damali ayo writes an article that is a double-edged sword. "I Can Fix It!!" is a great satirical piece that reflects how racism can be naively dealt with. Those who are entrenched in views of white and colored people might genuinely believe this article because first glance, this article is genuine. ayo claims to have interviewed 2,000 people and with quotes such as "This is such a great piece" and "Tough, direct and no-nonsense" on the first page, who wouldn't believe this article as telling the truth and nothing but the truth? However, as nrnaik mentions, the article does undermine itself. Why continue using terms as "white" and "colored" when talking about how to deal with the "other race" when one is trying to get rid of racism? ayo points out to how we think in this politically correct world: we mustn't try to offend anyone; colored people are just as important as us (white people).
ayo does a good job pointing out what people do when they are trying not to act in a manner that would lead others to believe that they favor one race over another. Advice such as "Don't bring up racism just because you are talking to a person of color" and "Do not view people of color as 'different' as if white people are the 'norm'" imply that the reader must walk egg-shells around the issue of race when talking with someone who is not of the same race. People who have not been exposed might find this the best way: why confront something that you have the "advantage" in? Purposely making friends who are different races makes you look good, superficially, but the quality and honesty behind those friendships are what truly matter. I would be curious to see how many students at Emory would take this article seriously at face value.
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I agree with the comments made in this and in other posts about "I Can Fix It," insofar as I see the author undermining the project in the methods used. The biggest problem that I can see in Ayo's approach is the use of the dichotomy that we have spoken of in class. Race is defined as "white" and "colored," and instructions on how to behave and stop racism are doled out accordingly. While racism still exists (much to the surprise of some people), is this really the way to combat it? If once again people are divided on the basis of skin color, and behavior is also divided along this line, do we not see this as another way of separating and talking about difference in too narrow a category?
As we discussed in class and as many people have written about in their posts, "I Can Fix It" is an article that troubles me. First, I have to say I did not realize that this was a satirical piece and I was stunned by the suggestions that the author made. I especially did not like how the article was split into directions for those of white ethnic backgrounds and colored. Separation of these categories is the whole reason that racism exists, and the I feel that everyone should do the same thing in order to fix the problem at hand.
The part especially in terms of doing research about a different culture and ethnicity also bothers me. I do not thing that people should be ashamed about having interest in other cultures. When the article suggested that it should not be something you make known to the person you are talking to, I found this rather sketchy. I understand not blurting out that you did research and then listing everything you found, but there is no reason that certain topics cannot be discussed.
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