Monday, November 20, 2017

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. 

2 comments:

  1. Throughout this book, I wondered what impact it was going to have on Coates' son someday. Will it help prepare his son for the real world better? Coates got to where he is the hard way by learning everything on his own with his own experiences. I hope that this book will better help his son get a better grip on everything, and maybe he can find a better way to overcome some of these obstacles that he will face.

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  2. I totally agree with your sentiment of questioning why you were so blessed. I completely feel the same. It seems unfair that another human would have to be born, without conscious decision, into a situation that is full of suffering and pain. I want this sentiment to be channeled into my desire to help others who do not have the advantages that I have had. By being so blessed, I would hope that I could be a blessing to another.

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