As Malcolm begins to develop more and more wittier responses to counter-attack against the title of "Black Muslims", he begins to research tricks that will enable him to become even more aggressive. In chapter fourteen, he states, "From the old hustling days I knew that there were tricks to everything. In the prison debating, I had learned tricks to upset my opponents, to catch them where they didn't expect to be caught. I knew there were bound to be tricks I didn't know anything about arguing on the air" (Haley 249). From this quote, I am able to see how Malcolm is starting to veer towards his old ways of deception and recklessness in a more sophisticated sense. His determination to be the best he can be at arguing and defending his religion shows a scary side of him due to the fact his words have become intensified than those of the hustler he once was.
The personal connection i have to seeing these "tricks of debating" include when people from various high schools in the area came to my school in order to debate on a specific topic. This year's topic was coming up with alternate ways to soften the effects of global warming that is currently engulfing the world in. During the debate I saw during my math class was truly intense because it was battle of the sexes...boys vs. girls. The position of the two guys was that they were against the case, while the girls were supporting the case and proposing the use of hybrid cars, etc. As the debate progressed, the guys' tactic or "trick" seemed to be to simply deny whatever factual information the girls had proposed, and denying the fact that global warming even existed. The girls' tactics consisted of talking realllyyyy fast and viciously attacking guys whenever there were disagreements which seemed to be every second. From this experience I am able to say that Malcolm encompasses the characteristics of the girls' as well as the boys' ability to debate. This is because throughout his intense arguments he has always managed to lash out and severely scar those who he didn't see eye to eye with. Malcolm also seems to reflect a splash of ignorance, which the guys had during the debate (when they denied global warming), because Malcolm is insistent on the assumption of how ALL whites are evil.
kay so when this debate was over...i was kind of overwhelmed by the intensity that accumulated within the room. i have always kind of wanted to be on the debate team but never really knew if it was my nitch. i am strong about my beliefs and morals and definitely find myself butting heads with my dad sometimes since we both are people who need to get in the last word and be right all the time. malcolm seems to be like this kind of person because he never backs down when he is called out or insulted, and always manages to snap right back on whoever said the comment to him. so when me and my dad disagree about something you know who most likely wins (me =]!) but i am still open to hearing his side of the story. this is where i feel like me and malcolm approach a disconnection because before he went to mecca he had a "it's either my way or the highway" kind of mentality and silenced whatever he didn't want to hear by arguing at a louder decibel. but hey thats malcolm for ya :)
Lastly, this article that I found is cute, because it's called "Stupid Debating Tricks" and I found that it related to some of the tactics that were used in the debate that I saw lol. And it also relates somewhat to the styles that Malcolm uses in his various arguments and debates.
2 comments:
I enjoy debating, and I really liked the perspective your article gave me. You made me realize the connection between Malcolm's days as a hustler, and his current job as a member of the NOI. This is very important, because although he has turned around his life, he still has not completely separated himself from his past. I also really enjoyed the article you posted. Being in the same math class, I was able to connect with the references you made, especially in the article. I could look at each tactic, and pick out an instance where I saw this put into action. I completely agree with what you said, and I think that Malcolm's days as a hustler had more of an effect on him than he realizes.
Malcolm's progression from hustler to pundit struck me as pretty inevitable, even if I hadn't known a little about his life before reading the book. The intelligence, aggression, and energy he always showed through the book needed to be expressed and put to use in some way, be it positive or negative. Malcolm himself stated several times in the Autobiography that he had always been an activist.
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