Awiti: Revenge and Power
Awiti, the physical representation of the revenge that the descendants of U.S. slaves have against the white people. It is for their enslavement and the treatment they suffered that they Awiti comes in with vengeance. Awiti is not peaceful, she is looking for justice to make the white people suffer in the same way that she and her people did and still do. She looks to punish and to make an example of those who committed and benefited from slavery's atrocities. Awiti will never be at peace with the world, not as long as her people, the descendants of U.S. slaves, are still hurt and their memory remains. She is the revenge that normal African Americans can't achieve on their own.
However, continuing on this path to destroy the white people no longer makes sense in this day and age. There are many white people who have a completely different mindset than their ancestors did, they see all people as equals. Awiti didn't have to kill Rose and the other children in the French family, just killing the man or ruining their name would have been enough, however she took it too far by killing innocents. Awiti needs to stop obsessing over revenge and making hurricanes that destroy the south, as she is now killing and ruining the lives of her own people, the same way her aggressors did.
If Awiti really wanted the best for her people, she would do all she could in her power to help her people be successful in the world, to step up. Yet for some reason she doesn't, she focuses on the past and destruction. As a powerful entity, one has a responsibility to those weaker than themselves. If countries in the world acted in the same way Awiti does, where they can justify hurting their own people for the greater good, then we would dissolve into chaos. We need to be better than Awiti, and see the whole picture not just what we want to see and our own personal goals.
- Eli
I agree with what you are saying about Awiti's actions, but there is more to her story. Awiti is a very complex person who has gone through a lot of trauma. Therefore, she has more than one reason for creating a storm or violence. Also, the examples you gave could be stronger. You go into each idea vaguely and do not use any textual evidence. Anyway, you say that she could have done something else to help her people instead of violence, but do not say how. I believe she could have used her powers earlier and made slavery illegal earlier. She could have also became an advocate. With all the information she had, so totally could be an amazing activist. Another way to use her power is to create a new country for her people. If every African American had their own country, there would be no racial profiling. These are just some idea. (I am not trying to be harsh here). Can't wait to see what you post next!
ReplyDeleteDo you believe that Awiti should have sought reparative or transitional justice as a means of recourse instead of pursuing a campaign of vengeance?
ReplyDeleteAwiti clearly has a Hammurabic approach to justice. But how would she be able to restrain herself and use her immortality for the greater good without a good faith truth and reconciliation process and a genuine reckoning among white people for their transgressions?
Perhaps Awiti might have been more pacific if white supremacy was truly dismantled in the aftermath of slavery’s abolition and if Lost Cause mythology did not become mainstreamed into popular culture (think The Birth of a Nation) and high school history textbooks.