Cultural Differences

The article brings an interesting light to the subject of morals in different societies. When the article talked about the differences between the Greeks burning their fathers and the Callatians eating their fathers it reminded me about my view point on Okonkwo and his society. I was horrified about how carelessly Okonkwo would beat his family. The article made me realize that if Okonkwo and I sat down and had a conversation he would be stupefied to my objections. It makes sense that neither way is right or wrong because every society has their own morals. In our society when we see something being done differently and it goes against our morals, we simply can not believe a culture would be like that. For example the Eskimo's that do not value life sound like criminals but in that society they find it perfectly normal. What is normal to others seems ludricous to an outsider. The only reason Okonkwo was reprimanded for his actions was because he committed this act during a week of peace. If it had been any other week he would have not been reprimanded because even though not everyone in his village would beat their wives it was still a norm in their culture. With that being said  the article also brings up the problems with culture realistivism. Which is even if it is someone else's culture how could we not stop ourselves from stepping in when a society starts killing one of their own. For example a genocide, the Eskimos would not care but in our society there is always a debate. Is it right to step in and order another country wrong because there morals are not like ours? I believe it isn't a matter of right or wrong when it comes to innocent people being killed. The article has gotten me to look at the other side of things but one can only lean over so far. There is definitely a limit to understanding and putting up with how another society works. I think completely being mellow with everything is not the way to go. Throughout history if one person had not stood up and yelled for a change in a society, the world would be very different today. 

Different View

When we talked in class about how Ophelia supposedly kills herself by drowning in the river, the general view in the room was that people are hesitant to kill themselves because they are unenlightened to what will happen to them after they die. I considered that that view is true for people that never go through with it, like Hamlet for example and his famous soliloquy "To be or not to be-that is the question". Hamlet contemplates if he should continue to suffer or take charge of his torturous life and just end it. If Opehlia did decide to kill herself I don't think she was worried about her afterlife when the life she was living was hell; with her father dead and her lover's banishment due to his hand in her father's death. I think that if someone's life already feels like hell they will not be worried about their afterlife but instead will find the choice of death as a life raft, leading them to peace. I thought about this weeks ago and recently after the tragedy in our small town. When I heard the news my heart was heavy, I would always see this person at parties but I would have never guessed what he was going through. Every time you hear about someone making that decision I know I think about a few things: why did they think this was the only solution, if only they would have said something, and it is never anyone you would have guessed. I think that the worst part is most times it comes as a complete shock and even if you couldn't of helped you wish there had been a way to reach out to that person. I strongly believe suicide should be made a more prominent issue in today's society. I think there are a lot of issues that need to be tackled in the United States but due to the severity I figure suicide should be high on that list of issues. The main problem is I don't think most people that think about suicide are afraid of what will happen after and once they come to that conclusion being enlightened or not isn't a barrier. 

It Will Never Be Okay

    I grew up in a loving household where any form of violent discipline was deemed as unacceptable. My mother grew up in the same type of household, her father left when she was in her teens but even as an Italian man with a strong temper; beatings as punishment never occurred. My dad also has a fiery temper which I guess can be linked to his upbringing or his no crap tolerating personality. However he never laid a hand on my sister or me as kids and we grew up quite fine. I don't believe physical punishment is the way to go in a discipline situation, it can have emotionally damaging effects. The education system is no longer allowed to hit us with a paddle or have us wear a dunce cap. I believe both punishments destroy a child's self esteem and dignity and frankly why should teachers be spanking kids with a piece of wood. I am very thankful I was born when I was and grew up with the parents I have.

    A different parent might say, well it's my child and if they won't listen I'll straighten them up with a slap or a punch. When that child goes to their room they cry their eyes out and scramble the next day for excuses regarding their marks and bruises. A strong character trait of mine is simply to not tolerate injustices, it lights a fire in me. I mean honestly society teaches you that if your boyfriend or girlfriend hits you, leave him. If a spouse or partner hits you it isn't a healthy relationship, leave them. I strongly agree with both but shouldn't the refusal to put up with physical abuse start at an early age and couldn't it even be argued that a child that did get abused could not know what to do or even accept physical punishment from someone later in their life. I understand that in Things Fall Apart the culture in Africa and in that tribe is that a man is allowed to beat his wives and children at his free will, except during the Week of Peace of course. At one point the main character Okonkwo almost kills his second wife when after beating her he tries to shoot her, luckily he has a bad aim and misses. This treatment is something I could never stand for if I was an outsider and I just walked in on this happening. If I was in that culture I hope that I would rebel against everyone but I can't be for sure that I would, different countries have different cultures but concerning the culture I live in I don't agree with laying a hand on your child. When kids are little maybe a slight spank on the bottom would be warranted but I can't 100% say I would do that either. 

TGIT

I've realized that every Shonda Rhimes show makes me want to take on the profession being showed. First it was Grey's Anatomy a show filled with good looking doctors with great lives until disaster strikes. The show got me wanting to be a med student till I realized I'm not good with blood, too much school time, and I could never tell someone they had lost a loved one. Then Scandal made me want to have whatever job Olivia Pope has because come on who doesn't want to wear awesome suits and have two hunky guys interested  in them. And she is also bad ass. The last show in the TGIT run, How to Get Away With Murder is a master piece. Of course a show about law students would be a hit, especially when you cast Viola Davis as one of the main characters. You is kind, you is smart, you is important; side note The Help was an amazing movie. The only thing that bugged me about tonight's episode (aka How to Get Away With Murder) was realizing how some lawyers fight till the sentencing for criminals who should rot in jail but instead go free. That's the flaw in being a lawyer I suppose because if I found out my client was a P.O.S. I'd probably turn him in myself. The character of Viola Davis does claim she doesn't care if a client is guilty but if she doesn't care why is she freaking out about her husband's maybe guilty self; besides the fact it's her husband. Also if she's heartless why is she crying after sex unless she only meant she was heartless at work. Final thing, I would totally work for Shonda Rhimes because then I wouldn't have to wait every week to find out what happens. I lied, I'm currently about to google schools of law besides the Ivy Leagues, too bad I can't go to the fake college on the show and take Professor Keating's class.

Under pressure

Lately I find myself filling out college applications or googling careers. If you had asked me last year what I wanted to do I would have proudly said journalism. Now that it is actually my senior year and the deadlines for those college applications are in less than 6 months I find myself putting journalism down as my chosen major but saying I don't know to random strangers. It happened while I was at work one day when one of my customers was chatting to me while his dry cleaning spun around. The customer asked me what grade I was in and surprisingly didn't ask me the infamous question "what do you want to do?". Instead of questioning me he talked about his son who was a senior also. I listened as I charged his card and hung his dry cleaning on the bar by the desk. As he was about to leave he abruptly asked me "what do you want to do with your life?". That was the first time I didn't say journalism and instead blurted out " I don't know yet.". As I was tagging a bag of clothes that had been dropped off I realized that something was wrong, besides the fact I have to pick out my life career at 17, that I was doubting my life plan. I thought journalism would be the career for me but its a competitive field and if you're not good the chances of living like a Trump are minuscule. The part that really bummed me out was that there was no one to guarantee me that I could succeed in journalism and no real way to know if I could write like a big shot. I guess college is the place to find out that but shouldn't you know for sure before you agree to spend so much money and take out loans that you have to pay till you die. I guess the questions that really keep me up: how is engineering, how easy is it to get a full ride, and is journalism coming back on the scene anytime soon? One last point, if I was born into fame I wouldn't be having this problem right now, no offense Kendall Jenner you do work that runway. Cough cough I'm looking at you Kylie. 

Ignorance in Society

The question in the socratic seminar for The Power of One that says, "The photography captured the exact moment when I understood with conviction that racism is a primary force of evil designed to destroy good men" Discuss the photograph and statement. Peekay realizes that these group of men he looks up to and trains along with are outraged with taking a picture with Geel Piet. Peekay realizes that since Geel Piet is a boer he is a lower figure in society because that is how they view him by color. Even though it is clear in the story that Geel Piet is qualified to be an amazing boxing coach which is shown by how well he coaches Peekay. Geel Piet is only respected when it has to do with boxing, this racism destroys those group of men good qualities and the chances of Geel Piet having equal opportunity. The issue is that often instead of judging someone for their character and their capability people judge them by their color. This issue is presented in literature in Invisible Man when the narrator is just used to start a riot by The Brotherhood for his color and not to be the leader of a revolution. The Power of One is another example of a piece of literature that shows how color is used to judge someone. The people of Africa instead of joining together they separate themselves in tribes. In society and media it is shown that the problem of race often comes up in court cases and police brutality. When the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson happened the saying "hands up, don't shoot" became popular. It is deluding to the fact that police tend to shoot a person of color before they seem to actually become a threat. The issue of racism whether the police act too rationally or not is that it is destroying several good men; the police whether guilty or not and the victims of these situations like Michael Brown. I think this issue is a really big problem in society because it is affecting people's lives and is taking away the authority of the police force. When police forces like the ones in Ferguson are shown in this light it gives the sense that the police can not be trusted. I do believe that police officers at time see color before they take in facts but that is not every case. Until the problem of not seeing color first is attacked head on it will always be a factor in a case like Michael Brown. This problem also puts into light other court cases like Michael Brown against another court case where for example a white police officer and a white man gets shot. Before that picture was taken Peekay did not understand that racism destroys people and I believe that people should start to put racism aside and look at the facts.