Class Response: Discrimination

The main theme of these activities is discrimination.

Through the implicit bias test we learn if we have different thoughts or feelings to different types of people. Although I thought that it was inaccurate, I liked the concept. We may tend to be judgmental to many different types of people without knowing.

The Face to Face project showed what everyone was going through when the country was struck with fear and confusion. I appreciated this because I got to hear opinions and stories from different points of view, not just Americans. I think we forget that there is a larger range to suffering. The people who were immediately affected are not the only ones that have the right to feel pain.

A Class Divided brought up many interesting points. The children were quick to turn on one another. There are many issues that we all get confused about, but through a child’s eyes, things become plain and simple. Children are quick to forgive and full of love. Innocence can so easily be corrupted, but while it’s intact, it’s pure. I found this video humbling because we can learn so much from the ones we look down upon for not knowing anything. I guess that’s also a form of discrimination.

We all have judgments and mean thoughts going through our minds, but how much control will we give it? Life can turn dark very quickly when we let our minds wander to pessimistic and judgmental thoughts. We can control what stays in our heads, and I think it’s our individual responsibility to know that we all deserve equality.

Reading Response #4: The Blood of Olympus

The Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II split up into two groups in order to complete two different quests. The larger group has to defeat the earth mother, Gaea, before the Feast of Spes, which is when she plans to wake. Her giants have risen, stronger than ever, to assist her in her efforts. This group of demigods, with some help, hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants.

In order to stop the war between the Greek and Roman camps, the other demigods are on a quest to retrieve the Athena Parthenos. This forty foot statue of the goddess of Olympus will hopefully bring peace.

The Athena Parthenos compared to an adult male

 

In the book, the demigods meet many lesser known minor gods. One of my favorites is Asclepius, the god of medicine. He is kept under guard at the temple of Epidaurus so “he doesn’t go running around the world resurrecting people” (321). Asclepius is basically a super doctor that can take one look at you and know everything about your health. He looks like a typical doctor, but also has a black staff with a live green python coiled around it. Ascelpius stated,

 

“People are always confusing my staff with the staff of Hermes, which has two snakes, obviously. Over the centuries, people have called Hermes’s staff the symbol of medicine, when of course it should be my staff” (346).  

Greek mythology often relates back to modern time. In The Blood of Olympus, I learned the many different ways that we connect back to our Greek roots.

 

 I have enjoyed this book just as much as I have enjoyed following the Percy Jackson series. It’s sad that this will be that last one, but at the same time I feel that it was an amazing ending to an amazing series.

Reading Response #3: Ender's Game

             In the near future, a hostile alien race has invaded Earth. The International Military is actively searching for the commander that could save the Earth from a likely second invasion. Ender Wiggin is recruited to join the force that trains him to be strategically brilliant. Ender and his fellow soldiers determine the fate of the earth.

            In Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, there is a constant debate on whether or not killing the buggers is acceptable. The reason why the buggers attacked the Earth is unclear, but the fact still stands that the buggers attacked first.

            Communication between the buggers comes easily, but it was proved impossible to reach the humans. Without knowing the buggers’ intentions, and not having the means to find out, the humans could not verify whether the buggers were a threat or not. The humans decided it was safer to assume that the attack was a hostile action and so prepared to eliminate the buggers before they were annihilated first.

            Colonel Graff stated,

“When it comes down to it, though, the real decision in inevitable: if one of us has to be destroyed, let’s make sure we’re the ones alive at the end. Our genes won’t let us decide any other way. Nature can’t evolve a species that hasn’t a will to survive. Individuals might be bred to sacrifice themselves, but the race as a whole can never decide to cease to exist. So if we can we’ll kill every last one of the buggers, and if they can they’ll kill every last one of us” (253-254).

 

 

In this quote, we learn that the humans are set on protecting what they care about. Humans will sacrifice anything to protect the rights that they set up for themselves. A species is born with the will to survive, and will not settle for living under the threat of a hostile force.

 

            On the bottom of the movie poster for Ender's Game it states: “the future must be won”. I feel like this summarizes the book in the simplest way. The future is not set in stone, and can be easily shifted in a good way or a bad way. The best type of future must be earned, and that is exactly what the humans decide on when they are forced with the decision of overlooking the invasion or the destruction of their enemies.

            Enders Game is very well put together and thought out. It’s a book that makes a person think about the state of the Earth, and what type of things humans are capable of. I learn something new  every time I read it.