Thursday, April 12, 2012

Warriors Don't Cry

Is Mebla warrior? One might ask themselves this question after reading the book, Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals. What is a warrior? Someone who fights back or someone who doesn't let others who fight kill them or beat them down.  I feel in any retrospect, Melba Pattillo was a warrior.  Because she willingly submitted herself to the trial of integration, because she never gave up, and because she didn't retaliate with forces similar to her attackers, I think that Melba was a great warrior.
By signing up for the integration that would start at Central High, Melba subjected herself to a trial that she knew would not be easy.  I believe this gives herself up to being a warrior because in a way she is sacrificing her life for the future of her people.
Despite the struggles of both mental and physical abuse, Melba never gives up.  At one point she tells her grandmother that she wishes she could just be dead for a month or two.  Her grandmother responds with, "Go ahead." Meaning to teach Melba a lesson that if she is going to be a warrior and going to do this she can't just cop out at the end.  This makes Melba realize that she has to stick it through to the end and she truly does.  After finishing out the year I don't think there was any bigger life accomplishment that she could have made.
One thing that really made me inspired by Melba is how she reacted to her abusers with kindness. Her Grandmother told her to kill them with kindness, and no matter how difficult it was she actually did it.  The way she was able to smile and say thank you when someone would strike her on the back with a tennis racquet is beyond point of me even fathoming. I hope that many people will take this "turn the other cheek" method into consideration to help them get through similar situations.
Melba is a warrior, even though she is not carrying a spear and shield, her spear is her kindness and her shield is knowing that what she is doing is for the rest of her people to become equals and not be treated unfairly or unkindly.

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