Joey Veurink's Coates Blog

 The reading starts with him explaining how his uneasiness about his race and how would be treated followed him to Paris, yet nothing sinister ever happened. I've always been curious just how much of the racism and bigotry was specific to America. I thought it was interesting that he almost escaped to Paris for the good of his son, even though he's talked often about how the adversity has helped him grow as a person. It seems to me like a bit of a dilemma between having his kid learn about the world the hard way, or protect him from the things that caused him so much suffering. His view of America is one that is seen through "eyes created in Baltimore," and because of it, he sees it as an evil place. It's hard for me to accept that he would view me as part of this conglomerate. I feel as if some level of generalization is being done that makes me feel as if I'm worse than I am. As if I subscribe to the racist ideals and lack of sympathy for injustice. It's...

 Joey Veurink Pg. 101-125 Between the World and Men Response This part of the reading starts by talking about how the destruction of black bodies is American Heritage. I found his explanation to be pretty compelling for why he would think that. It’s in our countries history that we were built off of the backs of slaves, and blood was shed on a high level in order to reverse that. It made me sad to hear about how finite he saw our souls and minds. It does explain how all of the injustice would be magnified for him because of it. He has a really beautiful paragraph on page 107-108  that talks about how being born black give his son a clearer view of life and its struggles. He talked to him about how he shouldn’t try to pretend white or measure himself against those who try and act white. His story about meeting some people in Chicago that were around 100 years old was inspiring yet tragic. He talked about how they had overcome the odds, worked hard, and became pillars of the...

      I thought the first part of the reading continued to show me the type of world that I lived in as a white man where I've been pulled over numerous times and never worried about death at all. I thought the part about how he would've rather been shot in Baltimore than by Cops because then there might've been justice gave a good vision of how he operated as a person. If he was going to die, he would rather have it happen by a criminal if it meant justice would be dispensed. He makes a point that police reform is a much more daunting task than people realize. He claims that the police are a representation of America's larger fears and worries, that it's impossible to be something enforced by a minority group of ideas. His story of the killing of Prince Jones really felt heartbreaking. His lack of belief in a higher power made the whole experience seem additionally pointless and saddening. The details of the shooting and the lack of punishment experienced by the co...