Egomania

In class, we talked about whether or not we could see Macon as an ally to black people. For the most part, we agreed that while he has (some) good intentions, more often than not, he ends up talking over black people’s voices rather than affirming them. I don’t think this is unintentional to Macon – someone so painfully aware of his own actions in the context of race wouldn’t be, I feel, as blunt as he is (such as the BSU meeting). He’s stepping outside the boundaries of an “ally” to minorities on purpose. I don’t think Macon wants to be an ally. I think he wants to be a leader, a leader of a glorious revolution. In keeping with the theme of the class, I think what Macon most wants is to be a hero. 

The problematic aspect of this book, obviously, is what it means about Macon that he wants to be a hero for a racial group that isn’t his own. Obviously, it’s good that Macon wants to confront racial privilege and bring skin color into the public discussion – but his desire to be the “hero” is troublesome. Think about the other heroes of this class – Odysseus and Anse in particular. Like Mason, both are heroes with the “leader” archetype – Odysseus’ crewmen and Anse’s children. We’ve criticized both character’s treatment of their followers in class, but at the same time, their position of power over their followers makes sense. A captain over his men, a father over his children. By giving them the primary decision making power, they become the heroes, leading a valiant mission.

But Macon, while he fits in the same role, is a lot harder to swallow. For Macon to be the hero of this story, by giving him the leader archetype, Mansbach sets up a scene where a white man takes it into his own hands to solve the problem of race in America, by ignoring the voices of black people and allowing his own vision to trump the visions of people who actually face racial prejudice and struggle with it every day. Macon doesn’t seem to see a problem with that, evidence towards the theory that his racial crusade is more often motivated by his desire for personal affirmation, rather than a widespread understanding of the meaning of his actions. But to a reader (and to Andre, within the story as well) Macon as a hero is almost more troublesome than Macon the underground vigilante – he might be blatantly robbing people, but at least he isn’t, in some way, reinforcing racial power dynamics by valuing his own voice above the voices of the people he’s – supposedly – fighting to help.