But oppression is the result of perceived differences. Keep oppressing on those perceived differences and you'll get a lot of push back.
But percieved differences is not always the result of oppression. Thats an important destinction because one persons percieved oppression is another person or groups or societies natural circumstance. You can't just assume that perceived differences in someone else, their behaviour is because of oppression
There are more males in STEM jobs but not all that and in fact the majority of that is not the result of males oppressing females. There are more female teachers and in Human services but thats not all because females are oppressing males out of those jobs.
But if someone percieves all differences in outcomes are the result of oppression then all the disparities between males and females in those examples will be seen as oppression and the other factors that may contribute to those difference will be dismissed.
So we have to determine the facts otherwise we create a victim mentality and deny the important differences that are natural and make us individuals.
If people keep denigrating and marginalizing any group of people just because they are part of a group, be it atheist or Chrisian, black or white, straight or gay, male or female then they will called out on it by any reasonable person. And those who simultaneously bleat about 'identity politics' will be ridiculed into the bargain.
The important destinction you made here was
"if people keep denigrating and marginalizing". Thats the difference we have to work out. Purposely and with malice denying others their rights as individuals.
But just because an individual or a group of individuals may be sucessful and gain priviledges bacuase of their natural ability or hard work and another group may be disadvantaged in comparison doesn't mean anyone is being malice or engaging in marginalizing another group.
Life is not always fair. People who do well tend to take the opportunities, iniate things and are willing to sacrifice other things to achieve their goals or full potential.
Its when people in positions of advantage or at the top of the hierarchies use that position to exploit others intentionally that it becomes oppressive.
You and others are fond of saying that some people want to be treated differently. When what those peple mean is that they want to be treated differently to how you treat them. They want what all people should reasonably expect. Respect and to be given what we classify down here as a fair go.
Those two things are very often thin on the ground.
Unfortunately it works both ways and in all directions. One groups success is anothers failure, one groups advantage is anothers disadvantage in some ways and its hard to equal things out when theres so many intersections of difference competing under identity politics.
You say that people are actually asking to be treated differently from the way "you and others" treat them. Which by the way is creating differences in itself by treating people as another tribe and the 'other'. But how do we know that the way that the others are behaving that upsets some people is acting badly or just behaving according to their belief and conscience.
Of course we should be courteous and respectful but I think because people may not behave like some want them too I don't think they are necessarily doing anything wrong or being disrepectful. They still respect differences, they are not denying those people the right to exist and have opportunities the same as what they and everyone has.
There still may be a conflict of differences when both sides are living according to their natural selves and its just a fact of life. The WEstern nations are the most accommodating and the nations other oppressed people want to come to and for good reason. Because we do allow opportunities and freedoms though this is dwindling in recent years.
I think this is the problem in categorizing everyone into groups, the other, us and them and not having a unified belief about how society should be. This is what modern society has become and more and more people are falling into this way of thinking.
We seem to be winding back those freedoms and truth principles like the individual rather than group which overlooks the differences and unites us as common human beings. Maybe thats a result of becoming more diversified and pluralistic and have lost our united identity but I think its more because we focus on differences rather than commonalities.
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