Unit 2

The New Yorker Covers

            This New Yorker Cover by Carter Goodrich, “What So Proudly We Hailed”, displays a man driving a big, yellow taxi cab, shown from just above the tires up. The cab is extremely decorated in United States Flags of all different sizes. There are about twelve flags attached to different styles and colors of flag poles that are on top of the taxi. Some of the flagpoles are pointy, some are colored, and some are rounded. The flags are also differently shaded, and one has gold trim around it, which is sometimes used as a military tradition. Then, there are multiple stickers of different sizes stuck on the cab, above and to the side of a taxi fares sign, all of the American flag. Next to the taxi fares sign, there is a big blue sticker that says “God Bless America”, which is much clearer to read than the taxi fares sign.

When you focus in on the man, he has a light blue turban on, and a lot of facial hair. The turban tends to be an item people wear based on their beliefs, but it usually is something people of Middle Eastern descent may wear. Both of his hands are on the steering wheel in the ten and two position, and in view of anyone passing by. He has a dark blue/green shirt on as well. His eyes are wide open, and he seems to be looking right at us. He looks scared, and maybe a bit distraught. His skin tone also appears to be light in complexion, and almost a light blue. There do not seem to be any passengers in the back of his cab, which may be why he looks distraught. Repeating details include American flags and the overall idea of American pride, and binary oppositions are American pride while being a foreign individual. 

The New Yorker is believed to be one of the most important magazines. For years it has produced covers for their magazines that cover a wide variety of topics, from current events, to things that really make you think. They do a great job of getting important messages across in a creative way, and they feature many different artists and cartoonists. When I analyzed the cover further, I noticed that the date the cover was published on was November 5, 2001, which was not long after the 9/11 attack on America. Based on the date, I think that he is supposed to resemble the nationality of the people behind the 9/11 attack. After 9/11, people in many Middle Eastern ethnic communities faced extreme discrimination and hatred soley based on their ethnicity. So in this cover, I think the author showed how this man, for example, had to prove himself to others in order to not receive the hatred and blatant racism. If he didn’t show how much he loved America, people would not have picked him to give them a ride. The partial taxi number is 3FZ, which could be the number of flights that hit a building, or a rounded number of the people lost in this tragedy (about 3,000). I think that the taxi number is significant because it can be clearly read, similar to the God Bless America sticker, and unlike the taxi fares sign. 

If you look closer, you can also see how this man has both of his hands on the steering wheel, where they can be seen by everyone. This really reminded me of how people of African American descent have to act today when they get pulled over by the police and whatnot. They have to show that they are not a threat and that the other person will not be in danger. I think it is ironic how even though this cartoon was created 20 years ago, and was about a completely different situation, the message is still crystal clear and applies to what is currently happening.

The title, “What So Proudly We Hailed”, is a lyric in the USA National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. I think the artist chose to title his cover with this because the man in the cover has to show all of this American pride just to not get hate and discrimination, so it is almost a shot at America saying “this is what we are proud of?”.

 Inequality in Athletics, and the World

In Ariel Levy’s piece, “Either Or”, she opened the eyes of many and brought attention to the story of Caster Semenya. When we were assigned this piece to read, I thought it would be about the topic of women vs men, but as I continued reading, I realized that Levy’s piece was about the struggles that some athletes face when their gender is in question. This was very shocking to me, as I have never heard about this being an issue before. I think it was also interesting of Levy to include a story from somewhere other than America, to show that this issue is much greater than what we see around us every day. 

In Levy’s piece, she started out introducing Caster Semenya, a woman from South Africa. Caster had very masculine traits, such as a deep voice and a muscular stature, and did not look like those she was competing against. She blew away her competition every time. This led to a debate on if she was actually a woman or not. This is the danger of a single story. Just because she didn’t look like the other women, or because she wasn’t as feminine, people doubted her, accused her of cheating, and said awful things. She became subject to an array of tests, and had to have a “gender check” before every race. On page 116, Levy says, “Semenya became accustomed to visiting the bathroom with a member of a competing team so that they could look at her private parts and then get on with the race.” Not only does this objectify her, but I can only assume that it takes a toll on her self worth and confidence. I have a hard time understanding how this is even legal, as it violates so many basic human rights. 

After years of testing it was discovered that she had female external organs, and male internal organs, which led to a boost in testosterone and therefore made her more masculine. When Levy went to talk to Caster and her family, Caster’s sister said, “I am Caster’s sister! But I am not like her. I am different from Caster. I am not that way.” This shows that the entire “scandal” even had an effect on the relationship and opinions of her family. The years of tests, investigations, and the media obsessing over the case really affected Caster and her family, all because of people having a single story about what women should or shouldn’t look like. 

Along with sharing Caster’s story, Levy introduced some interesting points showing how this issue has been around a lot longer than one would think. In 1950, there was the “Population Registration Act”, where “white people were engaged as census takers.” Levy states that these people had the ability to determine a person’s race, which determined where and with who you could live. “In 1985, according to the census, more than a thousand people somehow changed race: nineteen whites turned Colored (as South Americans call people of mixed heritages); seven hundred and two Colored turned white, fifty Indians turned Colored, eleven Colored turned Chinese, and so on.” Levy says. This was really shocking, and did a great job proving the points Levy was making. 

In Ariel Levy’s piece, “Either Or”, she explored the world of inequality in sports, the world, and the consequences a single story can have on a person, country, and sport.

Poster Child Assignment

In “From Poster Child to Protestor”, Laura Hershey, a poet, author, and disability activist with spinal muscular atrophy, brings awareness to the protest against the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon, and the mistreatment people with disabilities deal with every day. Hershey did this by explaining her experiences as a part of the telethon when she was a child, and how her opinions changed as she got older and saw things from a different perspective.

In the article, I noticed several moments that were tension filled and provocative. For example, she was a part of a group that carried out yearly protests of the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon, which of course annoyed Jerry Lewis and the MDA. They also caused many people to turn against the protest, and stand up for what they believe. A piece I found interesting in regards to Hershey and the protest was that she was a poster child herself, and now is very against the telethon. 

Throughout the article, she gave countless examples of the ways the telethon alters things to get money. To name a few, they exaggerate sob stories of the cute kids to make potential donors feel pity for them. Also, they make the “victims” appear helpless, needy, pathetic, and desperate, whereas in reality, a lot of people with disabilities grow up to be very successful and sufficient. They also display the families as caregivers as opposed to siblings or parents, and try to highlight how “hard” it is for them and what it was like when their family member got diagnosed, another example of how they create sob stories to lure donors. The telethon makes it sound like the person with a disability is a burden. An example of someone standing up for their family was when the host made a major point of talking about how the non-disabled brother, Paul, “takes care of and assists” his disabled brother. The father spoke up and said “Paul helps him a lot too.” I think this was important in making people realize that not every person needs to be pitied.

Something that really stood out to me was Hershey’s opinion of “a cure.” She discusses how the telethon pushes to raise money for “a cure”, and says that that is all these “victims” and their families want, but that is far from the truth. A lot of people with disabilities are more realistic, and understand that a potential cure is a long shot, and would take a lot of time, so it moves further and further down on their priority list. I relate to this as a type 1 diabetic. Of course a cure would be nice, but I am realistic and I understand that the odds of that happening are slim, so I just focus on coping and living with this disease on a day to day basis, and I find things to make it better, like fun stickers or covers for my devices.  

Lastly, towards the end of the article, Hershey talks about how she received a magazine from the MDA and thought they were making progress as the people were portrayed correctly and there were helpful resources. However, that magazine was only sent to people with disabilities and their families, so the MDA basically uses different things and tactics for different audiences. This article really opened my eyes to how often a single story of people with disabilities is used in the media. I have come to have a better understanding and appreciation for the people standing up against these telethons and sources that are using someone's disability as a way to benefit themselves, and how often they are far from the truth.