link key projects journal essays response papers db postings free writes
Corey Artis
ENG 102-32
Society has a structured class system. It goes about this in ways that make it nearly impossible for one to move up, but very easy to slide down. It is also nearly impossible for one to shed their preconceived image of society in short fashion. “The culture of class society tends to repress this unwelcome truth; it prefers to dream up for itself a noble progenitor denying its lowly parenthood…”(Eagleton, 8). You can see several examples of this from the athletes.
A majority of the African American athletes came from low class societies with broken homes and violent backgrounds. They have the increased societal focus by being very highly visible by all who want to see them and yet many of those athletes still tend to act like “low class thugs” that are prevalent in the inner cities. An example of this are the 2002-2003 Portland Trail Blazers (also dubbed the Jailblazers). The ones from a violent background are reciprocating these actions on others. The ones with druggies in the family are buying and smoking drugs themselves. The team acted like streetball-playing lowlifes on and on the court rather than the highly paid professional athletes like they are bringing the low class attitude into a high class world.
Meanwhile others have gone and actively tried to shed the image that has been applied to them in the perceptions of society. I have actively told people that I don’t act like others of my “race” or “societal class” (I don’t believe in either), so they should judge me by what I do, not by what others like me do. Changing the minds of people is a hard process, but in my mind it’s worth the trouble because everybody is not like what society claims.