Sorry for the hiatus. Everything is coming to a close with a new beginning right now and even with my little hiatus I am proud to say that I am seeing continued support and would like to thank everyone who comes by. So without further ado here is my latest piece.
Alec Degnats
Violence: the human condition.
Living off of North Cedar Bluff Rd. in Knoxville, TN, sirens have
become a part of life. The area itself is safe and sirens fill the
night primarily because we live off a major highway and more
importantly near a major hospital. Most of the emergency vehicles
that whiz by are ambulances or fire engines, however even with this
knowledge the sounds still send shivers up my spine. Every time I
hear one I am reminded of a quote I saw in a Family Circus cartoon,
which can be loosely paraphrased as: “Sirens, oh no someone is
getting in trouble.” “Sirens, someone is getting help.”
I am still searching for the exact cartoon, but that quote gives the
gist. Sirens are a sound inundated
with different ideals and reactions, and in the wake of what happened
in Boston this past week it is time we explore the violence that
plagues humanity.
To start I would like to say that my thoughts, prayers, condolences,
and well wishes go out to everyone affected by the Boston Marathon
Bombing. Violence of this sort is always heinous and can never be
defended in any way, shape or form. With that said, I am disturbed
by the reactions I find searching through Facebook and message
boards.
Some people, many people, offer their prayers and condolences. Others
are calling for a search to discover the motive beyond this senseless
massacre. Overwhelmingly though disasters like this bring out the
worst in us and I see many people beginning to call for blood. Racial
slurs, discrimination, and stereotyping come out in full force as
people speculate on who the perpetrator is and more importantly who
needs to pay. I hear Obama saying that those responsible “will
feel the full weight of justice.” and wonder: where does all
this hate come from and what as people do we want to see? wWhat is
the" full weight of the justice system," as opposed to due
process?
More importantly I find myself wondering: what is it that allows
violence that unites us and separates us so effectively at the same
time?
“Don’t mess with America”, “United we stand”
and similar phrases litter the internet and message boards today.
These words are used to unite us as a country, all the while
distancing us from the rest of the world. Some would trace these
sentiments of independence back to 9/11. Others to WW2. Some people
say that this idea is built into the fabric of our society and our
country, that this sentiment is part of being American and can be
tied back the revolutionary war. These feelings, while possibly
valid, are not unique to our country or our culture. The belief that
they are separate us from reality while breeding hate and contempt
with in our society towards others.
I have been fortunate to travel quite a bit in my life. It is
something my parents have always believed in and I personally have
benefited from. In my travels though I have gotten to see how
different cultures deal with violence and conflict. Two incidents
come to mind from my trips overseas: living in Greece during the
beginning of the austerity measures and being in Warsaw during the
Norway bombing incident in the summer of 2011.
While living in Greece I got to observe first hand as the austerity
measures took effect, and in turn some of the ensuing riots. Walking
through streets that had been covered in tear gas hours earlier I was
able to watch as the people of Greece united for what they believed
in. While most people outside of Greece saw the riots as the Greek
people being violent towards necessary civil change we must be
remember that a majority of the violence was sparked by an anarchist
who does this throughout the region.
Living there first hand I had a unique opportunity. I talked to
countless people and found that they were similar to us.
Standing up to their government similar to how tea partiers and
occupy wall street did. Watching CNN (international and American) I
was able to watch how those outside of the city and culture viewed
and saw the conflict. In Germany many citizens felt they were beasts
unworthy of the funds they were about to receive. Most of the
Americans and Europeans reports stereotyped the Greek as a lazy
culture that was unable to make the sacrifices required. What I saw
was a people fighting for what they believed in, while outsiders
condemned them out of ignorance.
I was on a plane in the air when the bombing and ensuing firefight
happened in Norway.
Once I landed in Warsaw I was greeted by armed militia along with the
rest of the people on the flight. The Warsaw military escorted us and
scoured over our passports. Looking around the airport I saw the same
looks on the faces of the soldiers and my fellow fliers that I did on
my teachers and fellow students on 9/11: fear and confusion. Like the
Atlanta Olympic bombing, 9/11, or the Marathon bombing, the people of
Warsaw were scared as they tried to secure and protect the country
they loved and lived for. At the airport every outsider was a
possible enemy, a sentiment that seems to be held worldwide on the
days in which disasters strike.
The problem that occurs when we call for unity after a disaster is
that it leads to separation and elitism. After a disaster it is very
important to band together for strength. However, as Americans we do
this by painting ourselves as a hero fighting against the evil that
everyone else represents. Before 9/11 when an awful disaster hit most
of us would not immediately jump to terrorism. The Atlanta Olympic
bombings, the Oklahoma city bombings, the D.C. sniper, the Aurora
shooter, the Sandy hook shooter, were all acts of terror and horror
performed by local citizen(s) and not some outside force. This is
something we now overlook when a disaster strikes, not only locally
but globally. In this day and age of technology one would think that
when a disaster strikes we would become closer, but instead we seem
to separate ourselves from the world more. We all do it and no
country is excluded. I can not tell you how uncomfortable I felt in
Warsaw that day and how much of ourselves I saw in them. Beyond all
of this though the fact remains that when we separate ourselves from
the world we forget that we ourselves perpetrate similar atrocities
around the world.
In the name of war and defending this great nation we have done
horrible things. Bombed small towns and cities, commanded drone
strikes to hit schools and hospitals that we have never seen in
person. We have dropped nuclear bombs and have ordered soldiers to
destroy farmers livelihood while blasting Springsteen music. I do not
bring these horrible things up to degrade our country or to make
light of any of the disasters that have struck our people or nation.
I bring this up to remind us that we are not always the victim and
are often guilty of inflicting the same horrors and atrocities we
condemn others for committing upon us.
Disasters like the one that occurred Monday are horrible and we can
not change the pain that disasters like this cause. One thing we can
change though is how we react to them. Many of us react with
aggression and anger. With a compulsive need to bring punishment/
retribution, not justice, to those responsible. We think that we are
alone in these feelings, and yet from everything I have seen across
the globe we are not. When we ask the family and friends of those
affected by heinous crime, by the Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings, if
they want to see the perpetrator put to death or tortured they
overwhelmingly do not. Most of us want to know why the perpetrator
committed these atrocities. Part of this may draw back to our
compulsive need to evolve and better ourselves. However I
increasingly think that people are starting to learn from their
history and learning that this world is populated with other people-
not enemies.
I want you to find
the last time that bringing the “full weight of justice” down on
someone actually made us feel better? Do we really think that doing
this will help or change anything?. That it will bring the people we
lost back? Disasters like the one that occurred this past week are
horrific, however in the end all we can really do is try to learn how
we can better ourselves to stop these atrocities from starting in the
first place. We can not stop these events by dividing ourselves
with borders, races, and ideologies that create further hate and
ignorance. We need to embrace one another and share in the insecurity
and grief we all feel. We need to realize that we all inflict this
upon each other and that we are all perpetrators in this violence.
And in the end we need to realize that we are all victims because of
this.
Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed this you also want to check out.
Out of Sight Out of Mind
A Lesson Not Learned: Reflections of a Prisoners Lament. 