Ending of Angry Black White Boy

When Macon made the transformation into the character from the prologue, I expected he would have gained more wisdom than he did.  Instead of realizing the futility of his mission to give up white privilege and moving on to an alternative method to accomplish his goal of lessening racism in America, Macon simply gave up, even trying to become "unenlightened" again.  This development made me respect him as an intellectual a little more, but it caused me to lose all respect for Macon as a hero, as he very much chose the easy way out (not only abandoning his goals and losing all direction, but also through intentionally connecting to his white privilege).

The question that comes to mind for me during the entirety of this novel, but especially at this point, is how best to combat racism in America.  Macon's mission was to enlighten white people specifically, but as we've seen this did not turn out as he had envisioned, possibly due to his rather radical agenda.  If Macon had not existed, would his same messages come across through hip-hop?  As black culture becomes viewed as a collection of individuals by white culture, there is a natural progression towards acceptance.  While this may be slower than Macon's method, it is also less likely to cause violence and conflict.  His time and fame could have been better spent physically helping the communities he was concerned with, rather than attempting to tear down whiteness, arguably an impossible task, and probably immoral in Macon's case.  These white allies of the past who he held in such disdain ultimately caused greater positive change, something that Macon realizes both during his radio conversation with the white civil rights activist, but also during the final pages of the novel.

Thoughts on Macon

At least at this point in the novel I dislike most aspects of Macon's character.  He is judgmental, cripplingly insecure, and misguided in his attempt to abandon white privilege.  I admire his determination and willingness to state his divisive ideology, but this comes at the cost of his sense of common decency in many cases.  When Macon speaks with others, he sees them only in the very narrow context framed by his beliefs, and is constantly trying to formulate his responses to their statements as the conversation moves along.  The most clear example is still when Macon meets Andre and Nique for the first time.  Macon's desperation for black acceptance is one of the more contradictory aspects of his character that even he must acknowledge, when he realizes that what he wants is not to suffer for black people, but to be "absolved".
I get the sense that Macon's delusions of grandeur stem from this weakness of character and insecurity, as he has clearly not taken action in the extreme manner that his doctrine would outline.  Even his muggings always seemed to emphasize a self-catharsis: the feeling of power and righteousness he gained from terrorizing wealthy white New Yorkers.  Despite Macon's arrest, the depth of his dedication to the cause has yet to be meaningfully challenged.