Writing Log 4A

Patrick Clark

Ms Graysmith

Eng 151 Writing Log 4a

18/4/2011

Letters from Birmingham Jail

I think that King’s main goal was to try and get more support from the church by showing them the severity of the events that are taking place around him. He wants them to understand why he is doing what he is, and argue that it is going to take more than what is being done by the church as of now to get the rights they morally deserve.

A part of the reading that really stood out to me was on page 69 where the Clergy write King mentioning how they urge law enforcement to protect the city from violence, and where they say that rights consistently denied should be negotiated in the courts and local leaders, rather than in the streets. I find it ironic that the clergy men comment on the law enforcement protecting the city from violence when it is the law enforcement that is creating the violence. King even talks about seeing police brutality all around him, and I don’t understand how he is inciting hatred and violence by peacefully demonstrating. Anything violence that happens during the demonstration is on the shoulders of whoever is choosing to be violent, rather than the ones who are choosing to be peaceful.

My second hotspot was on page 83 where king says “There was a time when the Church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed in”. In the early days of Christianity the Church would actively defy the government (Roman Emperors) by speaking there mind in what they believed rather than idly sit by, and tell its worshippers to do whatever the law told them. At one point it was illegal to be a Christian and to not deny your religion in court would have you put to death. St. Perpetua actively went against the law and was sentenced to death in the gladiator pits for it. My point being that the Church shouldn’t be so passive, and that they should be more active in fighting for the rights of the repressed.

Reflection

I can’t say I have ever been treated unfairly due to my lack of ability, seeing as the idea of not always winning completely confounds me, although I can recollect many times in the past where I have been treated quite unfairly and poorly due to my overwhelming winning capabilities. During family get togethers most of my relatives will get together and play Call of Duty or Halo, and not let me play because I always win. There were also many times I can remember when I was in middle school where I was at a friend’s house and would start playing video games and they would get mad, because I was so much better than them. In particular I remember two specific times when one person ended up crying and another getting so angry they tried to get me to leave their house.

Sexual Violence as a tool of Genocide

I think that the main point Smith is trying to get across is the role racism plays in Sexual violence. She’s trying to say that sexual violence is different between white women and colored women, and that the type of sexual violence usually described is accurate for white women, but a completely different experience than what many colored women face.

The first hotspot in the reading that really came to my attention was at the end of page 109 and the beginning of page 110 where Smith says “women of color do not just face quantitatively more issues when they suffer violence but their experience is qualitatively different than that of white women”. I think the author was trying to say that, although it is easy to see how women of color aren’t as well represented or supported as white women, not everyone knows about the difference in treatment of women of color. When a woman of color is raped, she is raped as if there is nothing wrong in doing so, and is treated physically worse, as if they are doing a public service in raping them, because people see them as inferior to whites.

The second part of the reading that really stood out was her quote of Laura Bush on page 118 “The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of Women.” I find this to be a bit of an over consideration of what Laura Bush said. It’s as if she’s trying to make it seem the War in the Middle East is all about freeing women. I feel the bigger concern were the terrorists, although I could be mistaken here. I’m pretty sure that we aren’t targeting women to bomb in an attempt to free them. The idea is that by getting rid of the Taliban, many of the things they did wouldn’t be happening any more, like raping women. I’m pretty sure we aren’t aiming our bombs at the women in an attempt to free them.

Reflection

The difference in the experience one might have doing the same thing, only because of their race is often overlooked according to the author and I agree. When applying to colleges or job’s, it is commonly thought that blacks and minorities are under privileged, and it gets on my nerves when people say that, seeing as affirmative action makes it much easier for them to get a job. White males are treated unfairly by being on the opposite end of affirmative action. If you have to males applying to medical school; one is a white male with a 3.6 GPA and the second is a black male with a 2.8 GPA, and the black male gets accepted while the white male with the better GPA is denied. If you are undergoing surgery one day would you feel good knowing that an “under privileged” black man is operating on you or would you rather have the white male with a 3.6?