Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan Johnson
Quotes:
“…King uttered the exasperated plea that would become famous as it echoed across the long history and deep divide of racism in the United States. ‘Can’t we all just get along?’” (p. 1)
Johnson describes the plea that Rodney King made when he was brutally attacked by the police. The relevance of this quote in relation to the text is that King simply wanted an answer to why he was being shown this inhumane violence. Johnson goes on to discuss how we are a complex species, and the interaction King endured with the police force proved it to be true.
“Although Du Bois was correct that color would be a defining issue in the twentieth century, the problem of ‘getting along’ doesn't stop there.” (p. 3)
This quote is on page 3, and it is describing how it is not just as simple as humans getting along with each other; there are several other factors Johnson explains, such as gender, sexual orientation, race, and more that divide people into categories, which makes it harder for us to “get along.”
“We are prisoners to something, but it's closer to our own making than we realize. And we, therefore, are far from helpless to change it and ourselves.” (p. 4)
On page 4, Johnson explains how we as a human race are more than capable of permitting change, and being that change. A little bit further into the reading on pages 5 and 6, he talks about his dogs, which I found relatable and interesting because he relates them to people. He explains that dogs are simple creatures, and when he reflected on his own life, he said that his own species is troubled most of the time. It made me wonder, do we make our own lives difficult without even realizing it? Or, could our lives be simpler if we really tried?
