Important Quote

“Sometimes, when people get treated as less than human, the best way to help them feel better is to simply treat them as human. Not as victims.” Mrs. Fitzgerald

The novel handles the subject of racism and police brutality in a complex manner that is not just black and white. It treads along the lines of the responses that different individuals have towards systemic oppression that is mostly affecting a section of the populace. The experiences of young black men who end up being targets of police violence are hard to fathom if one is not in that demographic. Consequently, the attitude assumed by the rest of the populace is sympathy and treating them as victims but that does not foster their sense of security either. Rather in the quotation, Mrs. Fitzgerald assesses a much more effective way of treating those who have suffered this violence.