Final Walk
What I have learned from this process is the art of walking. Walking is more than just something that people do on an ordinary base, it is something that is observable and recognizable. There are many things in walking that people take for granted and that is looking around and finding all the pieces while taking in everything that is in sight. There’s a huge difference in walking during the night and the morning. There are many things we as people don’t look at close enough and realize that there is more than just an object we are looking at. Having privilege is something to take in mind when going on these walks, and having the right to walk wherever we want to. We need to start looking at everything and the history of walking and why it is so important to us as humans. Why walking at the park is different than walking at a block. There is a lot of reasons why walking connects to having privilege, in many neighborhoods walking is not a privilege, parks close early and violence is a lead cause for this reason. Many people fear their lives when going on a walk, while mostly everyone here in this class can walk safely, without worrying. There is more to this world that us as humans don’t see and need to fix it by being together and making a cause for an act that will change that. People should not be afraid to go out and walk while fearing they will lose everything they had.
With this picture we can see how golf courses are limited to people who only have enough money to buy a cart and play it. People can not see the privilege they have in this part of the park. This is Warner Park and there are many ways you can get in here because it’s more of a wealthy place, however people around the block like me would have troubles of getting in because I wouldn’t have enough money to buy a cart and play golf with some of my friends. It would be more conventional for the park so that is the way it makes its income, but at times it could be difficult for newcomers to know that. There is no indication at first and people would come here to play with family or friends but if they don’t know that you need to pay, it would hurt them and give them a fine. Nobody would want a fine and it causes damage to their reputation. But those who do have enough money have the privilege to go out and play golf whenever they want and maybe even practice it. They have the privilege but don’t realize it and take it for granted. I believe that they should find out how much privilege they have and use it to good use since not everyone has that ability. I’m not saying that they are bad people for playing golf, they should take a look around and appreciate the things they have in life. Most people don’t have this type of special thing that comes around and maybe only get it once in a while. The privilege you have for even playing golf is something special to many people, thousands of people in this case.
Speaking of privilege, there are many times where privilege matters on where you walk. For instance in, “Walking While Black,” by Garnette Cadogan they go into depth on how it is for black people to go on walks, and they fear for their lives. As said, “ The streets had their rules, and I loved the challenge of trying to master them. I learned how to be alert to surrounding dangers and nearby delights, and prided myself on recognizing telling details that my peers missed,” (Cadogan, Garnette) we can see how effective it is for colored people. They don’t have the privilege of going out whenever and having freedom, they need to learn the streets, and find peaceful paths. There is much more wrong in neighborhoods that take away the ability to walk. Not having that privilege is a disaster and we should learn from it. It is something more than just a privilege, it could be someone’s life. Another instance is girls. Girls need protection when alone on walks. It could be dangerous for them to walk out alone and something horrible could happen. In Staples, “Black Men In Public Space,” we can see an example of how women are seen, “After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street,” (Staples). Here we see how women are afraid to walk near people. They ultimately need to get as much separation as possible and disappear without a trace to not get taken away. They fear that if they are seen alone for too long someone could kidnap them and there will never be another trace of them in public again. Anything bad can happen, so it’s best if they do what’s best and protect themselves. In this society, people have privilege to whatever they were born with and we need to make a statement about it. In Solnits, “Walking After Midnight,” we see how she was able to explain how privilege works. She says, “Other categories of movement had their freedom of movement limited, but limitations based on race, class, religion, ethnicity, and sexuial oreintation are local and variable compared to place on women.” (Solnit). Even though the main problem described here is how women are endangered, and exposed, there are still other things that make walking a privilege and she listed those. It’s hard for everyone to get the rights to walk and there needs to be something changed. This class has made me realize how much privilege walking has. It has something to do with the way we are born and makes it unfair for everyone. Walking should not be a privilege just because you were born a certain way, everyone should have the rights to do what they want as long as everyone has equity. There are many more things about walking that factor into this class, but overall I feel like gender and race is the biggest aspect of this. (1054)
