Blog #2

Heat-Moon’s focus in this section of the book is geared towards understanding race relations. Considering he spends much of his time in the South during these passages, it makes sense that he would try to understand the tenuous relationship between Southern white and black people. At first it seemed as if he was asking just because he was accused of being ignorant and careless about the subject, but as he finds the question harder and harder to answer, he finds himself becoming more invested. During his time interrogating the locals about equality, it seems as if Heat-Moon develops an emotional stake in this discussion, but he still manages to remain calm and report his findings in a professional manner. He also creates an atmosphere of honesty by revealing his true feelings to the audience even when it may cause him to look slightly hypocritical. When he feels bitter about the lack of respect people have for nature, he admits, “I’d got uppity about multilane America and was paying the price. Secretly, I hungered for a texturized patty of genetically engineered cow” (Heat-Moon 105). This truthful moment in which he reveals that he has a weakness for the modern conveniences that contradict his desire for a more nature-centric society shows the audience that he is one of them and establishes a bond of trust. From seeing the “real” Heat-Moon speak, this ernest quality still shines through and gives me the impression that he genuinely meant all that he wrote, especially regarding his encounters with the local people along his journey. He learns from his encounters with individual characters that people are more alike than they think. It would have been easy for him to turn a blind eye to the situation between blacks and whites in the South, but he took the time to speak to individuals about it to gain a new perspective. He spent a few hours in a project and by the time he left he “already… felt marked. [He] was suspicious” (Heat-Moon 103). Although he lived a very different life from the African Americans to the South, by immersing himself in their world for a short time, he got a glimpse of what it was like to live persecuted and afraid.