The case of the woman in Russia seems more like an outcry of extreme pain and mourning for her lost husband. Sometime vigilantes are supported and glorified, Batman anybody? But these unrealistic portraits make only for good movies, where in real life, real people use rudimentary and barbaric means of making their voice heard. The problem is that many of these voices are saying different things. I am naïve in believing in world peace, and feel hopeless in its coming in my lifetime, and then I feel guilty that I do not believe in the cause which would leave me feeling satisfied in this world.
So our violent past as a country is being challenged by independent radicals who are interpreting and carrying out what they feel is the solution to the problem. It is so sad, yet easy for me to say, that people want to hurt others and I do not have the answers for why they do. It is easy for me to say this because I have lived a generally sheltered life, free of violence. Although, there are so many who have suffered at the hands of those with greater wealth and power, at no fault of their own. I can only imagine the anger and resent which festers in the individuals which have been oppressed. This is not a justification for the actions of terrorists but an attempt to make sense of their choices. I believe that is a crucial element in the gap in global conflicts. It is easy to react, usually irrationally, to the choices of one radical individual. When one commits a wrong onto you, an immediate reaction is far from wise. Sometimes we must look deeper to why the perpetrator chose to carry out this plan.
There is a wealth of misunderstanding in our global conflicts. Unfortunately, many of us do not know what we are “fighting” for. Like many of the other students who have commented, I rarely have thought about these conflicts from the “enemy’s” point of view. When I envision the enemy, I picture a Middle Eastern man, usually with a beard. It is terrible that I have created this stereotype in my head, because there are clearly many faces and peoples which commit terrorist acts. This video was very disturbing. It is so sad to see things like this happen in our world. I feel guilty and lucky to live in a country where I do not fear for my life or freedom on a daily basis. I feel that terrorists embody very passionate but distorted goals. I am not even sure what their goals are. I am unsure of why they hate western culture and influence so much but then again I do understand why. We sit in class and hear about all the wrongs our country and Europe have inflicted upon the world.
I was unsure whether I was bothered or indifferent to the response the female gamer from the UK had to the Japanese video game. On one hand I was annoyed that she would play the game, I thought she was a sicko for lack of better terms. Why would any emotionally healthy individual enjoy engaging in digital rape? These are the questions we are asking society. Pretty low. There are some pretty messed up people in this world.
For instance, all those crazy war games, why would you want to shoot and kill “the enemy” in a gruesome way, you would never kill someone in real life, this sick fantasy and the intensity of interest some gamers have confuses me and I would love to receive a rational response for why people choose to play these games. If you are really that interested, enlist in the army and you may have your chance in the line of fire. These graphic games offered in Japan allow people to carry out fantasies which are not socially acceptable. I do not understand why they choose to play. I would never want to play a game like this but I do agree with Sam, I could definitely see a few guys sitting around, drinking some beers and playing this game. It would be labeled a “joke” but none the less it is a display of pretty gross behavior. Who created this game? Where did they get the concept for a game like this?
I am not exactly sure how to react to this blog. My first reaction was one of shock. I am not an avid video gamer nor do I enjoy video games but I realize that they are very popular. My boyfriend loves video games, he plays “Call of Duty” an several sports games. These games begin to annoy me after he plays for hours and I have seen how it captivates him and his friends. Too many times I have gone to a friend’s house to find at least one of the boys in front of the television or the computer playing some kind of video game, but never ones like these. Even though I was initially shocked to hear about these featured games, I was not completely surprised. I know this may sound contradictory but people in this world have some pretty messed up fetishes which can be carried out in the anonymity of video games. I am no psychologist but have heard how rape and the idea of it gives the aggressor an obvious control over his or her victim, this type of power seems addictive to some. The video game world truly puzzles me, why engage in activities that most would never dream of.
I believe that our daily experiences are so varied and rich in diversity of individuals that we cannot denote ourselves in a fixed stage. All in all, I am extremely thankful for my childhood experiences and interactions with different peoples and cultures. I can owe most of my gratitude to my mother who values travelling over many other things. I had seen much of the world before entering middle school. These travels across the globe gave me a first hand look at the variety of cultures which our world holds. We all think we are “right” and that we do things the “right way” when in reality it takes the conglomeration of all our practices to make the go round (corny and untrue metaphor).
We took a vacation to the Bahamas together and I finally got my chance, I got my hair braided. For the rest of the trip Tina and I referred to each other as sisters because our hair matched. We were not ignorant to the fact of our physical differences but ironically far more mature at a young age to realize that these differences do not determine the love you feel for a friend. Like many others have stated, the innocence of childhood should show us that racial issues become far more volatile and hurtful as we enter adulthood. I wonder why this innocence ever leaves us. To talk about the stages Sam provided the class with…I find it problematic that they seem to ascend as if leaving racism behind must follow this type of path. Rather than look at these “feelings” as stages I believe they should be regarded as different frames of mind, and even more so that we cannot even generalize them into these broad categories. Why does the humanitarian stage seem to be the “highest” or least racist?
I, like many others, am happy this question was asked. Although I grew up in a predominantly white community, my first friend (which became my best friend for very many years) was black. I was so young and although was aware of the obvious (that she was black and I was white) race never played any part in our relationship. I am so fortunate and grateful looking back on my relationship with my friend because I feel that it helped to cultivate me into a more accepting person subconsciously. When we were younger I acknowledged our differences but never linked it to racial attributes. Frankly, I was jealous that Tina (my friend) would get her hair braided; I always wanted my hair to look like hers. It would take her sister Rosemary 6 hours to braid her entire head and I would sit right next to her while we watched movies the whole day.
This new experience was scary, overwhelming and foreign. Much like it may be for men. I cannot call their reactions ignorant, just lacking. I do not mind that my brother does not want to talk about periods and if he did I would be a little worried. If I am not feeling well and it happens to be mother nature’s doing I feel secure in sharing that without fear of persecution but do not feel it necessary to give too much information. I feel the same way about other natural processes. I do not generally tell people when I file my nails or complain about hunger, I just do something about it in my own time. So once again, I appreciate Sam’s viewpoint on the natural and unique process women go through. He spoke with a passion which I am sure opened the eyes of many college males. Although I still prefer to keep some things to myself. In response to the one video blog that a girl in our class left, “If guys had periods would tampons be free?”....I would predict that tampons would not be free.
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Contraption