Maddenation
Two Towns of Jasper
Last Thursday my school dedicated an entire day to celebrating and learning about diversity. It was billed, “Diversity Day”. Mostly students and some faculty spent a good part of the year planning for the day. The schedule was basically as follows. 1. Small prayer service 2. Viewing of the movie Two Towns of Jasper 3. Small group discussion about movie (students with students and teachers with teachers in groups of 7-12) 4. Town Hall meeting with one of the producers from the movie 5. more small groups 6. Church service reconciliation thing.
I went into the day not knowing quite what to expect. I was certainly happy to have a break from teaching and I was certainly a bit reserved and skeptical. When the day ended, I was moved. The movie, “Two Towns of Jasper” was horrible and disturbing and provocative and enlightening and heart wrenching and touching and unbelievable and more of the same. Two Towns of Jasper (also with a PBS website) “is a feature-length documentary about the 1998 racially motivated murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas”. It was shot by two film makers (childhood friends) – one white, one black. The black guy interviewed and worked only with the black people of Jasper and the white guy with the white folks. Only at the end did they weave their work together into the final documentary. The movie is great cause for self-reflection, perhaps why I liked it most. The extreme stratification of one town sheds light on the prejudices and biases present in all towns and institutions and more so in ourselves. You’ll have to see for yourself.
The town hall meeting in the afternoon turned out to be equally as important. The white producer, Whitney Dow was here to speak with our school. Kids and teachers negotiated down the gym bleachers to one of the two central microphones to ask their questions. This lasted about one and a half hours, with Dow crafting answers to a multitude of questions and occasionally offering a joke or wisecrack. He’s a bright and intriguing fellow. After the meeting I went to speak with him myself, having run out of time. I wanted to know how it was that he had changed his life – from a superficial magazine commercial producer (stuff like Sassy) – to a substantive world-class documentary maker. He spoke a little of his upbringing and family and how unsatisfying his earlier production career was (although highly lucrative). He wanted to do more important work I guess. Good motivation I think. Now his life/career is dedicated to further study of race relations and diversity. So, check out the sites, maybe check out the film. I might write more later – right now it’s time to teach!
David • Reviews • 05/06/03 • 5 comments
Comments
Patrick • 05/13/03 • 3:01 PM:Thanks for pointing us to this thought-provoking film. I hope to see it one day. I know something about the story it’s about, but certainly not enough. It’s good to see creative people directing their energies to life-changing, dialogue-creating efforts like this one is purported to be. I hope its effect is broad and deep.
Dad • 05/14/03 • 11:58 PM:As Patrick pointed out in another comment, it is harder to comment on the serious entries than the silly ones. That is as it should be. Easier to go with a few quick words on a subject that isn’t so important, that only provokes simple, wise-crack lines, than to take the time to understand and empathize with the serious message; take it in and roll it around a bit; spend time asking the tough, sometimes personal questions it provokes; spend even more time developing and documenting your own thoughts and feelings.
So I’ve taken my time responding to this review. Not enough time, to be sure, but at least a few days to reach a point where too much is piling up behind it to wait much longer.
When I first heard about the incident in Jasper, I was appalled, of course, but more than that, I knew it was one of those events that expands our capacity to imagine evil. Like other events in my lifetime, it confirmed once again what I knew already—that there is no limit to how good or how bad we can become. More than that, it once again showed me that all evil is connected. Each slip, even tiny deviations from high levels of ethical and moral behavior, causes a ripple effect that can, like the movement of a butterfly’s wings in China, cause turbulence that has unimaginable consequences down the road. Have you ever noticed someone close to you behave in a way that didn’t meet the standards you thought they had set for themselves? Have you noticed that the less-than-best behavior on the part of a friend or relative can cause you to relax a little when it comes to your own ethical standard? Each wrong observed, each bad example if you will, lessens the ability of those nearby to maintain their own good behavior. Each act of racism, ever so slight, tends to legitimize the subtle racism of others, and so on down the line, until eventually, it reaches Jasper, and from there the six o’clock news. It’s happened before, and will happen again. Be on guard.
Dan • 05/15/03 • 11:57 AM:from vectors:
6. Our avocations bring us the purest joys. Praise my salads or my softball, and I am deified for a day. But tell me I am a great teacher or a great writer and you force me to tell myself the truth.
13. Gravity’s reciprocal: the planet rises to the sparrow’s landing.
Dad • 05/20/03 • 10:11 PM:I like the first Vector but don’t see the connection to the entry or comments. The second Vector is also good, and seems to reinforce the butterfly effect.
Dan • 05/26/03 • 2:12 AM:dad has asked me to explain what i mean with the first vector i quoted. what i was referring to was the idea that it is easier to comment on the silly insignificant things than on the bigger ideas. that’s all.
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