Blog 3: The Hate in Our Society

In the Jordan Peele film “Get Out” and Desmond Cole’s memoir “The Skin We’re In”, racism takes on a more subtle and effective role. While we have moved on from the days of open persecution and slavery, racism still seeps into every aspect of our society, working to influence our very thoughts and actions as it turns citizens against one another and creates biases and prejudices in the place of love and acceptance. Both the film and memoir illustrate the less blatant ways in which minorities, especially black men, are persecuted by society on the grounds of their differences, which are treated as flaws. Although slavery and segregation have long since disappeared from western society, the scars of injustice are still continually forced open as countries such as Canada and America practice more subtle forms of discrimination against Black people.

 This subtlety is best shown in “Get Out”, where Peele demonstrates the racism from self-professed liberal families. From the moment he meets his girlfriend’s family, Chris is subject to comments and remarks which are very much unwarranted. From the all-Black housekeeping staff to the way they objectify Chris based on his race, discrimination is brushed aside as nonexistent and Chris is made to feel as if his complaints are nonsense and paranoia, despite their truth. This is also highlighted in Desmond Cole’s memoir, where he explains that “…whiteness is often about endless disavowal. Whiteness pretends to forget its own name when called, and refuses to acknowledge its desire for dominance.” (Cole, 9)

Despite this endless disavowal, there are clear signs of prejudice in our society. Cole tells the story of a young black man living in Toronto who was assaulted by police in his own art gallery for no reason, treated like a criminal because of his race. This experience is common, and black men are taught to fear the police, who can kill them on a whim and escape punishment. In “Get Out”, Chris is similarly racially profiled by the police, and his fear is the fear of all Black men who experience discrimination and hatred. Despite this clear and blatant discrimination from the very institution which is meant to protect us, Black people are still told that racism has disappeared long ago, and that their complaints are an insult to our equal and just society.

This is just one facet of the subtle method in which control and dominance is established over black people. By telling them we are equal while treating them as inferior, Black people are firmly placed at the bottom of our country’s hierarchy, sealing them shut behind a glass ceiling which displays all the wealth and power of our society which they will never be allowed to have. In Peele’s “Get Out”, the family tries to take his brain and give it to a rich white man, painting a direct picture of just how Black people are forced into submission and control by society, as it seeks to control their minds and trick them into accepting this unequal society. By doing so they are no longer free, but rather turned into second hand citizens subject to rampant discrimination and are powerless to fight back.

In conclusion, both Peele’s film and Cole’s memoir show the constant struggles Black people, and especially Black men, go through in our society which constantly labels and derides them due to their race. Although they are constantly educated on the equality of modern society, their experiences are much more negative and discriminatory. Although many people refuse to accept it, racism is still very present and only through acknowledging its existence can we begin to fight it.  As Cole said, ” You can’t ask people who have been oppressed their whole lives to forget that and ignore the fact that it might be happening again.” (Cole, 2)