Examples Of Prejudice In Fences

Prejudice and the Natural Xenophobic Reactions of Man

In a country born from rebellion and proven on the racial genocide that is the American Civil War, it is no mystery as to why cross-cultural conflict remains a festering wound for the people of America. As a major topic of discussion, many books, plays, and even movies are produced, focusing on the hate and prejudice experienced by minorities. This conflict occurs and perpetuates itself between two groups with different cultural ideals. The play Fences written by August Wilson focuses on a brief period in the life of the Maxson family that stresses the racial inequality they experience in the town of Pittsburgh. Likewise, Walter Mosley writes his crime novel Devil in a Blue Dress from

the view of an African-American World War two veteran Easy Rawlins in post-war Los Angeles. While easy unfolds the mystery laid in front of him, Mosley portrays a very racially prejudiced population that forces many into illegal lines of work. While the issue of race permeates these novels, sexual preference sits at the heart of the play The Laramie Project written by Moises Kaufman. Told from the basis of a real life event, young boy named Matthew Shepard attending college in Laramie is beaten and left to die on a cold hillside solely due to the fact that he is a homosexual. Almost hardwired into the human mind, xenophobia or the fear of that which is different has existed since before the birth of modern man. When fear of difference is solved with violence and discrimination, problems involving both the laws of society and the natural rights of man are created. While the experiences of these previously shunned groups improves over the past handful of decades, the continued hate based attacks on minorities leave a lasting impact on the views of modern society.
The cause of many armed conflicts and civil issues of the past, the racial prejudice against African-Americans decreases but is not removed from modern social views.

This African-American struggle for equality is the focus of the play Fences. Troy Maxon, father in the Maxon households, meets many of the stereotypes held of black men during the time period. An unfaithful man with multiple children from multiple women, Troy often spends his afternoons drinking himself into a drunken stupor. Wilson shows that Troy’s humanity remains intact and thus the treatment he receives is unjust. Every issue he faces, Troy believes is due to the color of his skin. While Troy talks to Rose about why he never played professional baseball, she suggests that he was too old. Troy rebuttals that he is simply the wrong color, believing the issue to be his race and not his age (Wilson 39). While his longtime friend from prison Jim Bono agrees with and validates Troy’s answer, at the same time Troy tries playing baseball professionally, other African-American players such as Jackie Robinson succeed where he fails. The inclusion of this detail shows the effect prejudice has on Troys mindset, forcing him to believe all white men look down on all African-American men. To further enforce the idea of his oppressed mindset, Troy complains that only white men drive garbage trucks (2). While Troy is eventually promoted to a driver, the fact that up to that point only white men drive shows that Troy does experience real racial prejudice in his daily life. In a similar manner to the prejudice Troy receives from his boss, the main character of Devil in a Blue Dress, Easy Rawlins, faces an issue of pride when confronting his boss after losing his job. While speaking to his old boss Mr. Giacomo, Easy only thinks of refusing to bow down and kiss the ass of the white man before him to get his job back (Mosley 111-112). Instead of giving in and submitting to the same disrespect he received while working

for him, Easy demands that Mr. Giacomo respects him before allowing him to leave. While the victory Easy experiences is small, it represents the much greater change of views that starts to occur in post-war America. Easy views the relationship as emulating the slave-owner relationship of the past and refuses to conform to it. This slave-owner view held by Easy of his relationship can still be seen today in the news. Dr. Brittney Cooper, assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University experiences modern day racism while she rides on a subway to teach about the Ferguson incident at New York University stating that a white man told her “You should listen to me when I talk to you” (Cooper 1). He does this after picking up her bag that is sitting next to her and shoving it into her so he has room to sit down. As a well educated woman, she is immediately offended by the insinuation that the man is a superior to her. The recent shooting and riots in Ferguson results in an increase in the public discussion of racism. It is with this knowledge that intercultural conflict based on racism is undoubtedly present in modern society.
Just as granting rights and equality for African-Americans results in many violent confrontations, the modern gay rights movement has resulted in many conflicts, including those found in the play The Laramie Project written by Moises Kaufman and even in recent Supreme Court Decisions. In the town of Laramie, few people choose to concern themselves with the actions of homosexuals as long as homosexuals leave them alone. The Laramie Project does not document the story of Matthew Shepard, rather it amasses the effect it has on the population of the town into a unified work of literature. It is the individual opinions on the matter that characterize the town and what exactly led to the brutal attack. When discussing the assault with Aaron McKinney, Sheriff Rob DeBree hears that he hit him a few more times because he read the license plate number. Debree responds that Aaron must not like gay people very much. Aaron then agrees with Sheriff DeBree (92 - 93). Multiple witnesses confirmed that Shepard did not approach the two men, nor did he make an approach on anyone else. The natural human instinct of xenophobia oversteps the bounds of rational thought and leads to the attack on Matthew Shepard. This fear of homosexuality becomes the argument for the innocence of the two murderers. The message this portrays is that society is unable to easily accept those things that are different. This same view is expressed by award winning author and recipient of over fifty honorary degrees, Maya Angelou. In her poem “Caged Bird” she writes, “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams” (1). This line of the poem describes how the dreams of the oppressed homosexuals are buried and lost due to the inability of the people surrounding them to accept them. Just as the caged bird dreams of the long lost freedom of flight that all other birds enjoy, Matthew Shepard has his dreams, and his life, ripped from his hands. Since the attack and subsequent increase in the fight for gay rights not only has the acceptance of gays increased, but also thirty-six states legalized gay marriage. One such state is Utah, which as of October sixth in the year 2014 legalized same-sex marriage due to a court decision. Writer for the National Newspaper The Wall Street Journal Ashby Jones when discussing a series of ten appeals made on a decision to remove the ban on same sex marriage in Utah, explains that spokeswoman Sean Reyes stated that the Utah attorney general and a defendant in the case plan to once again appeal the case to the Supreme Court (2). Even after the decision is made to repeal the ban on same-sex marriage, an official for the state of Utah planned to appeal the decision even after ten unsuccessful attempts. While some people disapprove of the idea due to religious beliefs, the United States is a country where religion and Federal law are separate entities. The fact that a state official cannot remain unbiased in a situation such as this once again shows the xenophobic nature of modern society. For the same reasons that Matthew Shepard is harshly assaulted, modern politicians choose to relentlessly attempt to repeal progress made in favor of gay rights proving beyond a reasonable doubt that cross-cultural conflict based on sexual orientation is still present in modern society.
While the sands of time fall in such a way that many of the population accept the differences between various groups of people, it is undoubtedly so that a percentage are unable to accept the changes that are already set in motion. Just as Easy Rawlins and Troy Maxon experience discrimination throughout their lives, Dr. Brittney Cooper faces the same racial undertones while commuting to teach the modern youth about another racially based conflict. Decades after African-Americans gain full equality, racism is still the basis for many crimes or small confrontations seen throughout the world. Similarly, Matthew Shepard, who is beaten and left tied to a fence to die, suffered this terrible travesty due to fear of homosexuality. The same problematic thoughts cause disruption of legal court decisions today. The inability of many of this modern society to accept change and difference and not simply tolerate it leads to and will continue to lead to conflict between various cultures throughout the nation. While undoubtedly the current issues will lessen with time, if the fear of strange or unknown cultures continues to perpetuate itself it is unlikely that society shall ever see an end to intercultural conflict.