Tunnel

Facebook Post about Tunnel:
"When you learn to grow with a group of people they become that much closer to you. And when you laugh and cry and get angry together it becomes a very special bond. But when you care about each other like this group does its so unique of a bond that it can't be described in words. I am so thankful to be a part of this unique bond."
"I went to Winco after the talk and I was checking out with my groceries and there was an African-American gentleman standing next to me getting help from one of the Winco employees. They were talking about Boise State and the employee asked him "Are you with sports?". It made me think of the talk and how J*** was explaining that people assume he's here at Boise State to play sports. And it really bugged me that the employee had asked that.."
"I must say that despite my emotional weekend with Tunnel, it has definitely been the highlight of college so far. I'm so glad I was able to participate all day both days and share such a wonderful and enlightening experience with a group of individuals with whom I could be open with. I'm also glad that I had this experience so early on in college so that I can participate in the years to come. Can't wait to do it again next year!"

Tunnel of Oppression at Boise State has been very powerful learning experience over the years for me. The post that were made on facebook is very similar to what I am feeling and I am kind of sad to realize that I may not be in Boise next year to participate in Tunnel. Tunnel has questioned what I think and how I think in different ways. The strong and powerful always feeding on weak and powerless (Power in terms of: social, economic, intellectual, racial, gender, religion, nationality and many more that I am missing here). The role of power, privilege and  oppression in our society and how that leads to discrimination is a really interesting topic to explore. Exploring my role in all of this has been an awesome experience. How I personally perpetuate dominance gives me chill for the work that I need to do personally. Victim blaming is very common globally. Tunnel helped me understand and realize how we can shift our focus from the victims to the real issues; issues with the one who perpetuate oppression. As a straight individual, I am the person who discriminates/perpetuates against people who identify themselves outside of the gender binary. Being a male, I perpetuate the "issue of men" and call it the "issue of women". Not having any physical disability, I perpetuate and dehumanize the people with physical disability. The list goes on. The quote that is stuck in my head since last year and still is very relevant today kind of sums up what I need to do: Golden rule "Treat people the way you want to be treated" and the rule that my dear friend shared was "Treat people the way they want to be treated". I am not sure how I can live up to that quote. I guess it's a work at progress and will need significant change in myself than anyone else.