Disobedience
Disobedience
Martin Luther king Jr. once wrote, "Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever." He conveys that African Americans have so many pent-up resentments from being oppressed for so long and dormant frustrations that if not released in non-violent ways, they will be expressed through violence. These manifestations of violence that Martin Luther King Jr. writes about are represented throughout history. They are seen in instances such as: James Baldwin throwing the mug of water at the waitress, the Harlem riots in 1943, and the looting after hurricane Katrina.
When questioning the justification of James Baldwin throwing a mug of water at the waitress, one must consider James Baldwin's up bringing and racial aggravations. James Baldwin confesses that his father's "bitterness", along with "the weight of the white people in the world"(88) were now his. Ideology guides people's thoughts and emotions and a parent's ideology has a profound influence on his or her offspring. Although James Baldwin did not have a good relationship with his father, his father's ideology rubbed off on him. Baldwin describes his rage towards whites as he illistrates his feelings towards the waitress. He states, "[he] hated her for her white face, and for her great astounded, frightened eyes. [He] felt that if she found a black man so frightening [he] would make her fright worth-while." The waitress came over to him, sounding apologetic, and told him they did not serve his kind at the restaurant. This made Baldwin want to strangle her, but instead he threw his mug of water at her shattering the mirror. All of his pent up anger exploded. James Baldwin did not know if he hated her so much because she would not serve him, or because she knew what she was doing was wrong, but would not do anything about it. James Baldwin knew he would not get served at the restaurant, but sat down to start a confrontation anyhow. James Baldwin was looking for...
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