So, on the first day of talking about Kindred in this class Pr. Schwartz was intrigued about teaching this book for the first time in the south. I’m sorry, but when this was first said I took a real offense to it, because it felt like a stab at the south. Yes, I was born and raised in Louisiana, but just because I am a southern girl does not mean that I look at racism or slavery in any different way that someone from another state. I took the question as an ignorant stereotypical attack on the southern states. (not saying that it WAS, just saying how i FELT)
(Okay, now that my venting is out of the way, let me delve a little more before I have everyone in class attacking me with gosh knows what.)
Even though I didn’t necessarily agree with the question, when retrospectively looking at the text I can (almost) understand the necessity to ask the question. In a section of the novel, Dana tells Rufus that it doesn’t matter if something about history offends you or not, because it happened. Being offensive won’t change the past. And it was that quote that made me realize that even though Pr. Schwartz’s question truly offended me, it needed to be brought up so people (like me) can get hit with the realization that slavery did in fact happen, and left harsh consequences on the areas inflicted.
But it isn’t just this realization that Butler wants her readers to grasp through this novel. Going deeper, she wants us to realize that the social racism that came with slavery, be it in small or large amounts, still exists today. You can take the fact of Dana’s arm staying in the antebellum south as evidence for this – even though she is from 1976, her missing arm shows her ties forever to the slavery endured by African Americans over a century ago.
But I must end with this:
Even though I do see the truth in the statement that slavery/racism/etc. still exists in some forms today, it DEFINITELY isn’t just in the south. And just because African Americans take jobs that might seem degrading (or whatever you want to call it), does NOT mean that their boss is a racist or slave driver. After all, they did have a choice in taking said jobs…
Although I don't agree with you taking offense to Dr. Schwartz's question, I do agree with the idea that racism isn't just in the south, as it is sometimes perceived. I think it's sad that our country was exploited to such a horrible trend as slavery, and it's obvious that it still has it's affects on us today. Why can't people just get along?!
ReplyDeleteI think the comments you made about how racism is not just in the south is very true. However, I think southern racism is much different from racism that persists in other areas of the United States. I am from Washington and I have witnessed Seattle racism in several ways- my mom’s African American best friend was denied a promotion 2x in lieu of lesser qualified white nurses, and My friends mom was laid off along with 5 other Filipino women when all the Caucasian women who worked at the hotel were kept. However, while in Living in the South I have witnessed much more blatant forms of racism. White people I am around commonly use the “N” word and inter racial couples seem to be viewed differently, when in Seattle that was no big deal. From my experience, racism exists across the USA, it just exists more on a surface level in the south. I think that in order to overcome racism it is important to acknowlege racism in all forms, and that Kindred did a fantastic job of subtly illustrating forms of racism that still exist in the USA.
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