Sunday, May 01, 2005
 
Spot the Spurious Assertion

Gentle reader, I present to you this review of Ntozake Shange's novel Betsey Brown and ask you to spot the spurious assertion within.

Here's a hint:
    But even if they had shared temporal as well as physical space, the Smiths wouldn't have invited the middle-class, African-American Browns for a stroll in Forest Park.
Because whites, dear friends, are inherently racist, and if you're presented with a white character from America before 1960 (and beyond, if the white character votes Republican or Libertarian or anything to the right of the middle of the Democrat party, to the present day), you can certainly assume that off-page characterization would include racism.

Perhaps I am speaking out of school, friends, as I have neither seen the movie version of nor have I read the book Meet Me In St. Louis (because, as you long time readers know, I am not a St. Louis partisan who would invite someone to meet me in this metro area; I am more of the We're In St. Louis, Now What? camp). So perhaps the DVD's deleted scenes have the Smith family's participation in the Klan's rites, or maybe the book presents a stark view of how the normal white family in the early 20th century hated and oppressed black people or wouldn't be seen publicly walking with them, for crying out loud.

Or one could assume, as I do, that the author of this piece wants to inject that little poison into the common thought, that all white Americans have always been embarrassed or oppressive of their black fellow citizens. Because once this truth is accepted, we white Americans must guiltily attone until Sisyphus perches his rock.


- posted by Brian J. @ 7:57 PM
Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home
 
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."