Back with a peice about Boston.

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.