I don’t particularly like Macon. What he stands for and what he believes in is an admirable cause, but I just can’t get behind is execution. It starts out with the muggings. His black nationalist speech at the end does help his case in some ways I suppose, but I can’t imagine that these terrified white men at gunpoint were listening to his rant.
It expands to his comparisons. Malcolm X? Really? He was a recognized civil rights leader. As Marie mentioned in class, Macon can’t even get people interested in his poetry. Malcolm X’s whole idea was that he was not against violence when violence was inflicted on him first. Not really seeing that with Macon. For me, his incredibly arrogant demeanor detracts from his hard work.
It’s also hard to see where exactly he’s coming from. It’s easy to get behind the fight against racism, but it’s hard for me to tell if his fascination with black people, hip hop, etc. is all just a part of his personality, or a weird almost immersion experience to help him move further from his white privilege.
For now, I’m still unclear on Macon’s motives, and don’t see him as a hero quite yet.
Yeah I agree with you. He's a self declared hero with good motives but terrible execution (if that makes sense). Even with the Black Student Union, I think it's good that he wants change but the way he went about expressing his ideas was very uncomfortable to read. Hopefully it gets better from here, but as of right now I'm still very suspicious of Macon's character.
ReplyDeleteI also don't view Macon as much as a hero yet, even though the cause is obviously an important one. I think that his attitude where he believes that he is better then everyone else, including famous figures (for example, how he disregards what John Brown did at Harper's Ferry), makes him seem very arrogant and insecure about his own place in history and makes him less likable as a hero.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the you when you say that Macon doesn't seem like a hero at least during this part of the story. He talks about peace and justice yet he commits crimes and steals from innocent people. His love and expertise for African-American culture is nice but the way he tries to stand up for it could use some serious adjustments.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Macon doesn't seem like much a hero right now, and especially not after the Day of Apology. I think everyone is confused about his motives, especially since we've really only heard about Cap Anson and the LA race riots. Andre and Nique also show skepticism about why Macon is so passionate about this, and that's why they are slow to take Macon seriously (if they ever do).
ReplyDeleteMacon is like that smart kid who always goes around pissing people off, and when he gets smacked he goes running to the teacher for help. Macon knows his literature and history, but he's always going around pissing people off and getting smacked repeatedly in the head.
ReplyDeleteOne of the complicating factors with Macon is that he's so impulsive: he does have a pretty well-worked out analysis of race and privilege in America (remarkably well-developed for an 18-year-old who, by his own admission, didn't believe he had much to learn in high school, but still somehow got himself into Columbia), but his methods of social engagement are all improvised, spontaneous reactions to circumstance--he doesn't work out some Robin Hood plan of racial restitution with the robbery thing, it's just something he does without thinking because these guys in the back seat remind him of a high school bully. The motives for his high-minded racial revolution are still emotional and personal, and he throws in the militant rhetoric almost as an afterthought. The same is true with the Day of Apology--there's no larger plan at work, just a strong impulse to shake things up somehow.
ReplyDelete