Angela Davis
My final audio file for the Audacity project can be found here.
After reading about Angela Davis, I find myself more conflicted in my opinion of her than I had expected after only hearing the songs written about her. The songs, "Angela" by John Lennon and "Sweet Black Angel" by the Rolling Stones, only discuss her imprisonment. The songs lament how she was put in prison for a crime she didn't commit, saying that she's just a political prisoner and that racism was likely a factor.
The Wikipedia article written about her says that a gun found at the scene of the crime was registered in her name; She had a background in activism; She was a member of the Communist party and the Black Panthers; AND she evaded arrest. With that kind of a profile, her arrest doesn't seem particularly objectionable to me. I think if a similar situation were to occur today, people wouldn't question the decision to bring her into custody; They would see it as an acceptable means to ensure public safety in the face of violent protest.
On the other hand, I'm hesitant to say that John Lennon and The Rolling Stones were simply on the wrong side of this issue: I'm guessing there were other factors involved that stirred up so much public outrage. Also, after reading about Davis's education in philosophy, especially Sartre, one of my personal favorite philosophers, I can't help but feel some sympathy for her.
But then I read about how she cites Cuba as an idyllic government system, an opinion with which I strongly disagree on all sorts of ethical and philosophical grounds. Also, while I'm glad she opposes the death penalty, I was taken aback to see that she supports an anti-prison movement. As peaceful as she may be nowadays, in her old age, Davis strikes me as an extremist who easily could have had shady dealings in her youth. I am not sympathetic to her causes, and that makes it hard for me to think of her in the positive light that the project songs are trying to cast on her.
With this new take on Angela Davis, I think I will take an entirely different approach to the message I'll be attempting to communicate with the second part of the Audacity project; one that will diverge significantly from the message originally intended by the artists.
After reading about Angela Davis, I find myself more conflicted in my opinion of her than I had expected after only hearing the songs written about her. The songs, "Angela" by John Lennon and "Sweet Black Angel" by the Rolling Stones, only discuss her imprisonment. The songs lament how she was put in prison for a crime she didn't commit, saying that she's just a political prisoner and that racism was likely a factor.
The Wikipedia article written about her says that a gun found at the scene of the crime was registered in her name; She had a background in activism; She was a member of the Communist party and the Black Panthers; AND she evaded arrest. With that kind of a profile, her arrest doesn't seem particularly objectionable to me. I think if a similar situation were to occur today, people wouldn't question the decision to bring her into custody; They would see it as an acceptable means to ensure public safety in the face of violent protest.
On the other hand, I'm hesitant to say that John Lennon and The Rolling Stones were simply on the wrong side of this issue: I'm guessing there were other factors involved that stirred up so much public outrage. Also, after reading about Davis's education in philosophy, especially Sartre, one of my personal favorite philosophers, I can't help but feel some sympathy for her.
But then I read about how she cites Cuba as an idyllic government system, an opinion with which I strongly disagree on all sorts of ethical and philosophical grounds. Also, while I'm glad she opposes the death penalty, I was taken aback to see that she supports an anti-prison movement. As peaceful as she may be nowadays, in her old age, Davis strikes me as an extremist who easily could have had shady dealings in her youth. I am not sympathetic to her causes, and that makes it hard for me to think of her in the positive light that the project songs are trying to cast on her.
With this new take on Angela Davis, I think I will take an entirely different approach to the message I'll be attempting to communicate with the second part of the Audacity project; one that will diverge significantly from the message originally intended by the artists.
posted by Scott Zuke | 6:45 PM
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