The Hate U Give (Second Post––to page 220)
Once again, I would like you to respond to two prompts (at least 150 words each) by Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Here they are:
1.
Once news of Khalil’s shooting spreads across the neighborhood, unrest
arises: “Sirens wail outside. The news shows three patrol that have been
set ablaze
at the police precinct...A gas station near the freeway gets
looted...My neighborhood is a warzone” (Chapter 9, 136-139). Respond to
this development and describe some parallels to current events.
2. How do you think Starr would define family? What about Seven? How do you define it?
Promp #1
ReplyDeleteIn Garden Heights, a violent protest of outraged community members turns Starr’s neighborhood into a “war zone.” With gunshots, loots, and sirens, Starr wishes this was not the response to Khalil’s death. After such an incident, people do become outraged and it happens quite often nowadays. For instance, a time when citizens were craving justice was after September 18 last year when an African-American unarmed student, DeAndre Ballard was shot and killed by a security guard. Students from his school participated in a peaceful walk out during school and spoke out wanting clarification on the incident. The outraged community last year dealt with the situation very peacefully whereas in the book, Garden Heights responds violently. There are many times that people nowadays do respond with such violence, however, I have mainly heard about protests being lead by words. In both situations, friends and family want justice and need a change.
Promp #2
I think Starr’s family extends past just her blood relatives. She talks about how she can show her true self around certain people and for others she has to become “Williamson Prep Starr” so people don’t identify her as the girl who lives in the ghetto. Those people who she has to alter her personality around, I would say are not a part of her family. Whereas people such as Chris, Natasha and Khalil, are part of her extended family. However, I don’t believe that she discludes her blood relatives from this group. I think she does say that Seven is a part of her family because by definition he would be, but he is not as close as her other family members are to her. I think that my definition of family is a bit different from what I believe Starr’s to be. I am very fortunate in the way that I don’t feel I need to change the way I act around certain people. I am always Gretta and don’t pretend I have another personality. So for me, I would define family as the people in my life that stick by me and I can trust. People I know love me.
I like your example of DeAndre Ballard. It's very specific and I really appreciate that in a blog comment. Well done.
DeletePrompt #1
ReplyDeleteAfter Khalil's funeral, some protests break out around the neighborhood. Starr and her family hear gunshots, which causes them to have to hide in her family's den. The kind of circumstances that Starr is going through happen a decent amount today. Last year, a 22-year-old Sacramento native, Stephon Clark, was fatally shot by the police. Of course, people were outraged when it happened and rightfully so, but it is almost a year later, and people are still protesting it. People are still protesting it because last week a decision was made not to charge the police officers who killed the unarmed Clark. Clark was African American and the police officers who shot him were white. This is very similar to what happened to Khalil. He was an African American teen who was shot by a white police officer. The people in the town that Starr and Khalil live in are also protesting to try to get them to charge the white officer. In both cases people feel a sense of injustice that the officers assumed things because of their skin color.
Prompt #2
So many people have been really important to Starr in her life. I think that Starr would describe family as people who support her no matter what -- especially after she saw Khalil, one of her good friends, get shot by the police. Once news of the shooting spread throughout their community, everyone had a different idea of what Starr should do. Some wanted her to speak out right away, some wanted her to join in on the protests, and her family wanted to give her time to think about what she wanted to do. Her family has always wanted her to make the decision herself about how to approach Khalil’s death. I think that Seven would describe family as supporting people no matter what decision they make. I'm sure Seven had an opinion about what Starr should do, but he also wanted Starr to make the decision herself and do what she wanted to do since it was a very big event in her life too. Whether that was saying I think that's a good idea or taking Starr to play basketball to take her mind off of things, I think that Seven just wanted to support Starr through this tough time.
I like the fact that you are following the Stephon Clark case and that you have kept up on the most recent details. Well done.
DeletePrompt 1: Once the public find out that Khalil was unarmed during his murder the community uproars in protests, anger, and violence which turn Starr’s community into a “war zone”. According to Washington Post databases, in 2019 there have been 174 people killed by police so far. Deaths by police show no sign of slowing down. Since 2015, 4,117 people have been killed by police. Of those 4,117 people, 1,916 were White, 971 were Black, 698 were Hispanic, and 169 were other. In every year since 2015 white people were killed almost twice as much more than black people. In the book Khalil was unarmed. Out of the 4,117 people, 265 were unarmed. 110 White people were unarmed when they were killed. 99 Black people unarmed when they were killed. 48 Hispanics were unarmed when they were killed. And 9 other were unarmed when they were killed. From these statistics, White people are killed way more often than any other race, even when they are unarmed. This shows that police brutality is a real problem with all people, not just people of color. And that not all police attacks were because of racist and stereotypical views. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/police-shootings-2019/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2f12023a6853
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2016/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2017/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/police-shootings-2018/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.42e3e70b0910
Prompt 2: I think Starr would define family as people that are always by her side and supports her through her struggles. Starr’s family is very complicated, but I think most members of her family support her greatly. I think Seven’s definition of family is a little more complicated because of his situation at home. Since his mother’s husband is involved with gangs and drugs, Seven doesn’t have as much support as Starr does in her household. I think Seven’s definition of family is more about people who love him for who he is and not judge him based off of his parents. My definition of family is similar to Starr’s where family is people who always stick by your side but also let you know wrong decisions from right decisions. Having people that let you know if you're doing the right thing is very important to me and I think that is what family means to me.
Elliott,
Deletegood post. I liked how specific you were and how you consulted the Washington Post. One point, you note that white people were killed twice as often. True, but important to keep in mind that white people are about 70% of the population, and African-Americans are closer to 14%. So, while I agree that police brutality can affect all people, it still seems that African Americans are shot at a disproportionate rate.
Responding to prompt #1
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your response. I found the statistics particularly interesting. Mr. Deffner commented about the number of African Americans being killed in proportion to White people being killed and how he thought that it was disproportionate. I completely agree and that made me wonder how many of the people who were shot were unarmed. In 2018 Vox did a report about police shootings and race. It found that 31% of the people killed by the police are African Americans, which is very high considering how much of the population they make up. But Vox found that when you look at shootings involving people who were not attacking the police the numbers are even more out of whack: 39% of them are African American compared to the 46% that are white. I can infer from that, while the police may not admit it, that they are assuming something about their race. I don't know whether the police think that African Americans are more of a threat, but I do know that these numbers reveal what a big problem it is in our society.
My Source: https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/8/13/17938186/police-shootings-killings-racism-racial-disparities
Prompt #1
ReplyDeleteWhen people around Starr's neighborhood started to find out about Khalil getting killed by the cop, lots of people begin to protest. I can't imagine hearing machine guns, and looking out my window and seeing lines of cops outside. I feel like there should be a better way to control protests other than using tear gas and hurting people. These protests are important to people because they feel like it's the only they can get heard. A current event that I compare this to is the black students in Charleston college that are planning a walk out. They are deciding to do this because a video of "students making racist statements and joking about slavery," said Scott Jaschik. They are mad with the college because they feel like they are not responding to this video. In the book kids at Starr's school are doing protest to bring more awareness of what happened to Khalil. Racism
is a big issue, and I think this shows how the youth is not putting up for it anymore.
The article I read: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/03/08/protest-planned-over-racist-video-charleston
Prompt #2
Starr has a very protective and loving family. I think Starr looks at her family as people she can trust, and express her emotions with. When shes outside of her family she has other personalities to protect her from showing who she really is. I think Starr does this because shes embarrassed of being from the ghetto, and she wont be able to fit in if she talks a certain way. Seven has a very different view of family. He loves Starr and Kenya, but he has a weird relationship with his mother Iesha. I think hes jealous of King being with his mother all the time. I feel like Seven has a hard time trusting his family compared to Starr. I look at family as people that you should always care about, even if you don't agree with them on some things. I think trust is the biggest part of family.
Good post, Connor. I like what you wrote. However, I think that some of the kids at Starr's school were only protesting to get out of class, and that's one of the things that Starr found upsetting. Right?
DeleteResponding to Prompt #2:
DeleteI like what you said about Starr being embarrassed by the ghetto. It may impact some of the decisions she makes. Maybe why she code switches. I also like how you described Starr's family as a family she can go to with her emotions and can trust them. I think both of those things are true. Not just focusing on Starr, I like how you talked about Seven and how he may be jealous of King being around his mother all of the time. I think it's true that Seven has a weirder relationship with his family than Starr does. I agree that trust is the most important part of a family relationship. If there is no trust, it can affect your individual relationship with someone. I think all of your points are very well done and accurate.
Prompt #1
ReplyDeleteWhen news of Khalil's death spreads across Starr's neighborhood, violent protests break out. This isn't what Starr wanted. The people could have maybe partaken in a peaceful protest, but instead, they decided to reek havoc around her neighborhood. Violence isn't always the answer when it comes to protesting. There are many ways to peacefully protest. Mahatma Gandhi was one for peaceful protest. One of his quotes states "The first principal of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating." This quote comes from the book "Gandhi On Non-Violence". A current event that relates to the death of Khalil would be the death of 37-year-old Harith Augustus, in Chicago. Police were trying to question Harith because he seemed to have a weapon on him. He broke free and appeared to be reaching for a weapon, and was fatally shot. Protesters were outraged. They were chanting "The whole damn system is guilty as hell". The protest got out of hand when police started hitting the protesters with batons and protesters punching policemen. This is an example of a violent protest, much like what happened with Khalil.
Prompt #2
Starr's family is very supportive and very loving. Her father has a lot of faith in her and knows she will do great things. Overall I feel like Starr can trust her family and can easily share her emotions without being judged by them. She would define family as people who support her through thick and thin, no matter if she's right or wrong. Because it doesn't matter when it comes to family. Especially after Khalil's death they've been super supportive and letting her choose what she wants to do about it. Whether it's join a protest, or speak up, they let her decide. Seven has a very complicated relationship with his family, especially with his mother. He has a harder time trusting his family than Starr does. We know he loves his family, but his relationship is in a weird place. In my opinion, my definition of family would be people you can trust to stick with you, no matter where you are, or who you become. They are supportive and should make you feel safe. Family comes before all things. Cherish your family, and the time you have with them.
I think that's a really good observation you made about Seven's relationship with his family being very complicated. I think it's especially difficult because of the kind of person Seven's mom is––not very likeable, right?
DeleteI thought the quote you used from Mahatma Gandhi really showed your understanding of protests. I feel like a lot of people get caught up in their emotions in protests and it begins to "reek havoc around the neighborhood". I also heard about what happened with Harith Augustus, and I thought that was a nice connection with Khalil. I agree with what you said about Starr's family and how they always help her cope with her emotions. Which is hard to do with Starr, because of all these crazy things happening to her. I feel like Seven just has a hard time trusting his parents especially because it seems like his mother doesn't care that much about him. There's a lot of similarities with your thoughts on family and mine and how you should always cherish the moments with them.
DeletePrompt #1
ReplyDeleteThe development by the other characters when Kahlil was shot was huge. People where reacting to a terrible thing that happened. People were rioting and that is completely understandable, they just wanted justice for Kahlil. The thing is, they are destroying their own community. These are not peaceful protests, they are very violent unnecessary protests that could have been peaceful. Things like this happen a lot. When you google “black man getting shot by police”, countless articles come up about this. One story is a black man who was just sleeping in his car in a Taco Bell parking lot and he was shot by police multiple times. The stories are all very different, but they come down to one thing. A black man does nothing wrong and is shot by police and killed. So many people are affected by this and it happens so often. Media tries to cover for it and say the man had been doing something wrong or they try to make it seem reasonable to kill him. But it's not at all. This thing happens a lot and it needs to end.
Prompt #2
I think Starr and Seven would define family the same way as one another. They would define family as people who always have your back. People who alway are watching out for you and you can always trust. Family is someone you can relate to and be yourself with. They might not think of family as being blood related, but you can still be family. I feel for them. Family is hard to find and once you have it, its for life. I think of family in the same way as Seven and Starr. I don't think family is someone you have to be blood related to but its someone who you can always turn to. I do consider blood related people as my family, but I don't necessarily feel like they have my back. So I use the word family very loosely, but I think Starr and Seven rarely use the word, and when they do, they really mean it.
I enjoyed your post. I'd like to hear more about the man being shot in the Taco Bell parking lot. I also like your definition of family. I think it's good to define it loosely.
DeleteDan, I really enjoyed reading your post and was very intrigued by it. In your first post, I was really interested in when you said, “ When you google ‘black man getting shot by police,’ countless articles come up about this.” You are absolutely correct. Your story about the man in the Taco Bell parking lot is similar to many others. A lot of these stories are about black people getting shot by white police officers becasue they are scared. They are scared becasue of racial bias. There are so many of these stories on the internet even though there are 56% less blacks than whites in the United States you here or read about a black person getting shot by a police officer much more often. You also said that the media tries to cover for the officer, cover up the story or justify the shooting because the person was suspected of something. Which is a great point becaue you here or read about at the end of almost all of these stories that the police officer usually doesn’t get charged or convicted for the murder. Dan, let me ask you a question. At the end of your post you said, “This thing happens a lot and it needs to end.” What would you say would need to be done to help the shooting of black people by police offices and what the media does to the story end?
DeleteFrom Sophie
ReplyDeletePrompt #1:
I think the events happening in garden heights are similar to war, there are machine guns, tanks, cars being set on fire and people protesting. Usually during a war people protest to try to change the government's mind or the war. Sometimes during wars there's riots, during riots people go on a rampage and damage as much as they possibly can. Today there are many places that are at war. Another thing that is similar to the environment in garden heights is on january 29, people in venezuela were protesting the power struggle between the two presidents. At least forty people were killed protesting the power between the real and self appointed president. It is not fair that they people have been killed protesting what they believe in. The protesters were killed by soldiers, I think that there could possibly be an event similar to this later in THE HATE U GIVE.
Prompt #2:
I think Starr would define family as someone who is there for you through thick and thin, a person who you can not see for a long time and pick up right where you left off. Starr was at a party in garden heights, with her friend. She only knew her one friend Kenya. Khalil, her friend since childhood is at the party and sees Starr, he goes over and talks to her, they have a little argument and she thinks to herself. “ All these months apart, and we’ve fallen back into normal like it’s nothing.” (Pg 14) Khalil and Starr instantly went back to there old friendship. I think Seven would define family as a person who is there for you no matter what, will help you during tough times and treat you like there own even if your not. I describe family as a person who is there for you no matter what, they will drop everything to help you.
I like your comparison to Venezuela. It did seem like a sort of urban war in Starr's neighborhood. Good connection on your part.
DeleteFrom Mack:
ReplyDeletePrompt # 1
In Starr’s neighborhood, protests start to break out because of Khalil’s death. These protests are not peaceful. Many bad things happen like, “ A gas station near the freeway gets looted.” (Thomas p 138). This is just a small example. Starr describes her neighborhood as a war zone. Many bad things are going on. However, this response is not unreasonable. It is not unreasonable because a police officer shot and killed Khalil. Soon things start to be uncovered about his death. For example, he was unarmed, made no motion to attack the officer and the police were saying he was a suspected drug dealer, without any grounds for those accusations. These reasons really upset the people in her neighborhood and understandably this is why they are protesting. A very similar incident to Khalil’s happened in East Pittsburgh. A black person named Antwon Rose (age 17) was shot by a police officer because he started running from him. As soon as they started moving away from the car shots were fired. A cell phone video was found of the incident and an voice off camera is heard saying, "Why are they shooting at him? ... All they did was run." The video also clearly shows this. Soon the word got out and people began protesting.
“At the protest Wednesday in East Pittsburgh, the crowd chanted their anger and frustration. A leader with a bullhorn led the group in a call and response: ‘What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now. If we don't get it, shut it down. If we don't get it, shut it down.’" - (USA Today).
Prompt #2
I think Starr could define family in many ways. I think she would define family as people who would back her up, support her, and someone who is guiding her in the right direction. I also think Starr has difference people on different levels of family. Like the family closest to her is her immediately family. Then her friends from Williamson Prep, and where she used to go to school. And then her parents friends and only some of them she can trust. Seven’s definition of family is different from Starr’s because he has a difficult situation at home. I think his definition of family is people who see him as he is and not judge him for his life at home. My definition of family is very similar to Starr’s. Except I see my family and extended family as my family and my friends as friends or very close friends.
Thanks Mack. I enjoyed reading your post. It's very specific and I was particularly interested in what happened in East Pittsburgh. It's a place I know and I'm really sorry to hear that this happened there, to say nothing of how sorry I am for Antwon Rose's family.
Delete