Julian Connerton 

Dr. Drown 

January 24, 2018 

Identity Free Write 

I found the first quote, “It’s a fascinating look at how we label ourselves, and how those labels define us and the conflicts that drive our politics. But it’s also about how identity is more fluid than we imagine, and why it often obscures all the things we have in common.” Very interesting because of the simple fact that, these two men talking about identity are making this seem very simple, like your identity is just something that describes the way they look at you. Over time throughout this article they begin to delve deeper into the different kinds of identities and the way people look at these identities. Also, in this quote, it states that all our identities have something that is obscure in common with one another.  

“But if you define yourself through the act of opposition, then your letting the oppressors set the terms” – Kwame. This quote shot out at me immediately, simply because I related this quote through the times where my ancestors were treated with utter disrespect and treated like worthless animals. Imagine if my ancestors never fought back, imagine if they never stood up to the oppressors and just let them set the rules and believed every bad thing that came out of their mouths. The simple fact that my ancestors didn’t let these oppressors set the rules and let these names calling and disrespect of all sorts continue, is the exact reason why we are almost free to this day. This is what I related this quote to, but there is so many more different ways this quote can either relate or define the way I personally feel or the way you feel.  

My next quote that caught my attention was “The key thing I think is to make sure that the teams are held together by more than just hatred and contempt for the other team. There’s always going to be an element of that, but if you lead with the hatred and contempt, as Donald Trump often does, then you’re leading irresponsibly.”- Kwame. This first caught my attention because of the name Donald Trump, I despise of that man, not just for the way he is trying to run this country but also, for the simple reason that he lacks a lot in just a character that the people of the US should either look up to or try and become. This also really made me realize that one person’s negative political and social identity can put a bad identity on a whole country politically. There are so many different identities that have yet to be explored by myself, and I look forward to discovering the different types and the way they shape things around them.