Prior to the first chapter, Ishmael describes a brief conversation he had with his high school friends in New York City. How do you feel about his friends' response that seeing people running around and shooting each other is "cool"? Do you think that response is an expected one for students here in the United States? If so, what do you think has attributed to thinking things like that are cool?
~ Now please take time to critique one of your classmate's comments. Remember that good comments justify, specify, argue, extend, question, explain or elaborate!
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First, there is nothing cool about people getting shot at and killed. So at first I thought it was disgusting that they answered ‘cool’ when he said he saw people getting killed. However, people who don’t have a firsthand experience with war (especially kids/teens) think that it isn’t a bad thing. They tend to view it all as a show and something that isn’t quite real because they aren’t in the middle of it.
ReplyDeleteI would expect that kind of response from teens at that time, but how we live now makes it easy to see the violence that is going on and how wrong it is. Then again, I’m sure there are many teens today that would think killing people is cool. Though this is only because of the way war is presented to them. In videogames kids can shoot, kill things, even themselves be killed, but they don’t die for good because the game restarts. They might not realize the game is affecting them, but it is. It makes war seem like a game; something that they could go into and live forever, by merely collecting lives so they could restart if they got shot. Along with that, most kids don’t watch the news, so they often don’t know what is going on in other countries. If they do hear about the terror and suffering they don’t understand that people are actually dying, to them it’s all pretend.
~Alicia~
I think that would be the obvious response from most people in an American school system and many adults. People of the United States have been and are being poisoned by he elution of war created by the media, Hollywood, and books. From an early age we are brought up around war and destruction from power rangers to video games. This along with the constant action film where the main star lives happily ever after adjusts our views of war. It makes sense that many Americans find war to be some exciting adventure or some interesting game with an extra dose of adrenaline. People simply do not seem to understand the true horrors of war. Even when they are told many people will cringe but not truly fear or dislike war instead they justify the killing or relate it to some scene from a war film. Perhaps it is because we are still to impersonal, not seeing each other as human but simply as something that must be hunted. Hopefully this memoir well help people see the reality of the disgusting thing we call war.
ReplyDeleteDavid
To be honest, the word “cool” was exactly the same way I first responded to this memoir; but as I went deeper into the story I had to change my mind. Many teenagers, not only in the U.S., consider violence as an amusement. I blame the media for such false assumption. Teenagers are influenced by the media almost every minute; we turn on the television as soon as we get out of our bed, we surf the internet during our leisure time, and we read magazines until late at night. However, the media makes everything seem so easy, even death. Teenagers, especially boys, play games that involves in shooting at each other or using weapons to kill as many as they can. They watch movies, such as Kill Bill, which fills the screen with blood and guts. The important thing is that the character that gets killed in these media never dies but appears again in the next movie or game. However, war is totally different. People actually die and they suffer pain, both physically and mentally. Teenagers should know this, and fast. They should know that war is unacceptable in any occasions. I learned a lot after reading ALWG, and I hope everyone else do also.
ReplyDeleteChae Hoon Lim
I agree with Alicia. the only real difference between our posts is that i believe the media does more harm than good. they are mostly bias and can choose to cover up some disasters when they choose. they also have to power to spark nationalistic feelings which can lead to feelings of resentment and dislike toward others which intern can lead to war or the justification of a current war.
ReplyDeleteI believe their response is typical of kids in the United States. To us guns are a sign of authority. To have authority over someone means you have power over them. I agree with Chae, voilence is a form of amusement. I am sure to Ishmael watching people get shot is not very amusing to him. In the US we do not have any wars being fought in our back yards. The only real war we know is the war played in games.
ReplyDelete~Andi
I agree with Alicia that when they used the term "cool" it was gross. It seems to me that replying "cool" is almost inhumane. There is really nothing cool about war because in the end people and their families end up suffering.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with David, especially the part that even kids are influenced negatively by the media. Internet gave kids an easier access to violence. Just typing the word “blood” will give them the most gruesome pictures. When I was in Korea, there were many lower school students playing computer games which involves in shooting each other. Unfortunately, more and more students seemed to play the game and saying unsuitable words. This might seem a little unreasonable, but most animations include violence.” Pokemon” is full of battles which are really dangerous if performed in reality. “Power rangers” also includes unrealistic actions. Basically, these medias influenced kids to have the wrong concept of war. Such wrong assumption should be treated as quickly as possible.
ReplyDeleteChae Hoon Lim
I think when he said the war is cool, just the way to say it is terrible. People was shot and killed. They had to run away from their home village and far away from their family. They don't even know that their family either dead ot alive. People in Americans had not been in a true wars so, they think it is cool when people shooting each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with david. Some people just don't know any about the war. They just it on the movie, but movies is just for entertainment. It's not the true wars. In the wars. people don't see each others like human, only hunters and prey. People don't even believe each others. Everything becomes blood.
There is nothing cool about people being in a war and killing each other. The term cool is used completly wrong, and the boy saying it is trying to be cool. Kids in the united states play video games where they blow eachother up, and many boys think that is fun and cool. There are movies out such as Wanted where killing is just a game. In real life it is not a game, and it is the real deal. So kids now a days think killing is cool because they are emersed in that from the media mostly ever day. Mnay people also enjoy hunting animals, beacuse it is fun and they get to use a gun. I think this does not contribute to the understanding that guns are bad. I think that people should read ALWG so they can see how war can impact on a kids life, and how it is not just a joyride.
ReplyDeleteI agree with andi how guns are a sign of athority. People are afriad of guns and give the power to the people who have them. i also agree with aliciawhen she says the term cool is gross because it comletly is. the boy said this because he does not have any undertsanding of war, and he just plugged in a random word that he wanted to.
- erin:)
i first off, don't think that it was meant the way it was said. i know that i personally say cool to things that i know, in a 100% moral world, aren't cool. but we don't live in a morality structured society. we say things that don't necessarily, by definition, portray the premeditated thought of the speaker. when his friend said "cool" in response to being told that his friend had seen death by war, it wasn't a "cool" by expression of the subject, it was a "cool" by expression of the listener. it was more of the confirmation that the information had been received and the listener was still pondering on the subject. yes, it is inhumane to say that seeing people die due to the duty of other people is "cool", but it is such a radical subject to base a conversation on, it is a hard concept to grasp. things are much easier to understand when you can relate to them.
ReplyDeletei have to sincerely disagree with andijo2011. just because YOU don't know what its like to fight a war in our backyard, doesn't mean the United States doesn't know what its like. im not saying i DO but i know the United States does. it just hasn't happened LATELY because, well...we kick ass. upon reading your, "typical of American kids" statement, i begin to question your origin. you shouldn't label someones actions and relate that action to the typical behavioral type of a certain places youth. iam confident that i can find someone else in this world to respond to such a emotion dwelling statement with something like "cool". that wasn't an expression of impassionate feelings towards Ishmael's experiences, it was an incognito way of saying, "hey thats beyond my ability to emotionally understand." before i begin rambling (as if i haven't already started) i'd like to say something. a war is fought between two or more opposing forces be it countries, continents, or even themselves. this "war" consists of attacks upon each opposing force in their enemies territory. when it is fought in ONE place's backyard, it inst "war", its domination. now for the big stuff, you saying, " the only war we know is the war played in games", is no less crude than the statement made by Ishmael's friend. for you to say that all the wars we have been through, it was all just fun in games...not real war?????? my ass its not real war. i think you have it backasswards. the war in this book inst real war. yes, its dramatic, yes its inhumane, yes its cruel, but no its not true bloody, death in the masses, war. WE KNOW REAL WAR ALRIGHT! there are Americans that have WAYYYY worse war stories than this. they just didn't right a book about it.
ReplyDeletesorry for being rude. its weird to hear an American talk down about Americans...
ReplyDeleteI believe that Ishmael's friend in New York made his comment about the war being "cool" simply in a sense that he had understood Ishmael's response to the question he had been asked. I do not think that his friend actually thought that the war and people dying was "cool." I could see myself saying cool to something bad but not actually understanding what it was about."cool" is used more often than not as a filler word for American teens.
ReplyDeleteErin, people do not simply give power to the people with guns in all cases. guns can put fear into people however this does not make them respect or just give power to the people who have them. the rebels slaughtered thousands of civilians in the war in Sierra Leone but do you think that the people were just going to bow down to them and hand over the government to them? The civilians fought back and supported the Sierra Leone's army in trying to suppress the rebels cause.
In todays world many kids are in love with army, and the thought of serving their country. All of the popular video games and all of the toys make them think that war is "cool." I feel that the media has a big effect on the kids and young adults today, they feel that because many say their "boring" normal lives have no excitement in them. They feel that for others to have access to a weapon or access to more of anything more than the kids and young adults makes them feel that that is "cool." Movies depicting the act of violence and war are common throughout history. Guns show power, the young adults over in the U.S. feel that that in its own way is "cool" Also, the kid may have said it at random, possibly meaning "oh wow" or "ok" what do you say to that kind of childhood when Americans live in safety, so to speak.
ReplyDelete~Zachattack Thibault
(Travis Smith) i dont think that what his class mate said is approiate but i makes since for a person that have probaly never been around guns or has nver been in battle. no it isnt cool people dieing is never cool. but sometimes is necesary. his class amte needs to change his or her wording and relize what he or she is saying isnt cool
ReplyDeletei can see what charles is saying and makes since. but yeah it is war over there and alwaqys has been and always will be. yeah amercia has seen worst wars and yeah some american soldiers can tell you pretty horific storeis about war but that doesnt mean that those africans dont have there share of stories and havent seen violence that shouldnt have to be witnesed. thats all i have to say about that.
I Have to agree with Andi and Charles, there is a lot to say about the American media and its effects on the people here. There is defiantly a point at that most of us seem to make is that, Americans are all influenced by army toys/games/and so on... there is a lot of influences for the children to think that for someone to live a real "army life" is amazing. Yet they do not know the full meaning of war yet. But Andi's point on gun power was completely true. Its a very powerful tool that can get people places. And Charles I have to agree with you about the media and what real war is...
ReplyDelete~Zachattack Thibault
I agree with Eric, often times people don't know what to say so they come up with a random word instead of ignoring the previous comment. Ishmael's classmate might have merely been intrigued by the fact that someone he knew had experienced war. He could have thought it wasn't cool at all, but the fact that Ishmael lived through it made it more interesting. But it is definitely possible that the kid just didn't know what to say, so he said "cool".
ReplyDelete~Alicia~
How do you feel about his friends' response that seeing people running around and shooting each other is "cool"? Do you think that response is an expected one for students here in the United States? If so, what do you think has attributed to thinking things like that are cool?
ReplyDeleteI believe that his friend response would be the average american teenage response. The reason for this is because in todays life many games, movies, and shows are all based on shooting or killing people. So it is not suprising to me that this is the response of him. Another explanation for this would be people in the U.S. dont really know what war is like because war has not happened in recent times in the grounds of our Country **in this time period**.
Charles you are rediculous it is a real war. Give me more reasons than what you have given me on why this war is not a true war?????????? Also Charles if you know someone that has some badass story that is better than this tell them to publish a book and then if its better then you can say that. Also you can't say all of this because it is an **AFRICAN** and you are from The United States. You may think that U.S. battles are better and stuff like that because you were born in the U.S. not Africa. Same with Africa they might think that are wars are dumb and theirs are badass.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric when he says that "saying cool to something bad but not actually understanding what it was about."cool" is used more often than not as a filler word for American teens. " This is so true in most people not just teens but ALL people.
Charles if that is no a War then I guess you think that the Civil War of the U.S. was ot a war either
ReplyDeleteI think that the response of his friends was in a way a bit rude. they cannot say that running around shooting people is cool. it is not cool especially to Ishamel. Even though he did not explain to his friends all that has happened to him he still seemed pretty serious and and it is obvious that it affected him because of how he does not openly talk about it. however Ishamel probably smiled becasue he expected them to respond in that way.
ReplyDelete^Tina Toghiyani
ReplyDeleteHaving kids run around and shoot people is not cool at all. It is rather revolting and abusive. No kid should have to do something like that. I think that they said that because they did not know exactly what was going on in Africa at that time. They probably did not realize how much killing these kids were doing, but nonetheless it is horrible. I do not believe that it is an expected response. In my opinion most high schoolers will not look highly upon elementary school children killing people. I certainly do not think that having kids put into an army and killing other humans at such a young age is right. There should be laws that go against that. There are just some weirdos out there in the world who think that the stupidest and most horrible things are cool. I guarantee you that most students do not think that it is cool.
ReplyDeleteTravis, i agree with what you said on how it was inappropriate for them to respnd wih cool but you can not expect them to respond in any other way. they have no idea what it is like to be in a war or around shooting so i really do not think that they could have changed their words around becasue they did not know it was a big deal. (Tina Toghiyani)
ReplyDeleteErin, I play shooting games all the time, but never in my dreams would I actually get a real gun and shoot someone. Most normal people, whether they play shooting games or not, do not believe killing is cool. I agree with Eric and that the high schoolers just used the word cool because they did not know what else to say. They had no idea of what was really going on.
ReplyDeleteOkay logan i agree with that but other people who dont know the difference bewteen a game and real life just take those shoooting games too realistic. You are smart and understand that those games dont effect you like others. I agree with you and eric that high schools just dont know what else to say, yet the games make it seem cool so that vision stays with them. I obviously know ur not gunna kill someone.
ReplyDeleteno... Cole, the Civil war was a real war....and as for if i know someone who has a more gruesome story than this i should get them to publish a book... i dont think my dad writes books. Yes it is war, but its not the of the ideal type. its guerrilla warfare. run around.... attack random villages, and kill WHATEVER moves. WAR WAR, is war with tactics, war with both sides fighting extremely hard against the other. and no, i dont think that american wars are badass at all. i think they suck, but i KNOW that we have had MANY wars that are WAY more gruesome than the war going on in this book. take the War in Vietnam. where the death toll was over 3 million. Or the War in Korea where exactly 54,246 AMERICAN combatants died. thats only U.S. soldiers.WWI- 168,918 A.M.D. (American militant deaths) WWII- over 300,000 A.M.D. see where im going??? we have gone through wayyyyyy worse wars than the one in the book. you can even prove that by... you know... listening to your old man once in a while. my dad is full of stories that are verrrrrry gruesome and gory, but they do lack detail. (either because he doesnt remember that well or because he just doesnt want to get into the detail that much). I DONT CARE WHAT ANY ONE SAYS ON THIS BLOG....AMERICA HAS SEEN WORSE THAN WHATS IN THIS BOOK. not saying the book's war story isnt gory, cause it is!
ReplyDeleteby the way... just listen to some of the stories that (as far as i know) me and david's dads have. they are pretty gut wrenching for both our fathers fought in Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteand as for what erin said about the people who cant comprehend the difference between video games and reality can basically be excluded from society cause they are the ones who wake up in the middle of the night to talk to elvlis in their refrigerators.
ReplyDeletewell charles there are people like that just saying. which are the poeple who like war.
ReplyDeletewell, erin... you know... iam now going to sound like the kid that this all started with. i think war isnt "cool" but i think its (for the individual) a good experience and its extremely beneficial. not only does that person gain a certain set of skills, but they also (usually) become a better person. being introduced to violence in war seems to humble a person out and make them much more down to earth. that is unless they go psychotic =)
ReplyDeleteviolence is not cool. I believe that the reason for the average person considering violence to be cool is fueled by the shear inexperience of the average human being. violence is, in a way, one of the basic root instincts that is installed on every living creature. Now, every civilized society shuns upon violence. Ethically violence is very unproductive and ultimatly does nothing but destroy, but instinctually violence is cool because it is something that people do without using any thought in it's process. It has always been thought that people will always, if they could do what ever they wanted to, chose to do what there instincts tell them to do over rational thought any time of the day, but even so, most people don't, for that is the thing that seperates humans from animals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with eric. I do not think ismael's friends in highschool did not neccesarily mean that Ismael being in the war was "cool". They probably just ment that they were intrigued in what he was saying. There are a lot of circumstances where people use cool in that way
ReplyDeleteI think that guy was an idiot for what he said... You just dont blurt things like that. but then again you cant fully blame this guy. he's american, and american makes violence seem cool most of the time. the media makes it seem so heroic when the hero doesnt die such as in movies videogames and comic books. little as they know the person who doesnt die still could be the one who suffers the most because those memories live on for ever. violence is not cool
ReplyDelete