Gender and Security

The conversation about Gender and security was interested, because I never thought of security as requiring a single group to be "on top." A person/group who is "on top" feels in control of the situation and does not feel threatened. Therefore, keeping a high status and forcing others into oppression can guarantee security. A perfect example of oppressing others to maintain security is the United States' imperialistic politics during the cold war. In the height of the Cold War, the U.S. bombed many countries throughout Latin America who posed either communistic or economic threats to our country. In my mind, the bombings were not justified, because they were a form of oppressing "weaker," developing countries. Guatemala suffered U.S. bombings when they tried to give some the land from our foreign banana plantations to their poor. The U.S. owned 70% of the best farming land in Guatemala, while the vast majority of the Guatemalan population did not own a square foot of land to live on. The bombings in Guatemala resulted in a military regime and a 36 year civil war in Guatemala. While security appears to be a positive image for the people "on top," there are often many negative consequences for the people on the bottom. When creating personal and global security, it is always important to think about the impacts security poses for the lesser group. If the United States would not have bombed Guatemala, would they have posed an economic threat to our country?? My guess is no.