Reflections

In the course of two quarters, this blog has evolved from  making connections from one literary piece to another to connecting what I was being taught in Humanities Core and my Criminology course and noticing that these two disciplines discuss the same questions with different methods.

The School of Humanities approaches their area of expertise with the intent of giving others an interpretive perspective of texts and artifacts in order to provide a glimpse of a culture or time in history. The School of Social Ecology, in which the Criminology discipline falls under, approaches their studies in the gathering of data and statistics to prove hypotheses and advise other people and institutions on how to approach their problems, they provide a glimpse into our current culture and society. Essentially, in my mind, they are the opposite sides of the same coin: one gathers qualitative information (Humanities) and the other quantitative information (Social Ecology). 

With that being said, while I was able to merge ideas from both disciplines to create the second half of this blog (Winter Quarter) I also realize that I did not represent both schools equally and thus effectively, my original goal back in January. With an approaching research paper in the months to come, I hope to be able to apply both of these disciplines (my majors of English and Criminology) and do them both justice. With the two different approaches taught to me, I endeavor to give both qualitative and quantitative information on current, and may I venture to say deeply rooted in the past, societal issues. 

I hope to focus on the U.S. military and possible topics to pursue in the spring may include:

• Media portrayal of troops: the evolution of still media, such as photographs and illustrations, to moving media, video and film, and how these types of media present soldiers and war 
• The history of people of color in the military and possible lack of opportunities as visible in other areas of American life
• The conditioning of American soldiers through the use of "torture-tainment" to decrease emotional and moral reactions in order to complete the task at hand: emerging from the War of Terror as the victors. 

In the end, whatever the topic of the research paper, I hope to continue to combine my two majors and further participate in the discussion of our time: The nature of War and all of that which it encompasses. 

Torture-tainment & Desensitization

We live in an age of technology.  And while technology has given us many advantages it has also taken something from us: our ability to recognize and react to violence.

As advances in technology have been achieved, society as a whole has regressed. I attribute this to the amount of free time the average American now has at his or her disposal. Technology, in my mind, is inherently linked to machines. As machines have developed they have taken on both menial and labor-intensive occupations that people are now free from performing. This freedom is mostly spent in attending to visual medias such as television and films. And here is where the desensitization comes in.

Television programs and films have increased the amount of Torture-tainment, a genre of visual media in which acts and moments of torture are depicted, in their content.  This constant exposure to violent scenes leads to a diminishing emotional response in those who watch and even to a lack of recognition that an act that violates human rights has taken place.  

The Hunger Games, both a book trilogy and a four film franchise, has been read and watched by hundreds of people. Its main target audience is adolescents.  At first glance, The Hunger Games seems to follow the protagonist Katniss Everdeen as she enters a life or death situation in lieu of her sister which in turn sets off a catalyst of reactions that end up with the oppressed people of The Hunger Games world to rise up against its government, the Capitol. 

With this rudimentary understanding, The Hunger Games appears to be a narrative of Good triumphing over Evil with overtones of Love conquering all. However, what most people gloss over is the methods that the Capitol used to maintain control: torture. Viewers and readers recognize that the government of The Hunger Games is not a functioning one, they categorize it in terms of tyranny and abuse of power. What they don't see or overlook is the systematic killings of 23 youths with one forced-killer surviving the genocide, often with psychological trauma. 

New Yorker staff writer Amy Davidson likens The Hunger Games to a story of counterinsurgency and wonders whether its popularity is stemmed from America's involvement in multiple wars. This not only speaks to a desensitization of torture but also a demand for violence by the public. 


This desensitization to violence is not a new idea. It can be traced back to the 1970s to German-American novelist Kurt Vonnegut and the publication of his book Slaughterhouse-Five (1969). Through this book Vonnegut published his concerns of society failing to react to images of mass death and violation of human rights that filled the newspapers and filled the television screens during the duration of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Vonnegut himself was a veteran of World War II. 

Vonnegut may have been advocating for society to recognize its worrisome relationship with acts of violence and degradation of the human body in the early 70s, but it appears that society took no heed. With major blockbuster films such as Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Deadpool (2015) America's relationship with violence, and by extension torture, appears to be stronger than ever. 

What does it say for the future of America that its most seen films and television shows are constantly screening images of torture- an act that demeans the human body?  

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and Police Misconduct: Different Matters or Related?

For the purposes of this blog entry I want to define torture as "the infliction of severe bodily pain, as punishment or a means of persuasion" (OED). 

During Professor Lazo's lecture I learned about different euphemisms for torture ("special methods of questioning" and "refined interrogation") as well as how and why those who use methods of torture justify their use. Professor Lazo focused on CIA operatives and military personnel who worked in Guantanamo Bay and other black sites to combat "the War on Terror." Those operating against labeled "terrorists" used a scenario known as "The Ticking-Time Bomb" as justification for their actions. This scenario includes gathering information from a captive terrorist who may have knowledge about other attacks that have yet to be conducted by the terrorist group they align themselves with. In such a position, interrogators claim they need to apply "moderate physical pressure" in order to prevent the loss of large quantities of life. 

While learning about the standardized methods of torture the United States enacted on its incarcerated international detainees I was learning in another class of similar instances here within the the country's borders: police and tortured confessions.   While reading the chapter "Freely and Voluntary" from Steve Bogira's book Courtroom 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse I came across instances of Chicago law enforcement officers using "coercion" on suspects of murder cases in the 1980s.  In an inquiry conducted by Cook County police department's Office of Professional Standards, defendants were found to be "bagged" or suffocated with plastic bags or electroshocked with the machine's clips being placed anywhere from the ears to the genitalia(175-177).  

David H. Bayley, a Dean and Professor at the School of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York examines police rational in law breaking in an article titled "Law Enforcement and the Rule of Law: Is There a Tradeoff?" In this article Bayley asserts that public safety and career success has a lot to do with it. "Police see the raw hurt that criminality inflicts" and are tempted to violate the rule of law in order to attain "speedy justice" (139). The  police system is also a reward-based one in which the higher number of cases "solved" equates to medals and promotions; in order to meet certain quotas officers found themselves breaking the rule of law and justifying their actions by claiming to work  for the "greater good." 

Not only are these two institutions charged with enforcing law and protecting United State citizens (one from dangers abroad and one from domestic dangers), they also seem to find torture a preferred method for extracting confessions. They also both claim to be saving lives and preventing situations where lives can be potentially put at risk. 

Now here come the moral dilemmas: 

• Is it right for the lives of some to be endangered to potentially save the lives of many?
• Do the ends really justify the means?

Many who are against "enhanced the interrogation techniques" used by the CIA argue that when someone is under extreme physical duress, they will begin to confess anything and everything the interrogator(s) want to hear. Similarly, police officers in Cook County , Chicago in the 1980s received the murder confessions they wanted to hear to close a case. However, in the 1990s these "confessions" would come back to haunt officers as defendants began to speak about the beatings, suffocations , electroshocks, and threats that pressured them into giving falsified confessions. 

Bayley in the same article that examined police justifications for law breaking also listed the disadvantages of police lawbreaking. Some of the points he made were that violating the rule of law :

1. Contributes marginally to crime deterrence
2. Reduces enforcement effectiveness
3. Weakens the authority of the law
4. Scapegoats the police
5. Wastes community resources (142-145). 

While what Bayley wrote about was specifically police officers, I would go so far as to attribute these to organizations such as the CIA because these institutions have become more and more militarized. These militarization is perhaps the problem. I feel that many Americans are worrying about what we as the United States have done to (or not done) to international detainees; perhaps we also need to direct our vision inward and examine what our criminal justice system is doing to its own citizens. 

Realizing How Information is Presented to You

Becoming eighteen  in the United States not only comes with the responsibility of being perceived as a full fledged "adult" under the eyes of the law, but also with a present from the government: the eligibility to vote. Now I know for some young men and women of this age, the right to vote does not seem like an awing event. I do. 

I find the idea of being trusted enough by my government to have a say in what they do amazing. Not only that, but I take into account all of the men and women who made this event possible. I am a young woman of color that can vote. That can make her voice be heard, along with countless others, about how the institutions of her state and federal governments should be run. 

Having registered to vote and realizing how I can make a difference has put me on alert to the upcoming presidential election and how news and information about the potential presidential candidates is presented to me. This brings me to what I want to talk about today: primary and secondary sources. 

What exactly is a primary source? 

A primary source, in regards to humanities subject of study, is either the original account or an account made soon after an event. 

To begin my search of understanding of today's politics and issues, I went to the center of the Unites States' political center: Washington D.C. 

I watched President Obama's Final State of the Union Address in order to gain a feel of where America and her politics are at the moment. From watching this address, I came to learn that President Obama intends to focus on four aspects in his time remaining in office:

1. A New Economy that Works for All
2. The Spirit of Innovation
3. U.S. Leadership in the World
4. A Politics of Hope

For any who wish to hear the address or learn more themselves about President Obama's intentions, they can watch the address HERE. 

A secondary source is a second hand account of an event, usually with an interpretive or analytical lens. 

I participated in hearing what  secondary sources had to say about the political future of the United States through a debate series held at the University of California in Irvine titled "Which Presidential Candidate is Best for the U.S.?" In this debate, four teams of two answered questions about the candidates (Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul) they believe should be the next president. 

Since the four candidates where not actually there in person to debate, the answers I was hearing where interpretive responses made about the candidates as perceived by the college students. 

Beginning to dive into the political debates and information about political figures, I am starting to critically analyze where I receive my information.  Whether it is a primary or secondary source of information and who exactly is presenting it. 

The Negative Perception of African-Americans: From Civil War to Modern Times

While doing some of the reading for my "Introduction to Criminology" course, I came across many instances in which there was a negative treatment of African Americans by Whites. These instances when read after Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave lead me to ponder the idea of  1800s racism having trickled down into our modern day justice system. 

The period of time in which the United States allowed the institution of slavery to materialize and flourish has been often referred to me as a "blotch in our nation's history" by multiple middle school  and high school teachers. Through Douglass's narrative, readers receive a first hand account of the actions and brutality in which slaves where oppressed and dehumanized. Similarly, in Steve Bogira's Courtroom 302: A Year Behind The Scenes In An American Criminal Courthouse a reader ascertains knowledge of behind the scenes happenings in a court room that includes the treatment of those arrested by  the deputies on duty and the perceptions that a judge, prosecutors, and public defenders have of those alleged with crimes and vise versa.  


In this blog post I want to try and make a connection about how systems of institutions have failed and in some instances even worked against African Americans and  other people of color. 

During Douglass's era, laws such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 deliberately worked against those who wanted to escape the bondage of slavery. Due to this act, Douglass sees a rise of "legalized kidnappers" who deceive runaway slaves into believing they were good Samaritans who could aid them in their time of need but instead ended up returning them into slavery while making a profit (Narrative, pg 101). While Douglass fiercely advocated for the complete freedoms for his fellow African-Americans, it seemed that he and his fellow brethren traded one set of problems for another. This is illustrated in the picture below titled "The Union as it Was: A lost cause, Worse than Slavery." 

"The Union as it Was: The Lost Cause, Worse than Slavery"
Illustrated in Harper's Weekly.
Created by Thomas Nast.

The illustration depicts a "White League" man, a paramilitary group that arose in the 1870s that tried to turn out Republicans from office and stop recently-free slaves from voting and becoming politically organized, shaking hands with a Klu Klux Klan member. Below the handshake, is an African-American family huddling in positions that indicate fear. Behind them in the left hand corner of the space the couple encompasses is a man hanging from a tree. On the right there are remnants of a burned down school house that hint of the obstacles that slaves would still have to contend with on their road to equalize themselves with their lighter-skinned counterparts. An equality that I believe has not seen in our modern-day court system in which justice and fairness should be the prevailing outcomes. 

The African American couple appears to be within a badge-like frame. The top of this frame is bordered with a skull and cross-bones image that is reminiscent of the infamous Jolly Roger flag iconography that is associated with pirates. Above the handshake of the two white men, is an eagle with the inscription "This is a white man's government." The eagle is a symbol of the American government and the inscription conveys that people of color would not find true freedom and equality under their current government. 

Reading Courtroom 302, I have come across further belittlement of African Americans. Prosecutors of the courthouse in Chicago once had a contest in which the goal was to "convict four thousand pounds of defendants" (Bogira, pg 69). This contest was known as the "Two-Ton Contest" and later on renamed the "Niggers by the Pound" after most of the convicted turned out to be African American.  

While we as a nation have come a long way in terms of physically freeing those who were once considered property, I believe we have failed in terms of giving them equal opportunities under the law. While they may no longer have to call someone "master," discrimination towards them has not ceased. The negative perception of people of color that continues to persist no matter how many young men and women attend institutions of higher education and try to change the reputation that follows them, makes me wonder if discrimination can ever be eradicated. Can we really look past the color of a person's skin and see the human being?

Initial Thoughts on Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Niccolo Machivelli's The Prince
Translation by William J. Connell

When I first saw that Machiavelli's The Prince was one of the books required for the Humanities Core class, I was actually kind of excited. This book has been on my to-be-read pile for awhile now; since about junior year in high school, actually. 

It was during that year of high school, that my AP Language teacher assigned each student a topic to research and to present a 5 to 7 minute power point presentation. My topic was Machiavelli. Because of this, I had some prior background knowledge on Machiavelli, his political and social status around the time he wrote this book. That being said, that is all I had. My high school self spoke 7 minutes on Machiavelli, his social standing, his book The Prince, and some of his ideologies but could not be bothered to actually read his most known work. 

Now that I am required to read it I must say this: it is a tough read. Now the translation is easy enough to understand, the tough part is wrapping my mind around his [Machiavelli's] concepts. However, when I do come across some of the points I presented in high school such as the infamous question "Is it better to be feared or loved?" I find a wave of new energy come over me and I try to read The Prince more diligently. 

I suppose the reason I am slowly making my way through the text is because I cannot connect to the history. I am not extremely knowledgeable of all the historical and political figures that were prominent during Machiavelli's time  (thank goodness for those footnotes!). I understand the want a prince may have for growing his empire or why a lord might want to become a prince. I even understand why having troops of one's one would be better in the grand scheme of things than having mercenary arms (hired soldiers). I am just finding it difficult in making a connection between myself and the message of the book. 

I have often thought that people's tones and intentions come across differently through just plain text (i.e. a letter, a book, on a screen such as a text or website) than when they are actually in your presence speaking to you. I did not know Niccolo Machiavelli when he was alive and have no idea how he would have spoken the ideas in his book. All I have is the book. 

Machiavelli is so straight forward in his composition that he does come across as harsh at times. I understand why at the time of its publication this book was so controversial, why it was banned years later, and why Machiavelli gained an unfavorable reputation. However, I also recognize that the content of the book itself is adequate advice. The advice is just stripped of emotion and is all business. 

And ultimately, I think the book is exactly just that: Business. The business of taking over other states, expanding an empire, or on how to gain and maintain control. 

I encourage (if you haven't read it already) to pick it up and read it. I would love to hear what you all think of it and what kind of book it strikes you as. I know I will be returning to it to try and find more meaning within its pages. 

Anti-war Literature

Over the past few weeks in my Humanities Core Course, I have attended lectures with topics being the ancient epic war of the Trojan War, the Thirty Years' War of 17th century Europe, and lately World War II. During one of Professor Smith's, a professor specializing in German studies,  lectures he played a small part of a larger video. A particular image in this video resonated with me. 

City of Dresden after massive bombing.

The image was of the city of Dresden, in the aftermath of a bombing attack. This image- this city rekindled memories of my AP English Literature class from high school. The first time I encountered the bombing of this German city was through  the novelist Kurt Vonnegut and his anti-war novel titled Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade: A Duty Dance with Death. 

A year ago (around this time of year in fact) I read an anti-war novel. This year, I have read an anti-war play.While one was meant to be read and another watched, both of the writers' aims were the same: to challenge the masses and inspire collective action. 

Bertolt Brecht, the playwright of Mother Courage and her Children, was born in Germany in 1898. He wrote this particular play at a point in his life where he had fled Germany because: 

1. Hitler had risen to power
2. he was left-winged intellectual (believed in some aspects of Communism)

Being exiled from all you know, all that is dear to you is no easy feat. This play has (for all that Brecht tried to keep emotion out of it) tones of loss and despair. This play has been described by actress Meryl Streep as "a cry"; a cry of asking "why?" This question, however, is not part of the question "why me?" but rather "why did we let it get to this?" Brecht's play is a representation of what war is like. There is no heroism in Brecht's representation of war and there is no crushing sorrow (that is supposed to felt), there is just War. 

Kurt Vonnegut,a novelist, was an American with German ancestral roots. He fought during World War II for the Allies, was taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans, and witnessed the bombing of Dresden. The significance of the bombing of this particular city was the fact that it was purely civilian and had no fortification, no armaments to attack and defend from enemies.  It was full of women, children, those injured by the war, those too old to fight in the war, and prisoners of war. Beginning of February 13, 1915 and ending on the February 15th, Dresden was bombed by the Allied forces. 

Living though this, Vonnegut came home and had the seed of an idea for an anti-war novel. This novel may have had its roots in World War II, but it did not become a reality until the Vietnam War was well underway.  His anti-war novel, or as he liked to think of it his "anti-glacier" novel undertook the task of not recounting the horrors of war, but of pointing out the blasé attitude of the masses in times of war. 

Vonnegut felt that the American people had become desensitized to  the violence of war. During the Vietnam war, it became a standard practice to give a toll of the number of dead each night during the news. Death toll numbers, images of massacres became the norm and the violence of war was no longer monstrous or inhumane. 

By reading the novel Slaughterhouse-five I learned that the opposite of love was not hate, but rather indifference. Love and Hate are both strong emotions, they are essentially the two different sides of the same coin. Their counterpart is indifference; the lack of caring is the true horror of the generations that have followed Vonnegut's. 

What I found to be so profound in both Brecht's and Vonnegut's work was the way in which they approached the topic of war. Both of the works I discussed are considered "anti-war" yet these two men did not simply state or show that war is bad (a thought I believe, we all know deep down by our innate instincts that is true). Vonnegut attached the term "anti-glacier" for his novel since he believed "There [will] always be wars...they [are] as easy to stop as glaciers" -and we all know how the confrontation between a glacier and the Titanic went (Slaughterhouse-five. 1. 3).  However, what these writers attacked was not the evilness of war but the actions or lack of actions taken beforehand. What they aimed to inspire was collective action. 

One person alone is not enough to change the world. It is when people come together as one in action and thought that change can be accomplished. 

Personally, I know that I am too detached from war and its violence. I know many wars have started, ended, and some are still continuing in my life time. Yet, my life has been a good one. I have, or at least I believe, not been severely affected by War. The only experience I have with the military was through the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program at my school. And when I really think about it, but I mean pause and really think, I become ashamed. I reap the benefits of another person's labor, a person who is away from home because of a war. Then I ponder what I should do. Should I become involved? Should I join the military (my JROTC instructors believed I could have been an Officer)? Should I protest war?  

I don't really know what I should do. I am still figuring it out. I am just glad I have had teachers and professors who have introduced me to works such as Slaughterhouse-five and Mother Courage. For jolting me awake from my own apparent apathy towards War; for making me realize that something must be done. 

Sources

• Slaughterhouse-five

      Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-five or the Children's Crusade:       A Duty Dance with Death. New York: Delacorte                       Press/Seymour Lawrence, 1991.