Race and class, among other things, matter; even when it comes to JDS.
Andrew Charles Kennis (holden@escape.com)
Thu, 13 Aug 1998 00:41:08 -0400 (EDT)
On Wed, 12 Aug 1998 Kayllie@aol.com wrote:
>
> Andrew - Thanks tons for clarifying. I'm sure you are quite right about the
> racial diversity of this list. Somehow your skepticism made me feel excluded;
> as if my presence on this list is invalidated because I'm not a WASP, but I'm
> making it a goal in life to let stuff like that go because trying to correct
> people's perceptions takes more time and energy that i'm willing to devote to
> it.
>
My skepticism was not a source of comfort for me in any regard, for I am
not at ease with groups that are lacking in racial and socio-economic
diversity, despite the fact that finding people assembled of such diverse
backgrounds is often a uneasy task. Because of this, though, the last
thing I'd want to do is invalidate anybody who is not a WASP. Believe me,
if we are not lacking in diversity on this list, it would be no less than
a pleasant surprise to me.
>
> I'm not sure what high school your Aunt taught at or what her experiences
> really were but I went a racially diverse high school in the Bronx and we were
> taught 'Catcher' freshman year and it was universally loved. Also, every
> single non-white person I've ever spoken to about JDS and who is familiar with
> his work loves it. So this perception that "minorities" don't feel favorably
> towards JDS really rings wrong with me and has not been my experience.
Well, I don't think I meant to imply that all or even most people with
non-WASP backgrounds (possibly a preferable term for you?) resoundingly
dislike JDS. However, for the many low income and poverty stricken
non-WASPS, it seemed to me very sensible to suspect that there would a
disinterested and/or even hostile reaction to literature smacking of
privilidged values, language, persona, and style. The high school my Aunt
teaches at in the Bronx is comprised mostly of children who come from
African American descent and who come from economic backgrounds barely
above, if not even, the poverty line. This does not guaranttee a lack of
interest on the part of my Aunt's students in her English class, but it
certainly is an obstacle for appreciation of JDS; an obstacle that my Aunt
has spoken to me about on several occassions.
Now, I think the barrage of responses on this thread whose authors usually
proclaim themselves to be the exceptions proving my so called 'all
minorities hate JDS' proclamations wrong are oversimplifying the point I
am trying to make here. First and foremost, I never meant to imply that
race alone is the sole factor of what literature we like or dislike.
Even with class included, one's class and race are not the be all and end
all of the determination of one's literary tastes. God knows there are
other influences which account for what we like or do not like in our
fiction endeavors (where we grew up, how our friends and siblings were
like, as well as our parents, and finally what our interests are, are
just a few others). Nevertheless, to deny that they have any influence at
all is to be living in a world that does not exist. Our race and our class
(not to mention our gender and sexuality) are very big factors (NOT the
*only* factors, however) in the equation of our personalities, and indeed
also have a big influence in our likes and dislikes. It decides, more
often than not, who our spouses will be. It shapes decisions of where to
live and go to school. It influences us on where we are willing to work.
Surely, there is no one in this list who is completely free from the
influence of their respective racial and socio-economic backgrounds, among
other influences as well, like sexuality, gender, and geography. If these
factors do not influence who and what we are at all, then which ones do? I
believe Tim posited that simply our 'acculturation' matters, or something
like that; to which I would respond by asking what on earth do you think
influences how our respective experiences turn out to be? Is it, like
the Greeks once thought, simply a matter of muses in the heavens spinning
yarn or however the mythological tale went? Or, does the concept of
predesination that Puritans thought highly of centuries ago make more
sense in what determines the course of our life and who and what we
become and are? Many people in modern times, especially those that come
from the ranks of post-modernism have become groups of people who no
longer fail to recognize the effects of socialization, that is the
presence of distinct and very real sociological influences on our lives
(and believe me, this is in no way a plug for po-mo philosophical thought
and theory, their weakness on class influences and scary appreciation of
cultural relativism are less than desirable for me).
Sure, I can appreciate and love reading Morrison, Ellison, Hughes,
Cisneros, Haley, and many other authors of non-WASP backgrounds. But
there's no doubt in my mind that there are many people out there who have
similar backgrounds to these authors who can probably appreciate and
relate to their works in a way that I can't, possibly if not probably
increasing the amount of enjoyment and affinity that they may have for the
respective works. This isn't to say that there aren't some people out
there with simliar backgrounds who do not like works by those authors as
much as me. Such exceptions are probably glaring. But, those exceptions,
if even in significant numbers, do not automatically disqualify a
generalization that could still bear, a significant amount of truth.
Has anybody on this list ever read 'Savage Inequalities' by Jonathan Kozol
(detailing the horrid conditions of our inner city and rural public
schools) and/or 'Black Like Me' (a story of a white man who disguises
himself as a black man down south)? Such books give readers insight into
how one's cultural and socio-economic backgrounds have enormous impact on
us in a large number of ways. To deny such an influence, is practically to
deny reality. We do not live in a color/gender/sexuality blind society,
nor do we live in a classless one (and oh how so unfortunate that is); as
such, that societal norm has an effect on all of us.....a very real and
lasting effect, that is impossible to escape.
--AK