Poverty comes in many forms. And, there are many reasons for poverty. Some people fall into poverty because of lack of education, or lack of opportunities. Others are forced into poverty because of disabilities. There are a very small number of people who, yes, choose to become poor, and choose to stay poor, and are fully aware of what they're doing. The people of Southie are good example of a group of people who may appear to outsiders to be "choosing" their poverty. It looks like they're not trying. But it appears to me that a lot of the people in Southie and in other areas like it don't even really know what they're doing. They don't think of themselves as "poor", and they're not ready to accept that status. They turn their heads away from what ius going on around them and continue to label their neighborhood as "the best place in the world". Who would want to leave the best place in the world?
I think that this mindset is fairly common, especially in white working class neighborhoods like Southie. Most people don't choose poverty. If they appear to do so, it's probably because they don't think of themselves as in poverty.
The thing about getting out of poverty is that it means first acknowledging that you're lower on the ladder than almost everyone else, and that can be a pretty tough thing to do for a lot of people.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Malcolm X (chapters 1-12)
In the first half of the book we see Malcolm X go through a huge transformation. In prison he is uneducated. He is angry, but his anger needs direction. Then, something happens. He starts reading. He reads! He starts with copying words out of the dictionary, and then moves on to the history books. In reading this history, he learns more about his people and the great injustices that have occurred against them. This is what gives his anger direction and gives him the ability to become a completely different man.
Later, speaking of this experiences, Malcolm describes it as more valuable than any college education. I think that for him this is true. In prison he had far less distractions than he would have in college. Also, he could focus in on what was important to him. Any college he would have been attending would not have held lectures on the crimes of white people against other races, or the true history of the american slave, or any of the other things Malcolm X was most interested in finding out about. He would have been most likely taught a curriculum that was set out for him by a white man. He says that his "alma mater was books". Books are a really viable form of education that can teach you valuable things that you wouldn't be learning about otherwise.
Not that everybody should chose the education of a prison library over college, but in some instances self-education through a medium such as books with little distractions like those present on a college campus can be the best method.
Later, speaking of this experiences, Malcolm describes it as more valuable than any college education. I think that for him this is true. In prison he had far less distractions than he would have in college. Also, he could focus in on what was important to him. Any college he would have been attending would not have held lectures on the crimes of white people against other races, or the true history of the american slave, or any of the other things Malcolm X was most interested in finding out about. He would have been most likely taught a curriculum that was set out for him by a white man. He says that his "alma mater was books". Books are a really viable form of education that can teach you valuable things that you wouldn't be learning about otherwise.
Not that everybody should chose the education of a prison library over college, but in some instances self-education through a medium such as books with little distractions like those present on a college campus can be the best method.
King: Still King?
The short answer is yes. King is still king. Or rather, he should be. There is still a great need in our society for people like MLK who are willing to fight against racism. Some people have this crazy notion that we are living in a "post-racial" society. Honestly, nothing makes me angrier than that idea. I think most of the people using the term "post-racial" are privileged people who benefit either indirectly or directly from the racism still very present in society, and see no reason to change it.
It almost seems like after Malcolm X died, after King died, after the civil rights act was passed, people stopped fighting. Not that there aren't people fighting, but it isn't on as massive a scale as it needs to be. Race is still an issue. The blase attitude towards racist has gotten worse as time has gone on. We're in a new millenium, we don't need to worry about race anymore, right? Or you know, it's not really an issue anymore. Or it's not as bad as it was a long time ago. You can tell that to the millions of people in this country still facing race-related discrimination as violence.
I think it can be easy for a lot of people, especially white people who are blinded by our privilege to put on this air with regards to race that it's something that's already been dealt with. But it's not. We need people like King still. We need them now more than ever to show everybody that the war hasn't been won yet.
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