Blog #6

The story of Prince is so unsettling. It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that this is the world that we live in. He was surrounded with the best opportunities that he could have through his parents, and yet there was still nothing they could do to control his death. I know that Coates isn't the only one who has experiences this because we see stories of racist violence in the news all the time. I feel thankful that I get to have to chances and privileges that I do. But, something about living in a world where this happens makes me feel guilty.

I have questioned many times why I got to be so blessed. There was never a time that I came home and didn't have food to eat. There was never a time that I didn't have proper clothes to wear. I don't ever remember my parents being super stressed about supporting our family. I had two amazing parents that loved and cared for me. I never faced any obvious discrimination. Why did I get so blessed? Why couldn't Coates be as blessed as I am? 

As Coates seeks to wrap up his letter to his son, I sense Coates just coming to the reality to the things of his life and his sons life. He doesn't ever try to sugar coat things to be better than what they are. By the end of the book, I feel like he just accepts these things as the reality of the world that he lives in. I start to wonder if Coates was just challenged to think when enough was enough. One can only fight and remain angry with how they have to live for long. I am just reminded of the broken world that we live in that people like Coates have to just accept the injustice as reality. 

Blog #5

As a Father, I can imagine you want nothing but the best for your children. I think God designed many parents with that desire to be a protector. In this section of the book, Coates tells about how he doesn't want his son to experience all the hard things in life as a black person. Although this may happen, Coates wrestles with finding his role as a father in training his son in how to best respond to the racism he will face. 

When he tells the story of how a young boy was killed from simply having a disagreement with a white man, I was shocked. I immediately thought of all the disagreements I have had with different people in my life. I don't think I ever thought about having to fear my life. The cool part in this story was the mother. I don't know what it's like to be a mother, but I have three younger sister, and I feel very protective of them. This mother had every right to get angry and seek revenge, and yet she didn't. 

This makes me admire those that are strong in their faith. I can't say that I lost anyone very close to me. I have had an easy and good life. It is easy to have faith when things are easy. I appreciate those who can't remain faithful even through something as horrible as this women had to go through. As it challenges me, we are able to see it challenging Coates as well as he gets envious of her strength.