consumed it, it was the cause of the problem in my life at work, at school, at home, and in my relationships. I don't remember what helped my recovery process, but I knew I had to change. Now a decade sober. I see things clearly now. By writing this summary, I am able to see things with a new pair of eyes, allowing me to see and feel what an anti-oppressive lens looks like, especially experiencing it first-hand. Sobriety is the greatest gift I have ever given myself. For me, sobriety is about discipline and certainly a new way of life, and with this new outlook on life there is a chance to do different things, not just my academic training, through my experiences of life, and to help less fortunate individuals still caught in the grip of oppression. I believe that every moment of everyday life offers unlimited possibilities for change..

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