What's Inside You, Brother? - Response
Tour'e is quick, smooth and swift. When reading, what's inside you, brother? it is as if we are in his mind with him. He takes us on a journey of how it is to be a boxer, a boxer thats fighting more than just his oppoinet but also fighting his insecurities and doubts about himself. The struggles of being a boxer are similar to the struggles he feels about being a black man, never good or real enough. He says in this passage " And Now you're talking Muhammad Ali, the smooth flowing, fan dazzling, rhythm poet, the melding of Louis Armstrong and Malcolm X and Michael Jackson and the zip bam boom, the speed, swagger , swish, rope a dope jungle rumbler, Manila thriller . .. " In this part of the story- he's not only comparing himself to great people - but great people of black excellence. Its like he's trying to compare himself to these powerful black people. Listing qualities they both share in common. The swiftness, the power, the zip bam boom - all the qualities these black men possess all living in Tour'e . Its like not only is he trying to prep himself up and hype himself up for the fight. But he is also - reminding himself that he does come from greatness and a great culture behind him and in fact he has everything to be proud of being a black man and should not feel inferior to his own race or feel like he needs to fit in somewhere else with another race become the "exception" to them.
Taking this journey with Tour'e in his brain during this match - its like for once even though the racial comments that he has probably never heard before towards him since being so apart of that opposite race - now in the ring, he is hearing the comments and the slurs that are not honestly right and for once its like the comments are fueling and pumping him. In the ring, its as if he notices that he is not like them and when it comes down for it - no one is going to chant for a black man when he's fighting a white man. Its as if he now understands that he is different, he is not like them and he is apart of a different culture that is proud of him and is acceptance of him no matter what. During certain moments of the passage, like when he was younger and playing with Caucasian kids and they said slick remarks about him getting dirty in the play ground and no one being able to tell a difference - you see a break through here, an "ah ha" moment. Where Tour'e is really coming to terms that he was only accepted on the account that he never stood up for himself - he never stood up for his people, he always let people degrade him and those like him
Towards the ending Tour'e says "No matter what" " Ive got to fight, always fight, even in the face of sure defeat, because no one can hurt me as badly as i can" - He has come to the realization that he is his own oppressor. He is his own worst enemy and no one has disrespected him more than his own self and lack of ability to be true to himself. He must continue to fight. He must continue to be strong, because no matter what - the biggest let down , is him letting himself down.
This piece of writing was amazing. To live in a persons head for a couple of minutes and see what they see and understand what they understand. To be able to visual a breakthrough and a see this man go from being naive to becoming proud in who he is and starting to take pride in being black and not being negligent to the fact that he is a black man and being a black man comes with struggles that he decided to ignore before. This piece is all about a naivety, break though and acceptance and I feel like he captured all of that perfectly.
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