I really enjoyed reading the excerpt from Audre Lorde’s “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions.” I completely agree that social ills like racism and homophobia intersect each other, and that they should also be regarded with the same amount of severity. Breaking cycles of racism and homophobia is something that I’m very passionate about.

Alan Johnson’s Patriarchy, the System was also a very compelling read. It’s true that some people use the phrase “the system” as a scapegoat in order to avoid accountability when it comes to social issues. When it comes down to it, though, it is of course the result of many different systems, but these systems were man-made, and are upheld in different ways by the people in our society. In order for the patriarchy to be destroyed, we need to take a much closer look at the origins that have sparked patriarchal views and ideas. By living in the systems we create, we continue to be affected by them, and so continues the cycle. I like that Alan also compares women participating in the patriarchy to workers participating in our capitalist system by saying, “[Workers] do not participate as equals to the capitalists who employ them or on terms they would choose if they could. Nevertheless, without workers, capitalism cannot function as a system that oppresses them.” (Johnson 28). Just by existing and doing what we need to survive, we somehow contribute to a system that essentially harms us. We can’t avoid being involved. It definitely gives me a lot to think about.