I really liked how Noah continuously pointed out how nonsensical racism is. He’s not angry or bitter, he’s just annoyed that people are stupid enough to believe in something so ridiculous. I thought it was really interesting how he noticed that language is more of a unifying factor than skin color. As he says, “language, even more than color, defines who you are to people” (56). We never really think about it since the emphasis is always placed on race rather than language, but Noah’s observation is correct. He also says, “Language brings with it an identity and a culture, or at least the perception of it” (49). That is quite true. In our culture, we don’t notice it as much, perhaps because English is one of the most universal languages. But even English has its own varieties and cultural assumptions. Think about it. A British accent means you’re intellectual and posh. A New York accent means you’re bossy and possibly annoying. An Australian accent means you’re cool, like Chris Hemsworth or Hugh Jackman or something. Every language has associations with it, whether we realize it or not. When people identify with that language and it’s associations, they feel connected. The problem comes when people feel disconnected from other languages. As Noah points out, someone who speaks differently than you is automatically seen as foreign. This just added a whole new layer to the story of the Tower of Babel.
P.S. I commented on Rachael’s and Osten’s posts.
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