op·pres·sion

/əˈpreSHən/

noun

1. prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control.
2. the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control.
3. mental pressure or distress.

Oppression. We’ve all heard the word. It seems to be making it’s rounds around the world right now and more and more people are using it. However, I don’t think that people even know what the word means. I don’t even know what it means in the context that they are using it in. They just like to throw it around like they do.

Recently, at MTV’s Video Music Awards, Lizzo made the claim that there were laws in the United States that were “oppressing us”. She had just won the award for “Music Video for Good”. In acceptance speech she said this…

“I don’t know what Music Video for Good means, but I do know what your vote means, and that’s a fucking lot. Your vote means everything to me, it means everything to making a change in this country. So remember, when you’re voting for your favorite artist, vote to change some of these laws that are oppressing us.”

Now of course, I have no idea on what laws she was referring to because she never mentioned one. Like everyone else now a days they just say they are being oppressed without specifically mentioning how. In this case Lizzo sited laws that were oppressing people. Specifically black people. I’m curious on what laws she was referring to.

I wonder if she was referring to one of these:

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Civil Rights Act of 1960

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Or maybe she was referring to one of these:

Civil Rights Act of 1968

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974)

Community Reinvestment Act (1977)

Civil Rights Act of 1982

Or better yet, maybe one of these:

Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987

Civil Rights Act of 1991

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1995)

Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act (2007)

Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009)

Emmett Till Antilynching Bill (2020)

I mean, who knows what laws she was talking about? I do find it ironic that she was talking about her being oppressed while receiving an award. That did seem a little strange to me.

If Lizzo is oppressed, I just wonder by how much? How much oppression is she suffering from? I figure for her to say such a thing, it must be a lot. I decided to dig in and find all the oppression that I could find when it came to Lizzo.

Maybe it’s her salary. Is there a law that I am unaware of that limits her salary? 12 Million is a lot of money. She could probably get more. Maybe it’s her housing. This would seem to go against the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which prohibited discrimination in housing. Who knows? Maybe a 26 Million dollar home is just too small. Maybe Lizzo feels that being chauffeured around in a Bentley just wasn’t her style. She would probably have been less oppressed if she were in a Rolls-Royce. After all, Bentley’s are for chumps. Maybe it’s her clothing. Walking around the Grammy’s in a mint-green dress and diamond earrings worth more than $45,000 is hardly worth it. She deserves way more than that. $45,000 is like poor people’s money. It’s like pocket-money. Chump change. Her fashion designer should be fired immediately and replaced with someone who will get her good dresses that cost what she’s worth.

Let’s not fool ourselves. Lizzo is one of the top-rated artists in today’s music industry. She’s a multi-millionaire that lives a life that most people only dream of having. She lives in a house that most people will never even come close to living in. She has everything you could ever want. The one thing that is for sure is that Lizzo is not oppressed. She would never be where she is today if there were these so called “laws” that were oppressing the black community. Lizzo should be the poster child for the black community on why she is successful and how others can be too. What a powerful message that would be.