What legitimizes a group of people who feel they have been done an injustice on the part of another person or group of people? This question has been circulating around in my mind all week considering the recent events that have taken place on campus and the way that they have been handled or addressed by some of the faculty here. Do people reserve the right to decide when someone else has hurt them? We talk a lot about consent in this class and what the standards of consent are, but I am beginning to realize that people struggle with understanding the nature of consent and how, in my opinion, it should be applied to society. Continue reading “Once Again We Must Address Consent…”
Back on the Bus
“A bus covered in dust. This dirty, gray bank safe came crawling down the block, and folks nearly went to tears. There were passengers inside it already, too many, in fact… But the bus stopped. A few people got off, which meant there was room for a few more… But finally everyone agreed: a quartet of senior citizens walked to the bus door” (356).
This is my second time reading Big Machine and yet I had no memory of this brief scene of people crowding onto the bus after the explosion in Garland. This moment seems to resolve the haunting image of “That shabby man… scowling from the shoulder” who was thrown off the Greyhound at the beginning of Ricky’s story. I think the reason that man remains in Ricky’s thoughts is because he comes to represent the cast-out or despised, who have been failed by institutions. However, by the end of the book, Ricky encounters a bus full of people who shift and make room for more. A group of anxious people agree to let the neediest people get on the bus. In fact, in the wake of tragedy, Garland seems to be full of people making room and inviting others in: “Couples, trios, and quartets of people walked together on the streets. Holding each other up. Some of them crying, others still shocked. But no one seemed abandoned. Someone grabbed you up if you were alone. They pulled you close.” Even before Ricky officially takes on the mission to invite them back in, the text is acknowledging his new perspective. Continue reading “Back on the Bus”
Content of Their Character
In Ian’s post, “The Theme of Outcasts in African American Literature and Societal Views on Persons with Disabilities,” he addresses the process and impacts of social othering. He uses Big Machine to illustrate some of the forms that “outcast” has taken in our literature, including the homeless man on the bus, the Unlikely Scholars, and those working on behalf of Solomon Clay. The post then transitions to the language surrounding disability and how it functions to other people with disabilities. Then he states, “A good practice to remember to introduce people by their qualities and their relationship to you instead of by what makes them unique.” I believe that people’s qualities and what makes them unique are somewhat interchangeable, but Ian’s intent seems to be asking readers to consider character before aspects of identity. Continue reading “Content of Their Character”
Meaning & Measure
We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.– Toni Morrison, 1993 Nobel Lecture Continue reading “Meaning & Measure”
We, Like Monsters
“Bloodchild” has changed much of what I thought I knew. Octavia Butler’s story fascinated me, yes, but more so confused me and left me so unsure of my own convictions. If there are aliens, if there are monsters, if there is an “other,” who are they?
Look More, Label Less
Throughout the blogging process, I have paid considerable attention to the four horsemen that pop up again and again throughout the body of Steve Prince’s work. When discussing the horsemen in my blog posts, I almost always mentioned their shoes, which are adorned with studs and spikes, wherein the spikes vary in appearance and resemble things like barbed wire, grisly canines, and other such objects that bear traditionally negative connotations.
The presence of these shoes in a work of Prince’s often impacted my interpretation of the piece. For example, in Prince’s “Dirge,” the spiked appearance of the horsemen’s shoes encouraged me to view the horsemen as agents of destruction, as is discussed in my blog post, “Those Who Straddle the Line.”Additionally, the horsemen’s massive, spiked shoes, seen in Prince’s “Second Line I-IV,” acted as elements with which I could juxtapose the horsemen’s dainty posture and accessories. This juxtaposition would become the launchpad for my thought process and ultimate thesis in my blog post, “The Protecting Power of Destruction.”
The Aftermath of a Threat and a Call to Action
It feels appropriately recursive that I end my time posting with the same topic that I started with: the topic of homelessness in Victor LaValle’s Big Machine. I predicted in my last post and in conversations with other people that the homeless people would play an important role in the unfolding events, and I was right.
Continue reading “The Aftermath of a Threat and a Call to Action”
The Mutability of Language
In my blog post “Recursive Memory” I discuss how important it is for people to be aware of what “script” they are drawing from, using Dr. McCoy’s words. By this I meant that people should doubt the information they are disseminating and using in their lives. Quite frequently, words and phrases people use have connotations and contexts they never realized were there prior to some careful introspection. This is important to note, considering how influential language is to how people perceive the world and process information; that and how people perceive each other. Continue reading “The Mutability of Language”
Folk Digest
I enjoy folk music, but my enjoyment wasn’t fully contextualized until I took Music and Ideas: Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger with Jim Kimball last fall. The class gave roots to Folk’s heritage in Sorrow/Freedom Songs as well as its place in labor and social movements. I’d been aware of the movement songs in the Civil Rights movement and in labor movements and this class really connected disciplines of organizing and music. Continue reading “Folk Digest”
Sex Work is not a Crutch: How Big Machine Falls Short
The first time I thought about writing this blog post was after the reading of “The Resistance: An Adele Henry Adventure.” I held myself back though, because I knew that my immediate response would likely be too passionate and uncontained. I also wanted to give Big Machine and LaValle a chance at redemption. I was unfortunately disappointed. Continue reading “Sex Work is not a Crutch: How Big Machine Falls Short”