Griffin Snyder 9/23 Medium Post

I found this weeks information especially compelling because of the discussions of the true nature of Black existence under White society that is often so hard for non people of color to recognize and empathize with. In Christina Sharpe’s The Wake she discusses the ways in which Black people feel and exists that white people see for a second and empathize, but fail to consider that the mourning they see is a key factor in the life of all African-American people. Because Black people are never truly safe from the “law”, the fear and sadness that comes with that must always be apart of their character, which only builds on the problems that people of color must face at all times. This state of being reminds me of the authoritarian society depicted in George Orwell’s 1984. Specifically, in the world of 1984, the government enforces “thought crimes” with “thought police”, which forces the people of that society into a kind of mind control that makes them to think how the ruling party wants them to think. In our country today, the United States government and law enforcement force a similar style of a fearful and oppressed state of mind on people of color, which further contributes to their mental health and economic challenges, which plays in to White supremacist narratives about the nature of Black people and Black communities. This kind of control furthers the idea that some Black activists like Sharpe have that America is not a democracy for Black people, as it enforces its rule through fear and oppression, while taking measures to reduce the political and social presence of Black people (voter suppression, mass incarceration). The solution to this, according to her, is to disengage from White society as a whole, as it does not serve Black people and only works to continue the American tradition of White supremacy.