Freedom of Choice

1. Freedom of Choice By: Huntington ReckerJulie EnzenbergerLauren WagnerJoe Martin Molly Fehsenfeld

2. LOGOS • Because it’s an unwritten rule that black people speak to one another when they pass. • The politically correct term for someone with my racial background is “Biracial” or “multiracial” • An African-American acquaintance told me I dress “bourgie”. This means I dress very white. • Job applications, survey forms, college-entrance exams and the like ask individuals to check only one box for race. • Only in recent years have some private universities added the category of BIRACIAL or MULTIRACIAL to their applications.

3. PATHOS • But when I stopped to greet and hug one of my female friends, who happens to be white, Denise seemed a little bothered. • My white friends want me to act one way -- white. My African-American friends want me to act another -- black. Pleasing them both is nearly impossible and leaves little room to be just me. • Before I came to terms with this kind of remark, a comment like this would have angered me, and I must admit that I was a little offended. • On more occasions than I dare to count, black friends have made sweeping derogatory statements about the white race in general. • These comments refer not just to my white friends but to my mother and maternal grandmother as well. • Why should I have to shun or hide my white heritage to enhance my ethnicity? • Doesn’t the fact that I have suffered the same prejudices as every other African-American – and then some – count for something?

4. ETHOS • “…she was referring to ‘jungle fever’, the condition where a black man or woman is attracted to someone of the opposite race”(10). • “My white friends want me to act one way-white. My African-American friends want me to act another-black. Pleasing them both is nearly impossible and leaves little room to be just me”(10). • “Are you a Republican, a Democratic, or an Independent? Are you pro-life or pro-choice? Are you African-American, Caucasian, or Native American”(10). • “To reduce tension and make everyone feel comfortable, I’ve reacted by ignoring half of my identity and downplaying my ethnicity”(10). • “This time it’s my African-American peers exerting pressure to choose. Some African-Americans on campus say I talk too white”(10). • “But instead of showing my frustration, I let it ride, and simply said, Thank You”(10-11). • “Why should I have to shun or hide my white heritage to enhance my ethnicity”(11)? • “Until American society recognizes us as a distinct group, we will continue to be pressured to choose one side of our heritage over the other”(11). • “I have marked BLACK because my skin color is the first thing people notice. However, I could just as honestly have marked WHITE”(11). • “But what good does this do when in the end society makes us choose? Having a separate category marked BIRACIAL will not magically put and end to the pressure to choose, but it will help people to stop judging us as just black or just white and see us for what we really are-both”(11).

5. OVERLAPS • Being biracial feels less like a blessing than a curse. L,P • One reason is the American obsession with labeling. We feel the need to label everyone and everything and group them into neatly defined categories. L,P,E • The implication was that I’m better because I’m only half black. P,E • I blame society for not acknowledging us as a separate race. L,P • But it will help people to stop judging us as just black or just white and see us for what we really are- both. P,E • Are you a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent? Are you pro-life or pro-choice? Are you African American, Caucasian or Native American? Not everyone fits into such classifications. L,E

6. THESIS • American society makes being biracial feel less like a blessing and more like a curse. • Like a never-ending game of tug of war • American society makes being biracial feel less like a blessing and more like a curse. Being biracial is difficult because of our country’s obsession with labeling. The society makes biracial people choose to be black or white. Our society should recognize biracial people as a separate race.

7. Weaknesses • Brian Courtney argues against the American society in favor of Biracial Americans. • When Courtney writes “I am speaking not only for people who, like myself, are half black and half white, but also for those who are half white and half Asian, half white and half Hispanic, or half white and half whatever. Until American society recognizes us as a distinct group, we will continue to be pressured to choose one side of our heritage over the other,” he is grouping every biracial American together, labeling them, just like the American society. I feel as if this a weak argument because some biracial Americans may not feel the same way as Courtney, he is assuming that every single biracial American feels torn between their two heritages, which may not be correct.

8. Strengths • Courtney starts out strong in the beginning and ends strong as well. For example when Courtney writes “One reason is the American obsession with labeling. We feel the need to label everyone and everything and group them into neatly defined categories. . .This presents a problem for me and the many biracial people living in the United States. The rest of the population seems more comfortable when we choose to identify with one group. And it pressures us to do so, forcing us to deny half of who we are,” not only is he using a logo, but he is also stating a valid point that American’s don’t seem to be comfortable with people being on the borderline of two labels. I believe this point is strong because he is using his feelings to portray his own problems with society, not anyone else’s.