What is the “Appropriate” response?

Appropriate was a play that was very eye opening. I believe that the content of the play was extremely relevant to the dynamic of society today. The only thing that has been truly constant about the United States has been its degradation of marginalized groups when the norm allowed it. We have seen Japanese Mass Genocide, Slavery, Japanese Internment Camps and Gender and Sexual Inequality -just to name a few.

Now in the wake of the country leaning more progressive and acknowledging inequity, no one knows what to do. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 happened only 55 years ago. It is now 2019 and we still have not passed a federal anti-lynching bill. It has gotten passed the Senate but not the House nor has it been signed by the president. Being from a state that practiced lynching frequently, these facts are heart wrenching.

This play taught me alot and also put a lot of things into perspective. I did not know that people would come to the victims and cut off their body parts as souvenirs or “trophies”. The scariest fact is that these people who committed such horrible atrocities were actually people. They raised families and passed on legacies and wishes all while stealing those same things away from other people.

And now here we are as a country two generations removed while at the same time not removed at all. We are here striving for equity as if these things never happened and without addressing them properly. Kids do not learn about true history in school and adults do not always know the horrors that have been committed through their bloodline. Then we get to colleges and universities and expect them to be integrated and inclusive spaces. Why do we expect that?

This play made me ask myself a lot of questions. To what extent are we responsible for the sins of our family members? How much power do we actually have in acknowledging these actions and creating a new narrative? How can we be inclusive if the majority is oblivious to the history that still carries weight today? How can we expect people to process that their loved ones did in fact love them and do nice things, while also committing terroristic ones? And how much psychological trauma will be inflicted due to the educational enlightenment and acknowledgment of how harsh our history truly is?