While reading, “The Champion of the World,” I couldn’t help but draw similarities to the Black Lives Matter injustices we are witnessing today. For example, while describing the fight the announcer states, “the referee is signaling but the contender keeps raining the blows on Louis”(89). The referee's job is to ultimately make sure that both contender’s play within the rules and to keep both boxers from becoming fatally injured. In this instance however, the official doesn’t punish the white fighter for continuing to “rain the blows on Louis”(89). Similarly, the police that serve as our protection in order to keep us safe, have had the same biased against minorities. Whether referees or policemen, the amount of enforcement used should be distributed equally no matter what race, religion, or gender.
*Nearly 1 in 3 black people killed by police in 2015 were identified as unarmed, though the actual number is likely higher due to underreporting
Another relevant issue I noticed in this piece is the fact that the throughout the strive for equality, the presence of unity is lost. Without any type of consensus between the groups, how could any issues be solved? Macklemore poses the same question in a newly released song regarding the Black Lives Matter movement we have today,
I want to take a stance because we are not free
And then I thought about it, we are not "we"
Am I in the outside looking in, or am I in the inside looking out?
Is it my place to give my two cents?
Or should I stand on the side and shut my mouth?
"No justice, no peace," okay, I'm saying that
Macklemore brings up the point that there is an undertone which questions the intentions of
who should fight for equality. Even though you may not be the same race as the victims, doesn’t mean you can’t be pissed off. Even though the ultimate goal is to create a world where all ethnicities can live peacefully together, the races are still divided. In fact the only time the white race is mentioned in “The Champion of the World,” is to describe the shortcoming of the white contender during the violent fight or allude to slavery. The separation between the two communities represent an even bigger issue that will have no solution unless common ground is established.
