In Chapter 1 of
Book 2, we see Macon walk into the Black Student Union and completely destroys
Amy Green. As leader, she is trying to figure out the speakers for Black
History Month. She proposes some very important world-renown individuals and
Macon is unamused. Not only does he insult those individuals but also her
abilities and hard work. Does Macon have this right?
First off, I want
to say that no one has the right to be rude and I didn’t appreciate Macon
interrupting Amy and putting these amazing people down. On the one hand, Amy
was trying to get feedback from the individuals at the meeting, but Macon could
have waited for an open discussion. The way he was being disrespectful seemed a
little contradictory to me personally. Here he says he is super “woke” and
loves black people but then can’t name a black individual that he approves of. By
being rude at this meeting and taking charge, I felt like he was putting the
movement down and insulting not only the famous black people but the black students
at the meeting. Despite wanting to lift black people up, I feel like especially
in this situation, he is bringing them down. Interesting how the title of this
book is traitor…
I also wanted to
discuss whether or not he even has the right to walk into this meeting or give
any suggestions as to future actions of the committee. Technically it is a free
country and people (for the most part) are free to carry on as they please. I
feel like I would be open to Macon coming if he had talked to Amy individually
and wanted to act as another individual that would support the cause. But Macon
takes over the cause. He not only shows up fifteen minutes late but proceeds to
instruct the members as to how their entire focus should change. Personally, I
disagreed with this and felt like he didn’t have the right to perform these
specific actions. After being rude, Macon almost teases the members by acting
reluctant to share his ideas. He literally says that by doing this, it is “a
perfect way to carve out space for himself where none existed” pg 123. I felt
like this was unnecessary and humiliating. After he felt like he had taunted
them enough, Macon finally proclaims that they should invest in a gun and
murder a police officer. This was yet another case of Macon’s lust for violence
and frankly I find it a little unsettling.
Anyway, what do you
all think? Does Macon have these rights to a certain degree or not at all? Do
you agree with his alternative solution?
It's weird because while my gut doesn't want Macon to be saying anything in this black students meeting, I can't really say I'm not impressed that he's going against the grain and doing something new. I think Mansbach wrote Amy Green and the rest of the BSA in a way that suggests that they're kind of uncontroversial and basic, and the point is that Macon radicalizes them and spurs them to action. At the same time though, does Macon really need to be at the Black Student Association?
ReplyDeleteAnother appearance of this, which was assigned admittedly after whenever you wrote this, was whenever Amy asked for Macon to be a speaker during Black History Month. This question shows up again, asking if Macon deserves to speak during this month, being that he is a white person speaking in place of black people to black people about something he has said himself they already know. I doubt it will be resolved.
ReplyDeleteI think that Macon has the right to attend the BSU meetings, even though he's not black. I think he also has the right to interrupt them and voice his opinions. Being said, just because we have free speech doesn't mean our speech lacks consequence. I don't think it was right for Macon to be so rude towards the union members especially because most of the candidates they were recommending were extremely credible. In this scene he only further enforced the public view of him as a stuck-up extremist.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Macon always walk around with this swagger and thinks very highly of himself as if he's the solution to the problem, but he's really not. He not only ruined the BSU meeting, but disrespected what they've established. Here comes this white guy coming to a BSU meeting thinking that they're all dumb and full of BS. Macon does have the right to share his opinions, but in the manner that he is doing it in, he should be removed from the meeting. I also don't agree with his proposal. I would rather have a speaker come in then have a gun fight with the police. As we've seen, this type of attitude won't do him any good.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Macon should be able to attend those meetings because the people there should share a similar goal. However, I think Macon has no right to speak over other people at the meeting. That gets at the idea of how the best way for white people to support black people is to empower their voice not trample over it.
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