Racism+-+'C.P.+Ellis'

Racism: "C.P. Ellis" I can understand why C.P. joined the Klan, in fact, it seems like C.P. joined it for the same reasons people recently are joining movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street: a sense of belonging and someone to blame. C.P. worked hard and yet he still couldn't manage to "get out of the hole," just like dozens, well, a lot more than just dozens, of Americans today. While C.P. chose what we would consider an extremist group, I think in some regards he's right that we don't fully understand the Klan. From the Klan's view, they're no different than Occupy Wall Streeters: "low-income whites, people who don't really have a part in something. They have been shut out" (594). The only defining difference between Occupy Wall Streeters and the Ku Klux Klan is who they decided to go after: Occupy Wall Street is against the government while the Klan is against black people. Both groups feel like they're getting the short-end of the stick and that they don't have a say in the matter because the organizations in charge ignore them in favor of others. I think C.P. gives a strong reason for why these groups appear when he states "Hatin' America is hard to do because you can't see it to hate it. You gotta have somethin' to look at to hate" (593). All of that in mind, I don't think C.P. would have joined the Klan without the feeling of hopelessness, even if he still had a disdain for black people.

As the article continued, I think C.P. matured a lot and his story shows that people can overcome rascism and prejudices. As C.P. begins to talk with other people, he begins to see them for who they are, all the way to the point that he says "I got to the point where I can look past labels" (596). C.P. was a prime example of a stubborn racist, he was after all the president of his Klan chapter, and yet he ended up working with blacks to the point that he abandoned his previous notions; if that isn't a perfect example of Americans overcoming past prejudices then I honestly don't know what is. I think C.P. makes a great insight when he says "there's a tremendous possibility in this country to stop wars, the battles, the struggles, the fights between people" (600). I don't know that I completely agree with the idea, but C.P.'s experiences definitely make a good argument for the case. Of course, none of this is really possible without one of two things. People need to get out of their comfort zone and actually meet people who are different than themselves, just like C.P. did, eventually everyone will come to the realization that we are all human and deserve to be treated as such. The other way to forge unity is through a common cause; C.P. and Ann Atwater would never have gotten along, even if they had just walked up to each other and talked, but with the common goal of education, they were able to put aside their differences.

Perhaps the most ironic quotes from the article was "They say to abide by the law, go to church, do right and live for the Lord, and everything'll work out. But it didn't work out. It just kept gettin' worse and worse" (592). This quote strikes me as ironic because that's exactly how C.P.'s story doesn't go; instead of things being worse at the end of the story, C.P. actually ended better than where he started. I think the quote shows that the right mentality is also required in order to end racism. C.P.'s original, pessimistic attitude brought him to the Klan but later on, his desire to work hard and do the job well brings him to see that everyone is in the same boat and the real enemy is people with money, lots of money. While on the topic of people who quite possibly have money for wallpaper, I found it sickening that the people with power were using the race card to stay in power. Sure, that's the way the game is played, and the game has been played for quite some time, but it's just disgusting how someone can talk about wanting to end racism in America only to use it for their own advantage. I'm fine with having an upper class and a privileged government, but I hate when they use and abuse their power and go and manipulate those who don't know any better; it almost makes me want to go join the Occupy Wall Streeters.