post # 6

While the posted criteria for this blog state that I must discuss the story "Space Traders" with another of the assigned texts, I decided to pursue a more pressing element of the text. Yet, the story may be compared to "Brother from Another Planet," in that my interpretation does suggest the condition of the african americans to be comparible to that of a hostage, which is similar to that of the slave state which the "brother" is escaping from. However, the brother is escaping a fate of control by higher authoritative figures, where as the blacks of Space Traders are not......

At any rate:

One aspect of “Space Traders” which we discussed briefly in class was the “visitor’s” adoption and use of “Reagan-esque” English. It was noted in class that President Reagan perhaps had taken some actions during his presidency which may have not been in the best interest for African-Americans. Yet, I feel that the alien’s utilization of this accent was not necessarily an attempt to imply that Reagan had promoted an anti-black agenda. Instead, the events and circumstances of the story seem to be more comparable to the Iranian hostage release which occurred January 20^th, 1981.

For an overview of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency and additional information regarding this event, I consulted Wikipedia:

► During his Presidency, Ronald Reagan pursued policies that reflected his optimism in individual freedom, promoted individual liberty domestically, and pursued freedom abroad.

The "Reagan Revolution" as it came to be known, aimed to reinvigorate American morale, and reduce the people's reliance upon government.

Addressing the economic malaise he inherited, in his inaugural address Reagan argued, "Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem."

The Reagan Presidency began in a historic manner. The first major event happened just thirty minutes into the administration on January 20, 1981. As he was delivering his inaugural address, fifty-two American hostages, held by Iran for 444 days, were set free.

►444 days hostage

The hostage-takers, declaring their solidarity with other "oppressed minorities" and "the special place of women in Islam," released 13 women and African-Americans in the middle of November 1979.

[The other] hostages were held captive until January 1981 and were often paraded blindfolded before local crowds and television cameras. The crisis led to daily, seemingly unchanging news updates.

In the United States, the public was all but unanimously outraged against the perpetrators' taking hostages. The action was seen "not just as a diplomatic affront," but as a "declaration of war on diplomacy itself".

U.S. President Jimmy Carter applied economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran: oil imports from Iran were ended on November 12, 1979, and through the issuance of Executive Order 12170, around USD 8 billion of Iranian assets in the U.S. were frozen by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on November 14, 1979. A number of Iranians in the U.S. were also expelled.

Upon absorbing the information [Wikipedia, above] regarding this event, my impulse was to find out more! Although I am admittedly a helpless sucker for literary endeavors which involve decoding elaborate political messages, I felt restraint out to be shown. Hence, my analysis ought to be considered not as a sound declaration, but more appropriately as a preliminary speculation.

My theory is that the “visitors” are representative not of the Iranian Hostage takers, but of Ronald Reagan and the US government during his Presidency. The United States of the story is conversely cast the role of the Iranian hostage takers, translating the state of African Americans as “hostages”.

If considered at this angle, the text takes on a distinctly Afro-futuristic light, as the visitors are not terrorists but liberators, whom have come to negotiate for the release of all the African Americans being abused and held hostage by the United States.

In Space Traders, the visitors negotiated for the relinquishing of all the African Americans in the US in exchange for national relief from environmental, economic, and social hardships. This is similar to the US government’s conditional lifting of the Executive Order 12170 upon the safe release of the hostages.

The interpretation of the story in this fashion also makes sense because the visitors are actually portrayed positively as a superior race which is eloquent and clearly calmly in control of the situation. Conversely, the US government is in a relatively subordinate state of chaos and conflict.

Also, the condition of the African Americans in the story is marked by confusion, uncertainty, and complete loss of control over their lives. In the story, the fate of all blacks is determined not by them, but through negotiations between the visitors and their nations government. This state is similar to the helplessness experienced by the hostages, whose lives were also completely in the hands of their captors and the authoritative negotiating party [the US government].