When Authority Becomes Oppression

One of the clearest abuses of power that I have experienced is watching people use their position, their influence and authority to intimidate others, especially those that are voiceless, powerless, and weak. They do this knowing they will definitely get away with it and won't be questioned. Most people think abuse of power is only limited to politicians and government officials, and that's not the truth, because ordinary people abuse power too, the moment they sense weakness and realize they have the power to ride on a person and even dehumanize their fellow human being.
This is something that happens in our daily lives, workplaces, families, schools ,markets , our places of worship.

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Imagine a workplace where the manager/employees treat their staff unfairly, slash their pay, verbally abuse and make them feel less of themselves just because they depend on them for a source of income, because they know they need the job to survive. I have seen workplaces like this, employers even go as far as to threaten those who challenge their decisions and deny them opportunities because of personal disagreement, and the one that gets me vexed is taking credit for another employee's effort. This is one form of abuse that I have seen, and I don't blame the younger generation for chasing entrepreneurship.

These employees are silent not because they are comfortable, but because of the fear of losing their jobs, they even know their rights but choose to act in silence to save their job, employers don't understand that they are leaders and not oppressors.

Another clear abuse of power is the use of influence and financial power to escape consequences, wealthy individuals use power to escape accountability and punishment, but a person without power, influence and poor will commit the same crime and won't be allowed to go unpunished. That's the highest form of abuse, and it happens on a daily basis in our society. The rich keep getting away with their crimes, and that's what fuels abuse in our society. The ordinary people keep being dehumanized and treated poorly. And this has created an unfair society where justice depends on who you are and who you know.

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I believe those abusing power aren't the only problem, but also those around them who constantly choose to stay silent, enabling them by defending their actions and not challenging them due to personal relationships or potential benefits. These are the greatest enablers. We need to work together to hold these people accountable and here's how we work together.

Firstly, people should understand that there's nothing wrong with questioning authorities, if you feel abused address instead of ignoring them , stop treating authorities like they can't be questioned, respecting authority is good, but shouldn't be done blindly. We should understand that the position of a person doesn't exempt them from reasonable questions about their decisions.

Secondly, to fight against power abuse collectively, we must learn to speak against injustice even when we aren't affected directly. When we witness someone being mistreated, it's important to support the victim, report the abuser and encourage others to do so too. Being silent isn't safe , it only enables abusers to keep abusing others.

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The third one is very important, we shouldn't defend or support people simply because they are our friends, relatives, or colleagues , we shouldn't make excuses for them when they do something wrong , that makes us part of the problem too. Everyone should be held accountable regardless of our closeness or relationship with them.

Evidence of abuse should be taken very seriously, investigations shouldn't be impartial, and consequences shouldn't depend on a person's wealth or influence.

In conclusion, we should use power to protect the vulnerable, not abuse them, power should be used for positive changes and to create better opportunities for people and not abuse them.
We should support those who speak up, those who demand fairness, and teach our future generations that leadership should be about service, not superiority.