Author: ptidd

At the beginning of the semester, I wrote a blog post on perspective. Perspective is very important to this class and especially when looking at the events we have read about this semester. Perspective is important because it influences an individual’s views about the events and experiences around them.

When looking at the trail of the Chicago Eight, the perspective of the judge is important because it influences the trajectory of the trail. The judge has hatred toward the group of eight and especially Bobby Seale. This hatred was shown in the courtroom and the way that the judge interacted with the defendants. Perspective is important in this trial because this hatred fueled the tension and the outcomes.

            In the Price of my soul, the perspective of Bernadette Devlin was very important. Her perspective led her to fight for what she believed in and to lead the people in her movement. Her increased tension and feelings toward her views inspired others and ultimately fueled her followers. Perspective, ultimately, influences and strengthens the views of people around them.

One of the biggest themes we have looked at this semester is hope. Hope for change and hope for love. Following the readings, we have looked at so far, hope plays a big role in the conflict and the actions of the characters. The characters in the texts use hope to drive them in the fight for change.

In MLK’s texts, The Voices of the Chicago Eight, and Catonsville nine, all of these individuals fought for equality of all people. In MLK’s texts, he was fighting for equality between races and he used hope to drive the movement and the people fighting for equality. Additionally, an important metaphor was presented to the class in the video on Huey Newton. Newton states that the Black panther group is the tip of a spear while the people are the butt of it. He explains that without the butt (of the spear) the tip would be as dangerous as a toothpick. This metaphor is important because it shows that the leaders of the movement are important, but the people and their hope is what drives change. When considering MLK, he had a huge impact on the Civil Rights Movement but the hope of the people is what made more of an impact.

Another important theme is hope defeated by violence. This theme can also be seen in the texts above. When looking at this theme, we can see that the people and their hope are hit with opposition from the “higher power.” This “higher power” in most of these pieces is the Justice system. Specifically, the police are seen as exerting violence onto those that are fighting for change and those that have hope. This hope is shot down by this oppressor and it either becomes fear or anger. This change in emotions significantly alters the momentum and trajectory of the movement because it threatens hope.

I understand the “divide of beliefs/ideas within oneself” is a huge connection in the content we have seen so far. More specifically, the conflict a character experiences with their own ideas when faced with traumatic events and backlash from others. A great example of this is the play “Mickeybo and Mojo.” Within the story, Mickybo, a catholic, and Mojo, a protestant, become unlikely friends. During the story, Mickeybo’s father is shot in the head, by the protestants, for being catholic, and this creates an internal struggle within him and his views on Catholics. Mickeybo and Mojo friendships begin to unravel and this demonstrates this divide within the individual’s ideas/beliefs. Mickybo begins to agree with Fuckface and Grank and expresses things to Mojo he doesn’t mean. Mickeybo has now developed a conflicting view of his friend and is now more involved with the tension of his society.

Another example of this internal struggle is presented in the movie Uptight. Within Uptight, Tank has been identified as the informer and this is due to his push back from the black revolutionary group. The group kicks Tank out due to his inconsistent behavior and the threat of this to their cause. This event leads to Tank’s conflict within himself and the decision to betray his friend, Johnny, and the revolution. This betrayal demonstrates an action that goes against Tank’s ideals and beliefs, and this presents the internal struggle this character faces due to ideas from others.

Overall, the content of this class focuses on the conflicts between various groups and how these disagreements play out. Additionally, these opposing views bring internal conflicts within individuals and this creates struggles and actions that go against their beliefs.  

How does a leader, like MLK, impact a movement? This question led to many different answers and a long conversation. The argument was directed at the idea of whether or not a leader significantly impacts a movement or just plays a role in the face of it. After a long debate, many argued that a “leader” provides momentum and ideals that people can follow. I agree with this statement because a leader allows people to unite under a set of ideas and actions and act on their frustrations together. This creates “the movement” and gives people something to fight for. Altogether, these actions create this momentum and desire to fight for the people.

A classmate then initiated the conversation about social media being the main leader for the BLM movement. This idea is very interesting considering the consistent media converge on the recent movements. Social media apps provide constant information, whether its accurate or not, and influences its users to a very high degree. The idea of social media being the current leader of BLM, I believe, is very accurate. Social media has provided videos and ideas that have fueled the momentum of the movement and a place where people can unite and fight together. Various social media accounts have created certain pages that allow people to follow the ideas they resonate with and rally under the frustration they personally are facing.

During the conversation, I argued that events lead to the fight and fuel of the movement. I still agree with my point but have other ideas on the subject. I believe that certain events, like the recent deaths and violent arrests, have led to further fire and momentum of the BLM movement. These injustices have led to greater frustration and angry from the followers and allies of the BLM movement. Although these events have fueled “the fire”, the people of the movement and their actions of uniting with each are the ways that the momentum is maintained.

As I step into the fourth week of this class, I realized how oblivious I am to the situations around me and how uneducated I am about this country’s politics. I grew up in a home were politics were rarely discussed and basically avoided. During the first couple of class discussions concerning political history, I had to fall back on my prior knowledge, which was little to nothing. Although I come to class with very little knowledge on the subject, I am very interested in the discussion of slavery/servants and their impact on today’s movements.

After listening to Dr. Reilly’s lecture, I became interested in the topic of “Irish Slavery” and its impact on today’s society. In our discussion, Dr. Reilly explained that after the Black Lives Matter movement began, people of Irish descent spoke out about their ancestors and how they also suffered from slavery. After that comment, I was hit with a wall of confusion. Are Irish descents using their ancestor’s servitude as a tactic to say they are still oppressed? That question as stuck with me since Monday’s lecture, but the answer has a lot of grey area.

After reading a classmate’s blog post last week, the idea of “perspective” stayed with me and contributes to this grey area answer. In her blog post, she explains that as part Irish she had never heard of her ancestors being “slaves”, until Dr. Reilly’s reading. She stated that her grandparents hadn’t acknowledged or taught her about this timeline in her family’s history and that it was due to their perspective on the subject. This idea of perspective, I believe, holds true to many different movements and disagreements in the US. The Irish people today are using their “servant” ancestors to argue that they are still oppressed and this is impacted by their individual perspective and the tensions of today’s movements.