2008 Woodie Awards
The infinity of the complacent mind
Alanna Jones
Issue date: 11/2/05 Section: Editorials
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The Microsoft Encarta Dictionary defines infinity as "limitless time, space, or distance, and an amount or number too great to count. Complacent is defined by the same dictionary as "self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers." With that said, The Infinity of the Complacent Mind, can be defined as the limitless distance within the mind to be self-satisfied and unaware of one's surroundings. The question now is: Does this mere definition describe PV society, better yet, black society as a whole?"
To be complacent is to stand still and not make efforts to grow beyond the box that white society has placed "us" in. To stand still is not wanting to move forward to see where the next step will take you. To not move forward is to allow someone or some other entity that is outside the box take what may rightfully be yours. Why are blacks allowing their minds to be shaped into a square box and not take shape with the plights at hand? And why are we OK with limiting ourselves to only what we know thus far?
For centuries, whites have placed black society in the four-cornered room of slavery, demoralization, hatred, and inferiority. They do this because of how their ancestors ridiculed our ancestors and believe that the present day minds of black people are based on how we have been represented in our history. This may be true depending on the experiences in one's life, yet, blacks show this same cruelty to one another including on PV's campus. Why is this happening?
Didn't the pro-black movements led by such activists as Martin Luther King clearly demonstrate the importance of "black unity?" The death of Rosa Parks should be branded in our minds as the buried legacy of someone who has defined our simple liberty of being able to sit at the front of the bus, which has transcended into the ability of blacks being able to sit coach on airplanes. With all this rich history that flows through the veins of "our" true essence, we continue to feel that "our" brothers and sisters next to us want or have the desire to bring "us" down. Why?
To be complacent is to stand still and not make efforts to grow beyond the box that white society has placed "us" in. To stand still is not wanting to move forward to see where the next step will take you. To not move forward is to allow someone or some other entity that is outside the box take what may rightfully be yours. Why are blacks allowing their minds to be shaped into a square box and not take shape with the plights at hand? And why are we OK with limiting ourselves to only what we know thus far?
For centuries, whites have placed black society in the four-cornered room of slavery, demoralization, hatred, and inferiority. They do this because of how their ancestors ridiculed our ancestors and believe that the present day minds of black people are based on how we have been represented in our history. This may be true depending on the experiences in one's life, yet, blacks show this same cruelty to one another including on PV's campus. Why is this happening?
Didn't the pro-black movements led by such activists as Martin Luther King clearly demonstrate the importance of "black unity?" The death of Rosa Parks should be branded in our minds as the buried legacy of someone who has defined our simple liberty of being able to sit at the front of the bus, which has transcended into the ability of blacks being able to sit coach on airplanes. With all this rich history that flows through the veins of "our" true essence, we continue to feel that "our" brothers and sisters next to us want or have the desire to bring "us" down. Why?
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