After reading the first-hand accounts of segregation in Remembering Jim Crow, it is clear that
fear governed how Blacks maneuvered throughout the segregated South based on the
stories provided in the book. However, this led me to wonder if fear was
equally felt by Caucasians in the South. Although it is hard to fathom that
fear can cause a person to hang and torture another human being, I believe that
fear combined with ignorance and hatred played a major role influencing the
behavior of White southerners.
Similarly to Blacks, everything they had known as fact and
normal drastically changed. Blacks were no longer their property, commodities
they could easily exert control and power over. Instead, for Whites, Blacks were
now a threat to their normalcy, their livelihood. The definition of fear states
that it can stem from both imaginary and real sources; thus, when put into a
perceived fearful situation, one must make the decision either to act or not.
In acting, that person often chooses survival. Despite the realness of the unfathomable
treatment African Americans endured, their reaction to the fear was survival by
tolerance; while White’s responded to an imaginary fear of Black superiority by
extreme force and brutality.
Whites, who no longer had the economic incentive to value
African Americans, reacted in what I believe to be a desperate measure to
retain perceived power. In no way do I condone the brutality of their actions
in harming others and taking the law into their own hands, but I do see a
connection to the old slaveholder mentality. Coercion and inhumane punishments
were used against slaves, but because of their value they were often simply
punished rather than killed. Fast forward to post slavery, Blacks are no longer
of value to Whites. Instead they are to be seen as human, as equals. How does
one react to that? The only way White
Southerners have been socialized to think- exert more power, more control, more
force. African Americans were hung during slavery, often in front of other
slaves to make an example of the disobedient slave that was punished. Lynching
and other acts of violence stemmed from the same concept just on a larger
scale: evoke fear into Blacks so that they will stay in their place; a place of
inferiority; a place in which they are not a threat to White superiority.
Fear, whether the threat is imaginary or real, is a powerful
emotion. Fear can cause a group of people to tolerate the most severe acts of
inhumanity, in order to protect their children and newly gained freedoms. And,
fear can also cause others to act as uncivilized, paranoid, hate-filled individuals
that take the lives of innocent people. Do you believe fear influenced the
decisions of White southerners?
I definitely agree that fear played a large part in the decisions that White Southerners made towards Blacks. Fear of what White society would say and do if some Whites began to treat Blacks like humans, and fear of change are two significant factors that motivated the harsh and cruel treatment of Blacks. However, I do not believe that fear is the sole factor. Like you Destiny, I believe that ignorance is another important factor governing the brutal treatment that we read about in Remembering Jim Crow. Racism ran rampant in everyday life of White southern families. White Children grew up knowing that they were superior to Blacks. It was ingrained in their minds that the color Black meant dirty, unworthy, stupid and inferior. How can one law change how these children, who now are adults, think?
ReplyDeleteDuring the early 20th century, something so monumental and scandalous like equality for Blacks and Whites, takes time to get used to. So many people do not like change because it means that things will be different from how they were in the past. Take today for example, people are still attempting to wrap their minds around gay marriage and Southerners remain unaware and resistant to the notion. Any new concept or progressive ideology always has slow acceptance. This unwillingness to change, and the ignorance to maintain the inhumane image of Blacks caused Southern Whites to retaliate against Blacks in forceful ways. Still ingrained in my mind is the story of a young Black woman who attempted to runaway from her slave owner in North Carolina. When she was found, she was beaten, her legs were shackled and she was forced to stand near the fireplace to blister. Her owner then, proceeded to rub salt in her blisters. This kind of cruelty only happens because of fear and ignorance.
I absolutely believe fear was a primary motivating factor in the mistreatment of African Americans. The fact is, everyone is afraid of change. The entering of a whole new population of people in to the workforce meant accepting that any personal opportunities for finding or maintaining jobs would eventually decrease.
ReplyDeleteFor whites, there was comfort in the fact that there would always be a group of people beneath them. In class, we referenced a social floor constructed by slavery beneath which whites could not fall. I think that on some level whites were worried that cracking this floor would mean that whites would crash to the ground at the same time the African Americans ascended. It is very difficult to face the possibility that your personal status will fall if you do not fight back. The fear of sinking status was undoubtably a motivating factor in the horrible actions against blacks, because the determination of whites to remain dominant outweighed reason and moral standards.
Whites portrayed blacks to be much more violent than reality, because whites modified their own psychological fear of losing white supremacy and its benefits into a physical and tangible fear of black individuals. Such fear causes emotions such as irrational anger and panic to rise to the surface at the slightest provocation, something as simple as whistling, and the consequence is ferocity.
Though I hardly believe fear to be the only initiating factor in negative white responses to blacks, it is definitely a significant dynamic to consider.
I definitely believe fear was a contributing factor to the decisions of many White southerners. As you mentioned, the institution of slavery created a major political, social, economic, and educational barrier between Whites and Blacks. After the emancipation, Whites lost every bit of legal entitlement to the Black man, a scary thought. How would Blacks conduct themselves in a society where they are now free? The idea of granting citizenship to a people who had been persecuted for hundreds of years could be intimidating to any person who partook in the persecution. The fear of White southerners is understandable; however, their means of addressing this fear was completely deplorable and dehumanizing. Legally African American’s were free; nonetheless, they were still prisoners to the same political, social, economic, and educational constraints of society that were customary during slavery. Whites still felt the need to hold on to some sense of entitlement over Black body. Apparently, there was no better way to achieve this power than by implementing methods of devaluation and violence which ultimately resulted in intimidation.
ReplyDeleteFear did play a role in the decisions that White southerners made towards Blacks. Having to deal with such drastic change, knowing that they could no longer have blacks as their inferiors, whom they could exert their power on, was a tough pill for the White southerners to swallow. As Taylor stated, White southerners pondered over the question “How would Blacks conduct themselves in a society where they are now free?” Fear of revenge or whatever else could happen in this situation was what most likely incited them to act the way they did, which we all agree is absolutely deplorable. They were disgusted about the fact that blacks, whom they considered nonhuman and animals, were now their equals.
ReplyDeleteFear definitely was one of the dynamics involved. Johnson describes this significantly in Soul by Soul. He discusses that in asserting their power over slaves, they were buying affirmation of their mastery and social reputation. Fear of losing that reputation or sense of mastery definitely sustained the institution. I think ultimately, slaveholders were not afraid of their slaves, but were afraid of what they might lose--what parts of themselves they might lose--if they lost a slave. A slave became part of the slaveholders body--almost like a right hand. You must discipline, train, and use your hand, but ultimately you are intimately bound to it-- you are desperately afraid to go without it.
ReplyDelete