In “The Daily Social Distancing Show,” Trevor Noah says that society is a contract in which we agree to common ideals, common rules and common practices that define the society. However, Noah states that “the contract is only as strong as the people who are abiding by it.” He uses the idea of a social contract to reason with the people rioting and looting; what are their motives to abide by a social contract while black Americans are abiding by the contract and the contract is not honoring them in return? A full citizen is someone that abides by the social contract and maintains social order, and because of that, expects to be served by the government. Therefore, if the government does not serve black people, why should people be expected to maintain social order? He expresses the collective outrage of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd being murdered by police and how the policemen getting released is proof that the social contract is not being honored on both sides.
In the film, I am not your Negro, James Baldwin discusses the lives of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers because each of these men stood up for racial justice and equality and were assassinated for it. Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers all represent the same goals but with different means to achieving those goals, and the reason it is significant for Baldwin to have chosen to write about these men is because their legacies prove that there is not one right way to protest. Even if a group of people protest peacefully, they do not always receive peace in return.
There are many things to take away from the film, but one of the things that really sat with me was how the film put into context the seemingly never-ending battle for racial justice and how a big impediment is the inability to protest without counterprotests and criticism. The film helped me understand Trevor Noah’s video and how he reasons with the people looting and rioting because at this point, no form of protest seems to be accepted. There is a clip from the movie that shows white people protesting Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement by holding signs saying “Nazi power” with swastikas on them, but it does not seem like their protest was being shut down by police or criticized despite their messages of hate. The film and its message are extremely pertinent today and it is important for everyone to recognize the inequality and the need for justice.
The protest in which whites held sign with swastikas also really stood out to me. In protests in which people are fighting for equality, they are demonized regardless of how peaceful the protest. When it’s white people demonstrating hate with the sole purpose of stepping on others, it is seen as a rightful demonstration of free speech. I agree that Baldwin writing about three different types of protesters is important, because it reveals that despite the various means attempted, society as a whole has not fought hard enough for progress.
I think you did a good job explaining what the social contract is. I like the point you made about how if the government, a group that is supposed to abide by the social contract, does not serve another group, black people, the social order will not be disrupted. I too found the scene about the protests with swastikas shocking. I did not know that white people were holding signs with swastikas during those protests and I agree it’s hypocritical that police were not trying to shut down these protests but were violent when the black people were protesting for equality. Well done!