Exploration 4 from JD Davis

During the discussion of Ain’t Scared of Your Jails I learned how effective non-violent protesting is.  For example, the sit ins on restaurants in Nashville at the time.  They were brutally attacked and screamed at yet they never fought back.  That took a lot of character.  Also, I learned that an economic protest or boycott is a very effective way to get the attention of big corporations and the government.  As said by one of the protestors “you have to hit them where it counts, their pocket book”.  What I will take away most from this film is just because something is normal in society doesn’t mean its right.  Many white communities honestly believed segregation was the right thing to do.  It was the popular opinion but as we obviously know now it was the wrong one. 

               Ben West was the mayor of Nashville from 1951- 1963 which happened to be the time of the civil rights movement in Nashville.  Many college students organized sit ins in Nashville Tennessee which brought a lot of controversy in the south.  Ben West came out and openly said he supports the desegregation of restaurants in Nashville.  This was huge for the movement to have the support of the mayor.  Soon after this the public facilities in Nashville were desegregated.  Ben west was quoted saying, “I appeal to all citizens to end discrimination, to have no bigotry, no bias, no discrimination,”.   Nashville was the first major city in the south to be desecrated thanks to the students of the sit ins and mayor Ben West.

               The major themes I noticed in enemies is how the stress of war can make you upset at anyone.  Even though you are fighting the war against another country you were also fighting a mental war.  The stress of war can have you so frustrated that you might attack your own unite.  This was shown in this chapter.  In the chapter “sweetheart of the song tra bong” the main theme is that it makes the thought of a female companion feel real again to these soldiers.  A lot of these men write to women and it seems like such a fantasy to be with them and when an actual girl shows up its makes it feel real.  It also makes the Vietnamese people seem like real people as well.  I say this because she embraces their culture which shows they have culture.  Having cultural makes them feel like real people and not just the enemy we must kill.