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Ryota F
Apr 23, 2010, 4:01:49 PM4/23/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Fujii Ryota
English 101
Professor Ed O’Connell
4/2/2010
Explaining Eliminationist Assaults
In his book Worse than war Daniel Goldhagen (2009) deals with the
issue of eliminationism. He explains why eliminationist assaults begin
and suggests what we can do to stop eliminationist assaults. He argues
that, although eliminationist beliefs have been universally held by
people throughout history, eliminationist assaults are not inevitable
unless political leaders decide to act on such beliefs. Goldhagen
denies popular explanations that focus on globalization, social
structures, ethnic conflict or human nature. Among numerous conflicts
and eliminationist assaults Goldhagen discusses in his book, the
Holocaust is probably the most well known eliminationist assault in
history. He argues that eliminationist anti-Semitism among Germans was
very strong “but lay dormant until Hitler and the state he led
initiated, organized, and oversaw the Jews’ mass murder” (p. 21).
Accordingly, he proposes that in order to stop eliminationist
assaults, an elimination prevention program that allows targeted
killings be implemented. His views are controversial and many disagree
with his views. The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (2009), for example, offers structural explanations for
eliminationist assaults. However, a review of various information and
opinion suggests that there is enough support for Goldhagen’s views
also. For instance, Fowler (2004), when addressing to Annual
Conference of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, indicated
that eliminationist assaults are not inevitable. A Congressional bill,
S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability Act of 2009 proposed by
Sen. Nelson is also consistent with Goldhagen’s view that individuals
choose to commit eliminationist assaults and thus should be held
accountable for their actions. Finally, Michael Walzer, author of Just
and unjust wars also supports Goldhagen’s view that targeted killings
can be justified (Miller, 2010).
First, in explaining eliminationism, Goldhagen argues that popular
explanations that focus on structural or historical factors such as
globalization, social structures, ethnic conflict or human nature do
not adequately explain why eliminationist assaults begin. One such
explanation is presented by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and
Human Rights Studies (2009). Its report entitled Mobilizing the will
to intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities states
that “[t]he combined impact of poverty and inequality, rapid
demographic growth, nationalism, and climate change drives deadly
violence and threatens international peace and security” (viii).
Goldhagen acknowledges that these underlying structural factors such
as nationalism and ethnic conflict “can motivate people to annihilate
others” (p. 67). However, he correctly asserts that they cannot
explain why some ethnic conflicts lead to eliminationist assaults
while others do not. Also, he argues that the structural explanations
cannot explain the timing of “the various phases of the German’s
eliminationist program against the Jews” (p. 67). As Goldhagen argues,
therefore, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies must recognize that structural factors do not inevitably lead
to eliminationist assaults.
In contrast to the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies, Fowler (2004), in his address to Annual Conference of the
Association of Holocaust Organizations, indicates that eliminationist
assaults are not inevitable, supporting Goldhagen’s view. In his
speech, Fowler disagrees with Cynthia Ozick, a writer who warns what
has happened once will happen again. Fowler states that the writer
“goes too far, giving to the darkness an inevitability that renders us
powerless, stripping from us for all time any choice.” Goldhagen also
emphasizes individual choices in his book and states that in the case
of the Holocaust, Hitler and the state he led decided to mobilize and
organize those who held anti-Semitic sentiments into a program of
killing.
A Congressional bill, S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability
Act of 2009 proposed by Sen. Nelson is also consistent with
Goldhagen’s view that individuals choose to commit eliminationist
assaults and thus should be held accountable for their actions. This
bill holds “the surviving Nazi war criminals accountable for the war
crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity they committed during
World War II, by encouraging foreign governments to more efficiently
prosecute and extradite wanted criminals.” The idea behind this bill
is that eliminationist assaults such as the Holocaust do not happen
without certain individuals who have “full capacity to do otherwise”
deciding “to slaughter other human beings by the thousands, hundreds
or thousands, or millions” (Goldhagen, p. 69). This bill, therefore,
supports Goldhagen’s argument.
Finally, Michael Walzer, author of Just and unjust wars also supports
Goldhagen’s view that targeted killings can be justified (Miller,
2010). Goldhagen argues that “[t]here is no mass murder or elimination
I know that could not have been avoided had one person or a few people
decided to do otherwise, which they easily could have done” (p. 73).
Based on this view, one of his solution to this problem is to
implement a program that would allow targeted killings and “pay the
substantial rewards…for killing” perpetrators (p. 578). This idea is
controversial, but Walzer (2010) agrees with Goldhagen and states that
these killings “can be justified when the target is a legitimate enemy
who is actively engaged in planning or organizing or carrying out
criminal or terrorist activities” (Miller, 2010).
In conclusion, Goldhagen’s views on why eliminationist assaults begin
and what we can do to stop eliminationist assaults are controversial.
However, a review of various information and opinion suggests that
there is enough support for Goldhagen’s views. The case of the
Holocaust illustrates that eliminationist assaults cannot be solely
explained by structural or historical factors, and since political
leaders and the states they lead are responsible for mass murders, we
need laws and programs that hold these individuals accountable and
allow targeted killings of those perpetrators.
References
Fowler, J. (2004). Education about the Holocaust: How does it help
build a better world? Annual
Conference of the Association of Holocaust Organizations. Retrieved
March 31, 2010,
from http://www.holocaust-trc.org/edu_holocaust.htm
Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). Worse than war: Genocide, eliminationism, and
the ongoing assault on
humanity. New York: Public Affairs.
Miller, M. (2010, February 21). Targeted for death. Los Angles Times.
Retrieved March 31, 2010,
from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/21/opinion/la-oe-miller-web21-2010feb21
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (2009).
Mobilizing the will to
Intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities. Retrieved
March 31, 2010, from http://migs.concordia.ca/W2I/documents/ENG_MIGS_finalW2IAugust09.pdf
Nelson, Sen. B. (2009). S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability
Act of 2009.
Fujii Ryota
English 101
Professor Ed O’Connell
4/23/2010
Short story
Lessons Not Learned
When Ms. Good was a senior in high school, she saw the
World Trader Centers collapse on CNN. Since she was a young girl, she
had always been interested in world affairs and wanted to pursue a
career in politics, but on that horrible, fateful day, she decided
that she would become the president of the United States. As a Jewish
American girl whose ancestors were Holocaust victims, Ms. Good wanted
to make sure that her descendants would never experience
eliminationist assaults and/or terrorist attacks. She was a brilliant
student and went to Harvard and majored in Political Science. She took
many classes in International Relations, History, and Psychology to
understand the reasons behind eliminationist assaults and terrorist
attacks that do not cease to exist despite numerous efforts made by
the Unites States and the international community. After graduating
from college, Ms. Good went to Harvard Law School and studied
International Laws. She was elected Senator in California and became
a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 2020, she
finally realized her dream by becoming the first female and Jewish
president of the United States. Since the 9.11 terrorist attacks, the
world had experienced many more terrorist attacks and witnessed
several eliminationist assaults, so when she ran her campaign on the
promise of world peace, people were excited. Despite the undertones of
violence dominating much of human history, people still did not want
to believe that human beings are fundamentally aggressive and evil.
People around the world were now watching Ms. Good.
Soon after Ms. Good became president, she received an
intelligence report that a Third-World dictator is behaving
aggressively toward the country’s ethnic and religious minorities and
is also planning some kind of attack on the United States. Ms. Good
was alarmed and quickly gathered a team of advisors including her
foreign policy staff and renowned mental-health professionals to
interpret the dictator’s behavior. Ms. Good invited the mental-health
professionals because by studying psychology in college, she believed
strongly that leaders have a major impact on foreign and domestic
policy-making. She understood of course that a decision maker’s policy
choices and actions are often shaped by the nature of the
international system and/or by forces in state and society such as
ethnic conflicts, but she believed that individuals have significant
influence on the policies and actions ultimately chosen. By doing
research on the Holocaust and Hitler, she was convinced that it is
important to study the personal attributes, such as personality,
temperament, background, beliefs and goals of dictators and leaders.
After some discussion, the group of mental-health
professionals told Ms. President that the root of the dictator’s
behavior stems from his mental instability and that she should
immediately organize the overthrow of the leader. The suggestion that
this dictator is irrational and possibly psychotic sounded plausible
to her. After all, why would any political leader risk war or
international incidents in an era of nuclear weapons? Ms. Good decided
that the overthrow of this dictator was necessary, but how? She knew
the answer but stopped herself by saying it first to avoid appear too
radical as the president of the most powerful country in the world. To
her relief, one of his foreign staff members, Mr. Goldhagen, said, “We
should just send somebody or use locals to kill him.” She liked the
idea, but before she said anything, another staff member, Mr. UN said,
“That’s too risky. We know how most people feel about targeted
killings and we need to follow laws.” Other foreign policy staff
members agreed. Mrs. Pose said, “We should just signal a credible
commitment to use force in retaliation for any aggressive actions.”
Mr. PR said, “We should stick to the use of aid or sanctions. Any
military actions including targeted killings at this point are too
risky. The public will not buy that.” Ms. Good felt helpless. She
wanted to become president to take on the issues of eliminationist
assaults and terrorist attacks, but here she was surrounded by experts
on psychology and foreign affairs, yet she was not able to do anything
decisive.
Three days later, Ms. Good received a briefing on the
dictator and found out that at least 10,000 of the country’s ethnic
and religious minorities had been killed. She again gathered those
experts and asked, “Why can’t we just go ahead and kill that son of a
bitch? Are we still going to talk about sanctions and angry letters?
Give me a break! He is killing innocent people at this right moment
and we are not doing anything to save these people!” In response, Mr.
PR said, “Ms. President, we cannot do anything decisive until we get a
clear picture.”
The next day, Ms. Good heard a report on CNN that at least
100,000 of the country’s minorities had been killed and it was the
worst eliminationist assault in recent history.
--
Subscription settings: http://groups.google.com/group/eng101spr10online3226/subscribe?hl=en
English 101
Professor Ed O’Connell
4/2/2010
Explaining Eliminationist Assaults
In his book Worse than war Daniel Goldhagen (2009) deals with the
issue of eliminationism. He explains why eliminationist assaults begin
and suggests what we can do to stop eliminationist assaults. He argues
that, although eliminationist beliefs have been universally held by
people throughout history, eliminationist assaults are not inevitable
unless political leaders decide to act on such beliefs. Goldhagen
denies popular explanations that focus on globalization, social
structures, ethnic conflict or human nature. Among numerous conflicts
and eliminationist assaults Goldhagen discusses in his book, the
Holocaust is probably the most well known eliminationist assault in
history. He argues that eliminationist anti-Semitism among Germans was
very strong “but lay dormant until Hitler and the state he led
initiated, organized, and oversaw the Jews’ mass murder” (p. 21).
Accordingly, he proposes that in order to stop eliminationist
assaults, an elimination prevention program that allows targeted
killings be implemented. His views are controversial and many disagree
with his views. The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (2009), for example, offers structural explanations for
eliminationist assaults. However, a review of various information and
opinion suggests that there is enough support for Goldhagen’s views
also. For instance, Fowler (2004), when addressing to Annual
Conference of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, indicated
that eliminationist assaults are not inevitable. A Congressional bill,
S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability Act of 2009 proposed by
Sen. Nelson is also consistent with Goldhagen’s view that individuals
choose to commit eliminationist assaults and thus should be held
accountable for their actions. Finally, Michael Walzer, author of Just
and unjust wars also supports Goldhagen’s view that targeted killings
can be justified (Miller, 2010).
First, in explaining eliminationism, Goldhagen argues that popular
explanations that focus on structural or historical factors such as
globalization, social structures, ethnic conflict or human nature do
not adequately explain why eliminationist assaults begin. One such
explanation is presented by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and
Human Rights Studies (2009). Its report entitled Mobilizing the will
to intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities states
that “[t]he combined impact of poverty and inequality, rapid
demographic growth, nationalism, and climate change drives deadly
violence and threatens international peace and security” (viii).
Goldhagen acknowledges that these underlying structural factors such
as nationalism and ethnic conflict “can motivate people to annihilate
others” (p. 67). However, he correctly asserts that they cannot
explain why some ethnic conflicts lead to eliminationist assaults
while others do not. Also, he argues that the structural explanations
cannot explain the timing of “the various phases of the German’s
eliminationist program against the Jews” (p. 67). As Goldhagen argues,
therefore, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies must recognize that structural factors do not inevitably lead
to eliminationist assaults.
In contrast to the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies, Fowler (2004), in his address to Annual Conference of the
Association of Holocaust Organizations, indicates that eliminationist
assaults are not inevitable, supporting Goldhagen’s view. In his
speech, Fowler disagrees with Cynthia Ozick, a writer who warns what
has happened once will happen again. Fowler states that the writer
“goes too far, giving to the darkness an inevitability that renders us
powerless, stripping from us for all time any choice.” Goldhagen also
emphasizes individual choices in his book and states that in the case
of the Holocaust, Hitler and the state he led decided to mobilize and
organize those who held anti-Semitic sentiments into a program of
killing.
A Congressional bill, S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability
Act of 2009 proposed by Sen. Nelson is also consistent with
Goldhagen’s view that individuals choose to commit eliminationist
assaults and thus should be held accountable for their actions. This
bill holds “the surviving Nazi war criminals accountable for the war
crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity they committed during
World War II, by encouraging foreign governments to more efficiently
prosecute and extradite wanted criminals.” The idea behind this bill
is that eliminationist assaults such as the Holocaust do not happen
without certain individuals who have “full capacity to do otherwise”
deciding “to slaughter other human beings by the thousands, hundreds
or thousands, or millions” (Goldhagen, p. 69). This bill, therefore,
supports Goldhagen’s argument.
Finally, Michael Walzer, author of Just and unjust wars also supports
Goldhagen’s view that targeted killings can be justified (Miller,
2010). Goldhagen argues that “[t]here is no mass murder or elimination
I know that could not have been avoided had one person or a few people
decided to do otherwise, which they easily could have done” (p. 73).
Based on this view, one of his solution to this problem is to
implement a program that would allow targeted killings and “pay the
substantial rewards…for killing” perpetrators (p. 578). This idea is
controversial, but Walzer (2010) agrees with Goldhagen and states that
these killings “can be justified when the target is a legitimate enemy
who is actively engaged in planning or organizing or carrying out
criminal or terrorist activities” (Miller, 2010).
In conclusion, Goldhagen’s views on why eliminationist assaults begin
and what we can do to stop eliminationist assaults are controversial.
However, a review of various information and opinion suggests that
there is enough support for Goldhagen’s views. The case of the
Holocaust illustrates that eliminationist assaults cannot be solely
explained by structural or historical factors, and since political
leaders and the states they lead are responsible for mass murders, we
need laws and programs that hold these individuals accountable and
allow targeted killings of those perpetrators.
References
Fowler, J. (2004). Education about the Holocaust: How does it help
build a better world? Annual
Conference of the Association of Holocaust Organizations. Retrieved
March 31, 2010,
from http://www.holocaust-trc.org/edu_holocaust.htm
Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). Worse than war: Genocide, eliminationism, and
the ongoing assault on
humanity. New York: Public Affairs.
Miller, M. (2010, February 21). Targeted for death. Los Angles Times.
Retrieved March 31, 2010,
from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/21/opinion/la-oe-miller-web21-2010feb21
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (2009).
Mobilizing the will to
Intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities. Retrieved
March 31, 2010, from http://migs.concordia.ca/W2I/documents/ENG_MIGS_finalW2IAugust09.pdf
Nelson, Sen. B. (2009). S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability
Act of 2009.
Fujii Ryota
English 101
Professor Ed O’Connell
4/23/2010
Short story
Lessons Not Learned
When Ms. Good was a senior in high school, she saw the
World Trader Centers collapse on CNN. Since she was a young girl, she
had always been interested in world affairs and wanted to pursue a
career in politics, but on that horrible, fateful day, she decided
that she would become the president of the United States. As a Jewish
American girl whose ancestors were Holocaust victims, Ms. Good wanted
to make sure that her descendants would never experience
eliminationist assaults and/or terrorist attacks. She was a brilliant
student and went to Harvard and majored in Political Science. She took
many classes in International Relations, History, and Psychology to
understand the reasons behind eliminationist assaults and terrorist
attacks that do not cease to exist despite numerous efforts made by
the Unites States and the international community. After graduating
from college, Ms. Good went to Harvard Law School and studied
International Laws. She was elected Senator in California and became
a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 2020, she
finally realized her dream by becoming the first female and Jewish
president of the United States. Since the 9.11 terrorist attacks, the
world had experienced many more terrorist attacks and witnessed
several eliminationist assaults, so when she ran her campaign on the
promise of world peace, people were excited. Despite the undertones of
violence dominating much of human history, people still did not want
to believe that human beings are fundamentally aggressive and evil.
People around the world were now watching Ms. Good.
Soon after Ms. Good became president, she received an
intelligence report that a Third-World dictator is behaving
aggressively toward the country’s ethnic and religious minorities and
is also planning some kind of attack on the United States. Ms. Good
was alarmed and quickly gathered a team of advisors including her
foreign policy staff and renowned mental-health professionals to
interpret the dictator’s behavior. Ms. Good invited the mental-health
professionals because by studying psychology in college, she believed
strongly that leaders have a major impact on foreign and domestic
policy-making. She understood of course that a decision maker’s policy
choices and actions are often shaped by the nature of the
international system and/or by forces in state and society such as
ethnic conflicts, but she believed that individuals have significant
influence on the policies and actions ultimately chosen. By doing
research on the Holocaust and Hitler, she was convinced that it is
important to study the personal attributes, such as personality,
temperament, background, beliefs and goals of dictators and leaders.
After some discussion, the group of mental-health
professionals told Ms. President that the root of the dictator’s
behavior stems from his mental instability and that she should
immediately organize the overthrow of the leader. The suggestion that
this dictator is irrational and possibly psychotic sounded plausible
to her. After all, why would any political leader risk war or
international incidents in an era of nuclear weapons? Ms. Good decided
that the overthrow of this dictator was necessary, but how? She knew
the answer but stopped herself by saying it first to avoid appear too
radical as the president of the most powerful country in the world. To
her relief, one of his foreign staff members, Mr. Goldhagen, said, “We
should just send somebody or use locals to kill him.” She liked the
idea, but before she said anything, another staff member, Mr. UN said,
“That’s too risky. We know how most people feel about targeted
killings and we need to follow laws.” Other foreign policy staff
members agreed. Mrs. Pose said, “We should just signal a credible
commitment to use force in retaliation for any aggressive actions.”
Mr. PR said, “We should stick to the use of aid or sanctions. Any
military actions including targeted killings at this point are too
risky. The public will not buy that.” Ms. Good felt helpless. She
wanted to become president to take on the issues of eliminationist
assaults and terrorist attacks, but here she was surrounded by experts
on psychology and foreign affairs, yet she was not able to do anything
decisive.
Three days later, Ms. Good received a briefing on the
dictator and found out that at least 10,000 of the country’s ethnic
and religious minorities had been killed. She again gathered those
experts and asked, “Why can’t we just go ahead and kill that son of a
bitch? Are we still going to talk about sanctions and angry letters?
Give me a break! He is killing innocent people at this right moment
and we are not doing anything to save these people!” In response, Mr.
PR said, “Ms. President, we cannot do anything decisive until we get a
clear picture.”
The next day, Ms. Good heard a report on CNN that at least
100,000 of the country’s minorities had been killed and it was the
worst eliminationist assault in recent history.
--
Subscription settings: http://groups.google.com/group/eng101spr10online3226/subscribe?hl=en
Meagan Judkins
Apr 24, 2010, 1:04:47 AM4/24/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Meagan Judkins
#3226 English 101
Professor O’Connell
April 23, 2010
Essay 2
Native Americans & Genocide
The ever sensitive topic on the Native American genocide is brought up
in chp. 3 of Goldhagen’s “Worse Than War”. This topic is important
for a variety of reasons, one being that throughout this book
Goldhagen lists off various instances of genocide, none of which are
questionable, they were genocide. Even Goldhagen’s claim that Truman
should be labeled a mass murderer rings, in some way, true. In chp. 3
Goldhagen reveals and reminds us of the seedy past the United States
would rather forget. I realized, for reason of society or otherwise, I
without much thought assume genocide to be a thing of other nations,
not my “just” America. It did not occur to me just how much one can
be blinded by their own society. My realization helped to better
understand Goldhagen’s purpose.
We as societies, as human beings, can be trained to overlook certain
truths, become de-sensitized or to forget certain events completely.
The view on the treatment of the Native Americans by my European
ancestors isn’t quite as black and white when compared to, for
example, the Holocaust. There are many factors involved in the
expulsion and deaths of the Native Americans in the early stages of
this county. These arguments help better prove Goldhagen’s point; the
mass killing of one society by another is horrific, in many cases
avoidable, and most importantly can not be justified. If we as a
species can not properly identify genocide and its dark associates
then we will continue to suffer its consequences. Not only the poor
and weak, but all of us are at risk of genocide. To quote Elie Wiesel,
“The danger lies in forgetting. Forgetting, however, will not effect
only the dead. Should it triumph, the ashes of yesterday will cover
our hopes for tomorrow.” In this quote Elie Wiesel explains simply
the need to remember, respect and evolve from our past.
In Goldhagen’s attempt to explain “why they (genocides) begin” he
suggests that one of the reasons is “nation building”. He uses this
to explain what happened with the Native Americans. Although in “Were
American Indians the Victims of Genocide?” Guenter Lewy feels that it
is not fair to deem the history of the United States in regard to the
treatment of the Native Americans as genocide. Guenter argues that
“The sad fate of America's Indians represents not a crime but a
tragedy, involving an irreconcilable collision of cultures and
values.” Guenter’s point is that most of the death and suffering came
unintentionally from the Europeans. It was an act of fate, not
genocide. It can, however, be argued that there was a portion of that
death that was induced by hate, greed and revenge. In God, Greed, and
Genocide: The Holocaust Through the Centuries, Grenke quotes Chalk and
Jonassohn with regards to the Cherokee Trail of Tears that "an act
like the Cherokee deportation would almost certainly be considered an
act of genocide today.” As stated in the first paragraph of this
essay, whether or not the fate of the Native American was genocide or
not is still an ongoing debate.
Something to consider when forming your opinion on this topic is
Goldhagen’s view on the many types of genocide, or eliminationist
assaults. According to Goldhagen, genocide is not just the mass
murder of a people. In chapters 1 and 2 of “Worse than War” we
revisit Goldhagen’s explanation of expulsion. When a group is forcibly
moved from their homes or land. We then remember The Indian Removal
Act of 1830 which eventually led to the Trail of Tears. The Trail of
Tears was the relocation of 17,000 Cherokee Indians to reservations in
Oklahoma. There were those who stood against the removal of the Native
Americans, a more famous name being Davy Crockett. His political
career was never the same after in 1830 he openly opposed the Indian
Removal Act. But in the end the bill was passed. The Native Americans
suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to
their destinations, and many died, including 4,000 of the 17,000
relocated. Goldhagen mentions these “death marches” on page 104,
this too is a form of genocide, no matter the intention.
Whether defined as genocide or not, there are those in this country
that believe the treatment and fate of the Native American was
horrific and deserves retribution. Put forth by Rep Dan Boren, a
congressional bill that aims to not only acknowledge fully the
negative treatment of the Native Americans at the hand of the European
settlers and admit to the “ill-conceived policies by the United
States” but to also apologize “to all Native Peoples on behalf of the
United States”. This bill, with its 27 cosponsors, represents to me
the fact that the demise of the Native American is no doubt directly
correlated with the arrival of the European Settlers. I am not sure
if the passing of this bill will bring peace to the ancestors of the
Native Americans, I only hope that it can be a step in the right
direction, a step toward admittance and with that the hope that we as
a nation move forward.
No matter why the deaths of the Native Americans occurred, whether it
was intentional, accidental, with malice or good intentions, the
question to ask is, would the Native Americans have died off at such
an alarming rate had the European settlers never come to America. The
answer is no. Goldhagen makes a strong case in “Worse than War” on
the side of the Native American. I for one agree with him. We cannot
let good intentions be the reason we do not define an act as
genocide. We must be aware that genocide can take many forms, not
just mass murder. We as a nation, as a species, must define these
acts and do all we can to stop them.
Works cited:
Glauner, Lindsay. "The US and the Crime of Genocide against Native
Americans"
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/06hrights/GeoRegions/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates02.htm
Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). “Worse than war: Genocide, Eliminationism,
and
the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.” New York: Public Affairs.
Grenke, Arthur. “God, Greed, and Genocide: The Holocaust through the
Centuries” New Academia Publishing, LLC (July 20, 2005)
Lewy, Guenter. “Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide?”
November 11, 2004. http://hnn.us/articles/7302.html
http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/AmericanHolocaust/amholocaust-6.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears
Rep Boren, Dan [OK-2] (introduced 4/30/2009) H.J.RES.46 Title: To
acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived
policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and
offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United
States.
************
Meagan Judkins
English 101 #3226
Professor O’Connell
April 23, 2010
Short Story
Oklahoma
I remember being confused most of the time. I remember
feeling out of place. But mostly I remember feelings of nervousness.
My mother always seemed to be shouting at my father. Her claims rang
true to me. Why had we come here? I knew that things were bad in
back in England, but bad enough for us to flee? To leave Grandma and
Grandpa? “This land will bring us freedom! This land represents a
new life! How can you not see that?” my father shouted. He seemed
increasingly tense with every passing day. This made me nervous.
There was so much I didn’t understand. I remember the savages were
often ill. I asked my father once, “Why do we recover yet they
perish?” My father, in his stoic way, replied “It is divine
intervention.” It did not occur to me in my tender age just how
frightening this statement was. I remember there was a time when I
was allowed to play with the other savage children my own age.
Although we weren’t able to speak much to each other, I quickly
learned that words were unnecessary when exploring my new lush
surroundings. I liked the way of the Indians. They seemed wise, even
the children. Sometimes the men would intimidate me. They had hard
faces and although they seemed to interact positively with men like my
father, they also seemed ready to pounce at the slightest misstep. It
was the late summer of 1838 when I heard that the Indians would be
moved west to a place called Oklahoma. Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
I liked the way the word Oklahoma sounded. “Ooook-la-HOME-A!” I
would dance and sing to the word, it made me giggle. I was still so
naïve. That word, that place was representative of death, there was
evil brewing around me. Anger, hatred, racism and fear, cold, empty
fear swirled around our village. I could sense it. I knew my father
was a harsh man, I knew he was quick to anger. As the days, weeks,
months passed my mother learned to hold her tongue. This was a fight
she could not win, but never one to be beaten into full submission, my
mother managed to make her opinions understood by me, if only in her
glance. I was chasing a chicken through the backyard one early fall
morning, I stopped suddenly when I caught my mother handing a basket
to one of the native women. Silently I watched. The young mother’s
child was clung to her side; I could see the grooves of skin between
its tiny little hands. I then noticed the mother’s tight grip on her
child. It made me feel anxious. My mother hugged the women softly
and then dropped her head as if in defeat. They had a moment of
silence. You cannot fully comprehend all of the experiences
of your life, everything you have witnessed, unless you really try.
The question I ask myself to this day, and to my deathbed will be;
what could I have done? If I had screamed, if I had shouted, if I had
refused to eat, could I have made a difference? Although I was only a
child, the memories I have burn brightly from what I had witnessed. I
do not remember sounds or smells. I only remember feelings and faces.
It frightened me to the core to see grown men in such sorrow, to see
women cry out agony, all of them preparing for the unknown; most
likely certain death. Yet the terror and realization of death in the
native’s eyes was not the most unnerving part. What truly frightened
me was the absolute empathy in my father’s nature. I watched him as
he blankly stared beyond the truth. His action was no action. I
learned a lesson that day, if you could have done something to stop
injustice, yet you stood idly by, then you are as guilty as the
executioner. I wanted to go with the savages, I envisioned running
along with the tribe, getting in line, walking forever to Oklahoma. I
suddenly no longer felt safe in the house of my father. He became a
monster in my eyes. But something inside of me knew I had to stay.
Some of the villagers came out from their homes and watched, I backed
up slowly from my position in the front yard reaching for my mother.
She solemnly walked towards me. I grabbed her hand and pressed myself
against her, shielding myself from the reality. I could feel her
breathing. It was shallow. Her heart was beating fast, but her face
was motionless. After several moments she took in a deep breath and
suddenly shifted her weight, as if just waking from a trance. She
stared straight ahead and said quietly but with importance, “This is
not truth my child, this is not the way. Those who stood here today
as witnesses will suffer the greatest of suffering there is, guilt.
My God have mercy on our souls.”
> fromhttp://www.holocaust-trc.org/edu_holocaust.htm
#3226 English 101
Professor O’Connell
April 23, 2010
Essay 2
Native Americans & Genocide
The ever sensitive topic on the Native American genocide is brought up
in chp. 3 of Goldhagen’s “Worse Than War”. This topic is important
for a variety of reasons, one being that throughout this book
Goldhagen lists off various instances of genocide, none of which are
questionable, they were genocide. Even Goldhagen’s claim that Truman
should be labeled a mass murderer rings, in some way, true. In chp. 3
Goldhagen reveals and reminds us of the seedy past the United States
would rather forget. I realized, for reason of society or otherwise, I
without much thought assume genocide to be a thing of other nations,
not my “just” America. It did not occur to me just how much one can
be blinded by their own society. My realization helped to better
understand Goldhagen’s purpose.
We as societies, as human beings, can be trained to overlook certain
truths, become de-sensitized or to forget certain events completely.
The view on the treatment of the Native Americans by my European
ancestors isn’t quite as black and white when compared to, for
example, the Holocaust. There are many factors involved in the
expulsion and deaths of the Native Americans in the early stages of
this county. These arguments help better prove Goldhagen’s point; the
mass killing of one society by another is horrific, in many cases
avoidable, and most importantly can not be justified. If we as a
species can not properly identify genocide and its dark associates
then we will continue to suffer its consequences. Not only the poor
and weak, but all of us are at risk of genocide. To quote Elie Wiesel,
“The danger lies in forgetting. Forgetting, however, will not effect
only the dead. Should it triumph, the ashes of yesterday will cover
our hopes for tomorrow.” In this quote Elie Wiesel explains simply
the need to remember, respect and evolve from our past.
In Goldhagen’s attempt to explain “why they (genocides) begin” he
suggests that one of the reasons is “nation building”. He uses this
to explain what happened with the Native Americans. Although in “Were
American Indians the Victims of Genocide?” Guenter Lewy feels that it
is not fair to deem the history of the United States in regard to the
treatment of the Native Americans as genocide. Guenter argues that
“The sad fate of America's Indians represents not a crime but a
tragedy, involving an irreconcilable collision of cultures and
values.” Guenter’s point is that most of the death and suffering came
unintentionally from the Europeans. It was an act of fate, not
genocide. It can, however, be argued that there was a portion of that
death that was induced by hate, greed and revenge. In God, Greed, and
Genocide: The Holocaust Through the Centuries, Grenke quotes Chalk and
Jonassohn with regards to the Cherokee Trail of Tears that "an act
like the Cherokee deportation would almost certainly be considered an
act of genocide today.” As stated in the first paragraph of this
essay, whether or not the fate of the Native American was genocide or
not is still an ongoing debate.
Something to consider when forming your opinion on this topic is
Goldhagen’s view on the many types of genocide, or eliminationist
assaults. According to Goldhagen, genocide is not just the mass
murder of a people. In chapters 1 and 2 of “Worse than War” we
revisit Goldhagen’s explanation of expulsion. When a group is forcibly
moved from their homes or land. We then remember The Indian Removal
Act of 1830 which eventually led to the Trail of Tears. The Trail of
Tears was the relocation of 17,000 Cherokee Indians to reservations in
Oklahoma. There were those who stood against the removal of the Native
Americans, a more famous name being Davy Crockett. His political
career was never the same after in 1830 he openly opposed the Indian
Removal Act. But in the end the bill was passed. The Native Americans
suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to
their destinations, and many died, including 4,000 of the 17,000
relocated. Goldhagen mentions these “death marches” on page 104,
this too is a form of genocide, no matter the intention.
Whether defined as genocide or not, there are those in this country
that believe the treatment and fate of the Native American was
horrific and deserves retribution. Put forth by Rep Dan Boren, a
congressional bill that aims to not only acknowledge fully the
negative treatment of the Native Americans at the hand of the European
settlers and admit to the “ill-conceived policies by the United
States” but to also apologize “to all Native Peoples on behalf of the
United States”. This bill, with its 27 cosponsors, represents to me
the fact that the demise of the Native American is no doubt directly
correlated with the arrival of the European Settlers. I am not sure
if the passing of this bill will bring peace to the ancestors of the
Native Americans, I only hope that it can be a step in the right
direction, a step toward admittance and with that the hope that we as
a nation move forward.
No matter why the deaths of the Native Americans occurred, whether it
was intentional, accidental, with malice or good intentions, the
question to ask is, would the Native Americans have died off at such
an alarming rate had the European settlers never come to America. The
answer is no. Goldhagen makes a strong case in “Worse than War” on
the side of the Native American. I for one agree with him. We cannot
let good intentions be the reason we do not define an act as
genocide. We must be aware that genocide can take many forms, not
just mass murder. We as a nation, as a species, must define these
acts and do all we can to stop them.
Works cited:
Glauner, Lindsay. "The US and the Crime of Genocide against Native
Americans"
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/06hrights/GeoRegions/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates02.htm
Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). “Worse than war: Genocide, Eliminationism,
and
the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.” New York: Public Affairs.
Grenke, Arthur. “God, Greed, and Genocide: The Holocaust through the
Centuries” New Academia Publishing, LLC (July 20, 2005)
Lewy, Guenter. “Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide?”
November 11, 2004. http://hnn.us/articles/7302.html
http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/AmericanHolocaust/amholocaust-6.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears
Rep Boren, Dan [OK-2] (introduced 4/30/2009) H.J.RES.46 Title: To
acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived
policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and
offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United
States.
************
Meagan Judkins
English 101 #3226
Professor O’Connell
April 23, 2010
Short Story
Oklahoma
I remember being confused most of the time. I remember
feeling out of place. But mostly I remember feelings of nervousness.
My mother always seemed to be shouting at my father. Her claims rang
true to me. Why had we come here? I knew that things were bad in
back in England, but bad enough for us to flee? To leave Grandma and
Grandpa? “This land will bring us freedom! This land represents a
new life! How can you not see that?” my father shouted. He seemed
increasingly tense with every passing day. This made me nervous.
There was so much I didn’t understand. I remember the savages were
often ill. I asked my father once, “Why do we recover yet they
perish?” My father, in his stoic way, replied “It is divine
intervention.” It did not occur to me in my tender age just how
frightening this statement was. I remember there was a time when I
was allowed to play with the other savage children my own age.
Although we weren’t able to speak much to each other, I quickly
learned that words were unnecessary when exploring my new lush
surroundings. I liked the way of the Indians. They seemed wise, even
the children. Sometimes the men would intimidate me. They had hard
faces and although they seemed to interact positively with men like my
father, they also seemed ready to pounce at the slightest misstep. It
was the late summer of 1838 when I heard that the Indians would be
moved west to a place called Oklahoma. Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
I liked the way the word Oklahoma sounded. “Ooook-la-HOME-A!” I
would dance and sing to the word, it made me giggle. I was still so
naïve. That word, that place was representative of death, there was
evil brewing around me. Anger, hatred, racism and fear, cold, empty
fear swirled around our village. I could sense it. I knew my father
was a harsh man, I knew he was quick to anger. As the days, weeks,
months passed my mother learned to hold her tongue. This was a fight
she could not win, but never one to be beaten into full submission, my
mother managed to make her opinions understood by me, if only in her
glance. I was chasing a chicken through the backyard one early fall
morning, I stopped suddenly when I caught my mother handing a basket
to one of the native women. Silently I watched. The young mother’s
child was clung to her side; I could see the grooves of skin between
its tiny little hands. I then noticed the mother’s tight grip on her
child. It made me feel anxious. My mother hugged the women softly
and then dropped her head as if in defeat. They had a moment of
silence. You cannot fully comprehend all of the experiences
of your life, everything you have witnessed, unless you really try.
The question I ask myself to this day, and to my deathbed will be;
what could I have done? If I had screamed, if I had shouted, if I had
refused to eat, could I have made a difference? Although I was only a
child, the memories I have burn brightly from what I had witnessed. I
do not remember sounds or smells. I only remember feelings and faces.
It frightened me to the core to see grown men in such sorrow, to see
women cry out agony, all of them preparing for the unknown; most
likely certain death. Yet the terror and realization of death in the
native’s eyes was not the most unnerving part. What truly frightened
me was the absolute empathy in my father’s nature. I watched him as
he blankly stared beyond the truth. His action was no action. I
learned a lesson that day, if you could have done something to stop
injustice, yet you stood idly by, then you are as guilty as the
executioner. I wanted to go with the savages, I envisioned running
along with the tribe, getting in line, walking forever to Oklahoma. I
suddenly no longer felt safe in the house of my father. He became a
monster in my eyes. But something inside of me knew I had to stay.
Some of the villagers came out from their homes and watched, I backed
up slowly from my position in the front yard reaching for my mother.
She solemnly walked towards me. I grabbed her hand and pressed myself
against her, shielding myself from the reality. I could feel her
breathing. It was shallow. Her heart was beating fast, but her face
was motionless. After several moments she took in a deep breath and
suddenly shifted her weight, as if just waking from a trance. She
stared straight ahead and said quietly but with importance, “This is
not truth my child, this is not the way. Those who stood here today
as witnesses will suffer the greatest of suffering there is, guilt.
My God have mercy on our souls.”
>
> Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). Worse than war: Genocide, eliminationism, and
> the ongoing assault on
>
> humanity. New York: Public Affairs.
>
> Miller, M. (2010, February 21). Targeted for death. Los Angles Times.
> Retrieved March 31, 2010,
>
> fromhttp://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/21/opinion/la-oe-miller-web21-20...
> Goldhagen, D. J. (2009). Worse than war: Genocide, eliminationism, and
> the ongoing assault on
>
> humanity. New York: Public Affairs.
>
> Miller, M. (2010, February 21). Targeted for death. Los Angles Times.
> Retrieved March 31, 2010,
>
>
> Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (2009).
> Mobilizing the will to
>
> Intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities. Retrieved
> March 31, 2010, fromhttp://migs.concordia.ca/W2I/documents/ENG_MIGS_finalW2IAugust09.pdf
> Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (2009).
> Mobilizing the will to
>
> Intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities. Retrieved
MG
Apr 24, 2010, 2:48:44 AM4/24/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Mariz Girgis
Professor O'Connell
English 101
24 April 2010
When one ponders about the question of whether or not
President Harry Truman’s Atomic bomb had racist motives behind it, one
must take into account the society and circumstances of the situation.
One must take a fair stand and weigh all the evidence in order to
understand if hatred and prejudice fueled an already inflamed
situation eventually leading to a horrific historical tragedy. With
the above mentioned, research into the subject has lead to an
understanding that racism had indeed a great hand the atomic bombing
of Japan. One will and cannot sugarcoat history and with that being
said one must admit at the time when President Truman was president
was in office society was indeed very racist. The 1940’s was a time
where ethnic segregation was a norm. It was a time when racial
stereotyping was embraced and some ethnicities were held up higher
than others (ex. Rosa Park). Was dropping two atomic bombs on Japan an
act of racism or was it the truly the only way to stop the war faster?
(reviewjournalwebsite). It was said that dropping two atomic bombs
into Japan during the war was the right decision President Harry S.
Truman did In the book Worse than War by Goldhagen, the author claims
that "the Japanese were already defeated and ready to
surrender" (201). Mass slaughter should never and can never be
excused because it goes against humanity and the rights of the
innocent to life.
On August 6th 1945 by President Harry Truman’s order, the US
dropped two atomic bombs on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One
bomb called "Little Boy" on Hiroshima and after a few days President
Truman decided to drop another atomic bomb called "Fat Man" on the
city of Nagasaki (worldwar2database website). According to Goldhagen,
85% Americans were for the bombing of innocents because the people
being bombed were simply Japanese (201). In both cities, thousands of
innocent people died because of President Truman’s decision. About
seventy five-thousand people died in Hiroshima and seventy-thousand
people in Nagaski. Mass slaughter can never be excused under the label
of "combating" an enemy. If there is even one single innocent life
(let alone thousands) it is not but combat but murder plain and
simple. The times of Truman were clearly racist times. It was a time
of when blacks and whites were segregated because of race.
Genocide, elimination, dictators have surrounded us all over
the world throughout history, even going back to when the Egyptians
enslaved the Hebrews in ancient civilization. In today’s world with
mass weaponry and where conflicts are on a worldwide scale, is it safe
for us and our children to live and be raised in a world where a
person can not live in freedom and personal responsibility. No, we are
in a world where ethnic cleansers and dictators rise, where humans are
being killed or slaughtered just for the way they look, where they
come from, their religion? It is a world full of war. Is it humane
for a person to kill an innocent child just because their family is
from a different race? Is the only way to keep our children safe and
this world safe from violence, genocide, elimination, and dictators
is to get back at our enemy and kill/slaughter them? Is murder the
solution? The answer is an obvious and obsolete no. It seems like that
was the case though in 1945. The biggest damning evidence of this is
in the book Worse than War. The book states that Japan had already
been defeated militarily and had already surrendered (Goldhagen).
There was absolutely no excuse to further unneeded causalities
especially the helpless. The only reason one can think of that people
would want the bombing of an already broken people is racism. Maybe
though the war against Japan had some legitimacy for it. Maybe it was
to protect people. But one cannot help though when thinking about
genocide what should be done to people with blatant and obvious
intentions of killing the innocent on a whim. Examples of people like
this are Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, and Hamas. These people flat
out preach and encourage the murder of innocents.
In an interview Worse than War book Daniel J. Goldhagen, the author
claims that in his point of view killing the perpetrators is the only
solution to keep this world safe from violence and genocide. Some
people might think or will think this humane or that it is murder.
That seems to be the only solution to stop genocide. These murderers
kill large amount of innocent people without any consci ence. Why?
Just because they dislike the way they look, where they come from,
what their religion is? So, is it fair for people like that to live
in the world while the innocent people get killed and people who are
still alive live in fear that they could be next victims? Should our
children be raised in a world where look matters and there is no
freedom. Should they live in a world where genocide rises and haunt
them forever. No, they should not! Then if the only way to keep this
world safe from these horrific eliminationists is to kill them, so let
it be. It's better to kill a person like Osama Bin Laden for example,
then for some one like Osama Bin Laden to kill a huge amount of
innocent people. Eliminating one person like that from the world is
not killing, but saving thousands of lives instead.
Congressional bill H.CON.RES.7 confirms what has been said previously
in this writing. One should agree completely with what H.CON.RES.7
intends because it champions universal freedom and human rights. It
acknowledges the respect of other races, creeds, and colors
(thomas.loc.gov), and takes a stand against intolerance and prejudice.
All in all, the slaughtering of innocent lives no matter what the
cause is extremely inhumane.
References
Worldwar2database.com. Worldwar2database.com, 2007. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/atombomb.htm>.
Reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 6 Aug.2005.Web.3 Apr.
2010
<http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Aug-06-Sat-2005/opinion/
2794069.html>
Nytimes.com. New York Times, 6 Aug. 1995. Web.3 Apr. 2010
<http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/06/opinion/hiroshima-50-years-
later.html?pagewanted=1
>
Thomas.loc.gov. Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila, 1 July 2009. Web. 3 Apr.
2010. <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:2:./temp/
~bdRxzn::|/bss/111search.html|>.
Spiegel.de. Spiegel, 10 Agu.2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2010
<http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,653938,00.html
Short Story by Mariz Girgis
Professor O’Connell
English 101
24 April 2010
It was seven o'clock in the morning in Hiroshima when I
heard a loud boom and felt as if the world was shaking under my feet.
Smoke filled my house right away. I was playing with my baby brother
Ben when all of a sudden I heard the loud sound and heard my mother
screaming and running to my bed room while carrying my younger sister
Lee. Mother was pushing us out the room as fast as she could. It was
the first time in my whole entire life I saw this kind of fear in my
mother’s eyes. But with all that screaming, fear, and panicking mother
still had the strength to calm my siblings and I down. Going down the
stairs of our apartment building people were yelling and screaming. I
thought it was the end of the world. Other people were lying down on
the stairs breathless. I was in shock.
I remember crying my eyes out. Some of these same people were our
neighbors and friends. We had celebrated events together. We had gone
to schools and jobs together. We were almost family. I remember
running down the stairs ahead of my mother, but I felt as if my whole
body was frozen like an ice berg. I cannot fathom how I was ahead of
her. It was as if my whole body was paralyzed in shock and fear. I
couldn’t even move a finger, I couldn’t even blink. Yet I kept moving.
Everything happened so fast. It happened in the blink of an eye. The
screams were getting louder and louder as we approached the street.
The yelling was as if we were in a tunnel. As I furthered myself from
the echoes of screaming people I was only approached with more
screaming as we went from street to street. I was so terrified, fear
took over my body. There were hundreds of bodies on the ground. Dead
bodies of women, men, even children filled the streets of Hiroshima!
It was shocking to see the kinds of mutilations some of the bodies had
suffered. I couldn’t stop crying. I remember seeing this one woman
holding her half naked son. He was soaked in blood. He was just
drenched in blood. The woman held her lifeless son in her arms. She
was crying and screaming “help!” She was wailing so bitterly.” Please
someone help!,” she cried. “ My son is bleeding! My son is dead!”
The tears on her face were like pouring rain drops.
The most difficult experience of my life was walking through
the streets of Hiroshima that day. The stench of death was everywhere.
The sight of misery and despair filled Hiroshima. Searching the
streets on Hiroshima for my father was very heart wrenching. I was so
terrified. Where was my daddy? Was there hope he’d come back home
today? I couldn’t help but remember how he kissed me before going to
work. It was the last time we had a normal day. I couldn’t help think
of every memory we had together. I remembered how he held me. I
remembered how he took us to school every morning. I remembered the
way my siblings and I always ran to him when he came home from work
asking if he brought us any candy. I remembered how he would recite
the Lord’s prayer with us right before we slept every night. I missed
my daddy so much at that moment. I wanted so much to hold him and tell
him how much I loved him. Hours and hours of walking and searching had
gone by. We were so tired and weary. We couldn’t stop searching
though. My father was out there. How could we stop? What if he was
hurt? What if he needed us? We sure needed him.
We went to my father’s work place. He wasn’t there. We were
told by one of his co-workers that he had gone to do repairs at a
client’s house when the bomb hit. I was horrified. Could my father
have been on the street when the bomb hit? Some of his co worker’s
survived because they were in the building and the building had
miraculously held up. I was angry. How could they send my father out
like that? Why especially today of all days?! I started screaming and
crying. My mother kept questioning about which client and which street
he had gone through.It took a while to get an answer we could rely on.
One of the workers brought out the list of repair addresses for that
day.
About an hour later and what seemed to be ages of searching, we
found him. What we found though was unbearable. My heart sank. My life
had crumbled before my eyes. There he was. My father’s breathless dead
body on the ground. Never in my life would I have imagined to see my
father in this heart breaking condition. It was horrific. It was
inhumane I was stabbed with horror, pain, and shock. His arm was torn
off, his whole body was full of scars, and half his cloths were burnt
off. He was drenched in blood and my family was drenched in misery. My
daddy was dead. I would never get to tell him I loved him when he
comes back home because he was never coming back home. My mom, sister,
and toddler brother were screaming and so was I. Our world was torn
apart. Tears were running down my face. It took years for us to try
and live without my father being there everyday and everytime I would
cry because I missed my father so much my mother would wipe away my
tears and try and comfort me when I knew she herself needed comfort.
No matter how much she would try to wipe away my tears though, she was
never able to wipe the stain of pain that still exists in my heart to
this very day.
Professor O'Connell
English 101
24 April 2010
When one ponders about the question of whether or not
President Harry Truman’s Atomic bomb had racist motives behind it, one
must take into account the society and circumstances of the situation.
One must take a fair stand and weigh all the evidence in order to
understand if hatred and prejudice fueled an already inflamed
situation eventually leading to a horrific historical tragedy. With
the above mentioned, research into the subject has lead to an
understanding that racism had indeed a great hand the atomic bombing
of Japan. One will and cannot sugarcoat history and with that being
said one must admit at the time when President Truman was president
was in office society was indeed very racist. The 1940’s was a time
where ethnic segregation was a norm. It was a time when racial
stereotyping was embraced and some ethnicities were held up higher
than others (ex. Rosa Park). Was dropping two atomic bombs on Japan an
act of racism or was it the truly the only way to stop the war faster?
(reviewjournalwebsite). It was said that dropping two atomic bombs
into Japan during the war was the right decision President Harry S.
Truman did In the book Worse than War by Goldhagen, the author claims
that "the Japanese were already defeated and ready to
surrender" (201). Mass slaughter should never and can never be
excused because it goes against humanity and the rights of the
innocent to life.
On August 6th 1945 by President Harry Truman’s order, the US
dropped two atomic bombs on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One
bomb called "Little Boy" on Hiroshima and after a few days President
Truman decided to drop another atomic bomb called "Fat Man" on the
city of Nagasaki (worldwar2database website). According to Goldhagen,
85% Americans were for the bombing of innocents because the people
being bombed were simply Japanese (201). In both cities, thousands of
innocent people died because of President Truman’s decision. About
seventy five-thousand people died in Hiroshima and seventy-thousand
people in Nagaski. Mass slaughter can never be excused under the label
of "combating" an enemy. If there is even one single innocent life
(let alone thousands) it is not but combat but murder plain and
simple. The times of Truman were clearly racist times. It was a time
of when blacks and whites were segregated because of race.
Genocide, elimination, dictators have surrounded us all over
the world throughout history, even going back to when the Egyptians
enslaved the Hebrews in ancient civilization. In today’s world with
mass weaponry and where conflicts are on a worldwide scale, is it safe
for us and our children to live and be raised in a world where a
person can not live in freedom and personal responsibility. No, we are
in a world where ethnic cleansers and dictators rise, where humans are
being killed or slaughtered just for the way they look, where they
come from, their religion? It is a world full of war. Is it humane
for a person to kill an innocent child just because their family is
from a different race? Is the only way to keep our children safe and
this world safe from violence, genocide, elimination, and dictators
is to get back at our enemy and kill/slaughter them? Is murder the
solution? The answer is an obvious and obsolete no. It seems like that
was the case though in 1945. The biggest damning evidence of this is
in the book Worse than War. The book states that Japan had already
been defeated militarily and had already surrendered (Goldhagen).
There was absolutely no excuse to further unneeded causalities
especially the helpless. The only reason one can think of that people
would want the bombing of an already broken people is racism. Maybe
though the war against Japan had some legitimacy for it. Maybe it was
to protect people. But one cannot help though when thinking about
genocide what should be done to people with blatant and obvious
intentions of killing the innocent on a whim. Examples of people like
this are Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, and Hamas. These people flat
out preach and encourage the murder of innocents.
In an interview Worse than War book Daniel J. Goldhagen, the author
claims that in his point of view killing the perpetrators is the only
solution to keep this world safe from violence and genocide. Some
people might think or will think this humane or that it is murder.
That seems to be the only solution to stop genocide. These murderers
kill large amount of innocent people without any consci ence. Why?
Just because they dislike the way they look, where they come from,
what their religion is? So, is it fair for people like that to live
in the world while the innocent people get killed and people who are
still alive live in fear that they could be next victims? Should our
children be raised in a world where look matters and there is no
freedom. Should they live in a world where genocide rises and haunt
them forever. No, they should not! Then if the only way to keep this
world safe from these horrific eliminationists is to kill them, so let
it be. It's better to kill a person like Osama Bin Laden for example,
then for some one like Osama Bin Laden to kill a huge amount of
innocent people. Eliminating one person like that from the world is
not killing, but saving thousands of lives instead.
Congressional bill H.CON.RES.7 confirms what has been said previously
in this writing. One should agree completely with what H.CON.RES.7
intends because it champions universal freedom and human rights. It
acknowledges the respect of other races, creeds, and colors
(thomas.loc.gov), and takes a stand against intolerance and prejudice.
All in all, the slaughtering of innocent lives no matter what the
cause is extremely inhumane.
References
Worldwar2database.com. Worldwar2database.com, 2007. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/atombomb.htm>.
Reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 6 Aug.2005.Web.3 Apr.
2010
<http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Aug-06-Sat-2005/opinion/
2794069.html>
Nytimes.com. New York Times, 6 Aug. 1995. Web.3 Apr. 2010
<http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/06/opinion/hiroshima-50-years-
later.html?pagewanted=1
>
Thomas.loc.gov. Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila, 1 July 2009. Web. 3 Apr.
2010. <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:2:./temp/
~bdRxzn::|/bss/111search.html|>.
Spiegel.de. Spiegel, 10 Agu.2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2010
<http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,653938,00.html
Short Story by Mariz Girgis
Professor O’Connell
English 101
24 April 2010
It was seven o'clock in the morning in Hiroshima when I
heard a loud boom and felt as if the world was shaking under my feet.
Smoke filled my house right away. I was playing with my baby brother
Ben when all of a sudden I heard the loud sound and heard my mother
screaming and running to my bed room while carrying my younger sister
Lee. Mother was pushing us out the room as fast as she could. It was
the first time in my whole entire life I saw this kind of fear in my
mother’s eyes. But with all that screaming, fear, and panicking mother
still had the strength to calm my siblings and I down. Going down the
stairs of our apartment building people were yelling and screaming. I
thought it was the end of the world. Other people were lying down on
the stairs breathless. I was in shock.
I remember crying my eyes out. Some of these same people were our
neighbors and friends. We had celebrated events together. We had gone
to schools and jobs together. We were almost family. I remember
running down the stairs ahead of my mother, but I felt as if my whole
body was frozen like an ice berg. I cannot fathom how I was ahead of
her. It was as if my whole body was paralyzed in shock and fear. I
couldn’t even move a finger, I couldn’t even blink. Yet I kept moving.
Everything happened so fast. It happened in the blink of an eye. The
screams were getting louder and louder as we approached the street.
The yelling was as if we were in a tunnel. As I furthered myself from
the echoes of screaming people I was only approached with more
screaming as we went from street to street. I was so terrified, fear
took over my body. There were hundreds of bodies on the ground. Dead
bodies of women, men, even children filled the streets of Hiroshima!
It was shocking to see the kinds of mutilations some of the bodies had
suffered. I couldn’t stop crying. I remember seeing this one woman
holding her half naked son. He was soaked in blood. He was just
drenched in blood. The woman held her lifeless son in her arms. She
was crying and screaming “help!” She was wailing so bitterly.” Please
someone help!,” she cried. “ My son is bleeding! My son is dead!”
The tears on her face were like pouring rain drops.
The most difficult experience of my life was walking through
the streets of Hiroshima that day. The stench of death was everywhere.
The sight of misery and despair filled Hiroshima. Searching the
streets on Hiroshima for my father was very heart wrenching. I was so
terrified. Where was my daddy? Was there hope he’d come back home
today? I couldn’t help but remember how he kissed me before going to
work. It was the last time we had a normal day. I couldn’t help think
of every memory we had together. I remembered how he held me. I
remembered how he took us to school every morning. I remembered the
way my siblings and I always ran to him when he came home from work
asking if he brought us any candy. I remembered how he would recite
the Lord’s prayer with us right before we slept every night. I missed
my daddy so much at that moment. I wanted so much to hold him and tell
him how much I loved him. Hours and hours of walking and searching had
gone by. We were so tired and weary. We couldn’t stop searching
though. My father was out there. How could we stop? What if he was
hurt? What if he needed us? We sure needed him.
We went to my father’s work place. He wasn’t there. We were
told by one of his co-workers that he had gone to do repairs at a
client’s house when the bomb hit. I was horrified. Could my father
have been on the street when the bomb hit? Some of his co worker’s
survived because they were in the building and the building had
miraculously held up. I was angry. How could they send my father out
like that? Why especially today of all days?! I started screaming and
crying. My mother kept questioning about which client and which street
he had gone through.It took a while to get an answer we could rely on.
One of the workers brought out the list of repair addresses for that
day.
About an hour later and what seemed to be ages of searching, we
found him. What we found though was unbearable. My heart sank. My life
had crumbled before my eyes. There he was. My father’s breathless dead
body on the ground. Never in my life would I have imagined to see my
father in this heart breaking condition. It was horrific. It was
inhumane I was stabbed with horror, pain, and shock. His arm was torn
off, his whole body was full of scars, and half his cloths were burnt
off. He was drenched in blood and my family was drenched in misery. My
daddy was dead. I would never get to tell him I loved him when he
comes back home because he was never coming back home. My mom, sister,
and toddler brother were screaming and so was I. Our world was torn
apart. Tears were running down my face. It took years for us to try
and live without my father being there everyday and everytime I would
cry because I missed my father so much my mother would wipe away my
tears and try and comfort me when I knew she herself needed comfort.
No matter how much she would try to wipe away my tears though, she was
never able to wipe the stain of pain that still exists in my heart to
this very day.
Laura C.
Apr 24, 2010, 8:12:02 AM4/24/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Unforgettable Genocide
Laura Cortes
English 101 Section 3226
Professor O’Connell
Genocide has been a problem of the world; a metaphorical blemish on
society and all of mankind from the moment we gained knowledge of war.
Throughout history; leaders have planned, organized, and executed mass
murders based on a deep belief that they were doing it for the
betterment of their community or out of pure thirst for power and
control. Many groups of people have been targets of genocide; most
examples that are commonly seen are those that have been murdered
because of their religious beliefs or for being considered an unwanted
and impure minority in the community. Eliminationism as Goldhagen
calls it, has had such an impact on the history of humanity that
examples of these acts can even be found in the old and new testaments
of the bible. One group that has suffered through every possible
example presented by Goldhagen in his novel, Worse than War (2009),
about eliminationism has to be the Jewish people. From having their
children murdered to reduce the size of their population, being forced
into slavery, being obligated to adapt to new belief systems and even
being targets of annihilation, there is no doubt that Jewish people
have not usually been welcomed in many communities. Although
biblically considered the “chosen people” of God, it has rarely been
the case that they get treated as such. In Worse than War (2009),
author Daniel Goldhagen frequently uses Hitler and the Holocaust as a
prime example of how detrimental and catastrophic genocide is. Not
only does he present various other cases of genocide and exposes the
leaders behind them, he explains that if the international community
took more action to punish those that initiate mass murderers,
genocide could possibly be significantly reduced if not eliminated in
its entirety.
When the Israelites were welcomed into the prosperous land of Egypt it
was considered to be a blessing sent from heaven and for a long period
of time that was the case. Unfortunately, when the Pharaoh who had
accepted them with open arms died and a new Pharaoh took his place, a
fear over the ever growing number of Israelites was born. It was at
that instance we could observe a genocide slowly coming to life. For
Pharaoh, enslaving the Jews wasn’t enough to feel as though he was in
control of them, he let his unfounded fears take the best of him and
he went as far as murdering all new born children to stop the growth
of the population. The Spanish Inquisition was another point in
history that once again brought upon the Jewish people a time of
immense suffering. Not only did they have to suffer the humiliation of
giving up their cherished beliefs in order to be allowed to live, they
were still expulsed and even murdered. It was the ignorant belief at
the time that somehow the Jewish beliefs would corrupt newly converted
Christians or even existing Christians into betraying what they were
taught by the Catholic Church. Again we see how ridiculous notions,
ideas and fears propelled not only a leader but an entire group of
people to strike out against those who they believed to be the source
of the problem. These are perfect examples of what Goldhagen refers to
as “nation-building.”
Nation-building simply means when one group seeks to eliminate another
(Goldhagen, 2009, p. 66) but it is specifically referred to in this
way because perpetrators typically invoke their nation (or people) to
justify their deeds, heighten group conflict, and mobilize support
among their compatriots (Goldhagen, 2009, p. 66). What exactly does
this mean? In lamens terms it means that leaders who wish to eliminate
a certain group from their community try to appeal to their own people
by pointing out things that could create problems. They could express
that eliminating said group could somehow improve everyone’s way of
life. In the case of the mass murder of the Jews by the Nazis in
Germany, it was said to be initiated by the weak state the Nazis found
themselves after World War I as well as the Jews cultural and economic
status. In other words people were made to believe that if the Jewish
community was completely annihilated things for everyone else would
improve in all senses. After all, the Jews were often referred to as
the “delayed nation.” What is truly frightening about nation-building
is that it is generally set in motion by one person but executed by
multiple people that in essence could be considered brainwashed. This
is where we realize that punishing all perpetrators is the key to
stopping such acts from being repeated. Who is to say that if one of
the followers gets away he/she will not try to start a genocide of
their own? That is why bills like H.R.1439 World War II War Crimes
Accountability Acts of 2009 (Israel, 2009) serve the purpose of
insuring all parties are rightfully punished for any part they might
have had in a mass murder. Sadly, as it so frequently occurs in our
government and many others, these types of bills are pushed aside and
ultimately forgotten. Once again the international community fails to
cease an opportunity to create laws that help stop genocide. Over
sights such as these leave many groups, including Jewish people,
vulnerable to being victims again and again.
As Goldhagen describes in chapter 3, the Jewish community as well as
many others have clearly been the victims of “nation-building” without
a doubt. It has been quite unfortunate but many Jews have had to
endure living under governments that viewed them as nothing more than
a poison upon society and unwanted. Even though the Jewish community
has been fortunate enough to live in relative peace for the last
couple of decades we cannot express the same for many other groups
that have been through similar persecution. Unless a bill like H.R.
1439 World War II War Crimes Accountability Acts of 2009 (Israel,
2009) garners the appropriate attention needed to make a significant
step towards stopping genocide, truth be told, mass murders will
continue to be a perfectly normal, horrendous part of not just war but
humanity in and of itself. All governments need to step up and realize
that even if at this moment genocide isn’t the biggest problem in the
world it could ultimately become one.
References:
Book of Exodus. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Exodus
Book of Genesis. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis#Joseph
The Inquisition. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.jeishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html
The Holy Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War: genocide, eliminationism, and
Accountability Act of 2009
Laura Cortes
English 101 Section 3226
Professor O’Connell
Genocide has been a problem of the world; a metaphorical blemish on
society and all of mankind from the moment we gained knowledge of war.
Throughout history; leaders have planned, organized, and executed mass
murders based on a deep belief that they were doing it for the
betterment of their community or out of pure thirst for power and
control. Many groups of people have been targets of genocide; most
examples that are commonly seen are those that have been murdered
because of their religious beliefs or for being considered an unwanted
and impure minority in the community. Eliminationism as Goldhagen
calls it, has had such an impact on the history of humanity that
examples of these acts can even be found in the old and new testaments
of the bible. One group that has suffered through every possible
example presented by Goldhagen in his novel, Worse than War (2009),
about eliminationism has to be the Jewish people. From having their
children murdered to reduce the size of their population, being forced
into slavery, being obligated to adapt to new belief systems and even
being targets of annihilation, there is no doubt that Jewish people
have not usually been welcomed in many communities. Although
biblically considered the “chosen people” of God, it has rarely been
the case that they get treated as such. In Worse than War (2009),
author Daniel Goldhagen frequently uses Hitler and the Holocaust as a
prime example of how detrimental and catastrophic genocide is. Not
only does he present various other cases of genocide and exposes the
leaders behind them, he explains that if the international community
took more action to punish those that initiate mass murderers,
genocide could possibly be significantly reduced if not eliminated in
its entirety.
When the Israelites were welcomed into the prosperous land of Egypt it
was considered to be a blessing sent from heaven and for a long period
of time that was the case. Unfortunately, when the Pharaoh who had
accepted them with open arms died and a new Pharaoh took his place, a
fear over the ever growing number of Israelites was born. It was at
that instance we could observe a genocide slowly coming to life. For
Pharaoh, enslaving the Jews wasn’t enough to feel as though he was in
control of them, he let his unfounded fears take the best of him and
he went as far as murdering all new born children to stop the growth
of the population. The Spanish Inquisition was another point in
history that once again brought upon the Jewish people a time of
immense suffering. Not only did they have to suffer the humiliation of
giving up their cherished beliefs in order to be allowed to live, they
were still expulsed and even murdered. It was the ignorant belief at
the time that somehow the Jewish beliefs would corrupt newly converted
Christians or even existing Christians into betraying what they were
taught by the Catholic Church. Again we see how ridiculous notions,
ideas and fears propelled not only a leader but an entire group of
people to strike out against those who they believed to be the source
of the problem. These are perfect examples of what Goldhagen refers to
as “nation-building.”
Nation-building simply means when one group seeks to eliminate another
(Goldhagen, 2009, p. 66) but it is specifically referred to in this
way because perpetrators typically invoke their nation (or people) to
justify their deeds, heighten group conflict, and mobilize support
among their compatriots (Goldhagen, 2009, p. 66). What exactly does
this mean? In lamens terms it means that leaders who wish to eliminate
a certain group from their community try to appeal to their own people
by pointing out things that could create problems. They could express
that eliminating said group could somehow improve everyone’s way of
life. In the case of the mass murder of the Jews by the Nazis in
Germany, it was said to be initiated by the weak state the Nazis found
themselves after World War I as well as the Jews cultural and economic
status. In other words people were made to believe that if the Jewish
community was completely annihilated things for everyone else would
improve in all senses. After all, the Jews were often referred to as
the “delayed nation.” What is truly frightening about nation-building
is that it is generally set in motion by one person but executed by
multiple people that in essence could be considered brainwashed. This
is where we realize that punishing all perpetrators is the key to
stopping such acts from being repeated. Who is to say that if one of
the followers gets away he/she will not try to start a genocide of
their own? That is why bills like H.R.1439 World War II War Crimes
Accountability Acts of 2009 (Israel, 2009) serve the purpose of
insuring all parties are rightfully punished for any part they might
have had in a mass murder. Sadly, as it so frequently occurs in our
government and many others, these types of bills are pushed aside and
ultimately forgotten. Once again the international community fails to
cease an opportunity to create laws that help stop genocide. Over
sights such as these leave many groups, including Jewish people,
vulnerable to being victims again and again.
As Goldhagen describes in chapter 3, the Jewish community as well as
many others have clearly been the victims of “nation-building” without
a doubt. It has been quite unfortunate but many Jews have had to
endure living under governments that viewed them as nothing more than
a poison upon society and unwanted. Even though the Jewish community
has been fortunate enough to live in relative peace for the last
couple of decades we cannot express the same for many other groups
that have been through similar persecution. Unless a bill like H.R.
1439 World War II War Crimes Accountability Acts of 2009 (Israel,
2009) garners the appropriate attention needed to make a significant
step towards stopping genocide, truth be told, mass murders will
continue to be a perfectly normal, horrendous part of not just war but
humanity in and of itself. All governments need to step up and realize
that even if at this moment genocide isn’t the biggest problem in the
world it could ultimately become one.
References:
Book of Exodus. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Exodus
Book of Genesis. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Genesis#Joseph
The Inquisition. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.jeishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html
The Holy Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Goldhagen, D.J. (2009). Worse Than War: genocide, eliminationism, and
the ongoing assault on humanity. New York: PublicAffairs.
Israel, Rep. S. 2009, March 11. H.R.1439: World War II War Crimes
Accountability Act of 2009
Laura C.
Apr 24, 2010, 8:48:09 AM4/24/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Laura Cortes
English 101 Section 3226
Professor O’Connell
When we need Him most
English 101 Section 3226
Professor O’Connell
How could I not feel bitter? I sit alone in this dimly lit room and
wonder if God hears our cries at all and if He does, does He even care
anymore? My mother sees the anger in my eyes grow with each passing
day; she tries to comfort me by reminding me that everything happens
for a reason and that God never abandons us when we need Him most.
What a joke… Where has he been this whole time? I can say I’m
fortunate because my family and I escaped before the worse could
happen but I have no idea what has become of everyone else.
David I whisper in my loneliness. Time has almost ceased to exist
since we went into hiding like frightened little mice. Be grateful! I
tell myself in a louder forceful voice. But I’m not, why should I live
while all the others die? And David… What has become of my beloved
David? So many thoughts flooding my mind. At this moment I wonder if
insanity can somehow be worse than death.
Rebecca! My mother yells in a whisper. I stare at her as though I can
see beyond her entire bean. You are doing it again! Are you trying to
get us killed?! She angrily asks pressing her hand against her
forehead as she so often does when frustrated.
What am I doing? I reply as though I really don’t know. What do you
mean…? She pauses to take a deep breath. You are “thinking” too loud
again. I can hear the sound of defeat in her voice. The moment of
silence between us seems like forever. I’m sorry. Then I turn away. I
hear her walk back up the stairs. The thoughts return. Hours pass, I’m
not sure how many but I’ve been down in this filthy basement alone the
entire time. The family that took us in is kind enough to let us live
upstairs most of the time, but for their safety and our own some
nights we are obligated to sleep on the cold floor of this damp room.
How ironic life has become. The husband of this family worked for my
father, depended on that job to keep his family going and now here we
are depending on him to keep us alive. Too many thoughts are passing
through my mind and my eyes slowly shut into a deep sleep.
The door at the top of the stairs suddenly slams open and I am
startled awake. My father, mother and brother are running as though
they have seen a ghost. But I know it isn’t a ghost. It is a very real
monster coming to get us.
There isn’t a moment to react, it’s as though my legs no longer work,
but I have no time to think about anything before I feel the bear like
grip of my father’s hand around my wrist dragging me to the furthest
darkest part of the basement. Mommy my brother says as he cries.
Silence Jacob! My father replies in the quietest voice he can find. He
can’t fool us we can sense the panic. I know it’s around here
somewhere. He frantically feels around the wall as though it will
suddenly disappear and we can run away. I hear the footsteps of the
Nazi soldiers running above us smashing things to the floor and
yelling WHERE ARE THEY!?!? We all pause for an instance looking above
almost feeling as though they can see us. Daniel? My mother calls out
to my father at the brink of tears. He gently looks at her without
saying a word and continues to feel around. It seems like an eternity
has passed as we wait for my father to find whatever it is he is
looking for. We just stare at the stairs waiting for them to rush
down.
I found it! Father yells in the loudest voice he can. What are you
talking about?! I ask infuriated wondering why we have been standing
around this entire time. Look. He says pointing to something almost at
the bottom of the wall. I gaze in noticing I can see the faint glimmer
of the stars and I can smell fresh air. A tunnel? Mother asks in a
shock. He nods and quickly shoves my brother in, then me, my mother,
and finally himself. The space is tight and even though it is
relatively a short distance I feel the claustrophobia setting in.
Daniel hurry up! I hear my mother begging my father. Somehow I manage
to turn my head back and see that my father came in backwards. If I
don’t place the stones back they will find us. Even in times like this
my mother can be unreasonable. We keep crawling in the soft cool
earth; freedom is on the other side. Time again slows down and it is
as though months have passed while we have been crawling but at last
we reach the end. The tunnel was longer than I had imagined, the house
we were hiding in seemed almost small enough for me to pick up. My
father crawls out backwards and we all run to help him up. Praise
Hashem! He cries out lifting his head and hands to the sky. The tears
fall from the sides of his cheeks. My brother and mother join him but
all I can do is silently watch. Hashem… His name escapes my mouth. I
look back again to that house and wonder if the family that kept us
safe this entire time would be punished for possibly hiding Jews.
Please protect them. I ask looking up to the sky.
All we can do now is walk. Where can we go? How long can we escape
those that persecute us? Will we find others to hide us away from
evil? I suppose only time and God will tell. But right now all I know
is that my mother was right, He always comes when we need him most.
patrick d
Apr 27, 2010, 11:55:58 PM4/27/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Patrick D
#3226
Ess. 2/Short Story
“When engaged in combat, the vanquishing of thine enemy can be
the warrior's only concern... This is the first and cardinal rule of
combat... Suppress all human emotion and compassion... Kill whoever
stands in thy way, even if that be Lord God or Buddha himself” (Kill
Bill, Vol. 1) These words reflect life’s harsh realities. In war,
nobody stands in the way of perpetuators. Such is the case in the
Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. What happened in Cambodia was “one of
the most violent regimes of the 20th century, the Khmer Rouge regime
was responsible for the deaths of approximately 1.7 million people by
execution, starvation and forced labor.” (Cambodia Information
Center)
To get an overview of how the war started, it is but right to
understand the beginnings of war. Cambodia was a French colony since
1863. In November, 1954, it received its full independence, which
started the 16 year rule of Prince Norodum Sihanouk. In 1963, the
prince “ terminated a U.S. run aid program” which severed Cambodian
and US relations. Consequently, there was a time when Cambodian
scholars from abroad, returned to the country, including Saloth Sar.
“Saloth Sar returned to Cambodia after becoming absorbed in Marxism
during his studies abroad. He took the pseudonym Pol Pot and joined
the underground communist movement. By 1962, Pol Pot was leading the
Cambodian Communist Party, which had fled to the jungle in order to
escape the wrath of Norodom Sihanouk. While in the jungle, Pol Pot
organized armed forces known as the Khmer Rouge and began waging
guerilla war as opposition to Sihanouk’s government.” In time, the US
backed right wing of the military ousted Prince Sihanouk, continuous
bombing of the US in Cambodia to extinguish the North Vietnamese
troops, “ resulted in the economic and military regression in
Cambodia”, killing hundreds of thousand of peasants, which led to the
support of Pol Pot.” ( Cambodian Genocide )
Daniel Godhagen stated, that “Many of our era’s enormous domestic
mass murders have resulted from the perpetuator’s calculations that
mass murders have a sensible way to destroy political opposition, to
forestall secession, or to safeguard their power or existence”. (Gold
Hagen, p.38) This is what happened to Cambodia. Their people believed
that Pol Pot’s regime would be the country’s emancipation of torment;
however the calculus minds of the communist-corrupted leaders of Khmer
Rouge have used the people as a pawn to their political agenda of
ruling the country. Pnom Penh, the country’s capital will be taken
over by the Khmer Rouge. Year Zero was proclaimed, in which traces of
Cambodia’s past will be eradicated to start the Khmer Rouge era of
domination.
“War can facilitate the mass extermination and elimination of
hated or unwanted people”.
(Goldhagen, p. 40) Pol Pot’s influence by Marxism studies, his
communism and admiration for leaders like Mao Zedong influenced his
notion that Cambodia should wipe out everything that was old.
Everything. This resulted in the death of Cambodia’s “25 % of the
population from starvation, overwork and executions.” Cambodia was to
become the Democratic of Kampuchea. (Genocide) More than 2, 000,000
lives were taken.
Cruelty flourished. As Daniel Goldhagen has said “Cruelty emerges
from the perpetrator’s belief that the beings they confront and are
eliminating deserve to suffer. In this case, excess cruelty comes in
all forms – beatings, systematic torture, inventive, even playful,
painful use of the victims, actual and symbolic degradation, verbal
taunting and mocking”. (Goldhagen, p.442) the Khmer Rouge, with Pol
Pot’s leadership have done all this. “Millions of Cambodians
accustomed to city life were now forced into slave labor in Pol Pot's
"killing fields" where they soon began dying from overwork,
malnutrition and disease, on a diet of one tin of rice (180 grams) per
person every two days.” (Genocide) Millions were sieged and prohibited
to learn anything. Children were taken and were to spy their parents
of such intellectual moves. Torture was rampant. Millions died.
It is but evident, that Cambodia has suffered genocide. It is sad,
that it happened in the 20th century, which in time, concerned
government and bodies should have intermediated in the suffering of
its citizens. The calling for peace and eradication of heinous crime
is still at large. Powerful countries and the United Nations should
come well in force and enforced stricter rules and policies that
should mediate and persecute in trial perpetrators of war and
genocide. Goldhagen suggestion of eliminating these events can be
followed. He said that “ a serious international prevention,
intervention and punishment to stop mass murderers and eliminationists
states and leaders from warring on their people and humanity, and a
devoted international push for democratizing more countries to remove
the institutional, political and cultural basis for political leaders
to even see eliminationist politics as an option as the basis for a
more sure, more global structure that would greatly end
eliminationist politics’ mass violence and vast
destructiveness.” (Goldhagen p, 597)
Works Cited:
Cambodia. Web. Accessed Apr 5, 2010. <http://www.cambodia.org/
khmer_rouge/>
Genocide in the 20th Century. The History Place. Web. Accessed Apr 10,
2010.
<http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/pol-pot.htm>
Goldhagen, Daniel. Worse than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the
Ongoing Assault
Khmer Rouge. Web. Accessed Apr 12,
2010.
< http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~amamendo/KhmerRouge.html>
My Short Story:
I was parched. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, when my
friends and I decide to walk along the farms. Our young minds forgot
to rule out the danger that surrounds us. As natives of Battambang, we
should know better. All we had in mind was fool around and play. The
loud explosion was deafening. I heard the screams of Pai Nem. I was
flushed. Lo Meng was running, frail as hell. I could not see through
the smokes, and found myself through the looming darkness. Then I saw
him. Sikir was my best friend in the world. We would do things
together like young boys do. He had a big crush with Mai Mai. His
round face would enlighten whenever he sees her on our way to school.
Now I see him, gasping for air. He’s almost white, his body weakening.
I see blood all around him. I was shocked. Confused. But I had to wake
up. I ran to his side, tried calling for help. I wanted to pull him
out, but there was nothing to hold on to. All his extremities are
gone. His tiny hands, his slender feet. I could not bear to see him
like this. I vomited, but I have to pick myself up. Be strong for
him.
Not far from where we are, there was a group of elderly betting in a
cockfight. 50 riel , one man shouted. A hundred riel for me, quirked
another man. Bet Quong knows Mot Po will get furious if she knew he
was here. In his mind, he knows he will win. It is worth much to feed
his family and winning means more. Or so, at least. Betting was all
around. Then the explosion. Smoke was seen from afar, and like an
impulse, the men came running in that direction. Who is it this
time?
Mot Po was cooking in her small hut. It was almost dinner time, and
she is waiting for the kids and her husband to come. Sikir was an
outgoing boy, and she let him out with his friends. Bet Quong , as
always will be craving for food. She knows, he is hungry from work.
Her soup tasted great. She was stirring it with her one hand. She lost
one, quite a few years ago. The baguettes were fresh from the store,
and samlor was ready with the pâté, tinned sardines and eggs. She was
serving the dishes when she heard the explosion. Her heart was beating
like crazy.
After some time, Sikir and the other boys were helped by the elderly
who arrived at the scene. Bet Quong was devastated. He saw his beloved
son, Sikir in agony. They arrived in time, but not too early, to
save the frail body of the young boy, losing his life from too much
bleeding. All the others watched in pain, as they saw the father held
onto his son, panting. But there’s nothing they can do. He was gone.
The horrors of their country’s decades of war still plagued them,
thirty years later.
Mot Po was crying when Bet Quong arrived. Every explosion heard,
brings back memories of her traumatic accident. She was taken aback,
when she heard the steps. It seemed like a commotion. She looked over
the window, and sees Bet Quong carrying her son Sikir, lifeless. The
dinner she prepared will be sitting till morning.
I am Mei Pei, another Cambodian boy, suffering the loss of my friend.
My tears are falling but who is not. My neighbors are mourning from
the loss of their beloved family. My countrymen still haunted by the
war, the country has plagued us all these years. Cambodia is still
crying. Peace of mind and our souls has yet to come.
#3226
Ess. 2/Short Story
“When engaged in combat, the vanquishing of thine enemy can be
the warrior's only concern... This is the first and cardinal rule of
combat... Suppress all human emotion and compassion... Kill whoever
stands in thy way, even if that be Lord God or Buddha himself” (Kill
Bill, Vol. 1) These words reflect life’s harsh realities. In war,
nobody stands in the way of perpetuators. Such is the case in the
Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. What happened in Cambodia was “one of
the most violent regimes of the 20th century, the Khmer Rouge regime
was responsible for the deaths of approximately 1.7 million people by
execution, starvation and forced labor.” (Cambodia Information
Center)
To get an overview of how the war started, it is but right to
understand the beginnings of war. Cambodia was a French colony since
1863. In November, 1954, it received its full independence, which
started the 16 year rule of Prince Norodum Sihanouk. In 1963, the
prince “ terminated a U.S. run aid program” which severed Cambodian
and US relations. Consequently, there was a time when Cambodian
scholars from abroad, returned to the country, including Saloth Sar.
“Saloth Sar returned to Cambodia after becoming absorbed in Marxism
during his studies abroad. He took the pseudonym Pol Pot and joined
the underground communist movement. By 1962, Pol Pot was leading the
Cambodian Communist Party, which had fled to the jungle in order to
escape the wrath of Norodom Sihanouk. While in the jungle, Pol Pot
organized armed forces known as the Khmer Rouge and began waging
guerilla war as opposition to Sihanouk’s government.” In time, the US
backed right wing of the military ousted Prince Sihanouk, continuous
bombing of the US in Cambodia to extinguish the North Vietnamese
troops, “ resulted in the economic and military regression in
Cambodia”, killing hundreds of thousand of peasants, which led to the
support of Pol Pot.” ( Cambodian Genocide )
Daniel Godhagen stated, that “Many of our era’s enormous domestic
mass murders have resulted from the perpetuator’s calculations that
mass murders have a sensible way to destroy political opposition, to
forestall secession, or to safeguard their power or existence”. (Gold
Hagen, p.38) This is what happened to Cambodia. Their people believed
that Pol Pot’s regime would be the country’s emancipation of torment;
however the calculus minds of the communist-corrupted leaders of Khmer
Rouge have used the people as a pawn to their political agenda of
ruling the country. Pnom Penh, the country’s capital will be taken
over by the Khmer Rouge. Year Zero was proclaimed, in which traces of
Cambodia’s past will be eradicated to start the Khmer Rouge era of
domination.
“War can facilitate the mass extermination and elimination of
hated or unwanted people”.
(Goldhagen, p. 40) Pol Pot’s influence by Marxism studies, his
communism and admiration for leaders like Mao Zedong influenced his
notion that Cambodia should wipe out everything that was old.
Everything. This resulted in the death of Cambodia’s “25 % of the
population from starvation, overwork and executions.” Cambodia was to
become the Democratic of Kampuchea. (Genocide) More than 2, 000,000
lives were taken.
Cruelty flourished. As Daniel Goldhagen has said “Cruelty emerges
from the perpetrator’s belief that the beings they confront and are
eliminating deserve to suffer. In this case, excess cruelty comes in
all forms – beatings, systematic torture, inventive, even playful,
painful use of the victims, actual and symbolic degradation, verbal
taunting and mocking”. (Goldhagen, p.442) the Khmer Rouge, with Pol
Pot’s leadership have done all this. “Millions of Cambodians
accustomed to city life were now forced into slave labor in Pol Pot's
"killing fields" where they soon began dying from overwork,
malnutrition and disease, on a diet of one tin of rice (180 grams) per
person every two days.” (Genocide) Millions were sieged and prohibited
to learn anything. Children were taken and were to spy their parents
of such intellectual moves. Torture was rampant. Millions died.
It is but evident, that Cambodia has suffered genocide. It is sad,
that it happened in the 20th century, which in time, concerned
government and bodies should have intermediated in the suffering of
its citizens. The calling for peace and eradication of heinous crime
is still at large. Powerful countries and the United Nations should
come well in force and enforced stricter rules and policies that
should mediate and persecute in trial perpetrators of war and
genocide. Goldhagen suggestion of eliminating these events can be
followed. He said that “ a serious international prevention,
intervention and punishment to stop mass murderers and eliminationists
states and leaders from warring on their people and humanity, and a
devoted international push for democratizing more countries to remove
the institutional, political and cultural basis for political leaders
to even see eliminationist politics as an option as the basis for a
more sure, more global structure that would greatly end
eliminationist politics’ mass violence and vast
destructiveness.” (Goldhagen p, 597)
Works Cited:
Cambodia. Web. Accessed Apr 5, 2010. <http://www.cambodia.org/
khmer_rouge/>
Genocide in the 20th Century. The History Place. Web. Accessed Apr 10,
2010.
<http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/pol-pot.htm>
Goldhagen, Daniel. Worse than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the
Ongoing Assault
Khmer Rouge. Web. Accessed Apr 12,
2010.
< http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~amamendo/KhmerRouge.html>
My Short Story:
I was parched. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, when my
friends and I decide to walk along the farms. Our young minds forgot
to rule out the danger that surrounds us. As natives of Battambang, we
should know better. All we had in mind was fool around and play. The
loud explosion was deafening. I heard the screams of Pai Nem. I was
flushed. Lo Meng was running, frail as hell. I could not see through
the smokes, and found myself through the looming darkness. Then I saw
him. Sikir was my best friend in the world. We would do things
together like young boys do. He had a big crush with Mai Mai. His
round face would enlighten whenever he sees her on our way to school.
Now I see him, gasping for air. He’s almost white, his body weakening.
I see blood all around him. I was shocked. Confused. But I had to wake
up. I ran to his side, tried calling for help. I wanted to pull him
out, but there was nothing to hold on to. All his extremities are
gone. His tiny hands, his slender feet. I could not bear to see him
like this. I vomited, but I have to pick myself up. Be strong for
him.
Not far from where we are, there was a group of elderly betting in a
cockfight. 50 riel , one man shouted. A hundred riel for me, quirked
another man. Bet Quong knows Mot Po will get furious if she knew he
was here. In his mind, he knows he will win. It is worth much to feed
his family and winning means more. Or so, at least. Betting was all
around. Then the explosion. Smoke was seen from afar, and like an
impulse, the men came running in that direction. Who is it this
time?
Mot Po was cooking in her small hut. It was almost dinner time, and
she is waiting for the kids and her husband to come. Sikir was an
outgoing boy, and she let him out with his friends. Bet Quong , as
always will be craving for food. She knows, he is hungry from work.
Her soup tasted great. She was stirring it with her one hand. She lost
one, quite a few years ago. The baguettes were fresh from the store,
and samlor was ready with the pâté, tinned sardines and eggs. She was
serving the dishes when she heard the explosion. Her heart was beating
like crazy.
After some time, Sikir and the other boys were helped by the elderly
who arrived at the scene. Bet Quong was devastated. He saw his beloved
son, Sikir in agony. They arrived in time, but not too early, to
save the frail body of the young boy, losing his life from too much
bleeding. All the others watched in pain, as they saw the father held
onto his son, panting. But there’s nothing they can do. He was gone.
The horrors of their country’s decades of war still plagued them,
thirty years later.
Mot Po was crying when Bet Quong arrived. Every explosion heard,
brings back memories of her traumatic accident. She was taken aback,
when she heard the steps. It seemed like a commotion. She looked over
the window, and sees Bet Quong carrying her son Sikir, lifeless. The
dinner she prepared will be sitting till morning.
I am Mei Pei, another Cambodian boy, suffering the loss of my friend.
My tears are falling but who is not. My neighbors are mourning from
the loss of their beloved family. My countrymen still haunted by the
war, the country has plagued us all these years. Cambodia is still
crying. Peace of mind and our souls has yet to come.
shakoor33
May 5, 2010, 3:04:10 PM5/5/10
to English 101, spring 2010 online section #3226
Gequor Green
Ed o connel
English 101
4/9/2010
"Why they being"
In GoldHagens book “Worse than War” he begins Chapter 3
by asking “Why They Begin.” In this chapter he argues about the
eliminationist beliefs in held universally by people threw out history
and threw out the world that would make the eliminationist inevitable
to assault attempts unless political leaders and icons decide to act
and believe on what the eliminationists believe in. Goldhagen denied
many explanations that were put in focus on the globalization, social
structures, ethnic conflict or human nature of the world’s balances.
Goldhagen also bring up the corrupted past of the United States
government and the way they forced their evil issue upon the people in
the U.S and all over the world. The beliefs inside the U.S government
were evil and had very evil intentions on why they wanted to go to
war. Also in 1704 a congressional bill gave the U.S accountability
during the World War II crimes in 2009 brought about again by Sen.
Nelson proposed by him. Sen. Nelson also agreed with many views by
Goldhagen and one specific one consisted of that individuals choose to
commit eliminationist assaults and many should be held accountable for
their actions. But of course many of these rules would be put aside
and not even looked at by the people who even made them and would not
be put to practice.
Goldhagen argues that "there is no mass murder or elimination
bring about a type of program that would allow targeted killings and
destructive habits along the rain of humanity. This idea is highly
contrversal and potient in all manners of what of killing many
perpetrators who would likley show no participation towards their
wrong efforts.
questions" that he mentions in the middle of his chapters mainly
becuase they were very interesting and could have brought more of a
clearer arguement. Gold hagen also talked to people such as Micheal
Waltzer that Agreed with Gold Hagen on the Bill of 1704. Hopefully
Genocide would be understood as a horrible act that was brought about
for the wrong reasons besides a exuse to march around acting as though
we really care for genocide. But we are realy showing ignorance
towards it and dont even follow what we say or draw on our boards.
work sites!
Nelson, Sen. B. (2009). S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability
Act of 2009.
Ed o connel
English 101
4/9/2010
"Why they being"
In GoldHagens book “Worse than War” he begins Chapter 3
by asking “Why They Begin.” In this chapter he argues about the
eliminationist beliefs in held universally by people threw out history
and threw out the world that would make the eliminationist inevitable
to assault attempts unless political leaders and icons decide to act
and believe on what the eliminationists believe in. Goldhagen denied
many explanations that were put in focus on the globalization, social
structures, ethnic conflict or human nature of the world’s balances.
Goldhagen also bring up the corrupted past of the United States
government and the way they forced their evil issue upon the people in
the U.S and all over the world. The beliefs inside the U.S government
were evil and had very evil intentions on why they wanted to go to
war. Also in 1704 a congressional bill gave the U.S accountability
during the World War II crimes in 2009 brought about again by Sen.
Nelson proposed by him. Sen. Nelson also agreed with many views by
Goldhagen and one specific one consisted of that individuals choose to
commit eliminationist assaults and many should be held accountable for
their actions. But of course many of these rules would be put aside
and not even looked at by the people who even made them and would not
be put to practice.
Goldhagen argues that "there is no mass murder or elimination
I know that could not have been avoided had one person or a few people
decided to do otherwise, which they easily could have done” (p. 73).
Becuase of this view, many of his dictations to this problem is to
decided to do otherwise, which they easily could have done” (p. 73).
bring about a type of program that would allow targeted killings and
destructive habits along the rain of humanity. This idea is highly
contrversal and potient in all manners of what of killing many
perpetrators who would likley show no participation towards their
wrong efforts.
Goldhagen acknowledges that these underlying structural factors
such
as nationalism and ethnic conflict “can motivate people to annihilate
others” (p. 67). However, he correctly asserts that they cannot
explain why some ethnic conflicts lead to eliminationist assaults
while others do not. Also, he argues that the structural explanations
cannot explain the timing of “the various phases of the German’s
eliminationist program against the Jews” (p. 67). As Goldhagen argues,
therefore, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies must recognize that structural factors do not inevitably lead
to eliminationist assaults.
In conclusion to chapter 3, i really wanted to talk about the "5
such
as nationalism and ethnic conflict “can motivate people to annihilate
others” (p. 67). However, he correctly asserts that they cannot
explain why some ethnic conflicts lead to eliminationist assaults
while others do not. Also, he argues that the structural explanations
cannot explain the timing of “the various phases of the German’s
eliminationist program against the Jews” (p. 67). As Goldhagen argues,
therefore, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies must recognize that structural factors do not inevitably lead
to eliminationist assaults.
questions" that he mentions in the middle of his chapters mainly
becuase they were very interesting and could have brought more of a
clearer arguement. Gold hagen also talked to people such as Micheal
Waltzer that Agreed with Gold Hagen on the Bill of 1704. Hopefully
Genocide would be understood as a horrible act that was brought about
for the wrong reasons besides a exuse to march around acting as though
we really care for genocide. But we are realy showing ignorance
towards it and dont even follow what we say or draw on our boards.
work sites!
Intervene: Leadership & action to prevent mass atrocities.
Retrieved
March 31, 2010, from http://migs.concordia.ca/W2I/documents/ENG_MIGS_finalW2IAugust09.pdf
Retrieved
Nelson, Sen. B. (2009). S. 1704 World War II War Crimes Accountability
Act of 2009.
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