2. Hotspots

-“We must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding brotherhood.”

(pg.73, par. 1, Socrates quoted by King)

I chose this hotspot because it was a comparison that was a good representation of what King stood for, nonviolence. Although he was quoting Socrates, I feel as if Martin Luther King always had a poetic way with words, which is what made him even more inspirational, and I do love that about him.

-“But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your Negro brothers smothering in an air-tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society”

(pg.74, par. 2, King)

This hotspot was so powerful that it caught my attention immediately. I think that this was the peak of King’s because he continues to feed off of example after example, explaining each and every injustice he has encountered in his lifetime. This caught my attention because I never realized how severe the brutality was until I continued reading and noticed how long the list of examples was that he was giving.

-“Rape as nothing less than a tool of patriarchal control undergirds the philosophy of the white-dominated women’s anti-violence movement.”

(pg.108, par.1, Smith)

I found this hotspot interesting because I personally do not see rape as just less than a tool of patriarchal control; I see rape as so much more. I disagreed with the statement because although rape is commonly defined as a control or power issue, I think that it is also an emotional and personal issue that might not always have to do with power and control.

-“It is inadequate, she argues, to investigate the oppression of women of color by examining race and gender oppressions separately and then putting the two analyses together, because the overlap between racism and sexism transforms the dynamics.”

(pg.109, par.1, Crenshaw quoted by Smith)

I chose this hotspot because I never took the time to realize that there was such a strong correlation between race and gender oppressions. After reading this essay I see how oppression towards women differs from race to race, and I think that making this correlation was an important part of Smith’s research and studies.