the.com/oppression
power's favorite trick: convincing the cage it was built for your safety
means the sustained, unjust use of power to keep a group of people down — controlled, burdened, or denied freedom.
from From Latin 'oppressus,' the past participle of 'opprimere,' to press down or crush — built from 'ob-' (against) plus 'premere' (to press), the same root that gives us 'press' and 'pressure.' It reached English through Old French 'oppression.' The literal image is bodily: a weight bearing down until you cannot rise, the physical crushing slowly hardening into the political one.
etymologyFrom Latin opprimere, to press down or smother
banalityMost enforced by ordinary clerks following ordinary rules
physicsMaintained cheaper through fear than through actual force
blind spotBeneficiaries rarely notice they are standing on someone
shelf lifeEvery regime called itself permanent right before collapsing