I found it interesting that while the rest of the country had moved on from the Tamir rice shooting due to the Iowa Caucus, while on Oberlin’s campus “unease spread like a cold front coming of the lake.” I feel like Heller is pointing out that while the national conversation continues, sometimes smaller communities and areas continue to feel the pain of hardships that have happened. This made me think of Flint, Michigan, a city in Michigan that has no access to clean water, and the media had covered it nationally but even after the media coverage stopped, the crisis was still happening.
Heller also makes a very interesting point regarding race, which is that although a white male cannot know what it means “to be, say, a Latina,” the white male can “make yourself her ally, though deferring to her experience, learning from her accounts, and supporting her struggles. I found this stance on race relations to be dynamic and shows compassion through empathizing with marginalized groups’ struggles.
In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed how Heller would use a narrative while also making commentary on social and cultural issues. For example, toward the end when he is telling the story of the talk with Amethyst Carey, he uses this story while also highlighting the social issues, he does this with phrases such as “Carey wears sweatpants and a T-shirt that says “NJ NEEDS MORE HOMES AND JOBS.” Here, Heller is explaining what Carey is wearing but it also speaks to the social issues she advocates for, which include more affordable housing and jobs.
E367: Writing and Diversity 