The Fourth of July

Andre McLaurin

English 1010

Audre Lorde was a English professor. She has had several works published. Within this essay

she talks about independence and racial equality. She tends to use her senses to relate to what is
going on during this time. Why is racism an issue? Who is suppose to do something about it?

What will it take for it to be addressed?

Back in the 1940's, racism was such much alive. Audre Lorde recalls her own experience with

racism. When she was a teenager was embarked on her first trip to Washington, D.C. with her

family. At that time she and her oldest sister "Phyllis" had just graduated high school. Her sister
was suppose to have taken a trip to the nations capitol. Her first trip would be one to remember.
Just by the colors you you could pratically taste the food that was taken with them. People of

color were not allowed into dining cars of trains and she didn't know why. Phyllis wasn't allowed

to go on her class trip because of her skin color. Audre didn't know this until her dad told her in

private. From then on, her childhood was lost. The mother and the two aunts all looked white

but wasn't. The father was the the other children were of the same color.

In a sense, what was untold had to be discovered. For a child that might have been hard to do. It
was hard to see what was right before her eyes. No one ever gave reasons why things are the

way they are because she had to figure them out for herself. Everything in Washington was

different then what she was use to. The family stopped to cool off from the intense heat. They

where told that they had to get take out if they wanted something. By the reaction of the

waitress, she was embrassed and hung her head. No fuss was made and no comment

spoken. Audre didn't know what to make of the situation. Though her parents knew what was

going on, they never said a word. After that she was forced to write an anger letter to the

president of the United States about what happened. She was blinded by all the brightness that

was around her.

Eventhough the 4th of July is suppose to be "Independence Day" doesn't change the fact that

racism didn't exist. Yet racism is alive and well. People are quite to that fact unless it directly

affects you. Racial equality is a thing of the past but lingers around from time to time.

Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, 9th Edition.

Editied by Paul Eschholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark

Published by Bedford/St. Martins in 2005

Response

According to the essay that was read in class, I came to the conclusion that the author is an


everyday person just as I am. He was actually talking bout current events that are happening


around us all the time.I think that he is trying to tell us that we need to take care of home before


trying to go off and save the world. Yeah it's okay to go out and help other countries but it's just


things that are beyond our control. Why try to control someone or some place that doesn't want


to be controlled.

I'm sure that everone has seen or familiar with "Star Trek." In every episode they always try


to help out someone and always seem to lose friends in the process. That alone should have said


that this doesn't concern us and just maybe we outta forget about it. It seems as if that would be


the right thing to do. Wrong! It must be a plague because it's a lot of that going around. If


America turned it's back on countries instead of trying to help them there is no tell how much


chaos this world would or would not be in. Over in Iraq, we have hundreds maybe even


thousands of soilders dying for an unworthy cause. I say bring the troops home but it's not up to


me. Bush is trying to control the flow of oil. Why try to control when he can't even control what's


going on here in America. I don't about you but we shouldn't be trying to control other countries.


There are too many problems at home that need immediate attention.

For some people"Halloween" is a fun time. It is both a joyous occasion and a sad one.


Halloween is different, and just for a day you have a chance to be someone esle. In society today


you have many people that wish that they could be someone else. And for one day you can be


that one person. Though you want be able to affect change, you still get to express yourself


freely as that person. America is like a cover story, always in the and on the news.

Man should not be face with loneliness. A has to be crazy to want to go off and leave their

family. Yeah a man is suppose to be head of his household, but to go off for an unjust cause is


stupid. At first it seems as if it's the right thing to do. And after a while you start to get real


lonely. You began thinking to yourself that you should have stayed home and not made that


decesion. Many people that just because they join a military reserve they wont see battle.


Wrong again. You are back up and could be called at any time.

Music? What has this world come too? This author hit this directly on the head. The music


today is very degrading towards women. I think that it was Nas that said, "we are not calling


women bitches and ho's but it's how women take it. I have nothing but respect for woman but a


bitch can be a guy that talks too much or that is false. So it's just something we use as artist to


describe some people that are not doing anything or taking care of their family." If we don't


learn to respect women, then how can we expect a country to respect us. It time to buckle


down, come together, and get this right.


In the south, the majority of the people use slang to communicate with others. Using slang


can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing depending on the situation. For instance, slang has no


place in corporate America. Let's say that you are a DEA agent and you want to show your boss


that you have what it takes to hit the streets. For that purpose you need slang to help you blend


in and keep a low profile. There is nothing wrong with slang because everyone uses it no matter


who they are. You might not mean to but it slips from time to time. Slang goes hand in hand


with "proper" english. Some need both and some need just one.


Another problem that was talked about was "Homelessness." Why are we spending millions


of dollars trying to keep a country in order that's thousands of miles away? There are literally


thousands of Americans that need help but yet they get no help. This whole situation is starting


to piss me of. Take care of home. Everyone should have been told to take care of home first.


When you are young and you grow up that thought should have been branded in the back of


your head somewhere. It's hard trying to take care of two or more places instead of just one.


Maybe it's the people that are running this country that need an old fashion butt whooping. The


kind that knock sense into them every time they step out off line.


In conclusion I say stop the bull. Do what's right by America as a whole and not what is


persumed right. People make mistakes because nobody is perfect. But try to make up for it


while you still can. Life is to short to throw it all away for nothing. Use time wisely and things


might just turn around.

Cats

My group and I have all had experiences with cats. Cats are some of the best animals that you

can have but our run in's says otherwise. I've decided to be open and you should do the same so

please don't hold back.

bite

scratch

lick

chase

rub on you

smell

get in your lap

annoying

When i was younger, I became afraid of cats. I wouldn't go around them unless there was

somebody there with me. Since then cats have been my enemy. Love dogs, well certain dogs but

hate cats. I was bitten by one when I was a kid. Just plain stupid and didn't wanna listen to

anybody. Finding out the hard way is nothing that I would wish on anyone.

Lightning15

	My Flixster

Forbidden Fare

"Forbidden Fare" was the essay that I read. It was posted in "The New Yorker." The author that wrote this essay was speaking from first hand exprience. He was talking about what is was like to embrace a different culture then he was. His family was of an Islamic backgroud and his mom said that it was certain things that he and his brother weren't allowed to do. One of those things was to not by food off of the city streets. This was around the time that fast-food was coming out in Turkey and in Istanbul. He talks about how he was in fear of eating a "frankfurter" that he had bought from the buffet. He said, " I was awash in fear but also euphoric." Eating that sandwich was against his mothers every belief. As he stands in guilt, his brother just happens to come walking down the street and catches him. This was back in the 1960's when frankfurter were special dishes that you could only get in a restuarant. None the less his mother found out about it because his brother has a big mouth.(That's just my opinion) Soon after that, sandwich buffets or small vendor's started popping up all over the place as well as the national diet. The frankfurter sandwich became the height of fashion on the street. The author never gives his name, his brothers name, nor his mothers name. You would assume that since he was in fear that they were still children.
The majority of the buffets and sandwich shops opened in the European quarter. " We'd glaze through the glass at the dark-red sauce that had been simmering all day and select one of the frankfurters wallowing in it like happy water buffalo in mud." During the next twenty years or so more of Istanbul and Turkey were getting use to eating fast food. According to the auther these shops had names such as the "Atlantic" and the "Pacific." His mom believed that the meat in those hamburgers where from all different parts of animals. He talked about how hamburgers and sausages were stuff of nightmares. He gones on to say that the best sandwich he ever had was at the sportshall. Each purveyor offered there own specialties and would sell only what they themselves know and love.