Kennedy's Book Blog #2

I agree with Andy Rooney when he said "the best way to get rid of a problem is to hold it up to the bright light and look at all sides" but I don't necessarily think Kennedy does this in his book. Kennedy gives many examples and displays the different views that exist about the n-word but I don't believe a book can look at all sides when it is only one person's writing. It's not about whether or not the author is white or black; their opinion will be exposed and can create a bias or misinterpretation of the problem. I also don't believe we will ever get rid of this problem. The word is out there, it doesn't matter who uses it, it's out there and it can't be legislated. The Boston Public episode addressed many of the different sides when dealing with the n-word. Some African Americans believe white people should not be allowed to say the word because they don't know how it feels to be an African American. At the same time they can use the word because it belongs to them. The Abolish the N-Word website said, "Racism is so subtle, we now think that we can embrace the “N” word and take away its power." While Kennedy addressed this in his book he also showed how African Americans such as Langston Hughes, Bill Cosby, and E.R. Shipp believe that no one should be using the word. Shipp said, "There needs to be no confusion.... The N-word has no place in contemporary life or language" (128). Bill Cosby argued that no one should use the word. If African Americans use it white people will get a negative impression. The Abolish the N-Word website also said, "Every time we use the “N” word it is a slap in the face of our elders and a blatant disrespect to our ancestors."

There is a benefit in examining the word. People can take a look at other view points and try to be understanding of what others think. After examining the word and the painful American past people can make a better judgement about using the word. The intent of the word can be changed according to who is saying it and why they are using the word, but there will always be African American history attached to the word meaning someone somewhere will take offense to the word. Words alone have power; they don't always need to be spoken. Seeing the title of Randall Kennedy's book alone can cause reactions. Reading it in public or even in the privacy of your own home can cause a complete stranger or a parent to approach you out of curiosity or anger. In Kennedy's book Professor Richard Delgado refers to "words that wound" (63). He explains how words lead to racism and violence. There are many "words that wound" because words have power.

Kennedy's Book Blog #3

Dictionary and the n-word 105

Langston Hughes, Bill Cosby, and E.R. Shipp 127-129

Huckleberry Finn 109

Randall Kennedy's Book

In the introduction of Kennedy's book he discusses his own personal experiences with the word "nigger". After his first time being called by the name he went to his parents. Both of his parents had different ways of dealing with the issue. His father believed that he had the right to "go to war" if he wanted to. While his mother said, "sticks and stones may break your bones, words need never harm you". Kennedy knew "that word" could be used many ways and have many different meanings but he made clear in the introduction that "I do not believe that my experiences entitle me to any more deference than that which is due on the strength of my writing alone" (xviii).

In the first chapter Kennedy explains the different ways the n-word is used. Some believe that when white people use the word they can be expressing it to show white supremacy. While some believe that African Americans have the right to use the word talking about or to one another because they "know" how it feels and have a better understanding. Non-blacks who side with African Americans on racial controversies are called "nigger lovers". This includes "Whites who refrain from discriminating against blacks, whites who become intimate with blacks, whites who confront anti black practices, whites who work on the electoral campaigns of black candidates, whites who nominate blacks for membership in clubs, whites who protect blacks in the course of their official duties, and whites who merely socials with blacks" (22).

While reading the story on page twenty-seven caught my attention. The prosecution of Robert Montgomery. State authorities established a center for convicted child molesters in a white Indianapolis neighborhood in 1988. In June of 1991 they had changed the establishment into a center for homeless veterans, twenty-five were African American. Montgomery had damaged a car and started a cross on fire in opposition. "An all-white cadre of child molesters was evidently acceptable, but the presence of blacks made a racially integrated group of homeless veterans intolerable!" (27). This caught my attention because I don't understand how people can think this way. Montgomery was clearly upset about African Americans living in an establishment in a white neighborhood. It doesn't make sense; child molesters should cause more of an upset, living in a neighborhood, than African Americans.

Kennedy sums up the point of the chapter when he states that the n-word "it could be opened like an umbrella to cover a dozen different moods, or stretched like a rubber band to wrap up our family with other colored families....Nigger was a piece-of-clay word that you could shape...to express your feelings" (30). The word molds, like clay, according to whoever is using it and the context in which they use it.

The Republic

The Republic is Plato's most important piece of work. The Republic is separated into books that detail topics such as; function of literature and music, equality of women, eugenics and communal housing. In Book's II and III the function of literature and music is discussed. Socrates is the narrator of this dialogue. The goal of The Republic is to answer the question what is justice?

In Book II, Socrates lists necessities of the state; food, dwelling and clothing. He then lists workman for the state which includes a builder, weaver, shoemaker however; in order to have a luxurious state occupations are extended, adding a carpenter, a smith, merchants, retailers, and soldiers. As luxuries accumulate, jobs and people accumulate, creating a need for more jobs which leads to overpopulation for the land; people begin to fight over land and war arises. Socrates continues by explaining the need for a "guardian" of the state. As book II ends Socrates is discussing education of music and gymnastic; he continues in book III.

Socrates explains that guardians of the state need to be gentle and moderate and exist in harmony. This happens with music, the soul and gymnastic, the body. When the soul and body are in harmony a temperate and courageous guardian exists. Socrates wishes to create a lie for future generations; not to harm but to help. He wants the future to understand and "believe" that their purpose was manufactured and each is composed of a metal such as gold, silver, bronze and iron. Each metal signifying a different role but all existing together. He believes this lie will help the future generations care more for their city and one another.

I enjoyed reading Apology and Crito more than The Republic. I think Socrates is much harder to follow and his reasoning's are more philosophical in the Republic. Although it was hard to follow, I was able to interpret most of the dialogue and make sense of Books II and III.