You Can Shave the Beast, But Will the Fur Grow Back?

1934 Words4 Pages

You Can Shave the Beast, But Will the Fur Grow Back?

I live in Brooklyn, New York City. I was born and bred there. I am one of eight million New Yorkers. New York City is sometimes described as a "melting pot," meaning we are like different Kool-Aid powders that dissolve into a uniform color and flavor. My view differs, though. I think we are eight million different insoluble liquids layered one on top of the other, appearing like oil floating on water. When stirred these liquids are rustled from their respective positions, almost coming together, only to revert to their original separated composition a second later. I'm sorry, Dr. King, we haven't all "sat at the same table" yet. This polarization and social indifference, I believe, stems from the ruthless, heart-hardening, cutthroat environment of our city. But underneath this coarseness, I wonder if there isn't a sliver of pillow-soft care and empathy for those wishing to escape the city's coldness.

New Yorkers are stereotypically known as a crass and rude group, devoid of compassion. Having visited other places in the world I can frankly attest that I have never experienced apathy so widely spread throughout a populace as I have felt living in New York. The "New York attitude" isn't unique to lower class individuals who are down on their luck; it transcends class, gender, and race. It's evident in the Wall Street white collar, the ghetto rogue, the chubby mothers of three-and me. It's a compelling force. I've been trained, conditioned like one of Dr. Pavlov's dogs, to behave this way; to bark on demand, to push as I'm being shoved, to hate when hated.

I was sucked into the vacuum of hate at an early age. When I was twelve years old, I got a taste of the caustic mali...

... middle of paper ...

...form to the street below, I accidentally bump hard into somebody. I offer an apology to this fellow and stick my hand out in good will. He responds with a vile grunt and an ice-cold stare and mumbles, "Fuck off," before hurriedly scurrying away. Predictable, like a hackneyed cliche from the tobacco-chewing mouth of a vociferous Texas football coach in a half-time motivational talk with his players, is the behavior of this rough-hewn New Yorker.

I tried leading this horse to water. He refused to drink. This new-found compassion to lead, to rectify, has lifted my soul halfway out of the hostile, rancorous dark New York mire. The remaining half of my soul is being held back by the stubborn horses whose reins I'm holding onto. They refuse to join me, to whinny and trot along the green meadows of tolerance. They keep bucking. But letting go will only pull me back in.

Show More
Related

  • Minorities Say, “DUMP KOCH”: Mayor Koch and His Troubled Relationship with Minorities

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Love him or hate him, no one can deny that Ed Koch loved his city. Often described as New York’s “Quintessential Mayor,” Koch had none of the glamor that one expects from a person in such a formidable position. Like the city he took control of in 1977, he was loud, brash, imperfect, yet proud. Above all his memorable characteristics, his firmness in his beliefs defined his leadership. “Part of the thing that was most refreshing and most appalling about Koch is that he will stand for what he believes in," Reverend Al Sharpton, one of Koch’s great critics, said of Koch. “He will not say what you want him to. And he will not be intimidated either way" {ABC News, 2013}. So why did minorities dislike him so much while he stood as Mayor? Mayor Ed Koch had such a poor relationship with minorities because his forthright leadership style made him appear insensitive towards racial issues, he struggled with city crackdown of hate crimes, and the strong cultural responses from minorities made Koch-hatred acceptable.

    Read More

  • Our Lady's role in the Ballad of the White Horse

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    winning the spiritual battle, despite a bleak image of the future. Alone on the desolate river isle,

    Read More

  • Whitehead's "The Colossus of New York"

    2601 Words  | 6 Pages

    New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to define New York and its inhabitants in simple terms.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Cosmopolitan Canopies By Elijah Anderson Essay

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended racial segregation in the USA. Since then, America has begun to learn that, no matter the skin tone, we accept all races and become one united nation. Elijah Anderson analyzes certain areas in the big city of Philadelphia and observes how different races and people act and acknowledge one another in the same environment. He describes certain places called “cosmopolitan canopies” where the display of public acceptance by all of all is intense and is a setting where a mix of people can feel comfortable (3). Anderson does a worthy job of backing up his argument with the different evidence he brings to light throughout his article. Although his argument covers how while we might have these cosmopolitan canopies we still have races that are considered “out of place” and how the black people and men in specifically, are seen in the society. For my class observation, I visited Dilworth Park Ice Rink and my reflection at the rink agreed with Anderson’s argument considering that the rink provided a cosmopolitan environment although his argument is now outdated.

    Read More

  • Gender: Annotated Bibliography

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ignificant evidence for my research argument indicates that the nature of gender/sex consists of a wide consensus. The latter is significant to original sex differences in brain structure and the organized role through sex differential prenatal hormone exposures through the term used in the article as (the ‘hardwiring’ paradigm). The article is limited to scientific shortcoming that presents neuroscientific research on sex and gender for it lacks an analysis that goes beyond the observed results. The article is based on neuroscience studies and how it approached gender, yet the article suggests that gender should be examined through social, culture studies, ethnicity and race. This article will not form the foundation of my research but will be used a secondary material. The neuroscience evidences will be used to support my argument and will be used as an example.

    Read More

  • Painting: Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper

    2143 Words  | 5 Pages

    Dumenil, Lynn, ed. "New York City." The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2012. Oxford Reference. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.

    Read More

  • Historic New York and Its Diversity

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    New York City has always been an example of how diversity can exist in a successful and peaceful place. Full of action, enthusiasm, and a combination of many cultures, New York is rich in every sense of the word. For example, taking a walk down the busy streets not only opens your eyes to the small but meaningful details of the city and the different people that revive it but also the numerous worlds that are somehow fused in this magical city, like Little Italy, Chinatown, Little Syria, Korea Town, and many others.

    Read More

  • Ergonomics Essay

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a society becoming burdened by both active and sedentary work, the consequences of overuse injuries, back and neck pain, and weight gain are inevitable. In order to protect the well-being of workers and improve their overall quality of life, the implementation of ergonomic strategies in the workplace is becoming increasingly popular. It is commonly believed that work-related physical symptoms were not addressed in writing until the mid-1800s, but it must be recognized that ergonomics has crucial roots in the practices of Ancient Greece. With changing philosophies throughout history, designers have built on Greek construction methods, work regulations, and tools to improve the comfort, safety, and efficacy associated with working.

    Read More

  • Research Paper: Gender Differences And The Brain

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    Xu, J., Kobayashi, S., Yamaguchi, S., Iijima, K. I., Okada, K., & Yamashita, K. (2000). Gender effects on age-related changes in brain structure. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 21(1), 112-118.

    Read More

  • Cultural Diversity in New York City

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    To conclude, New York City is one of the most densely inhabited metropolitan collection of cultural diversity in the world in which structures our temperament. New York City applies an imperative influence upon trade, economics, mass communication, skill, style, and education. Frequently it is known that New York City is a crucial core for global politics and has been depicted as the ethnic headquarters of the globe. New York City has been known as a melting pot of culture and as this prolong throughout towards the current day, the city has become ornate with distinct cultures. You can easily experience many aspects of different cultures by going to the different ethnic neighborhoods that exist throughout the city.

    Read More

  • Essay On Gender And Gender

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the early years of psychological research, many believed the brain of a male and female was different as their physical appearance in selected areas. The most popular argument was that females had smaller heads and smaller brains than males that brain size was a direct indicator of intelligence and that women must therefore be less intelligent than men. (Hyde, 1990, p.56) The argument overlooked the fact that brain size correlates with the size of the body. Helen Thompson Woolley dismissed the argument on brain size stating, “It is now a generally accepted belief that the smaller gross weight of the female brain has no significance other than that of the smaller average size of the female.” (Hyde, 1990, p.57) During these years, you could only find a meager amount of research using actual psychological methods to determine gender differences.

    Read More

  • Men, Women: Maybe We Are Different

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sandra Witelson is a neuroscientist who has spent much of her career studying the brains functions, and how they differ in women and men. In an interview done in, “"Science Suggests Men and Women Think Differently,” she explained her thoughts on the male and female brain. When asked about the significant differences in the male and female brain that she discovered through her research, she replied: “The very first one that I reported was that when a young boy is doing things relevant for reading, he is using one side of his brain. He uses the other side for non-reading skills. In a girl, there is much more of a bilateral involvement in these skills. So, in the normal six-year-old, the brain is organized to do the same task, but it's organized in a very different way.” In other words,...

    Read More

  • Differences in the Male and Female Brain

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is proven that the male and female brains differ, but can one prove that it affects the behavior? Many scientists would agree that ones behavior is determined by his/her gender. Although others are convinced that social conditioning is the cause for the differences between the male and female, it is very unlikely that biological differences play no role in behavior. The male and female brains differ not only by how they work, but also on the size. For example, Natalie Angier and Kenneth Chang, neuroscientists, have shown that the women’s brain is about 10 percent smaller than the male’s, on average, even after accounting for women’s comparatively smaller body size. Three brain differences that affect ones behavior are the limbic size, the corpus collosum size, and the amount of gray and white matter.

    Read More

  • Nature vs Nurture: Genes vs Environment

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sabbatini, R. (n.d.). Are There Differences between the Brains of Males and Females?. "Brain & Mind" Magazine - WWW Home Page. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n11/mente/eisntein/cerebro-homens.html

    Read More

  • Women's Brain

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    3. 3}Are There Differences between the Brains of Males and Females?,Intellectual differences among the sexes.

    Read More

More about You Can Shave the Beast, But Will the Fur Grow Back?

Open Document