The Ethics of Living Jim Crow

This article, as it turns out, was actually pretty powerful. I certainly believe that it's because this story was from a person who lived through it: somebody who was present has a lot more power with writing on the subject as opposed to somebody who just writes about facts and wasn't actually there. I like how this piece was set up, and I think it's structure made it that much more enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Now on to the story itself. One of the most powerful things about this essay, I think, came in the beginning. After being hit with a broken bottle and getting hurt both physically and emotionally, his mother's reaction was shocking. She was one of those people who simply accepted how the black people were being treated. She thought they deserved it, even. After the white people constantly stated that blacks weren't worth a darn, that concept was drilled into their heads. When his mother told him that he should be thankful that the whites didn't kill him, it became clear that she felt as though obeying the whites was a much better alternative to standing up for oneself. It was a much safer route, that's for sure.

The next Jim Crow Lesson was just as bad. When starting a new job at a factory, Richard was put under the impression that he would learn something valuable. After awhile of not doing such a thing, he asked his superiors to teach him something. Well, they didn't like the fact that a black man wanted to learn something. That is sickening to me. How could it not even be socially acceptable for black people to learn something? The worst part about that concept, to me, is that white people always called black people stupid, but as soon as they wanted to learn something, it was heavily frowned upon. Richard received a beating even though he was promised some new knowledge.

I knew that life had to be hard for black people during this time period, but I didn't know that a women getting beat up was considered mild. That's absolutely crazy, and thank goodness that kind of thing doesn't happen often, if not, anymore. This article really captured how things were back in those days for a young, black man, and it sort of made me realize how easy my life was while growing up.

Talk of the Town

There are plenty of articles out there that show the good in the world. Stories of massive fundraisers and  successful organ transplants and other lovely things fill up the pages in the newspaper and on the internet.

"Talk of the Town" is not one of those heart-warming articles that instils good feelings nor joy. Both paint pictures of a harsh reality that we know as 9/11. The first piece by John Updike focuses more the actual event and the initial shock that came with it.

The author saw this tragedy from afar, but in person, while it was happening. Updike's article describes the scene in great detail, often using words that one would normally use to project beauty. For me, that was one of the confusing parts. He wrote, "... the sulfurous cloud streaming south toward the ocean, was pure blue, rendered uncannily pristine by the absence of jet trails" when describing the scene, and that would normally give off a connotation that it was somehow beautiful. Perhaps the picture was hauntingly beautiful, as up until the first plane crash, the day was perfect. The sky was blue and the sun was shining on a nice fall day. Things were beautiful and then suddenly they weren't. The very last line in the piece contributes to this idea of haunting beauty. It says, "... the ruins were still sending out smoke, but New York looked glorious." This tragic beauty seems to be a theme, even. 

The line, "We knew we had just witnessed thousands of deaths" is very simply put, but also very haunting and real. I would barely be able to handle witnessing even one persons death, and I can't even imagine what it must have been like to witness thousands all at once. One can look at pictures or Youtube videos of the event and still feel many different emotions, but I highly doubt it can compare to seeing it live. 

This article also speaks of the aftermath. One nightmare would be cleaning up the whole scene, with of the bodies and all. People trying to find their loved ones and hoping and praying that they somehow made it out alive. The most real one, to me anyway, is how the sound of an airplane put people on edge for a while after the incident. With the aftermath, it also brings the question of "What could we have done to prevent this?"

The second article, by Susan Sontag, focuses more on how we as a nation handled the situation. It starts out by discussing the faults of the media and how they tend to spin things. That much is true; it can be very difficult to decipher what is fact and what is fiction when watching the news sometimes. 

It also talks of how our leaders are saying that this country was still strong even after this attack. Sontag basically said that was rubbish, and our leaders are cowardly for saying such a thing. Even if America was at a low point during this attack, there is no way our leaders could have outright said we were weak. If Sontag is getting mad at Bush for saying that our country is strong, imagine how many people would have hated him if he would have said something along the lines of "We were attacked, and America, quite frankly, is very weak right now". Americans pride themselves on being strong and able to overcome anything. Telling the "truth" about it wouldn't have gone over well, so I don't really understand why Sontag is criticizing because of that. 

The first article's tone was more mild and mellancholy. It simply described the event in detail, but didn't offer opinions on anything. The second, on the other hand, had an angry and sarcastic tone. It had a strong opinion about how 9/11 was handled. 

Erin Culver: An Attempted Explanation

Hello dear people!


I would first like to bring out the welcome wagon and invite you to make yourself feel right at home here at my blog "The Plan Is Simple: We Blog About AP Comp". Feel free to take a seat if you're not already. A steaming brew of green tea might prove to be a nice touch, as well. Shall we get started? I think we shall.

I am Erin Culver, and this fall I will be a senior. I guess you could say that I'm getting pretty old. Time flies when you're having fun, am I right? Well I'd like to take this time to assemble a list of facts about myself. Here it goes.

1. Sometimes I wish I could just skip the whole work force and go right to retirement. I'd be good at being retired, I think. I can picture myself living in a small cottage doing Sudoku and watching The Price Is Right on a daily basis. A girl can dream.

2. I really enjoy being healthy. Nutrition and exercise are absolutely fascinating to me, and I hope to make a career out of that someday. I find that I am much less stressed when I eat well and exercise almost everyday, and I'm pretty sure I'd go crazy if I didn't do both of those.

3. I think that life would be impossible without music. I can't imagine trying to do mundane tasks without listening to my Ipod. I'm pretty sure I would despise laundry and other household tasks if I couldn't jam while doing so. A few of my favorite artists include Mumford & Sons, Cage The Elephant, The Black Keys, and many more.

4. My favorite activity, hands down and no questions about it, is to laugh. I can be very serious if I need to be, but I just plain prefer to joke around and laugh. They say laughter is the best medicine, and I can't help but agree. It's another one of those things where I would go crazy if I didn't have it.

5. I love reading and pondering inspirational quotes. Despite the fact that I usually prefer not to be serious, there have been plenty of times where I have enjoyed reading the inspirational quote section on Pinterest and thinking deep thoughts about life.

6. I have been told by many that I'm a "people person".  I those people are correct, for my happiest times are spent outside the house and with people. I'm somebody that would rather spend money on going to dinner with friends instead of buying a new Gameboy or something. Don't get me wrong, I grew up with a Gameboy, I just prefer to spend time out and about with people and to be social.

And that concludes this episode of Random Facts About Erin Culver. Sorry to disappoint, but I think this  pilot episode may be the only episode of Random Facts About Erin Culver. I hope you have enjoyed your stay, and check back for more posts. They'll be on here very, very soon. It will be... excellent.