Coates' Description of The Dream in Between The World and Me

I used to believe in hope and one putting in hard work being able to be sufficient to overcome just about any situation. Although that may have some truth to it over time, I had no choice, but to look at things for what they are and what I could realistically do to overcome them. No hope or hard work was of help in that instant nor will it ever be. It was something I had to come to terms with and up to this day it still is a heavy weight on my shoulders which I cannot escape. Learning to manage and live with it on a daily basis is truly hard. It is just a matter of being able to understand it from a logical point of view and realizing at times some things are beyond your control. You just have to accept some situations for what they are and hopefully reach a part where you come to terms with it all for the sake of your own sanity. This is a similar process which Ta-Nehisi Coates had to go through to find answers to all of his questions and be a reference guide to his son in hopes of helping him manage life as a black man. His version of the Dream means reaching a place you find comfort in, a place where you feel that you truly belong and can freely be yourself. This is important because it teaches us that the fear black people feel is greater than most amongst us. It is with wise words that Coates lets us into his and his people’s truths as well as fears. It teaches us that unfortunately their history and its’ effects have trickled down to everyday incidents and how he manages through life while in search of the Dream. Ta-Nehisi Coates depicts through imagery and his wise words the strength of this argument through ethos and pathos.

The dream that Ta-Nehisi Coates describes is that of a “perfect” life mostly directed and based off of white people. It is one of the ways I began to comprehend the truth of someone descending from similar circumstances as mine when compared to my classmates of whiter complexion when a class exercise was done. Coates states, “I have seen the dream all my life. It is perfect houses with nice lawns. It is Memorial Day cookouts, block associations, and driveways. The Dream is tree houses and the Cub Scouts. The Dream smells like peppermint, but tastes like strawberry shortcake”. Basically, the Dream is the life consisting of materialistic things such as houses, lawns, and a life in the suburbs, with people who are fundamentally worry free due to their chosen ignorance of such racism and hardships of those outside of their world. This statement is made strong through the usage of pathos.

The majority of the people capable of the Dream under his eyes are those of white descent for they do not have to worry about racism or biased judgement due to their color. Again, the classroom activity about obstacles in one's life really opened my eyes. Compared to the rest myself and one other classmate scored solely 3 points of “advantage” which went to show a lot. The majority of those with a higher amount of advantage points were the white kids in the classroom because of their parents they have a greater chance to succeed in life. Their work ethic does matter, but in all honesty, it is well known that those of white color tend to have more resources and help in their lives due to the white color always having been set on a pedestal associated with power and success all throughout American history. Just as the effects of African American history still play roles in the life of many African Americans now, as does that history of white people. This is backed up with Coates following words,” I did not understand it until I looked out on the street...white parents...their sons commanded entire sidewalks with their tricycles. The galaxy belonged to them, and as terror was communicated to our children, I saw mastery communicated with theirs”. Along with being more privileged and not having to be in constant worry of the struggles him and his people come face to face with in their everyday lives he understood that they were not the same nor will they possibly ever reach that point of equality due to extremely different circumstances. Here Coates drives his words strongly with the usage of pathos to show the intensity and depth as to which this realization hit him and made his fear further, not for himself, but for what his son is to face and realize on his own at some point in time.

The reality of what Coates has found while learning new things about his culture has made him realize the truth of his and his people’s dream compared to that of a white person. How it will be harder to get there and the odds are higher of them succeeding in life. This is what it is like and more so stuck when Coates mentioned Prince Jones having been killed “on accident” in a case of mistaken identity. A vast majority of African American people detained tend to have police officers more alert due to color. A police officer was once asked, on an old television interview, how he would approach a grey Mercedes when a white man in a suit was in it. He said he would approach him just as he would anyone, calmly then ask for license and registration, basic protocol, but when asked the exact same question and the white man was replaced with a black man he fixed up his posture a bit more and nonchalantly said he would approach with a hand on his gun because “You never know what they might have on them.” -unknown. The extreme aftermath of racism has caused many biased incidents, like that, towards people of a darker complexion and the loss of many of their lives. The fact that they can see past the “happy” portrayal of things and see them for what they are is something necessary for their survival. Coates portrays a moment of chosen ignorance from a white reporter with this incident, '...the host flashed a widely shared picture of an eleven-year-old black boy tearfully hugging a white police officer. Then she asked me about “hope”. And I knew I had failed. And I remembered that I had expected to fail”. In that moment he realized that the reason why many cannot see a thing for how they are is because they choose to ignore the factual things and look the other way. They choose to see pictures of that sort to sugar coat all the various injustices done towards the black community rather than be realistic and accept that regardless that picture racism is well and alive. One moment like that is not the resolution for it all. He effectively uses both ethos and a lot of pathos when expressing his loss and confusion as to why it is that the majority of those people do not want to see things for what they are.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ version of the dream is not as materialistic as the ones portrayed outside of his thoughts. He ends up realizing there is more to that Dream than just a house or a neatly cut green lawn. Coates’ version of the dream is that of being a free man, a free person, without the worry of being targeted. His dream consists of awareness and being able to feel secure and safe within his body. To be content in his own skin and not afraid to be himself all while keeping a mindset that, yeah, he and anyone of his complexion might never feel as safe, as at ease, as privileged as the white race, but being able to get through life in a way that will keep him satisfied and fulfilled while still having to worry about his body much more than others. “That was a moment, a joyous moment, beyond the Dream...more gorgeous than any voting rights bill...We have made something down here. We have taken the one-drop rules of Dreamers and flipped them. They made us into a race. We made ourselves into people.” (Coates 149), this is when he realizes there is more to the dream of his people despite the dream of white people depends on theirs coming to ruins at times. Coates is cherishing the good he discovered and advises his son to do the same with an aware state of mind. Ta-Nehisi uses pathos through this finding causing him a moment of pride, content, excellence, and resilience all in one. A moment in which him and every other African American from his university created as well as were in at the same moment.

It may be difficult for white Americans to accept due solely to the fact they will never have as much knowledge of what black people go through. They have not had to worry as much as a black person about the possibility of rising and prospering throughout life due to always having been superior since the commencement of taking over land that they now call “their” America. They may be able to see past some things, but nothing will ever compare to an experience that have nothing in relation to nor experience of their own. For example, all they may see in a black person living in the ghettos is them being “lazy” or something like that and accuse that of being the reason as to why they are not successful when in reality they need to learn to see things and the bigger picture. There may always be far more circumstances as to why a person of color may be where they are and understand the majority do not have the same advantages of them. In those scenarios they like to see beyond color when in reality it is color that they should see with empathy and proper reasoning to understand why they are as they are and skim their life then compare it to theirs. Two different worlds. Worlds which they have no right to judge or the people in them because they know nothing about them. Someone can tell them their experience and familiarize them with their world, but ultimately it is not valid enough for them to feel entitled to the judgement of it. Coates also previously mentions that it is a choice to ignore such things as the incidents caused repeatedly on a daily basis to his people over something as minimal as a pi cture of a black boy and a white police officer. There was an interview done with an artist by the name of Lil Wayne. He discussed a suicide attempt when he was younger and how a white police officer was the only one who ran straight to him while the other officers, of color and white, went onto searching around the home for drugs. Due to that experience he was asked about believing in racism or if he believes racism is still alive within the world and this correlated well with what Coates mentioned about selective ignorance. He replied with there being no racism through his eyes yet if given research strictly dedicated to the lives being taken compared to those of someone of color to white it would probably help him see things in a more factual manner. Yes, his experience may have not consisted of an angry white man yelling at him for doing that or asking where he had drugs when in a life or death situation, but just because Lil Wayne said, no, to him seeing racism occurring. In a sense that could have had a huge wave effect upon his millions of fans and caused a sort of sugar coating if an incident was to occur again, like a black man getting sopped for mis identification of a criminal on the run. Many of his non-black fans may mis interpret his message and story and make a true incident small when in reality it is an issue whether people choose to see it in person, a Facebook video, or on the news.

It is important to be able to empathize and be willing to see things from a different view. In this case, being able to see things the way a black person does. It will help you understand why it is that some may be more alert when specific people come around them as well as why they may back out in certain situations, we may not find scary. It all comes down to the want of being able to understand others beside yourself. That there is always more to something we may brush off because it may not be something, we have to deal with on an everyday basis. This should be a topic for everyone to be taught of. It may not fix all racism within our world, but it may initiate some sort of progress towards becoming better human beings, one to another for the most part. Greatness cannot be achieved through a one-sided solution. If both sides attempt at listening and working together, progress is progress and a little work can go a long way for the generations to come. The correct use of one's positive ethics and moral views along with their strong feelings of wanting positive change are what makes this overall Dream and what comes with it a potential achievable goal despite all the issues in-between. It is an attainable thing, but it will cost some far much more work and struggle than others.