How Do /You/ Fly?

We're humans. And if you ask most people if we can fly, they will say no. Humans are too heavy, humans don't have wings, our bone structure doesn't allow it, etc.. There is simply no way to leap and to be able to take flight, as a human. But must it be that way? There is no literal way to fly, but can we not take flight like Pilate? What stops us from flying the way she did "without ever leaving the ground" (Morrison 337)? Could it be our white peacock strut, or maybe the lust for gold. 

Sometimes, it is our greed for material objects or vanity, and sometimes it is the rush with which we live life. We don't take a lot of time to stop and appreciate the little things in life, or even the things that matter to us the most. Pilate never had much, yet always treated everyone with hospitality and always made everyone seem welcome at her house. She never hesitated to lend a helping hand even if she was in need of one herself. She spent time with her family, and appreciated the things she did have. She lived life as it came, and without fear of what others may think of her. She never lusted for gold, and never strutted. She didn't have to abandon her family or her life to be free. She simply never allowed herself to be constrained into a cage, and therefore, never had to break free. 

We have the choice, of whether we allow ourselves to be constrained or not. We simply have to acknowledge it, and make the right choice for ourselves. 

Racism, is it Really as Black and White as it Seems?

Racism is a big issue in today's society, that part is mostly straight forward. But is it really that black and white? Racism isn't just people of one color discriminating against people of a different color, but sometimes even people of the same color discriminating against each other because of their color. It isn't even always just one person being racist to another, it could be someone being racist to themselves. The structure of today's society makes it so easy to accept stereotypes given to each race that it becomes too much of an effort to go against the stereotypes that are already put in place. For example, the stereotype that "Asians are smart" is so ingrained into us, that whenever some Asian gets a good grade, it's expected, and therefore given no attention. Up until about a year ago, I never actively supported that stereotype nor actively opposed it. However, about a year ago, something happened that made me want to oppose it strongly. 

My Asian friend and I had been walking down one of the side staircases at Troy High. She was telling me about a test whose grade she'd just received. She hadn't done well and was upset about her grade. At this point it's probably best that I tell you a bit about my friend. She's a hard worker and keeps straight A's in her classes. Now, because of this one test, her grade was a B in the class overall. She told me about how her parents were going to be upset that she hadn't gotten an A. When I asked her why that one bad grade mattered, she looked at the ground and said, "Cause Asians are supposed to be smart. I don't want to be the reason that people think they're not."

That made me think, really think. I've never been a person that endorsed stereotypes and never liked them much either, but that incident with my friend showed me how bad they really are. Today, it's so easy for us to be racist towards ourselves that it seems natural. We don't bother thinking about all the harm it really leads to. Because of that stereotype, my friend felt the pressure of representing her whole race rather than herself first. She thought of herself as an Asian first, then a hardworking student. That she was a hardworking student because she was an Asian. How ignorant do we have to be to not realize that this internalized racism has made people lose their identities as people?

Is the Battle between Knowledge and Innocence Black and White?

Often violent images spark controversy, parents don't want their children to see those pictures, teachers are reluctant to show them to students, older siblings hide them from younger siblings, all because we often see these children as innocent and naive creatures that need to be protected from this harsh,cruel world. However these children live in this world, and what we think is "protecting" can end up leaving the children defenseless when they eventually wander into the real world.

Earlier this year we read "The History Teacher" by Billy Collins. I was unsure of how I felt about the "protection" of the students' innocence. Now, after taking time to reflect on it, and after being introduced to different views on similar subjects, I can confidently say that the with-holding of real events is more harmful than beneficial. By no means should everything be told to these children regardless of how it may affect them, instead I believe, like Santog, that real events, real pictures should be shown when they promote knowledge and insight.

Knowledge is the banishment of innocence, in the minds of some. Yet to me, it is the banishment of ignorance. But because the line between innocence and ignorance is so fine, many people steer away from anything that may accidentally destroy one's innocence rather than ignorance. As a result, many people are left ignorant to the world, and are unable to handle reality when presented to them in the form of photos. In my opinion, the teacher from Collin's poem promoted ignorance in the students rather than innocence the same way that news channels and media promotes ignorance by refraining from showing certain photos that depict our reality.

The Black and White Truth of Stories

Who is justifies to tell stories about real people? Was Art justified in telling his father's story? Is it justified to analyze the story as we do in class? Are we justified to interpret the story in the way we think is correct?

In the movie Life of Pi, the main character, Pi, tells his story of survival as a 16 year old to another man. When he finishes the story and is leaving the area, as he's  about halfway through the door, the listener stops him and asks something along the lines of "what do you want me to do with your story now?" Pi turns, seems to shrug and says  something like "it's no longer my story, do what you want," and leaves the listener behind. *
Life of Pi is a very controversial movie and book in the sense that it is difficult to tell what parts of the story are true and what parts are  not. But isn't it so with all stories? Even autobiographies have parts to them that are exaggerated or slightly false, but those parts may not have been false to the person telling the tale.

Often it is hard to get the truth of a story fully told. There is no black and white way to tell a story truthfully. You can either convey the emotions as they were felt, or the facts as they occurred. There is rarely an in-between. Art Spiegelman seems to use a bit of both in his graphic novel Maus. However, I believe that it is impossible to tell if he truly uses both or just tells the truth of either emotion or fact; because a story is a story. It is always up for interpretation. Humans can't read minds, so the story will never be told precisely the way the author wants to tell it. Ever. Every story will always compromise the truth of something, whether that truth be the loss of emotional representation or factual. And to me, that is the only black and white part in stories.

*I watched this movie a while ago, this may not be exactly what happens, but it is what I remember of the ending