Week Four: Racism and Experiences?

            In the novel The Flowers looks like the only people that have problems with blacks is the “all American” public. People that have a good collection of guns, like to hunt and hang animals, expect their wives to stay home and cook dinner for their husbands seem to have a huge problem adjusting to the new era where blacks finally get their rights. It does not matter what year this novel was set in; the 60’s, 90’s, or even now, racism was and is a great factor in United States. For some unknown reason Cloyd hates blacks and is willing to take his hate to extreme levels. He says “Were in some dangerous times… Any of them come in, we’re protected. You understand?” (227). in this passage he pointed out towards a couple of dual barrel shotguns near each door of the apartment. In the whole house he seems to be worried most while Sonny and Sylvia budged only to the thought of the rage outside.

Sonny reminds me of myself when I used to live in Poland. Always wondering and watching African Americans but never made a racist remark about them. In Poland, four years ago I was taking a trolley with a bunch of friends to a concert to see Snoop Dogg perform. The trolley stopped at a station for a couple minutes and I noticed across the tracks a black teenager wearing black jeans,  eather jacket and dreadlocks on his head. When I looked around him a group of white people were standing around him and was looking at him like he was standing nude. No body made any remarks,
including my friends. I do not think that this was an act of racism mainly because in this country there are less than one percent of blacks. It is the curiosity that drove the people to stare, just like Sonny. When I arrived in United States I was discriminated for being white. When I was twelve I have heard of stories where a clan called Ku Klux Klan hates every race, especially blacks. I feel just like Sonny… questioning why do groups like KKK kill people of different race and religion even though this group itself is made of different cultures.