During our unit on Toni Morrison's Beloved, we will watch 13th, a documentary about the 13th amendment and the aftermath of slavery to the present. See the interview with film director Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, below.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Due Monday, October 15th - With a Little Help from My Friends
Directions: In this space, post your most refined body paragraph. Read each other's responses and give helpful feedback. Let's see if we can divide an conquer. Everyone pair up and help. When you finish, choose another to add feedback.
During our unit on Toni Morrison's Beloved, we will watch 13th, a documentary about the 13th amendment and the aftermath of slavery to the present. See the interview with film director Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, below.
During our unit on Toni Morrison's Beloved, we will watch 13th, a documentary about the 13th amendment and the aftermath of slavery to the present. See the interview with film director Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey, below.
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Home to James Baldwin was a place where he was deemed a a “n****r”. Never recognized as “One of the people who built this country” but instead put into a box difficult to escape from. America was a country which was possessed and claimed by white people. Because of that claim, other groups such as Black people and other people of color were recognized not as citizens but those “allowed” to reside there. Baldwin communicates throughout his documentary “ I Am Not A Negro” that “The story of the Negro in America is the story of America”. The unfair treatment of groups of minority and the oppression is what has made the history of America. To deny the history is to deny the existence of the very people in the country. His existence was denied in the very fact that he was never recognized as a man in which he believed he was. Because of his skin color he was given a name that chose the fate of his live in the very country where white people had the ultimate say, “n****r”. This systematic oppression eventually propelled his move to France where he was finally recognized as the man he believed he should be known as. He was liberated from the box set aside for him in America and instead was given an opportunity to create his own in France. His attempt to find himself a new home created a series of doubt and regret about his decision to leave other black people to the fate awaiting them in America. In France he still remembered “ the way the dark face closes, the way dark eyes watch, and the way, when a dark face opens, a light seems to go everywhere”. Although he was taught to hate himself and all others who resembled him, he continued to feel an uncomfortable feeling of emptiness. He had left a country in which he had a community embracing him amidst all the hate and oppression targeting them. He didn't miss the feeling of exclusion nor hatred instead he missed the people who were there accompanying him throughout the journey of liberation. Instead of fighting the oppression, he was residing in Paris “discussing the Algerian and the Black American problem”; a problem in which he had escaped for the comfort of inclusion and integration. Home was not the “waffles, ice cream, hot dogs, baseball, majorettes, movies, nor the Empire State Building, nor Coney Island, nor the Statue of Liberty, nor the Daily News, nor Times Square.” Home was not all of those things reserved for the enjoyment of white people and those privileged enough to do so. Home was a place of suffering and will to survive. Home was “ a country not, in its whole system of reality, [that had not] evolved any place for you.” A country where for the average black male and female they were known as foreigners rather than of a place of their birthplace. Yes, America as a country was not willing to be a home for many black people nor did it integrate them willingly into American history. But for Baldwin, he could no longer remain content with the knowledge of his people fighting for liberation nor could he “ no longer sit around Paris” enjoying the freedom available to him. Because of that, he eventually chose to return to a America, dwelling home for many Black people fighting for a voice.
ReplyDeleteSusan Matteucci
ReplyDeleteSome stories have characters that conform to their society. In “Going to Meet the Man” James Baldwin creates the character of Jesse to show the surrender of morals in a hurtful society as many people did in the 1950s and still do today. In “Going to Meet the Man”, Jesse remembers when he first conformed the standards of his family and town. His father and mother took him to a picnic when he was eight years old. His father “sat Jesse down on his shoulders” (10) and together they watched their white neighbors torture and lynch a black man.
When Jesse first saw the man, suspended above a fire and being cut apart, Baldwin writes a sense of horror at the sight, “what did he do?” Jesse thought, “What did the man do?” (11). Baldwin had him latch onto his moral sense of right and wrong. At this point, Jesse is still an innocent child. He doesn’t understand what racism is yet, at least not to that extent. He is confused often, wondering what the lynched man did, wondering why he had not seen any people of color around town. Jesse had a black friend around his age at the time named Otis, and “had grown accustomed, for the solutions of such mysteries, to go to Otis” (9). But he had not seen Otis in days, and now he was being exposed to this confusing world with no one but his parents to look to for guidance.
His parents were absolutely exhilarated by the affair. His mother’s “eyes were very bright, her mouth open: she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her” (11) and “His father’s face was full of sweat, his eyes peaceful” (11). Both enjoyed the show. His mother wanted to get dressed up for it , his neighbors brought a picnic (8). It was not the racism of today at which we turn a blind eye, like police violence. This it was a celebrated event, almost like a Fourth of July picnic, it was a celebration of American spirit, and James Baldwin depicts Jesse succumbing to this holiday atmosphere and enjoying it. Jesse “began to feel a joy that he had never felt before” (11).
(this is technically 3 paragraphs. I don't like to split up paragraphs by point, instead I change paragraph whenever I feel like my argument has changed. This is one point. I am also planning to really file this down, this is me just writing everything out, I know it's way too long)
Jesse is a particularly difficult character to figure out. When he is first introduced, it is easy to feel sympathy for him as a person, growing up in a town where racial ideals are woven into society, inflicting prejudice views on young, impressionable children. This occurred with Jesse through his environment, specifically the geographic location, and his southern parents who had age-old views about black people. As a child, he befriended a little, black boy named Otis. Throughout the short story, it is clear that Jesse initially does not deem having a black friend as a problem. As he discovers the true nature of his surroundings, the “thought of Otis made him sick” (1756). Otis used to be a boy that Jesse just wrestled with in the dirt. Now, he had a defined skin color that Jesse acknowledged and formed conclusions about. This would not have been the case if his father was not such a strong influence in his life. After discussing Otis with his parents, Jesse’s father states that “we just want to make sure Otis don’t do nothing” (1756). His father does not want Otis to provoke any trouble due to his race. It is unclear of what type of man Jesse would have grown into had not his environment been so problematic. Because of this, Jesse’s sole character is unknown when he was growing up. On one hand, his young, innocent mind likely sees right and wrong to be relatively clear, especially with racism. It is right to treat others with respect and it is wrong to be unkind to people. However, the world in which he lives points him in a different direction that leads him down the alternate path of corruption. Jesse eventually succumbs to the societal norms, but not without resistance due to his childhood innocence.
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ReplyDelete“Leaving aside all the physical facts which one can quote. Leaving aside rape or murder. Leaving aside the bloody catalog of oppression, which we are, in one way, too familiar with already, what this does to the subjugated is to destroy his sense of reality. This means, in the case of an American negro, born in that glittering republic, and in the moment you are born, since you don't know any better, every stick and stone and every face is white, and since you have not yet seen a mirror, you suppose that you are too.” Racism, like all other human thoughts and perceptions, is born from appearance. James Baldwin saw this, and realized that the idea of racism is not one that exists in the minds of and person, of any race. It is not until the realization that you are different from someone else, that you begin to question why those differences exist. Life before the breakthrough of race, a world in which differences seem so unnecessary. Some said that nowhere could be like that, but Baldwin disagreed. He proved that the United States not only fostered racism, but needed it. “The years I lived in Paris did one thing for me: they released me from that particular social terror, which was not the paranoia of my own mind, but a real social danger visible in the face of every cop, every boss, everybody.” When he left the United States, Baldwin left behind the fears of difference. He left behind the mirrors that showed him that he was not white, like life had allowed him to believe.
Within America, different races view their homeland country very differently and often have a hard time seeing other perspectives. This is highlighted by the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” where whites and blacks have very different ideas of what should and should not change within the country. Ex. Attorney General Robert Kennedy said it was possible that in 40 years, the country would have an African American President. Although he said this with encouragement, hope, and optimism, James Baldwin recalls that blacks reacted with bitterness saying, “[f]rom the point of view of the man in the Harlem barber shop, Bobby Kennedy only got here yesterday and now he is already on his way to the Presidency. We were here for 400 years and now he tells us that maybe in 40 years, if you are good, we may let you become President.” Kennedy doesn’t understand the deep suffering of “400 years” that came before him. He does not connect to what it was like in the South when lynchings were everyday events the way Baldwin connects to them, making it hard for Kennedy truly progress his thinking. James Baldwin’s story Going to Meet the Man illustrates a white family going to watch a lynching from a young son’s point of view, illuminating the lack of empathy whites had for those being lynched. The son remembers his father Jesse saying, “[t]hat’s right… we’re going on a picnic. You won’t ever forget this picnic!”(1759), treating the event as an entertaining afternoon activity. Comparing this back to the idea of an African American leading a country that had mercilessly lynched their people not long ago shows that much more progress must be made before that is a possibility. Kennedy may sympathize with the struggles, but he doesn’t empathize or truly understand. Baldwin sees this with the whites, saying in the documentary that, “[i]t comes as a great shock to discover that the country, which is your birth place, and to which you owe your life and your identity has not in its whole system of reality involved any place for you.” Feeling out of place in his own home is something whites couldn’t relate to. This difference made it difficult for blacks to gain more rights, power, and “comfort.” Although both groups called the same country home, whites felt it was homey while blacks felt no warmth at all.
ReplyDeleteI like how this paragraph focuses on perspectives, comparing the point-of-views of white versus black Americans. While the same country, the perspectives of each group portrays a very different feeling. I feel you were successful in "summarizing" this idea in that last sentence, where "whites felt it was homey while blacks felt no warmth at all." Also, it was effective how you started broad with the documentary then narrowed your focus to "Going to Meet the Man." However, I throughout the paragraph I was looking for more connections to this idea of 'home.' How does this racism change 'home' for whites and blacks?
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ReplyDeleteThere’s a reason the world of advertising is so geared towards kids despite the fact that they don’t actually have any money to purchase goods with. It’s this very same reason which unfortunately explains why children are excellent targets for ideological persuasion and easy to take advantage of. As a child, not only is the human body at its most vulnerable stage, its mind is as well. The developing brains of kids are extremely impressionable and vulnerable to any ideas they come into contact with, good or bad. Kids absorb comments, theories, beliefs, morals, anything within ear shot, especially from people they love and respect. They do not have the tools to sort out bad ideas from good ones. When it comes to racism or intolerance in general, this is a recipe for disaster. When a child hears views of bigotry from an adult in their lives such as a parent, it is extremely easy for them to adopt such a view as their own. They have no choice but to emulate their role models so even when those role models act in an intolerant manner, that intolerance will surely be mirrored. James Baldwin explores this issue in his story Going to Meet the Man. The main character Jesse reflects on a formative experience from his childhood in which his parents took him to the public mob execution of an adult African-American male. At first he is justifiably shocked by the unprecedented level of violence he is meant to witness. However, as he notices his parents do not share this shock, he quickly changes. “He watched his mother’s face. Her eyes were very bright, her mouth was open: she was more beautiful than he had ever seen her, and more strange. He began to feel a joy he had never felt before. He watched the hanging, gleaming body, the most beautiful and terrible object he had ever seen till then.” Suddenly, the event is not a traumatizing one. It’s a joyous occasion. When placed in a confusing situation, Jesse stuck with the people around him even if it went against his gut instincts. We can see that this experience helped shape his future views forever. “He had a black friend, his age, eight, who lived nearby. His name was Otis. They wrestled together in the dirt. Now the thought of Otis made him sick.” It seems remarkable how quickly Jesse manages this complete ideological change of direction. But is it? After all, he’s just a kid.
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ReplyDeleteThere are many Civil Rights activists who believe that fighting for equality with violence is the wrong. Activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and James Baldwin believe nonviolence resistance is suitable to obtain equality and that violence simply does not work. In James Baldwin’s documentary, “I am Not Your Negro,” there is a piece that discusses how violent resistance is perceived. Baldwin explains how a black man who uses violence is “judged a criminal and treated like one and everything possible is done to make an example of this bad nigger, so there won't be any more like him.” Baldwin looks at this as a reason for nonviolence resistance as opposed to violent action. While fighting violence with violence does not solve anything and only hurts the situation, respectable, nonviolent action can succeed. Martin Luther King Jr. also agrees with this heavily. In his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” King writes “I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.” King is reasoning that if they want the violent oppression to stop, why would they use violence to end it? If the want the end to be filled with peace, they should use peace to get there. However, what happens when peace does not work? Is there ever a case where violence is necessary?
ReplyDelete(questions at end responded to in other body paragraphs)
I really like how you used an outside source to tie in all of your information. MLK's letter fits well into your prompt and it made your reasoning more clear. Maybe after some of the quotes, you could try providing a little more explanations to further your argument. I think that might make things even more clear. I like the questions you ask at the end, they are really insightful. These questions make the readers think and I like how they differentiate your essay from others.
DeleteI think the outside source will effectively support your thesis. You can further your argument with more context and connections to Baldwin. The questions are a great way to organize your essay and will make your process simpler to finish at the end of your essay (if the questions feel answered then you can come to a conclusion).
DeleteIn the 1960s, with the Civil Rights Movement underway, Jesse finds that the foundation of his community is changing and beyond his control. His coworkers are on edge, Jesse’s role as a policeman is different, and the political climate is putting pressure on his racist behavior. This does not agree with Jesse, so violence becomes a means to reassert the life and power he had in the past. In the beginning of “Going to Meet the Man”, Jesse lies awake in the middle of the night, pondering the events of the day. He recalls the group of singing protesters he brought to jail, who no matter how much he yelled, “they just kept up that singing…”(1751). So, he looks to whom he believes is the leader of the group as leverage. He kicks and tortures the boy with the cattle prod, yet the singing persist. Jesse shudders “with what he believed was rage, sweat, both cold and hot, raced down his body, the singing filled him as though it were a weird, uncontrollable, monstrous howling...he felt an icy fear rise in him…”(1753). This fear that Jesse feels goes beyond the jail cell. As he says himself, “It was only that he missed the ease of former years”(1754). The world around him is no longer as accepting of his character. Jesse knows that he would be arrested for the rape and sexual assault that was previously unquestioned. African Americans were no longer “easy to scare” and continue to challenge the superiority Jesse believes he has. Jesse’s world is crashing down on him. That leaves him with a great sense of paranoia and terror, which is only alleviated is through his cruelty. After he beats the boy, and is given the silence he desires, Jesse is left feeling victorious and disturbing sexual satisfaction. This pleasure stems from the sense of superiority at the site of the lynching from his childhood, acting as a comfort to his mind. The past is what Jesse wants most, and the violence acts as a means to achieve that temporarily. “I Am Not Your Negro” expands the ways the reassurance at the expense of black people reaches. Using film from the 1958 “The Defiant Ones”, Baldwin shares the two viewpoints. When black actor Sidney Poitier jumped off the train to help his white companion, Baldwin emphasizes how the joy white people felt matched the anger black movie watchers expressed. He explains, “The black man jumps off the train in order to reassure white people, to make them know that they are not hated, that though they have made human errors, they done nothing for which to be hated”. While this particular example does not involve the physical brutality from “Going to Meet the Man”, the act of removing doubt and fear from white people remains the same. The violence from Jesse towards black demonstrators and the clips from the film reach the same goal: to provide comfort to white people.
ReplyDeleteMorals and ethics are very important to consider while discussing race. The issue of racism solely arises from what people believe and how they act upon their beliefs. Therefore, with wrong, unjust morals and ethics comes wrong, unjust rules and laws of society. To change the perspective of race in America would be to change the bigoted ethics and morals already imprinted in the minds of every living, racist white person. Despite the adversity and danger faced in challenging the white majority of the time, Balwin was active outside of writing, working towards immediate change and betterment of society. When an interviewer questions his notion of white versus black, Baldwin respond by clarifying that “the question the white population of this country has got to ask itself — North and South...for a Negro, there’s no difference between the North and South. There’s just a difference in the way they castrate you. But the fact of the castration is the American fact. If I’m not a nigger here and you invented him, you, the white people, invented him, then you’ve got to find out why.” Though James Baldwin primarily used essays and writing as a means to protest, King used peaceful marches, and Malcolm X ushered violence, they all had a common value, a common idea; if you are white in America and you are not defending African Americans, then you are supporting white supremacy and the continual suffocation of basic human rights. Although Baldwin urges for punctuated, immediate improvements for African Americans, he understands that change takes time. If the will of the white majority is to inflict prejudicial violence upon a black man, the instinct of many would to fight back. However, Baldwin explains that “there is a great deal of difference between non-resistance to evil and non-violent resistance.” While non-resistance to evil is complacency, a non-violent resistance involves peaceful protest. It would be morally hypocritical to fight violence with violence; African Americans are in a unique position to denounce racism by being morally superior. Maintaining the mental will “to be the recipient of violence, while never inflicting violence upon another,” sends a powerful message to the adversary.
ReplyDeleteI think your point in this paragraph is very important; the peaceful approach to resistance taken by men like MLK were some of the first of their kind and have become an example for movements ever since. I liked the quote that you choose and believe it works really well with this point. If you want, it might be nice to analyze it in the following sentence a bit more. Other than that, I think this was a really effective body paragraph.
DeleteThe connection between the absence of knowledge and vulnerability allows for oblivion to act as a cousin to short stories. Short stories refer to the incompleteness of one’s understanding or impression of something. As humans, it is instinctual to extract specifics from what we encounter and use that to base our judgement; however, what is picked up is usually only part of a story that we do not see the rest of. In Going to Meet the Man, James Baldwin describes a story from the perspective of Jesse, a white man who is extremely repulsed by Blacks, “Goddamn the niggers. The black stinking coons… What had the good Lord Almighty had in mind when he made the niggers?” Further along the narrative, Baldwin narrows in on Jesse’s childhood where he was once innocent to racism. Jesse had many questions about the racial tensions in his society and failed to understand as a young boy, “He did not quite understand what was happening, and he did not know what to ask— he had no one to ask.” The plot thickens when Jesse unknowingly attends a “picnic” with his family, and congregates with many neighbors to watch a Black man violently slaughtered by White men; Jesse’s eyes are lost in the scene. Slowly, he gains a sense of white supremacy in his blood and realizes that he doesn’t need to understand why things are happening, but just what is happening, “One of his father’s friends reached up and in his hands he held a knife: and Jesse wished he had been that man.” From then on, Jesse has learned to negatively associate between Blacks and Whites and follow the rules of segregation. The barbarous scene, a short story, has permanently engraved itself in Jesse’s head and left the concept of diversity incomplete. Jesse was sucked into racism through his oblivion towards society and drastically influenced his world views. Through Going to Meet the Man, Baldwin powerfully illustrates how individuals of society can—like Jesse— struggle with the short story of racism, and contribute to segregation while standing on a falsely justified foundation for Black oppression.
ReplyDeleteI like how you connected the absence of knowledge and vulnerability with Jesse's oblivion to the raciest values in the society around him. I think it's important to note that this experience in particular is what shaped him into the raciest man he ends up becoming. I think expanding on Jesse's interaction with Otis and his parents views on this friendship could enhance the point you make in the paragraph about the racial tensions in society. I think this is a very strong paragraph and your ideas are very well connected.
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ReplyDeleteFor many individuals, the connection and bond between themselves and their parents is formed at a very young age and is one of the most influential factors in shaping who a person grows up to be. The child is often taught specific values and morals that they will bring into adulthood. The relationship between the child and the parent is a very crucial one, as it has the power to create said child’s whole character. This very idea can be seen in ‘Going To Meet The Man,’ by James Baldwin. As the story opens, the reader is introduced to a seemingly hateful and cruel man, Jesse. One can pick up on his racist views from the very first page, as he viciously calls black people, “black stinking coons,” who he believed, “lived as animals” (Baldwin). He views black people as the problem in society and has no issue beating and torturing them, as he believes he is doing “his duty” as a deputy sheriff (Baldwin). It is clear his views on the world are rooted in pure discrimination. Where did these corrupted morals and values come from? How does one become so malicious and inhumane? Baldwin wastes no time in answering these questions, as the story launches into a flashback from when Jesse was just an eight year old boy.
ReplyDeleteI think your body paragraph is well developed and filled with strong ideas. The quotes you used complemented your points and made it easier for the audience to visualize the narrative. However, at the same time, I believe that it has potential to become more compelling and detailed. I think you could provide more summary from Going to Meet the Man and make the paragraph a little more personal to the story. I suggest reconnecting to the theme at the end of the paragraph and making sure it ties in with the rest of your essay.
DeleteJames Baldwin was from America, he was born in New York City in 1924. He was born into a time of segregation that engulfed the country. Forty years later, Baldwin was in Paris where there wasn’t such a confined line of segregation as there was in the states. He returns home after his friend, Medgar Evers, was assassinated to help join Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and many other civil rights leaders in the fight for justice in his own country. While Baldwin was in Paris, ”[He] missed Harlem Sunday mornings and fried chicken and biscuits, [he] missed the music,[he]missed the style...that style possessed by no other people in the world. [He] missed the way the dark face closes, the way dark eyes watch, and the way, when a dark face opens, a light seems to go everywhere.” The culture he had grown up in turned him into the person he was. He as an adult embraced his black heritage, that as a child he couldn’t separate from the white culture that seemed like it was the only option. As a child, he had watched movies with white actors whom he only had the option to look up and idolize. There were no black actors in any of the tv shows or movies that were available. Balwin looking back remembers how “It comes as a great shock to see Gary Cooper killing off the Indians, and although you are rooting for Gary Cooper, that the Indians are you.” The cultural influences in his life didn’t allow him to embrace his own culture and he didn’t understand that white America didn’t want anything to do with him. They didn’t want him in the same restaurants, or the same schools, they didn’t want him being a leader or be able to speak his voice. Maybe they hoped if they shoved enough white America in the eyes of Baldwin that he wouldn’t be able to see the injustice in his own country. Baldwin recalls how “I am about seven. I'm with my mother or my aunt. The movie is Dance, Fools, Dance. I was aware that Joan Crawford was a white lady. Yet, I remember being sent to the store sometime later, and a colored woman who, to me, looked exactly like Joan Crawford, was buying something. She was incredibly beautiful.” As a child thinking that white women are the standard of beauty and taking a woman who is black, and beautiful and thinking that they look similar but deep down knowing that they are nothing alike is what Balwin had to realize. He didn’t know it any other way, there were no black women in the tv shows he was watching as a child and if there were they were never portrayed as the star or the center of attention, it is debatable if they even are today.
ReplyDeleteHome is not necessarily a birthplace, a childhood, where one is loved or hated. Home is a temporary place, a feeling, or passion that a person is drawn to or dragged back to, because something is missing; a story incomplete. In Baldwin’s documentary, Paris became an escape for many civil rights activists like himself in the 1950s, where, … writers replaced jazz musicians as the prototypical expatriates” (Stovall), free from oppression and liberated in thought. While Baldwin became engulfed by the enlightenment of his past and identity, he “[loved] America more than any other country in the world and... [insisted] on the right to criticize her perpetually.” A safe haven could not blockade the escalating wildfire of raging screeches, pain, and terror between racism and equality. The branches of moral responsibility continually “tipped tapped” on the window panes around Baldwin, reminding him role alongside Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and the rest of black America to fight and ring out the injustice in a country soaked in blood.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great paragraph!I especially love the imagery and specificity throughout your paragraph, but really exemplified in the sentence "A safe haven could not blockade the escalating wildfire of raging screeches, pain, and terror between racism and equality." One thing I was kind of confused about is the relationship between Paris, and the enlightenment of his identity and especially his past. How did Paris help enlighten Baldwin about these things?
DeleteWhile we have made progress, racism still exists in multiple forms today. In the “I Am Not Your Negro” documentary, scenes of aggravated violence towards black people are depicted, something that is still not uncommon to see in the present day. The police forces in our country tend to target African American individuals, often times without provocation. Unarmed victims of police killings are more likely to be minorities, highlighting our tendencies to be racially bias. Martin Luther King’s hopes for the future was that black people would “be able to face dogs and all of the other brutal methods that are used without retaliating with violence, because they understand that one of the first principles of nonviolence is a willingness to be the recipient of violence, while never inflicting violence upon another.” In our contemporary society, we still have the tendency to divide the population into two groups: black and white, gay and straight and many more. Why do we feel the need to compare ourselves to one another? Do we need to believe that we are superior? These questions still remain relevant and have us challenging our ideals that we have known for so long.
ReplyDeleteSusan Matteucci.
DeleteThis is a great paragraph! I like how you included rhetorical questions. Your opening sentence was also very strong. Just one note, instead of "police killings" maybe use the term "police brutality" because the police is doing more to the black community than killing them. There is aggression and rape as well. But that is the only thing I would change.
When a distinction is made between groups, there is a mutual distrust formed, not because of their distinction of being different, but because they are separated. While the majority may think the minority lesser, the later may accept this distinction, but not the way the former treats them. There's a understandable retaliation that comes with being in the minority. A narrative is written about the majority, in the same way one is written about the minority. The sheer distinction between people is what creates hate, creates stereotypes, creates society. Furthermore, it is not stereotype that creates society or society that creates stereotypes, they are both one is the same -- a cycle of difference leading to more and more distinct separation. We create stereotypes to put ourselves above another, to place ourselves as the best variation of difference, to paint ourselves as more human than another. It is from these stereotypes that we order ourselves into a society, then from society that we establish stereotypes as truth. In “Going to Meet the Man” we see this molding of a mind as Jesse is brought from unthinking child to merciless enforcer of what the majority believed as truth. Uncheck Jesse believes “there were still lots of good n****** around-he had to remember that…They would thank him when this was over. In that way they had, the best of them, not quite looking him in the eye, in a low voice, with a little smile; we surely thanks you, Mr. Jesse.”(1753-1754) He has never been taught to see anything other than animals where men are meant to be. As a child, upon seeing a black man lynched and burned alive, he finds a mind to think “what did he do?”(), but even then he is soon after taught to find it was godly to hurt the black man-- “[beginning] to feel a joy he had never felt before. He watched the hanging , gleaming body, the most beautiful and terrible object he had ever seen till then.”() In his mind, however wrong and unjustifiable, he truly being he is absolved because black people are inhuman to him.
ReplyDeleteTruly, racism is the product of internalized and systemized ignorance. We define people by what is familiar to us, ignoring and fearing what has yet to be experienced. This is how bigotry is created. Judgement, not by person but by stock image, seek out similarities to simplify what we have yet to know. Little do we know these generalizations are scraping away the characteristic that make each individual human. Humanity is the ability to see another as more than what is seen, engaging all as equals and allowing ourselves to host compassion before prejudice. But the hardest thing a person does is admitted they are wrong; admit they have been altered in their ways; admit they don’t know and that they have more to learn. So often, we would rather pretend history is some foreign past thing which we are not responsible for, nor share with the world. We look at the past and pretend it’s an alien story from which we are supposed to learn but not acknowledge as the truth of our own lives. It isn't until we discover the fact that the grandparents of baby boomers may have been slaves when the reality of our world hits us. We are not cleansed of our countries sins simply because a few decades have gone by. Those sins are not gone, they simply live on in the casual confrontations that we don't acknowledge.
I love your sentence "Truly, racism is the product of internalized and systemized ignorance." It really epitomizes your argument that stereotypes and society continously mold each other in a downward spiral. Also, there is just something to the sound of it that makes it such an elegant sentence.
DeleteI thought it was clever how you connected your idea to the present, talking about how we believe we are cleansed of our sins just because we no longer have slavery, but then refuting that belief. What I was left wondering however, is what you think would cleanse our sins. You make a wonderful argument about how our sins live on in our racism and our refusal to acknowledge it, but if we simply stopped being racist (I know this doesn't happen so easily, but this is a hypothetical question), would that cleanse our country of its sins? Or should we have to compensate the desendents of slaves and the victims of racism for the tragedy they have gone through? Or is our past something that we can never really cleanse completely? These are probably all valid opinions, but what do you think?
There's a well-known proverb out there, that "home is where the heart is" and in the documentary, "I Am Not Your Negro", James Baldwin's home and heart are in America, but he is not welcome there as he is in France. During the time Baldwin relocated out of the United States, "the years I lived in Paris did one thing for me: they released me from that particular social terror, which was not the paranoia of my own mind, but a real social danger visible in the face of every cop, every boss, everybody", allowing Baldwin to put an ocean of distance between the dangers he saw in the United States and the 'acceptance' he had as a celebratory figure in Paris, where he could easily speak about racial concerns without issue. But if Baldwin's home was with his friends, his family, all his brothers and sisters, then his heart was far away from home. While he was in Paris, safe from the dangers of racism filled America, being in Paris did more by allowing Baldwin to see the importance of being where his heart was - in America and defending a cause so important to him.
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