The colonial manner of manners
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James Baldwin in his piece No Name Paris explores the French colonisation of Algeria and how they attempted to justify this in the interests of the Algerian people and for their own “good”. Baldwin writes how it was the ultimate form of disrespect for colonised peoples to question the intentions of their colonisers—going so far as to say that it was the “height of bad manners”. This emphasises how the “French were hurt gand furious that their stewardship should be questioned, especially by those they ruled” This ties in with the interviews conducted by Martin and the contents discussed. Namely the “fear of rejection” that the interviews experience by white French people and how this plays into one’s self-respect. Highlighting how these concepts of “manners” and not wanting to “upset” the coloniser in fear of rejection are so interlinked and continue to be rooted in white supremacy and colonialism.