Dear, diary

Today was a day of my most terrible experience I have ever had. I went fishing at the Chattahoochee River, where fishing is allowed only for whites. Suddenly I heard loud screaming and I searched for the source. I followed the voice until the swamp, which is just 100 metres next to the river. I could not believe what I saw. There were a couple of whites gathered around a black man. One white man took a knife and cut of the black’s penis. I have never heard such a cry. I was totally shocked and could not move myself. Then a white man cut off his testicles, sliced the sides of the stomach and forced the black to eat his penis and his testicles. The situation was so disgusting and ugly that I vomited in the swamp. After that they amputated fingers and toes and started to burn with red hot irons the black from the top to the bottom. The beastly smell of burned skin bit in my nose. I thought how could I stop this cruelty, but I had not the heart to do something, because I thought they would do the same with me like they did with the black man. I felt so bad, because I did not help. While the other whites tortured him, another man tied up a rope around the black’s neck and pulled it over limb so that the black was choked to death. I could not breath while I saw the black vainly snatching for air. Then the whites decided just to kill him. The terrible sound of the shoot was a kind of redemption in my ears. The black man’s redemption of the pain and my redemption of the heart breaking cry.  I thought the outrage was over and turned to go home, but then I heard the noise of an automobile and I saw how the whites dragged the black behind their car. The lifeless, bloodied body razed on the ground a left a trail of blood. It was so brutal that I began to cry and a kind of fury developed inside me. The car drove away, but I followed the blood spot. After a while I found the location where the car stopped. There were thousands of people, who looked like they were waiting for the dead black. A woman came out of a house and drove a butcher knife in the lifeless body. Suddenly the crowd started to kick the body and some people drove over him with their cars. I screamed as loud as I could to cease this situation, but no one reacted. I cannot describe this cruelty, because there is no word, which is terrible enough to define that act. The mob brought the remained body to Marianna, where it is hanging from tree like a black fruit. A photographer was beside me and told me happily that he will soon have pictures of the body and he will sell it at fifty cents. The fury inside exploded and I fizzled into his face and ran away.

In deepest sorrow your John Smith

1600:  First European settlements were founded in North America ( unfree laborers  were part of economy , especially in the  South.

1807: Congress outlawed the importation of slaves, but slave sustained in the USA, because of a westward expansion and industrialization led to enormous rise of cotton production.

1831: Nat Turner Revolt: 60 whites had been killed, but also 200 blacks

1850:  The Fugitive slave law was enacted whose consequences were the legal capture of every black person in the North to bring them as slaves into the southern states.

1859: John Brown Rebellion: Abolitionist, who wanted to start a slave revolt, but it failed in the end

1860:

1861: Civil War began: Fight between northern and southern states.

Around the1900 Century: Underground Railroad: secret system that organised the escape of slaves from southern to northern states, for instance Canada and Mexico.

1865: End of Civil War and begin of reconstruction era

1865: 13^th amendment: abolishment of slavery

1868: 14^th amendment: secure the rights of former slaves

1870: 15^th amendment: ban race-based voting qualification

1877: the last federal troops left the South and end of reconstruction era

1881: Tuskegee Institute started

1890: southern states rewrote their constitutions and passed new laws, called the Jim Crow laws, to enforce the rigid separation of the races

1896:  the US Supreme Court confirmed the legality of segregation

1954: systematic of humiliation of African Americans ended, because the Supreme Court overturned its earlier decision and ruled that segregated schools are inherently unequal. (von Natur aus ungleich)

1962: James Meredith became the first black student at the University of Mississippi

Compare Washington’s and Du Bois’ ideas about the future of colored people

In the following text I will compare the texts “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington” (1), “A matter of Time” (2) and  “a sense of Outrage” (3). Booker T. Washington, who was an American pedagogue and social reformer, who started a school program in Tuskegee for colored people. But a professor of Economics and History, named William Edward Burghardt Du Bois criticized Washington’s few of the future of colored people.

Booker T. Washington and Du Bois are both abolitionists, which mean that there are against slavery and segregation. They want to educate the colored people, but in different ways.

Mr. Washington represents the industrial education, through the blacks shall achieve an accumulation of wealth and a conciliation of the south (1: ll. 23). He demands a present abandonment of political power, insistence on civil rights and higher education of Negro youth (1: ll. 21). Booker T Washington also wants that the blacks give up their fight for their rights, because first it would only be a contra productive effect on economy to reach his aim, namely skilled workers and second  if the proceed of possession of property, intelligence and high character will sustains, the colored people will regain automatically their political rights (2: ll.2). As opposed to that Du Bois requires a higher education and human- and political rights for the black, to put both races on the same level in society. Du Bois criticized Washington’s program, in which he tries to educate blacks in to business men and property owners without suffrage. In a world of modern competitive methods it is not possible to achieve this without the right to vote (1: ll. 40). Booker T. Washington also wants the self-respect of the Negroes, but Du Bois has doubt on his idea, because a man cannot get self-respect if he should submit to a civic inferiority (1: ll. 44). Mr. Washington wants to arrange an intelligence test or property test, to find out who is able to vote and who is not (2: ll.32). W.E.B. Du Bois asks for an immediately right to vote, especially in the southern states, where blacks have absolutely no voice in shaping the laws under which they have to live and work. (3: ll.15). In the southern states blacks have nothing to say and the laws were disbanding from people who would rather punish ten slaves than let one escape (3: ll. 30). The current situation is just a humiliation and the disfranchising laws are an elimination of the blacks from politics (3: ll. 28).

3.        Describe Frederick’s mistress and the way she changes

At first Frederick’s mistress was kindly and instructed him how to read and write. Later her husband gave her the advice and direction to cease teaching Frederick, but at first she lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting him up in mental darkness. So she went on instructing Frederick, and that is kind of protest against her husband and therefore she is very self-confident. The mistress was tender- hearted, pious, warm and had simplicity in her soul as well. She helped everyone, who needed help. For instance Bread for hungry, clothes for the naked, and comfort for every mourner. But the slavery divested these great qualities of her. She started to change herself. The once tender- hearted woman became a stone. From the lamp-like lady, to tiger-like fierceness. At first she ceased to instruct Frederick and began to practise her husband’s precepts and was even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself . Finally she was pretty angry, when she saw Frederick was reading a newspaper.

Frederic Douglass

The text “A Soul in Chains” an excerpt of “A Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass” written by Frederick Douglass in 1845, is about a black slave and his everyday in America.

Frederic Douglass is a young black guy, who was born as a slave and was separated from his mother when he was an infant. The living and working conditions of the slaves are very hard. Often slaves get tied up to a joist and whip upon their naked backs till they are covered with blood. They do not get much food and their clothing is very thin and cheap. In addition to this there are no beds for the slaves, all they get, is a coarse blanket. There is no privation. Through heaps of work and harsh enslavers the slaves do not get much sleep, as they have to prepare for the field for the coming day. The slaves have miserable working conditions because they have to work by each weather, on hot days, on very cold days, in the snow and in the rain. The enslavers do not know any mercy.

Analysis – the slave auction

The poem “the slave auction” from Frances E. W. Harper is about an inhuman trade with people, called slave auction. The poem was written in the view of the slaves and expressed their feelings.

The poem has no stanzas and contains 24 verses with the end rhyme, which creates a constant sound. The lines have iambic feet.  I think these constant feeling shall represent the steady slave auctions, that happen every day at that time. It is also the critique, that no one did something to stop this inhuman trade and let them taking place all day.

The poem is filled with words and adjectives of negative emotions, like wretchedness, despair, anguish, bitter cries, streaming eyes and so on. These words should show the terrible circumstances during a slave auction and also the whole bad life of a slave.

In line 17 is a change of the beginning of the sentences. In line 17 the verses start with “you”, instead of “and”. So there could be a divide into two parts.

In line five, nine 13 and 17 are an anaphora and an enumeration, which puts emphasize on the situation during the slave auction. Moreover, there are alliteration in line 3, 5 and 17, which also stress the whole, fearful situation.

Line 3: … stifled sobs of deep despair

Line 5: and mothers stood with streaming eyes

Line 9: and woman with her love of truth

Line 13: and men, whose sole crime…

Line 17: ye who have laid your love to rest…

Line 21: ye may not know how desolate…

The sale began—young girls were there,

Defenseless in their wretchedness,

Whose stifled sobs of deep despair

Revealed their anguish and distress.

And mothers stood, with streaming eyes,

And saw their dearest children sold;

Unheeded rose their bitter cries,

While tyrants bartered them for gold.

And woman, with her love and truth—

For these in sable forms may dwell—

Gazed on the husband of her youth,

With anguish none may paint or tell.

And men, whose sole crime was their hue,

The impress of their Maker’s hand,

And frail and shrinking children too,

Were gathered in that mournful band.

Ye who have laid your loved to rest,

And wept above their lifeless clay,

Know not the anguish of that breast,

Whose loved are rudely torn away.

Ye may not know how desolate

Are bosoms rudely forced to part,

And how a dull and heavy weight

Will press the life-drops from the heart.

Dear Mr Wilson,

I read your text “The internet is destroying the world as we know it”. Mostly I think like you. The internet is a great media to inform, entertain and to delight us and even for children, but it is important, that their parents have a look on it, what their children do there, because in the internet are much pornographic and violent materials and that is not qualified for little kids. Another important aspect is, that in the World Wide Web are often false information and it is difficult to recognize them even for an expert internet user. The privacy and liberty, for instance that” google” wants to plan the living of each internet user , like you have written in your text, is also dangerous for the users. But I think that if you do not want to offer your personal information, you could get it, that the most stays secret. So you must be carefully, when you download something and the program wants your address or the name of your favourite animal or colour. The next thing is the website “Wikipedia”. It is a very fast and easy way to get information, but the biggest problem is, that not everything is true, because everyone could upload false information. It is individual, if you need information very fast, you can get it there but with a risk of false information. Wikipedia is a website with two faces, but I think, that it shall not delete. So the internet is a giant media and you should be aware of the possible false information in every second and do not believe everything. If you are not sure, whether the information you found is true or not, you can compare it with information from other websites or you can even read a book 😀 .

With friendly greetings Hans Filbrandt

An alien contact by Michael Crichton

1.

The attitude of the members of the US government towards an alien contact is pretty cool and unstressed. For instance in line 23 the pentagon man said that he has doubts, that the aliens could withstand a hit with a multimeg nuclear device. Another example in line 34 “ .. the aliens are vulnerable to our nuclear weapons.”. So the members think that they could defeat the aliens with their weapons and that aliens are no threat for the USA. Moreover the president will talk to these aliens personally and will also meet them at Camp David. The government does not fear the aliens. In line 9 Norman sneaked  a glance at his watch, so he thinks it is wasting of time talking about an alien contact.

3.

a)

In line 15 “ the president meets with aliens at Camp David ….. what a media moment “.In the event the media plays the connection between the president and the meeting with aliens, and the people, who watch or listen to the event.

b.)

sorry no idea

Comment of the NEW YORK TIMES fake by THE YES MEN

A  free special edition of  THE NEW YORK TIMES was published in year 2008. The special edition was a free newspaper and included false information for example about the Iraq War. Some headlines called “ Iraq War ends” , “ Court indicts Bush on high treason charge” or “ Biofuels ban act signed into law, seeks to ease food shortage”.

I think there are too sides to estimate the fake newspaper. On the one hand it was very funny to see who did believe the news and who did not or to see in general the reaction by the American population whether they were glad, happy, surprised or even shocked. The most fake information in that special edition, were also the hopes and wishes of the Americans. But on the other hand, it was very mean, because if a relative of an in Iraq positioned soldier read the news that the Iraq war ends he is very happy and thinks something like “ god bless you, my son will come back “ and suddenly he notices ,that it is a fake and than the person is very disappointed. Probably the YES MEN even had not the rights to copy the layout from the NEW YORK TIMES, so I think it was a kind of crime and I also think that it is not allowed to broadcast this massive lies.

Comment of the cartoon : “Freedom of Press”

The cartoon “ freedom of press “ shows four men who sit in a prison. Above their heads are speech balloons with words from the world family “ press “.

I think these people were sentenced, because they have no press freedom and they dared to say something, with what the government disagreed. So they all were sent to prison. Every person says why he is in prison.

This cartoon shall represent the situation in some states, because in some states the press freedom does not exist or the freedom is so small, that the government sentences people on the basis of banal things like in the cartoon “ bad weather report “ and this is also the irony of the cartoon “ freedom of press ? “.

Freedom of press ?

My opinion :

• press freedom is important

• if there is no press freedom no one would give a critical comment and there would not be controversy , because if nobody says something , it looks like everything is fine

• press freedom limit if…. :

• people were discriminated by newspapers especially tabloids ( german example : BILD)

• paparazzi enter the privacy of some one

Editor die Welt

– “ I may disagree with what you say, but I will

defend to my death your right to say it”

–    He wants the press freedom, and that everyone has

the right to say what he wants and to show his

opinion. What the person finally wants to say,

is not important for him. The principal is what

he wants.

Pakistani High Commissioner

– “We may disagree with what you say

and if we do , we will send you to

prison “

– No press freedom

– no chance to say what you want

– saying something with what they

may disagree , is a crime