Civil Rights Reflection

What did I learn this unit? The answer is a lot of things. But I think the main point is that if you are being repressed, the only way to get the recognition and respect you deserve is to fight for it. But fighting isn't just physical combat. It can be fasting, or sit-ins, or parades and marches. It can even be just speaking your mind and being open about yourself everyday. I think it's interesting that people put under the same circumstances can fight back somewhere between anarchic rioting and peaceful protesting. However, peaceful protesting has a more positive retroactive connotation.

Has America changed at all from the time of slavery, to the civil right era, to now? Yes it has, but only slightly. The truth is, America has a long way to go before reaching the goal of true equality. America was founded by the fight for equality. American colonists wanted to be equal to the Englishmen. Slaves didn't want to be treated like livestock. Colored people wanted the same rights as whites. Various other groups wanted the same recognition as the ruling class. We have never in our history, gained true equality for a single moment. It's a threatening but very possible thought, that maybe equality is an asymptote that we can never reach.

Today, it's very clear to see examples of inequality of the under represented. One example of this is the Occupy movement. It is a protest (sit-in) of one group feeling underprivileged compared to another group. The other example I have is about gay marriage. Gay people have had to fight for the right to marry the person they loved. People who oppose gay marriage are clearly not working toward the goal of equality because they refuse to allow one group a privilege that they enjoy themselves.