Oppression vs. Suppression: Know Which One Is Holding You Down

2 min read

Oppression takes your labor. Suppression shrinks your will. The fix is different.

Two weights

Some things hold you down from outside. Some hold you down from inside. Anthony’s rule: name which one you are facing.

Oppression, defined

Merriam-Webster defines oppression as the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power. In work, it shows up as labor taken without fair pay.

Suppression, defined

Suppression means putting down or holding back. In people, it is the voice that makes you smaller and talks you out of moving.

Where oppression lives

Unpaid “opportunities.” Rates that never rise. Deals where the other side keeps the money and you keep the exposure.

Where suppression lives

“Who do you think you are?” “Stay humble.” “That will never work.” Said often enough, you start saying it to yourself.

RelatedPhotographers and Models Working for Drinks

The science of shrinking

In 1967, psychologist Martin Seligman described learned helplessness: after repeated failure out of their control, subjects stopped trying even when escape was possible.

The good news

Seligman’s later work found helplessness can be unlearned. He called the skill learned optimism.

The white bear

Daniel Wegner’s 1987 study asked people not to think of a white bear. They thought of it more. Pushing a thought down can make it louder.

Fix for oppression

Leave the deal or change its terms. Ask for pay. Value is shown by what someone pays, not what they promise.

Fix for suppression

Cut off the suppressive voice, or limit your time with it. Then replace it with people who build you up.

Mixing them up

If you treat oppression like a mindset problem, you stay in a bad deal. If you treat suppression like a money problem, you stay small.

A quick test

After a meeting, ask: did I lose money or time? That is oppression. Did I lose confidence? That is suppression.

Your scarce resource

Time is the one resource you cannot get back. Every hour spent under either weight is an hour you do not build.

Your cluster

The best defense against both is a cluster of people who pay fairly and speak well of you when you are not in the room.

The takeaway

Name the weight. Then remove it the right way.

Name it out loud

Saying “this is oppression” or “this is suppression” turns a vague weight into a problem with a known fix.

First principles

Value is shown by what someone pays, not what they promise. Name the weight before you fight it.

Sources

• Merriam-Webster, “oppression” and “suppression.”
• M. Seligman and S. Maier (1967), Journal of Experimental Psychology 74.
• M. Seligman, Learned Optimism (1990).
• D. Wegner et al. (1987), “Paradoxical effects of thought suppression,” JPSP 53.
• Anthony Perlas, field account from LA nightlife (his experience, not a survey).

Part of Is There Room for You? The Heaven Room series.

Join the Heaven Room

Talk it through with the group on Discord. Support the series and get the full carousels on Patreon.

Anthony Perlas · nightlifereport.app

You might also like

ExplainersLA Promoter Math: Bring Five or PayCultureBuild Your Cluster: A Colony of People Who Value YouOpinionOpinion: Opera and the Runway Are the Next Frontier. Pay the Talent, Lift the Giants.CultureSaints Under the Vatican: How a Church RemembersNewsThe Rare Flame: A Manifesto on the Conduct That Keeps Us SmallVideoWhy Thursday Is Jupiter’s Day: Dies Iovis and the Spiritual Forecast