The Effects Of Slavery On A Macro Level - 1682 Words

If we think of Slavery we think of it as an event in our history that degrading blacks, and only blacks. We, at least I don’t think of it as effecting whites, but if we look at the two authors Baldwin and Coats we see slavery and racism can be viewed on a whole different level. Blocking out stereotypes Coates and Baldwin give us an inside look on what it was actually like like to own or to be a slave. Baldwin, talks about the effects of slavery on a micro level, and talks about how it affects people individually, and how even if someone doesn’t believe in it, they can be taken over by the idea of racism without realizing it; how racism can even affect the white man, saying that you can become the monster that you hate. . Coates, on†¦show more content†¦It was a sign of rebellion in which people did not want. Racism was a social norm that had to be accepted, but after a long time of acting a certain way, you start to believe that that is the real you. Soon , white men that never considered themselves as being racist before, started to believe that they were higher then blacks. Baldwin writes about a man named Jesse who claims that he hates black people, and that they are â€Å"animal like†. Although he claims this to be true, he goes out every night in his car looking for black women in the town to have sex with. He thinks of himself as higher then blacks, but still associates himself with them. He admits that he enjoys their music, and he doesn’t completely despise everything they do. He still thinks of himself as better then them because he associates them with animals. Yet he continues to have sex with a different black girl almost every night. â€Å"He felt that he would like to hold her, hold her, hold her, and be buried in her like a downtown to face those faces, good Christ, they were ugly! And never have to enter that jail house again and smell that smell and hear that singing; never again feel that filthy, kinky, greasy hair under his hand, never again watch those black breasts leap against the leaping cattle prod, never hear tho se moans again or watch that blood run down or the fat lips split or the sealed eyes