In Claudia Rankine's Citizen, Rankine often shares small anecdotes in order to create an image to get her point across. Some of the images she creates are extremely relatable to me, and I can picture them perfectly, even in my community.
At the beginning of Section III, a friend of the narrator calls her a “nappy-headed ho” (41). This shocks the narrator, because her friend had never talked in what she calls “black people language.” The friend seems to have adjusted her language based on her surroundings, which is something I see all the time in my community. For example, I see white kids, who hang around black kids, try and act like they are black, similar to the friend in Section III. This includes using what Rankine calls “black people language,” which unfortunately includes the n-word. I’ve heard too many white kids say the n-word, thinking it’s okay because they are friends with black people. Because of their surroundings, they adapt and change who they are. I believe that changing the way you act, talk, and carry yourself because of the people you are around is wrong, despite almost everyone doing it. I can admit to doing it, just on a lot smaller of a scale. I act very differently around my friends than around my parents. It’s just a matter of when it becomes offensive, which is what Rankine is trying to expose. Cultural appropriation is a thing, however there are levels to how offensive it is. I believe Rankine is trying to inform society about how common this problem is, and how it often goes unnoticed. The problem seems to be getting worse, and I see it almost everyday, even in a very progressive community.
This post is really interesting because I as well have seen it my whole life living in Oak Park. It reminded me of a discussion we had class and I think the conclusion to it was that changing the way you speak to someone because of their race, is just even more degrading and disrespectful to them. I would say this because when you do that it is showing that before you have even spoken to them you assume that they cannot comprehend your everyday language that you would talk to any white person with. I cannot relate to someone who has had this happen to them, because I am white, but I assume that it feels pretty bad when you know someone is changing how they speak to talk to you.
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