Today we read the introductory letter, then skipped into the Farai Chideya narrative piece "On Respect: Diary of a mad, bad, sad and ultimately glad black woman." After Portia and Anna read this aloud, we briefly discussed it and then broke into smaller groups for further discussion where students were to produce a three paragraph summary to post here.
The summary is to include a citation per paragraph. These citations can be direct and free paraphrases.
Thursday, the plan is to watch a film: We Still Live Here, to prepare for The Dance Boots. Bring the collection of short fiction to class, along with Hacker and Writing about Literature.
6 comments:
I think we're supposed to post this here.
Javier Mendez
Jelisa Larkin
Josh St.Germaine
Kevin Roper
Madeleine Giordano
Marianna Deguzman
Ngawang Passang
Tamara Qirrah
Based on Farai Chideya’s article “On Respect“ she explains her experience during a taxi ride, where she is on her way to speak at a university for the celebration of black womanhood. A simple misunderstanding turns into a bad situation, when a taxi driver “locked the doors and called the police,“(Para. 8) because of an uncertainty as to who was going to pay for the drive. The taxi driver assumed that since she was black she was not going to pay. This incident shows that the taxi driver stereotyped her as an individual. He was not treating her with the respect that she deserved. He discriminated against a part of her identity, although his assumptions were wrong.
Identity is somewhat of a mystery each and every one of us keeps within ourselves. The Chideya states: “The worst thing about any group identity is that it becomes fixed, Procrustean.“ (Para. 13) A person alone knows their identity and who they are, but we conform ourselves to fit the image we think people will accept and respect.
The article concludes by saying: “The most revolutionary thing you can tell a young black woman today – or anyone for that matter – is to be herself.“ (Para. 16) Everyone is judged by their outward appearance and how the media perceives them. The only way to give people the respect they deserve is to put aside assumptions and preconceived notions about a person or group of people.
Allison Griffin
Israel Cortez
Ashley Luu
George Anderson
Caitlin Rockwell
Sareth Chhoth
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
21 August 2012
Assumptions and Principles
Farai Chideya talks about her principles and how sometimes people have to choose their battles wisely. She talks about how there are many battles and not all battles can be won. One of her principles she believes in is to stand up for what you believe is right. Chideya said, “black women, as a rule, do not get to stand on principle,” although she said that she continued to fight for what she thought was right based on her own principle (Chideya 6). She chose to go against the driver.
Chideya also talks about assumptions in the article. People might make assumptions of others based on how they look or their race. They should not make assumptions based on those reasons; a person will never know how a person is unless they get to know that person. Chideya stated, “when met by an assumption—for example, black women are thieving—should I diffuse the conflict?” (Chideya 10). She fully knows what assumptions can lead to. In our group, we discussed that we should treat everybody equally just like a blind person. For example, a blind person would not know what race a person is unless the blind person gets to know the other person. This is basically saying that we should not make assumptions based on a person’s race.
In all, people make assumptions on others based on their race and there are certain principles people should follow. When people make assumptions, they expect a certain response from that individual because of their race. One of the things that Chideya said is that “the worst thing about any group identity is that it becomes fixed, Procrustean” (Chideya 12). People should not have those negative assumptions on people based on race.
Chelsea Green
Alex Kendall
Mario Gutierrez
Anna Hy Lim
Thomas Koon
Caeman Swartz
Robin Delaney
Jules Misiluti
Professor Sabir
English 1B
August 23, 2012
Even the most accomplished scholars are subjected to the challenges of racial or gender disrespect. In the article "On Respect," Farai Chideya describes a very unpleasant, racially motivated experience with a driver and herself. Upon being invited to speak at Barnard College, the college arranged her transportation to the event. As a result of miscommunication between the college and the driver regarding who would be paying for the transport, an exchange between the driver and Farai Chideya, provoked the police involvement, due to the drivers racially profiling motivation against her, he assumed she would try to cheat him out of payment. Ironically, the college invited her to speak to a group of women on the topic of celebration of Black women this day, and she states, "Instead of arriving on campus an hour early, calm and composed, I arrived with only half hour to spare, sans handcuffs, but sobbing."
Due to this encounter, she began to question identity and what it means to her in contrast to what her identity means to others and how they define her, she states, "Identity is a Zen koan, a riddle." What is respect in regards to how people define or judge each other and should we demand it from others at all cost? She states, "Is demanding respect an egotistical pursuit in a flawed world?" We agree that it is worthy to fight for respect, to be who you are and also be intelligent and fastidious about the battles you choose to fight; respect is more complex than just a personal or individual issue.
We have a responsibility to ourselves to be open-minded, understanding and respectful to each other while simultaneously celebrating what makes us unique. Being true to oneself will guide our choices as to how we choose to respect others. Farai Chideya states, "The most revolutionary thing you can tell a young black woman, or anyone, today is to be herself."
Respect is an abstract construct that provides a buffer between people in society that prevents conflict by allowing people to be individuals. Respect gives us the space we need to explore and relate to ourselves. Without respect, our interactions are raw. A lack of respect strips away the thin veneer of civilization.
When facing a lack of respect, you have the choice to either accede or stand on your principles. Your principles are your values and beliefs. And the choice you make to stand on principles is not necessarily going to get you what you want. By standing on your principles you encounter short term pain, but it doesn't hurt your identity.
Once we decide we desire Respect we must maintain it. To maintain respect, we must stand on principles, we must make hard choices, we must not make Procrustean deals. By taking this path, and only by taking this path, we preserve who we are and only then do we deserve Respect.
Our group members are:
Rosetta Egan
Lucille King
Carla Gallardo
Mandy Ho
Porsha Hadden
Michael Kearney
Regarding the 4th article on "Respect", and specifically the last paragraph, whether or not one stands on principle or does not make Procrustean agreements, each one of us deserves respect. The dying beggar in Calcutta and the President of the United States each deserve our respect. This is a highly ideal concept but one can hope.
Th above comment was submitted by me.
Rosetta Egan
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