Racism in baseball

As a sports fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel “Angry Black White Boy”. First and foremost, I personally didn’t know that Fleet Walker was actually the first African-American to break the color line in major league baseball. For the longest time I assumed it was Jackie Robinson as that is what most people say. I looked into this a bit more and apparently there was another former slave William Edward White, who actually played a single game for five years before Walker debuted for the Blue Stockings. Still though most baseball aficionados consider Walker to be the first openly black player to play a full season.

I was not surprised when reading about all the racism and murder attempts that Walker had to go through when traveling around the country playing in various stadiums. In the history of baseball, certain stadiums like Fenway park seem to be much worse than others. The small segment titled “race” at the beginning of part 3 was eye opening for me. I didn’t realize that entire mobs like the Klu Klux Klan would attend games and wait until till after to attack. It made me wonder if this lifestyle was worth it for people like Walker who have to always be on the move in order to avoid being killed or hurt. In the opening section of Part 3 on page 267, Walker jumps onto a random cargo train so that he is never seen again in Georgia. He has no idea where he is headed but has to do this so that he isn’t killed. I can’t even imagine the guilt that Walker must feel when he realizes he friend Red Donner sacrificed his life so that Walker can escape and keep playing baseball. These first black athletes were definitely heroes for dealing with this sort of stuff while keeping up on the field but it’s important to not forget those who sacrificed their lives to make this happen.

As Mr. Mitchell said, even in today’s day and age there is still a lot of taunting and racist things that are said to baseball players in the major league. I think baseball lends itself more to this sort of stuff, as opposed to a basketball or football, as baseball games are more of an experience where fans are out chanting and singing and experiencing the stadium atmosphere while watching the game. In recent news, After the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park on May 2, Orioles All-Star Adam Jones said he endured a barrage of racist slurs and actions as he was manning his position in center field. He claims that a fan threw a bag of peanuts at him and called him the N-word a handful of times.

Angry Black White Boy chapter 2

So Far I have enjoyed the opening chapters of the novel “Angry Black White Boy”. In particular, chapter 2 gave me a glimpse into what I will be experiencing in a few months when I first arrive at college and meet my roommate. This is definitely an exciting time and one that I am nervous for too. On page 28, Macon appears to be worried about this initial meeting when the narrator says “all summer he’d been fretting this moment, afraid that when faced with his roommate in the physical, he’d chicken out and not say what he promised himself he would”. Teenagers growing up usually hope to room with someone they will become best friends with and Macon seems to be trying to make a connection with Andre too quickly. He is worried about not coming across too strong but he fails. Andre is weirded out by all of this and doesn’t really know what to say. After they first meet, Macon informs Andre that he requested him as a roommate and that Cape Anson was his grand-father. Andre doesn’t really know what to say to any of this.On page 31 when Macon is talking about his own life and purpose, Andre says he “didn’t feel like listening to his roommate relive himself”. This line has other implications but basically Andre is already annoyed.

Andre however does feel a connection with Macon that he can’t deny. On page 31, Andre tells Macon that “we are total strangers”. As he says it, he feels the first drop of truth melt away from the statement. He doesn’t say it out loud, but he acknowledges that there was a “strange kinship between them, and he’d be lying to himself if he ignored it”. Andre tries to play it of like he doesn’t think they have any connection, but deep down he is curious about the past and wants to address these things after some “rhythms of cohabitation had been established” as he says on page 32.

So in conclusion, one takeaway for me is that it probably isn’t the best idea to tell my roommate that I specifically requested them and stalked their entire family history. Even if it is true, I might want to subtly bring this up over a period of time, rather than telling my roommate this the first time I meet them like Macon does.

Interview scene in "After"

So far the novel Room has changed my perspective on a lot of different things. I’ve always been a huge fan of watching these TV talk shows where people like Ma talk about experiences they have had. 48 hours and Survivor are a few of my favorites. But after reading the interview scene in the section “After” I have begun to realize how fake and scripted some of these interviews really are. Ma doesn’t even really want to give the interview and when she thinks about pulling out, she reminds herself that it is for Jack’s college tuition. When hearing these stories, I often forget that the people involved in telling them may often just doing it for the money and not because they truly want to share their story with the world. After all these are sensitive topics and many wouldn’t want to share their experiences anyways.

Even little things like when the puffy haired lady stops to film and corrects her line make all of this seem overly rehearsed and not very genuine. Just the entire fact that the interviewee is controlling to conversation and not really allowing Ma to speak about what she feels is important makes the entire interview seem like its already planned out.

Additionally, it seems like the types of questions that the interviewer is asking are geared toward getting a reaction out of the interviewee in order to entertain an audience. The puffy hair woman in this particular scene keeps trying to bring up things that are obviously making Ma mad. She asks personal questions and even suggests that Ma made a mistake in raising Jack. Ma is obviously affected by all of this but the lady seems keeps pushing to get a reaction out of Ma. I personally feel like asking these sorts of personal questions on TV and having someone relive troubling experiences for the entertainment of others is not a great idea.

Next time I watch a show like this, I will definitely see things a little differently.