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“Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#71

Post by CDRdude »

tomjen3 wrote: post #34
lclarkmichalek wrote: post #3

> At one-hour intervals the night guards paced past every room. Each time I heard the approaching footsteps, I jumped into bed and feigned sleep. And as soon as the guard passed, I got back out of bed onto the floor area of that light-glow, where I would read for another fifty-eight minutes—until the guard approached again. That went on until three or four every morning. I did something similar as a child, with my gu…

Good parents will learn not to listen too closely to whether their children are asleep or reading - great parents will make sure the flashlight batteries are periodically replaced.

Not necessarily. Getting enough sleep is incredibly important.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#72

Post by djtriptych »

tomjen3 wrote: post #69
poolpool wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't politely ask your oppressors to give you the rights they have taken away from you.

Why not? It worked for King, it worked for Ghandi. Do you really think there could have been something like the civil rights laws -- born primarily of white people -- if the primary black person had been X and not King?

It is patently absurd to give MLK's non-violent movement 100% of the credit for civil rights reform. The political situation during that time was unbelievably complex, and the changing attitudes of a turbulent nation cannot be so simply explained.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#73

Post by omgtehblackbloc »

serf wrote: post #40
dannypgh wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would love to see a citation for what you mean by "reactionary racism" - especially from the period in Malcolm's life after he split with the NOI in favor of Sunni Islam. It is true that there are many reactionary elements of NOI ideology and I'm sure you can find all sorts of snippets of quotes from when Malcolm was with them, but not only did he walk away from them, he ultimately gave his life in part because of hi…

Klansmen and corrupt police from the 60s were racist. So was Malcolm X. "Usually the black racist has been produced by the white racist. In most cases where you see it, it is the reaction to white racism, and if you analyze it closely, it's not really black racism... If we react to white racism with a violent reaction, to me that's not black racism. If you come to put a rope around my neck and I hang you for it, to m…

"When one condemns a group for the actions of a few -- i'll never believe that to be correct."

Racism in America is not an act, it's a caste system. It's not something you do, it's a form of social structuring. Black people are systematically disadvantaged, and white people receive privileges due to their race.

So you're wrong that racism is just "the actions of a few". This implies that you are a neutral white person, and shouldn't be blamed for hate crimes or whatever, which are done by a minority of bad white racists whom you don't even like.

In fact, the caste system of racism is maintained by all of us, in the same way the rest of the status quo is maintained. Mostly just by people being comfortable enough with the status quo that they don't try very hard to change it, and end up reinforcing it without even realizing. The caste system puts in place all the preconditions for the police brutality, the hate crimes, the denial of employment, etc. None of those things could happen without the caste system supporting and incentivizing them.

So we're all responsible for the existence of racism - the whole society. But in particular, consider the group of people who systematically benefits from said caste system, and who despite having drastically more power, are doing pathetically little to eliminate the caste system.

Were I looking at the situation from afar, it would seem completely reasonable to say "hey, fuck those people".

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#74

Post by moo »

aurelian wrote: post #65
moo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Novacole is not saying violence and hatred toward white people is okay. The poster is distinguishing between prejudice and the term racism. Racism has a power component. Powerless people cannot make another race face racism as a group because they do not have the societal power to effect laws, police, institutional behavior.

Your definition of racism is at odds with common dictionary definitions of the word. Leftist academics have tried to redefine the word.

As I posted above quoting from Wikipedia: "One view holds that racism is best understood as 'prejudice plus power' because without the support of political or economic power, prejudice would not be able to manifest as a pervasive cultural, institutional or social phenomenon." To scientifically address issues affecting people as a group and not as individuals, anti-racist people would see the benefit of acknowledging the relevance of power to the perpetuation of racism being institutionally enforced. To deny the power component of racism is to make racism an argument about individual behavior which will never progress beyond "he said she said" which is not how science is done. Science is not done at the individual level but at the group level.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#76

Post by wisty »

omgtehblackbloc wrote: post #73
serf wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Klansmen and corrupt police from the 60s were racist. So was Malcolm X. "Usually the black racist has been produced by the white racist. In most cases where you see it, it is the reaction to white racism, and if you analyze it closely, it's not really black racism... If we react to white racism with a violent reaction, to me that's not black racism. If you come to put a rope around my neck and I hang you for it, to m…

"When one condemns a group for the actions of a few -- i'll never believe that to be correct." Racism in America is not an act , it's a caste system . It's not something you do, it's a form of social structuring. Black people are systematically disadvantaged, and white people receive privileges due to their race. So you're wrong that racism is just "the actions of a few". This implies that you are a neutral white per…

What if you are wrong?

You seem to think it's important to believe there is a caste system, which is moving close to Abrahamic Religion territory - you have to believe because (sometimes irrational) faith becomes the very bedrock of your belief system.

You you don't believe, you are part of the problem, right?

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#77

Post by sanderjd »

CDRdude wrote: post #71
tomjen3 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good parents will learn not to listen too closely to whether their children are asleep or reading - great parents will make sure the flashlight batteries are periodically replaced.

Not necessarily. Getting enough sleep is incredibly important.

That's true, but it's very unclear to me whether it's more important than supporting the rare and fragile passion of the childhood reader.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#78

Post by poppysan »

tomjen3 wrote: post #31
dwolfson20 wrote: post #2

Everyone should really just read the entire Autobiography. http://www.amazon.com/The-Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Haley/d... Also, they should spell "Malcolm" correctly. :)

Is it still worth reading for somebody who despise the man? Both what he was (a robber) and what he became?

It seems to me, in many cases, hate for Malcolm X is usually centered around his view of militancy as a viable option and his connection to the Nation of Islam.

America was established through violent militancy, so I don't understand the first point. Many great conflicts have proven that as a viable solution.

The second point makes many people uncomfortable because of the NOI's vocal opinions of the white race as a whole. While the "white devil" philosophy can be supported with case studies of deplorable acts against blacks, such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, lynchings, to name a few, it was and is a gross exaggeration that is becoming less and less supportable. Malcolm X, later in life, experienced a different side of whites and race, that later led him to shun those negative beliefs.

I admire him for his zest for learning, and his courage to have a militant position in a time of great injustice. I was born in a much better America, and have still faced racism that made me feel worthless, defenseless, and angry -- but I still hesitate to even call out racism for fear of negative reprisal.

While I don't think you or any contemporary "non-racist" white person is responsible for those acts, denial of the past and its lingering effects, and hatred for those who fought to end it doesn't help. Without the fear of violent revolution, I question if we would have progressed as far as we have.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#79

Post by bane »

tomjen3 wrote: post #31
dwolfson20 wrote: post #2

Everyone should really just read the entire Autobiography. http://www.amazon.com/The-Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Haley/d... Also, they should spell "Malcolm" correctly. :)

Is it still worth reading for somebody who despise the man? Both what he was (a robber) and what he became?

Yes. And it will probably be one of the most instructive exercises you can engage in with walking a mile in another person's shoes.

Re: “Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

#80

Post by jmaygarden »

pekk wrote: post #61
serf wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're comparing 1960s America to colonial (and later) America. It's certainly possible that the damage done later on was greater, as there was a greater disbursement of knowledge, media, and information during a time in which the country was known as the land of opportunity, the melting pot. A speech calling for violence in the time of newspapers and television is surely more damaging than that same speech given in…

People give such speeches today in mainstream right-wing rallies and are not criticized for it at all, let alone as harshly as Malcolm X is criticized. That's apples to apples since it's still the time of newspapers and television.

Do you have examples of recent "mainstream" right-wing rallies that call for racial violence? That sounds absurd. I'd like to know more about it.
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