So, I went to the Dodge Poetry Festival today (while the rest of you, unfortunately, were stuck at school). It was really fun and interesting and trippy, but my favorite part was observing the poets and discovering how they used language for themselves. One of the poets, Lucille Clifton, said something that really resonated with me. She said (and I am paraphrasing) that one of the biggest surprises she ever experienced was discovering that people could tell her things that were not true. One day, she said, someone used a racial slur against her, and she knew inherently that she was not what she was: she was not a stereotype, and she was not someone to be looked down upon. It was refreshing and inspiring to know that there are people who do not simply accept words (and their definitions) that are thrust upon them.
Thoughts?
-Paige Walker-
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6 comments:
In Lucille Clifton's case, she has formed her own definition of herself. Thus, any other one that may be thrust at her seems inadequate in her point of view. If she HAD defined herself negatively, then she would have agreed with the one who offered the insult. Yet because she sees herself as a strong, independent woman (as she should), she simly is unable to abide by the other speaker's terms.
I agree..it IS refreshing to see people who do not simply accept what knowledge is thrust upon them. But are we not expected to do that in our academic surroundings? Do we have the right to change this? Is the cirriculum imposing upon us obscure falsities and unfair views?
Just a thought..
(Sam Maliha)
This seems like one of those situations where we take what we're given and find our own truth in it. We seperate what we should take as (because I can't think of a better word right now) fact and what we can rule out as complete rubbish. Someone can try to tell you what you are, but you are never the thing they're labeling you as until you you believe you are what they're telling you are. Every person has the ability to decide to be offended or not being offended based on their sense of self and ability to reason what is substantial, what is ignorant, and what truly just doesn't matter.
Rereading this makes it sound a lot better in my mind.
(Megan West)
I don't think that knowledge is being thrust upon us in our academic suroundings, that is, not in terms of viewpoints. Take English for example. All these vocab definitions and etymologies may be thrust upon us, but it really is up to us whether to apply them outside of class. As for 'obscure falsities and unfair views' I cannot really think of how the fit. Nothing taught is really 'false'. They all have some sort of 'fact' to them (I put that word in quotations because I do not wish to go through that discussion again). Also, there aren't really any 'unfair' views. It just merely happens to be different views that have a negative sort of connotation. Maybe I'm phrasing this the wrong way but that's what I think.
I feel like I've only been posting questions recently, but here is another one.
Where do you draw the line between what is socially accepted and the definitions/"truths" that you choose to accept?
Many if not all the people in the world are racist. Thus, they would have more (personal) "racist" definitions than what is socially accepted. Does that still make them "true?"
Everyone has his own definitions to words; therefore, we cannot specify where the line exists. However, the consensus on the definitions obtained by observing people's responses to hearing that word collectively decides what is socially accepted or not. The principle of abstraction in dictionary making applies here.
Since no two people see the same 'truth', there is no definite line that can distinguish the different intensity of racist slurs. What I'm trying to explain is that the same racist comment can have different meaning due to factors such as (not limited to) the ethnicity of speaker, the familiarity between the speaker and the listener, or the surrounding environment.
To the last part of Grace’s question, my response is that each individual’s interpretation decides the truthfulness of the racial slur for himself since everyone has his own version of ‘truth’ and definitions.
(Jennifer Park)
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