Has a minority group ever oppressed or persecuted a majority group?

[Vinayaka]

and in general, as always, the rich over the poor

 

[VioletVortex]

Germans shot dead in Eastern Europe after WWII.

Anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million Germans were killed in Eastern Europe, with the most likely figure being somewhere between 2 and 2.5 million.

 

[Fire_Monkey]

Hey, everyone. I am sure that this has happened at some point in the past but I can't think of any examples and searching Google has turned up nothing useful either. So, I am asking everyone on here for some help. Can anyone think of an example in history where a minority group has oppressed or persecuted a majority group? It doesn't necessarily need to be religious oppression or persecution but I would prefer religious examples if you can find any. Thanks!

Sure.

The first example that comes to mind is the British in Apartheid South Africa!

Also,,,,in the Middle East.......In Iraq...Hussein was a Sunni and his regime oppressed the Shia majority.

Many of the Spanish Conquistadors, even the explorers, oppressed and enslaved the indigenous populaces when they landed on their shores. Cortez was terrible. So was Columbus. (I still cannot figure why we honor Columbus day! He was a butcher and he never even set foot on the American mainland! LOL)

 

[VioletVortex]

Think about what they are doing now...

Also, think about the genocides of the Hungarian and Romanian Slavs by Magyars and Romans respectively. They were minorities in these lands, where Slavs were the native majority. Now, Hungary is 50 percent Slavic and Romania only 20 percent Slavic.

 

[Twilight Hue]

In Iraq the Sunnis under Saddam oppressed the more numerous Shi'a. Syria is another example. White South Africans under apartheid. And I found a long list here: Dominant minority - Wikipedia

You stole half my thunder. Basically it's any miniority, religious or otherwise, with ample access to wealth and power. Good example is the 1% ers as well. Agree.

 

[Lucida Sidera]

Depends on what you mean by "opression". If we include economic, military, it's very common thing in history. Invasions, colonization, even the opression of rich over poors can be seen this way.
But if it's a more cultural opression, it's way more difficult to sort.

 

[VioletVortex]

Depends on what you mean by "opression". If we include economic, military, it's very common thing in history. Invasions, colonization, even the opression of rich over poors can be seen this way.
But if it's a more cultural opression, it's way more difficult to sort.

Hmmm...I wonder who is being culturally oppressed in modern times...

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Hey, everyone. I am sure that this has happened at some point in the past but I can't think of any examples and searching Google has turned up nothing useful either. So, I am asking everyone on here for some help. Can anyone think of an example in history where a minority group has oppressed or persecuted a majority group? It doesn't necessarily need to be religious oppression or persecution but I would prefer religious examples if you can find any. Thanks!

The clever and unscrupulous versus the naive and credulous.