"Your father's no better than the n-s and trash he works for!" (page 135)
This was said by Mrs. Dubose in Chapter 11. She was a very sick, old woman, but what she said was still her beliefs. TKAM is set in a Southern town called Maycomb in Alabama in the 1930's. At this time period, people were still very racist and racism was still prevalent even when slavery had ended. Black people were being oppressed with the Jim Crow laws, which prevented them from voting. They were also being oppressed with the "separate but equal" laws. These laws made segregation legal. White people and black people had to use different water fountains, bathrooms, and even sometimes restaurants. This angers me because these things weren't even equal.
https://www.google.com/search?q=black+and+white+water+fountains&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=1309&bih=707&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJ_f_9m6DJAhUG6iYKHR25B-gQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=A2rAFtge4V_7PM%3A
Pictures like in the link above prove that white people had privilege, and it really wasn't equal - just separate. I think this quote and complete situation is wrong because she is saying that it is bad that Atticus is standing up for a black person in court. She is calling black people "trash", and using an offensive word to describe them. I wish that people like Mrs. Dubose would be proud of Atticus for going against the racist norm and standing up for his what he thought was right, but it would never happen because the society was so racist back then.
This reminds me of the event in Paris with ISIS (and yes I know everyone is referring to this) because Mrs. Dubose had never even met Tom Robinson and had already called him trash just because of his skin color. With the Paris event, some people assume that everyone that is Muslim or wears a hijab or even was of Arab descent is a terrorist. First of all, some people that "look like Muslims" just because they are of Arab descent aren't even Muslims. Second, ISIS is a small extremist group. Almost all Muslims are peaceful and stick to their religion in a kind and peaceful way. I hate when people automatically assume something about someone just because of their physical appearance or religion. When you walk down the street and see someone in a hijab, you shouldn't label them as a terrorist. They had nothing to do with the attacks, and it must be very hard for them to even walk out of their house without people looking at them and profiling them. Mrs. Dubose hadn't even met Tom and called him trash, just as people see someone who is Muslim and call them a terrorist. Think about if you got looked in public when you were just minding your own business. Be aware of your privilege, and don't oppress others if you don't even know anything about them.
*drops mic*
-Ellie
I think your argument is very well said. But ISIS is not "A small extremist group," they're actually pretty medium sized and should not be taken lightly. Though all in all, a nicely written and thought out blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but I don't think that Ellie is saying that she is taking it lightly. She is just saying that in general, Muslims are being oppressed because ignorant people in America label all or most of them as terrorists when the large majority of them are NOT terrorists.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete