“Ally’s Choice”
author is kind of complex there is an interviewer that follows the story,
however I think that the daughters are more of the authors. I think they come
from a place to where they are credible being that they have on hand experience
with the racial topic, and both have different perspectives. However, I do believe
they hold a lot of emotion. Each feel the way that the do because of how they
were each treated in High School, coming from an area where racial issues is a
problem. Ally, only decided that she was no longer black after she was
constantly antagonized in school embracing that part of her race, as to when
she decided she is white she received a different reaction from her peers.
Versus her sister Carlotta, who aspects who she is and takes on the verbal
abuse of her peers and sister. You can hear the emotion in each voice as they
speak; how hurt, angry, and accepting they feel.
President
Obama’s speech “A More Perfect Union” deems Obama to be credible. Knowing that
he was a senator before his presidency shows that he does in fact know some
insides and outs of the political system. His speech shows credibility as he
acknowledges he has attending some of the best schools, which makes him knowledgeable
all while living in a poor country. During Obama’s campaign there were and
still are many racial slurs towards how he would succeed or rather not succeed.
In this speech in fact he explains how he has lived in both situations and can
be credible. He seems trustworthy because of his experiences, and likeable
because he speaks with passion about his argument. However while doing
everything right logically, he still has a bit of emotion towards the topic as
he does make it personal.
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ReplyDeleteFor Ally's Choice I had many different emotions while listening to it. I felt sympathy, shock and anger. I felt bad for Carlotta and Ally, listening to everything they went through when the schools got merged. Its obviously not at all fair for people to be treated so badly just because of where they're from or the color of their skin. It was shocking when I heard that this was still going on in the late 80s and early 90s, thats crazy!! I felt kind of disappointed, not really angry, when I heard that Ally didn't say she was black, like at all. I think its wrong to lie to yourself and others about your background, you should be proud, but at the same time I totally understand why she did it. How can she be proud when people treated her so badly when she identified as black and treated her so nice when she was "white." I did, however, feel anger when she said she acted like she wasn't related to her sister and how she bullied her. Also when she was talking about her racist ex husband and how he was teaching their little boy to be racist, thats so wrong.. And she also let her son believe he is not black at all which isn't true.
ReplyDeleteAs for Obama's speech, it made me feel hopeful mostly. I know its an older speech now but it gives hope. He talks about his background which makes it more personal. He also talks about all the smaller injustices, such as not being able to get loans, black people went through back in the day, which made me feel angry/upset. Lastly, he talks of all the ways we can all work together to perfect the country, which is what made me feel hopeful.
In the podcast, Ally's Choice, I was completely surprised and baffled first by the intense racism that still exist in parts of the country and the background that Ally, her sister, and her mother all stem from. It was shocking to hear their stories of how the girls were treated in school when they were transferred to the “all white” schools and also how Ally completely disassociated herself from her family and their roots. It definitely disappointed me that Ally didn’t change when she turned “white” and instead decided to treat her sister the way that she was treated when she was black. I really think that Ally could have made a change and been a good and different example for white people in that area and show them that their racism wasn’t cool or should be allowed. Another thing that really disappointed me about Ally was that she never advocated for any type of change or social justice in the community she was living in. Instead she just hid behind a skin color, disassociated herself from her family, and moved to a different area. I thought it was so odd that she was able to abandon her real family for the acceptance of others, considering that family is such a strong and innate force in our lives it just blew me away that she would trade true love and fellowship of her family for “friends” that she knew were not good and untrue.
ReplyDeleteIn Obama's speech I felt hopeful yet not convinced. I so wish that we could stop separating communities into the “black” and the “white” or the “black” and the “Hispanic”. It just infuriates me to no end because I feel like the more we segregate the communities the further we get from acceptance of differences. I guess what I’m trying to say is although Obama has some good ideals, I really can’t agree one hundred percent with him because I feel like in his words there are still phrases that are separating us and creating animosity among the races.
In Allys choice there was a lot of things that i did not like and was just sad to hear that all of things things were happening not too long ago. It was sad to hear how ally was getting treated in her school. They would tease and pick on her just because she was black which is not fair at all. And because of this reaction from the whites it made her not even want to own up to her race, by saying she's black, which is not good either because everyone should be able to feel comfortable in your own skin and if your not then who are you really? i was mad though when her sister didn't want to stick up for her even seeing her getting bullied, instead she bullied her also just to fit in with the crowd. lastly when the dad was trying to teach his son how to be racist to black people and get him into the kkk was so disappointing because the boy is so young and he hasn't developed a sense of opinion and for you to tell him what he should feel without him actually knowing what he is doing is also wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut in Obama's speech he made me feel really hopeful about how the world will be; that everyone will eventually come together in order to fix the problems that we all face throughout this world. In doing so Obama made his speech really personal by sharing some of his stories that happened in his lifetime to tell us that he was in the same boat as us.
In “Ally’s Choice”, the Emotions are used to create empathy. The author wants us to know what she went through and why it was so hard for her. The way the story was told by an innocent child being bullied at school and then making a choice set out a strong vibe where people feel pity for her. This is one of the places where we can locate ethos. Another part of the story is when the mother is talking. She distinguishes herself as a black woman and good for her. But, when her child decided she did not want to be part of that race, she begins to coil down and describe why it hurts her. Mothers want their children to be close with them, and when they grow apart from what they believe it hurts them. These are a few examples on how they make their point using emotion.
ReplyDeleteObama from the first sentence of his speech, he brings up Patriotism. How a few settlers escaped the oppressive tyranny from which they were held in England and began anew crossing an ocean to end said tyranny. From the beginning Obama used his words to promote America and its symbolism. He used phrases such as”…patriots who had traveled across the ocean to escape tyranny”, to illustrate America’s greatness throughout the years. It makes people feel great and hopeful that things can change because we are American.
In Ally’s choice I was surprised to hear about the racism that was going on in this country but I was not surprised to hear how violent it was for her. Everything Ally went through in school must have been tough especially since she said she would never go back. The emotions Ally must have felt had to be tremendously overwhelming to the point where she could not handle it anymore and left her family to go where she was accepted. It was ridiculous that not even her own family would stick up for her. Racism is a harsh reality for everyone; it is cruel and tragic for people who go through the situations that Ally went through.
ReplyDeleteObama’s speech on the other hand was heartwarming and satisfying for me as it gave hope for our country as a nation. Obama gave us hope by using parallels such as the colonists who left England for a fresh start, and how they fought the tyranny of the king for freedom. Although Obama shares and spreads words of hope for our country in his speech the fight and battle against racism is far away because people in todays world still judge people by color as if they are items in a grocery store.
I agree with all the other commenters on their views of Ally’s Choice. Listening to Ally’s choice was incredibly sad. Hearing what the girls went through was crazy and that is not what I was expecting. I wasn’t aware that this racism and segregation stuff still went on that much. I can not get over the fact that people have had to deal with that for so many years and I have a feeling that it still goes on in some places today which makes me so sad. Being in Ally’s situation I don’t know if I would have done anything very differently. I know that other commenters were saying things about how she should have acted differently to make a change but if I was put In her shoes I would be very scared to act in a way that was not accepted considering the fact that the people were so horrible. Yes, I think that some things she did were wrong such as abandoning her family and all that but I think its just so tricky to say that things would be different when none of us had to deal with anything so harsh really ever. Obamas speech had a different affect on me and he made me believe that there could be a change in the future. He got personal and that is a very hard but smart thing to do when trying to prove a point to people and have them believe what you’re trying to say. It was definitely the opposite of the first podcast.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the majority of commentators on the views of Ally and their responses on the blog. It was sad to hear what they had to go through as well as shocking to see how intense it was. It's always easy to forget that racism still exist, but it's also ignorant to see or think that racism is excluded for blacks only. Racism will exist everywhere whether you're white, black or whatever and it's just a fact of life we have to overcome, together. However, it's disappointing that Ally treated her sister the way she did and I think the situation could have been handled much better. If people don't stand up for what's right, then we live in a society where corrupt ideology can breed freely without scrutiny from those who think otherwise. She should have stood up for what's right at the time instead of blogging about it some time later in hope of encouraging others to do what she failed to do. However, I am sympathetic to the fact that the stress and emotional toll would be overwhelming and it must have been extremely hard to overcome that fear. I can't imagine my own family not backing me up when I needed them most. Obama's speech on the other hand does what a president should do. He unites the country through his words and promises hope. Although he never comes through on anything he says the best weapon against tyranny is hope. His words make you feel safe and inspire a sense of patriotism in all of us which unites us and makes us happy to be Americans.
ReplyDeleteAlly's Choice really makes you say "WOW"...when you hear of all the nasty racism still going on and her personal experience. I know that racism is still a huge problem in our country and we as a country need to unite to overcome it. Although I do think it well never completely be defeated we need to minimize as much as we possible can. If I was in Ally's point of view I really don't think I would have done anything different. It is easy to say if you would have done something different from the sidelines but you don't and can't say how you would react if you haven't been in the situation yourself. I do see why she left, to get away and be free. Begin a new life for herself.
ReplyDeleteAfter Ally's Choice, Obama's speech had even more an affect. He outlines how we need change and need to end this. It has gone to far and "we need hope"(Barack Obama). Hopefully we will overcome this as a nation soon.
These two pieces of work seem to work off of each other. You have Ally’s Choice on one hand explaining modern day problems regarding racism within communities. Then you have, now president, Barak Obama proposing a plan to end this racist behavior. Ally’s Choice was driven by emotion and key emotions present are probably anger and sadness. Anger because of the way people are still being segregated and treated poorly today. Sadness because, someone is so against being proud of their culture, due to the repercussions of not being white in certain areas of the United States. These emotions are provoked pretty much all through out the radio blog.
ReplyDeleteNext you have Barak Obama’s race speech. The speech explains the problem in the United States and his plans to solve these problems. One can deem Obama authentic because he has served in political positions prior to running for office so we can trust that he has the abilities to implement his plan. Next because he is a man of color so we know how important this is going to be to him. Emotion is present throughout the speech and while a lot of it triggers sadness because of the way people are treated, his ideas to end the suffering bring hope. Hope that one-day people wont have to be ashamed to be who they are.
In Ally’s Choice there is a lot of emotion. Ally doesn’t want to be classified as “black” because she was getting picked on all the time. Carlotta and Clarice are okay with being classified as “black”, but Ally wants to be proud of where she came from. With Ally’s mindset being this way, makes her mom and sister very emotional because Ally’s sister was now getting bullying at school. Ally didn’t care about having friends, she just cared about what they think and also wanted to be part of a group that didn’t tease her. She would even tease her own sister about being black which causes conflict. Ally moved across town to a predominant white neighborhood of Ohio to get away of her mom, but she wont leave for good because of the love she has for her mom.
ReplyDeleteObama gave a lot of people hope about changing the world and making it a better place. He stated a lot of good points in his story that transpired in his lifetime that related a lot to the podcast story. To me, Obama has affected not only helped me but my family and friends to get through those hard times that he discussed in his speech.
Both texts are interesting in that they appeal to something I can not personally speak towards; I have never experienced racism. In my life racism has been something I have seen only as an outside observer. Any feelings I have when racism or segregation is brought up I feel as a sympathizer and little more. However, these two texts evoke very similar feelings of, almost, sadness. They both intentionally evoke feelings of sadness although in different ways. Obama speech takes a message of unity through citizenship and, as a black man of different cultures, speaks out against the racism he has experienced in this country. He uses his family, his past, his racially diverse background, to evoke feelings of sympathy and sadness through his speech.
ReplyDeleteAlly's Choice however creates a very different message. Ally's life was a culture shock as the various towns around her were so racially segregated it was something unheard of in today world, or so I thought. Ally uses her past to express the emotional pain she felt as a youth.