Institutional Oppression: Sammy Martinez

Institutional Oppression

“Institutional oppression is the systematic mistreatment of people with in a social identity group, supported and enforced by the society and its institutions, solely based on the person’s membership in the social identity group.” ("Read institutionalized-oppression-definitions.pdf." Read institutionalized-oppression-definitions.pdf. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.) Institutional Oppression is based on a person’s race, gender, class, age, ability and sexuality. Autism is a disorder characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and have repetitive behaviors. People with disorders are one of the most oppressed. “More than three point five million Americans live with an Autism

spectrum disorder.” (Buescher et al., 2014) “Thirty five percent of young adults (ages 19-23) with Autism have not had a job after high school.” (Shattuck et al., 2012) Jesse is a 19 year old college student at MCC, he was diagnosed with Autism when he was 3 years old. When Jesse started school, they had a kindergarten class for him to be in, but when he went on to first grade, they said they didn’t have a class for him, so Jesse had to go to a new school where they had Autism classes for him.
When Jesse started third grade at his new school, he loved his teacher. Until his teacher left on maternity leave and he ended up with a long term substitute. His substitute treated him differently from the regular E.D students. In a parent teacher conference, the substitute said that Jesse needs to go back to first grade because he is clueless. This was 2 months after she started substituting. She didn’t know anything about children with Autism. The article James Kwon Sues Chick-Fil-A, Says Company wouldn’t Hire Him Because He Has Autism,” is an example of someone with Autism not getting a chance and immediately judged because of a “label.” A twenty five year old is suing Chick-Fil-A after being told his Autism would prohibit him from succeeding at the restaurant. Kwon is suing them for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects Americans with disabilities from discrimination. Rejecting his application based on a disability is against the law. Many people with Autism do not get hired because of their disability. They are not given a chance to show what a good job they can do, because people with Autism are more focused on the tasks they are assigned and remember the things they need to do than most people. They never complain about what job needs to get done or when it needs to be done.
Sammy Martinez is nineteen years old and was diagnosed with Autism when he was three years old.

Martinez wanted to get some experience working, so he was able to get a volunteer opportunity at his local museum. Three weeks later he was fired because he failed to stay at his designated station and attended visitors in an abrasive manor. His mother, in the video clip, states that her son’s actions were misunderstood. Martinez likes to do something called stimming, which means he likes to walk back and forth, which all people with a form of Autism do. His bosses at the museum did not know that he was stimming, they thought that he was leaving his post. Martinez’s mother says she blames the lack of Autism awareness. According to the Autism Society only nineteen percent of people with disabilities were able to find employment in two thousand and fourteen. When Jesse was in fourth grade, he would stim in the same area in front of the outside benches every day at recess, one day a couple of third graders started throwing rocks at him. They said they threw rocks at him because he was talking to himself. People with Autism talk to themselves because they have hundreds of pictures going through their mind. If it was a show they saw or an unusual phrase they never heard before or an event they witnessed or experienced, they replay those things in their mind all at the same time. That’s why they talk aloud or speak in a different voice or flap their hands in the air which shows if they are happy or sad about what they are replaying in their mind. Like Martinez, Jesse was treated in a bad way because the kids don’t know the kind of person he is or why he does the things he does. Martinez’s boss fired Martinez because he was “leaving” his post. His boss had no idea of the kinds of things people with Autism do. Both Martinez’s boss and the young kids do not care if they are unaware about Autism or if they mistreat

them.
Many people do not like the fact of someone with a disorder in the work place. What many people do not know is that people with Autism, do have speech deficiencies and have trouble communicating but they are the best to have in the work place. People with Autism like having rules to follow and they like to be organized, which is important in the work place. Here in Gilbert, Arizona there is a deli named Not Your Typical Deli, where all the employees are older teens and adults on the Autism spectrum. Chef W uses compassion and life- skills education to create new possibilities for those affected by Autism. Until Jesse started high school, many people throughout his life, like his teachers and peers even his own mother said that he is just a kid with Autism. He will never be something, he will never make a difference in the world, he doesn’t understand anything, and that he is just a kid with Autism. Kids and adults with Autism want to prove to everyone that they are not defined by a word. They don’t want to be labeled as that person who has Autism. They want to be treated as a normal person who is allowed to be in the work force. Jesse was also told throughout his child hood that he would never finish high school, or graduate with his senior class. Jesse graduated high school with straight A’s all through high school. He was awarded many awards for his academics and was asked to be a part of the National Honors Society at his high school. He received a full tuition scholar ship for two years at MCC and will be majoring in digital media. Not Your Typical Deli is a safe place where teens and adults with Autism can work with other people, get payed, and not have to worry about not being hired or getting fired because they messed up. This is a safe place where they can learn more about communicating with people and learn about the culinary industry if that’s the route they want to take. Chef. W is giving these people a chance to be like everyone else in the work force.
Institutional Oppression is the mistreatment of people with in a group in a society. Autism has unique corks and challenges, like the rest of us. Society needs to be more aware of what Autism is, and needs to be more open minded to the most oppressed group of people in history. “I can take it, I can make it.” This is Jesse’s favorite quote from his favorite book, Unbroken. The story is about a soldier who survives and lives through great adversity. Jesse has overcome many challenges and oppression by using his gift to be kind to those who are not kind to him. Breaking through the walls of his oppressors and finding the good in all things.