Give me yer' take on this...
-1
Incident
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee;
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."
I saw the whole of Balimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
Today durin classes this poem was discussed.
Now, they spoke of how the title does not give the events that took place in the poem justice, that it was far more than JUST AN INCIDENT!
...and I just read it over and over again trying to see how this event was anything more than just an incident.
They went on and on, so I snapped. I didn't say anything at first because if you disagree that a boy being called a "nigger" is a significant event, you'll be labeled a racist.
I speak up and as I do, each and everyone turned to look at me.
After I say, "I don't quite understand why you are all making this out to be more than just an incident" I was greeted with smirks and laughs, clearly my ignorance was hilarious.
...and being replied with laughter I lost my footing and couldn't as logically explain why this was just an incident and of no great significance.
While I am in no way condoning racism, a boy being called a "nigger", simply being called a "nigger" and us having no more context to go by than that, is not at all significant an event.
While it could have lasting effect on the boy, that in no way dictates that the event itself was significant.
Taking into consideration the time, someone calling a boy a "nigger" wasn't really an act of aggression or mockery. They simply saw blacks as just "niggers" and addressed them as such.
There was no malice in the title, for this event anyways.
So Fakku! I'd like to know what you think, are the events taking place in the poem "Incident" anything more than just an "Incident" ?
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee;
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."
I saw the whole of Balimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.
Today durin classes this poem was discussed.
Now, they spoke of how the title does not give the events that took place in the poem justice, that it was far more than JUST AN INCIDENT!
...and I just read it over and over again trying to see how this event was anything more than just an incident.
They went on and on, so I snapped. I didn't say anything at first because if you disagree that a boy being called a "nigger" is a significant event, you'll be labeled a racist.
I speak up and as I do, each and everyone turned to look at me.
After I say, "I don't quite understand why you are all making this out to be more than just an incident" I was greeted with smirks and laughs, clearly my ignorance was hilarious.
...and being replied with laughter I lost my footing and couldn't as logically explain why this was just an incident and of no great significance.
While I am in no way condoning racism, a boy being called a "nigger", simply being called a "nigger" and us having no more context to go by than that, is not at all significant an event.
While it could have lasting effect on the boy, that in no way dictates that the event itself was significant.
Taking into consideration the time, someone calling a boy a "nigger" wasn't really an act of aggression or mockery. They simply saw blacks as just "niggers" and addressed them as such.
There was no malice in the title, for this event anyways.
So Fakku! I'd like to know what you think, are the events taking place in the poem "Incident" anything more than just an "Incident" ?
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Nashrakh
Little White Butterflies Staff
If that's the only thing that boy remembers from his stay in Baltimore, that MUST have been more than an incident. If it was an incident, he would have forgotten about it.
That "incident" might very well have been his first encounter with racism.
That "incident" might very well have been his first encounter with racism.
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You may see some things as significant, even though other people don't. Put yourself in his shoes? o-o
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Quadratic wrote...
You may see some things as significant, even though other people don't. Put yourself in his shoes? o-oThe boy was called a racial slur.
As far as we are aware, there is so little that happened afterwards that it didn't make its way into the poem.
While it did impact him, the incident itself was just that, an incident.
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I would have to agree that it was nothing more then an incident as well, it just doesnt give you the facts of after the racial suggestion.
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I have to say that I'm sure the kids were just saying what the teacher wanted them to say. Of course during race-relations studies, you have to examine it within the context, but when you're being graded there's no better tool to get those participation points than hindsight.
What's so wrong with the word "incident?" It implies a situation involving aggression, humiliation, etc.
I do think you should care a little more about the "N-Word." To a racist it might simply be the "truth" and second-nature to say such filth, but that doesn't mean there wasn't hate and ignorance spitting from their lips. Obviously, the author felt it was significant; a very important memory.
What's so wrong with the word "incident?" It implies a situation involving aggression, humiliation, etc.
I do think you should care a little more about the "N-Word." To a racist it might simply be the "truth" and second-nature to say such filth, but that doesn't mean there wasn't hate and ignorance spitting from their lips. Obviously, the author felt it was significant; a very important memory.
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All in context and perspective I suppose.
I wouldn't make fun of you for think of this as just "an incident" so I guess I'd side with you?
I wouldn't make fun of you for think of this as just "an incident" so I guess I'd side with you?
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After I say, "I don't quite understand why you are all making this out to be more than just an incident" I was greeted with smirks and laughs, clearly my ignorance was hilarious.
...and being replied with laughter I lost my footing and couldn't as logically explain why this was just an incident and of no great significance.
While I am in no way condoning racism, a boy being called a "nigger", simply being called a "nigger" and us having no more context to go by than that, is not at all significant an event.
...and being replied with laughter I lost my footing and couldn't as logically explain why this was just an incident and of no great significance.
While I am in no way condoning racism, a boy being called a "nigger", simply being called a "nigger" and us having no more context to go by than that, is not at all significant an event.
It's certainly true that we do find in schools a culture where diversity, inclusion, cultural sensitivity, etc, are sometimes promoted to the point of ridiculousness and rammed down students' throats.
You may feel that the event should not have been particularly significant, that the author is overreacting or trying too play up the victim card.
However, it seems to me, from the reading the passage, that the event was incredibly significant to the author. The author claims it is the only thing remembered from several months in Baltimore.
I also note the statement of the young age of the author and of the boy who called him a "nigger." An eight year old would have a hard time understanding and resigning himself to the forces behind racism. Most also believe that the level of racism exhibited by the other boy is not something children naturally gravitate towards. Children are associated with innocence generally, so that type of behavior from a young child is more shocking than that type of behavior from an adult.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: who gets to decide the significance of the event? For the author who experienced it, it was clearly significant from the information provided in the poem. Claiming otherwise seems to me to simply be erroneous rather than immoral.
For you, the event was insignificant. No matter what schools try, no one can force you to sympathize with the author. That doesn't mean it wasn't significant for someone else. Some other students might genuinely sympathize with the author.
Perhaps this is where you and most others disagree.
While I am in no way condoning racism, a boy being called a "nigger", simply being called a "nigger" and us having no more context to go by than that, is not at all significant an event.
It was a common event, but from the documents and testimony of those that experienced this treatment, it was still very hurtful, in effect being constantly called and treated as an inferior.
It's fine to have one's own opinion, but the opinion of others may be different. The author clearly did not find the epithet to be simply what he should have been expected to be called, but rather found it hurtful and degrading. And if you are insisting that experiencing the incident that way is wrong in some way, well, that's kind of the same as the school trying to ram racial sensitivity down your throat, just in the opposite direction.
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I think I understand what you're saying, Harmonian. When the poem was written, a black person being called a "nigger" was commonplace. It was as common to hear back then as hearing the word "asshole" is now.
That said, I believe the author of the poem was trying to say that though his being called a "nigger" could be interpreted as a simple "incident" to others, it was anything but for him. Poetry's all about looking below the surface. The title of this poem is meant to elicit emotion; the reader should feel bad about a child being called a nigger, and it being just an "incident" is meant to intensify that feeling.
That said, I believe the author of the poem was trying to say that though his being called a "nigger" could be interpreted as a simple "incident" to others, it was anything but for him. Poetry's all about looking below the surface. The title of this poem is meant to elicit emotion; the reader should feel bad about a child being called a nigger, and it being just an "incident" is meant to intensify that feeling.
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At the risk of sounding insensate, you guys should come visit new york.
We have such a collection of "Gangsta"s here that, for me, hearing an eight year old either being called or calling someone a nigger is nothing special.
We have such a collection of "Gangsta"s here that, for me, hearing an eight year old either being called or calling someone a nigger is nothing special.
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Well think about it, what if this kid never knew what a nigger was, imagine if he went around greeting others as niggers, because someone addressed him as such. that is a lasting impact isn't it?
But from what I saw in the replies, I would assume this poem was written back before racial equality, so this is coming from someone's point of view, that being called nigger is an issue, but is treated as an incident.
I personally think the writer should maybe have clarified slightly a little more to avoid these such confusions.
But from what I saw in the replies, I would assume this poem was written back before racial equality, so this is coming from someone's point of view, that being called nigger is an issue, but is treated as an incident.
I personally think the writer should maybe have clarified slightly a little more to avoid these such confusions.
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Well an incident can be described as an "episode" or an event in one's life that had an impact.So being called a nigger i assume the boy know of it as racism if it did a significant impact on him to remember and be called and "incedent".
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I think the great thing about this poem is that a reader doesn't necessarily have to sympathize with the poem if they don't want to.
It doesn't elicit a lot of unnecessary pathos by explaining exactly how the boy felt, i.e.: rage, anger, surprise, sadness, etc., or how he cried when he got home or some other bull shit like that. I am deeply opposed to other people finding someone's interpretation of work, especially when it comes to what they personally feel about it, ignorant, so, it wasn't fair for them to laugh at you. The poem itself does have its own small slice of mastery, and it's in wondering which audience it was meant for: a shrink? a friend? people that call other people racial slurs? people who are called racial slurs? a classroom? someone who thinks it's an incident or someone who thinks it's something more?
It doesn't elicit a lot of unnecessary pathos by explaining exactly how the boy felt, i.e.: rage, anger, surprise, sadness, etc., or how he cried when he got home or some other bull shit like that. I am deeply opposed to other people finding someone's interpretation of work, especially when it comes to what they personally feel about it, ignorant, so, it wasn't fair for them to laugh at you. The poem itself does have its own small slice of mastery, and it's in wondering which audience it was meant for: a shrink? a friend? people that call other people racial slurs? people who are called racial slurs? a classroom? someone who thinks it's an incident or someone who thinks it's something more?
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I did a little searching and found a couple of sites that might add a little more insight.
http://home.planet.nl/~brui1713/litbite/incident.html
http://www.hunter.net/wiki/index.php?title=Incident
[Questions (and answers) for class discussion]
-14-
The dictionary tells us that "incident" means "minor event". Why do you think the poet chose this particular title?
(It is ironic. Although the incident was only one very small moment during all of those eight months, its impact has been tremendous. The "incident" could even be said to have been the loss of innocence for the narrator, so in fact it was no incident but a very important event!)
-14-
The dictionary tells us that "incident" means "minor event". Why do you think the poet chose this particular title?
(It is ironic. Although the incident was only one very small moment during all of those eight months, its impact has been tremendous. The "incident" could even be said to have been the loss of innocence for the narrator, so in fact it was no incident but a very important event!)
http://home.planet.nl/~brui1713/litbite/incident.html
The power of this poem lies in the reversal of expectations.
It begins with a care-free whimsical air and as the account progresses in the second stanza you discover that the speaker is an eight year old boy. Naturally one assumes that the perspectives of an eight year old are going to be of a 'lighter' nature than those of us 'wiser' and 'burdened' adults, so subconsciously our expectations for a happy ending are increased. Then at the last word of the second stanza I had two shocking revelations: The author is black; and this is not a whimsical poem.
It begins with a care-free whimsical air and as the account progresses in the second stanza you discover that the speaker is an eight year old boy. Naturally one assumes that the perspectives of an eight year old are going to be of a 'lighter' nature than those of us 'wiser' and 'burdened' adults, so subconsciously our expectations for a happy ending are increased. Then at the last word of the second stanza I had two shocking revelations: The author is black; and this is not a whimsical poem.
http://www.hunter.net/wiki/index.php?title=Incident
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I think something many of you are overlooking is that in poetry and songs in particular, events are often skewed, simplified, or otherwise condensed so as to be more artistic. With that in mind, obviously this cannot be the only thing the author remembers from his time in Baltimore, unless he was very short of memory. More likely is that this event stood out to him most because of the innocence associated with the other party (they are both only kids), and that because of this he choose to use this incident in his poem.
As I already pointed out, there were obviously other things that he remembered about Baltimore, but perhaps he felt that this one incident appropriately summed up everything he remembered most clearly about the city. I would say that for anyone to associate an entire place most clearly with the type of nonchalance racism embodied by this poem is significant - though I will concede the point that I am obviously biased by today's standards.
As I already pointed out, there were obviously other things that he remembered about Baltimore, but perhaps he felt that this one incident appropriately summed up everything he remembered most clearly about the city. I would say that for anyone to associate an entire place most clearly with the type of nonchalance racism embodied by this poem is significant - though I will concede the point that I am obviously biased by today's standards.
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Ahh school...what a bitch. Seriously, things like that always made my day a little bit worse. I actually was in a Political Science class last semester at my college where the teacher did his best to not side with any particular party, but it was KINDA obvious he was a republican. So, of course, wheneverI said a pro-liberal thing, he'd give me a smirk, and everyone in the class would laugh at me. I mean...they even showed a video where a man went around showing the 'persecution of republicans in college'. A documentery made by a former student of the guy. I mean...seirously.
Speaking out of that environment, I can see your point, but at the same time I can see the teacher's point. The writer was clearly stating that, at the time this event happened, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and was referred to as simply an incident, while now, as the teacher would say, it would be considered a major action in life that made the life of this man or woman that much more hard. It depends on how you look at it...still...a class that just laughs at you when you present an opposing opinion annoys the hell out of me.
Speaking out of that environment, I can see your point, but at the same time I can see the teacher's point. The writer was clearly stating that, at the time this event happened, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and was referred to as simply an incident, while now, as the teacher would say, it would be considered a major action in life that made the life of this man or woman that much more hard. It depends on how you look at it...still...a class that just laughs at you when you present an opposing opinion annoys the hell out of me.
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Harmonian wrote...
...and I just read it over and over again trying to see how this event was anything more than just an incident.From my point of view, and i live in the opposite country from yours, it's all history's complex and judicial-democracy madness (and not just about some damn poem). Do not be fooled by this crap Harmonian.. and do not argue with policy - better stay healthy then other over such empty matters,ay?
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If I had been in that class I'm quite sure I would have agreed with you...
The problem is, poems can be read and understood in many different ways. For example, the part about him only remembering the incident from all his time at Baltimore is most probably an exaggeration to accentuate the event.
Then there is the fact that the author seems to know what the word nigger means, in which case he shouldn't have been so surprised to hear himself called that. Otherwise, it might be that the author is only portraying the beginning of the memory, and shit really hit the fan after the baltimorean calls him nigger.
At least those are my two cents...
The problem is, poems can be read and understood in many different ways. For example, the part about him only remembering the incident from all his time at Baltimore is most probably an exaggeration to accentuate the event.
Then there is the fact that the author seems to know what the word nigger means, in which case he shouldn't have been so surprised to hear himself called that. Otherwise, it might be that the author is only portraying the beginning of the memory, and shit really hit the fan after the baltimorean calls him nigger.
At least those are my two cents...