Reflecting on the readings, I believe that listening and focusing too much on the prejudgments of other people can be detrimental, especially to my psyche, aspirations and deep beliefs. I now see the importance of seeking enlightenment, new exposures, and looking for more knowledge rather than just believing in what people say. For instance, perhaps Malcolm X would never have risen to the great activist he was if he had chosen to stay in Michigan and listened to the scripts developed by the white people at the time. Travelling to Boston gave him a new revelation and he went back to Michigan a changed man. What he saw in Boston was freedom and to a large extent, equality between the blacks and white people; the blacks and whites could be seen hand in hand, and they also worshipped in the same churches. However, black people in Michigan had been brainwashed into believing that they could never amount to anything useful. The most prominent example was when Malcolm’s English teacher said he could not become a lawyer, despite Malcolm being one of the brightest students in the class. If he had chosen to stay in such an environment where he was being limited, he could have ended up not exploring his potential.
I draw my strength of rejecting scripted narratives by focusing on what is useful, right, and just. I always believe that I have to reject the injustice and pursue what is good for me. For example, from the reading “My Name” which is adopted from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza is proud of her Spanish name, even when her classmates make fun of the name. She gladly mentions that the name belonged to her great-grandmother, who was a tough woman (she is proud of such fearlessness). However, she condemns her great-grandfather’s wrong act of marrying her great-grandmother forcefully, and possibly causing her many years of pain, sorrow, and anguish. Esperanza vows not to lead such a sorrowful life like her great-grandmother did. I also feel the same way as Esperanza; that to break the cycle of wrong or negative scripts, it requires an individual with the strength and temerity to trigger the process. If someone who is courageous enough does not rise and condemn some wrong acts in the society, some stereotypes or acts may flow to the next generations, who will subsequently pass them to the next.
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Listening to the speeches by Malcolm X in the video clip, it also seems average individuals cannot condemn wrong acts or resist unwanted scripts. Malcolm’s speeches were delivered at a time when only few people were ready to face their oppressors. In the video clip, Malcolm X talks with vigor, and is so radical that I guess some people might have feared being seen to be too close to him. Although he talked about emancipation of the black people, and the urgent need for equality, he would pay the ultimate price, and indeed, he was assassinated.
The greatest lesson of all from all the readings and the video clip is that resisting unwanted scripts needs courage, and sometimes, we must be ready to pay the ultimate price. The greatest strength of resisting the unwanted scripts should come from focusing on positivity and what is right. It is better for history to narrate that we paid using our lives to advocate for the right things to be done rather than colluding to benefit from doing the wrong things. We must always strive to make the world a better place for all people by breaking various unwanted scripts.
References
“ Malcolm X with Alex Haley”. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
“ Malcolm X: His Own Story as It Really Happened”. Video . https://vimeo.com/233920415
“ My Name”. From The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. http://www.napavalley.edu/people/LYanover/Documents/English%2085/English%2085%20My%20Name%20by%20Sandra%20Cisneros.pdf
