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In the society that we live in, violent situations such as war, is a big controversy topic. Some agree it is needed to end conflict and some disagree because a lot of people lose their life to a bullet or much worse. Not only can violence kill somebody but destroy families. But if you go deeper into it you will come across many ways that it is more bad than good. For example, the person who you were before a war isn't who you are after. This is because they are put through many obstacles that will break that sympathetic human creating someone who is very cold. This can impact families who have to deal with a veteran who is mentally damaged with survivor's guilt or PTSD.

According to a study/article done by Guidhi “My faith in nonviolence” discusses how in many situations the law of love has answered more than the law of destruction. This means that the use of sympathy and communication problems were solved better than ones with violence. Guidhi states = “My daily experience, as of those who are working with me, is that every problem lends itself to solution if we are determined to make the law of truth and nonviolence the law of life. For truth and nonviolence are, to me, faces of the same coin.” In other words, violence cannot occur if situations were solved more consciously instead of quick action. The truth will set you free from many situations. This supports it because if families are more rooted they won't have to deal with a loss or the need of a father/mother figure. A family being rooted and together is very beneficial for many reasons; the kids will be secured and not always having to wonder where and when their Father/ Mother will be back or if they died. It's a lot to deal with at a very young age.  

Now for the people who will be life savers and believe violence is the only way world problems are solved will go into the veterans blindsided. The reason why they are blindsided in my opinion is because they do not know what they are gonna be put through; tests that destroy a individual creating somebody they were never meant to be. It sometimes can be a character trait gone or worse like PTSD or soldier’s guilt. When researching how veterans are affected by warfare I found a source written by  MAGGIE PUNIEWSKA “ Soldiers guilt” discusses what goes through a veterans head and how it may impact a family. “Some of these soldiers describe experiences in which they, or someone close to them, violated their moral code: hurting a civilian who turned out to be unarmed, shooting at a child wearing explosives, or losing trust in a commander who became more concerned with collecting decorative pins than protecting the safety of his troops. Others, she says, are haunted by their own inaction, traumatized by something they witnessed and failed to prevent.” In detail of what Maggie is trying to get across with this statement is majority of the time soldiers who seen situations that couldn't be prevented or their own inaction may trigger soldiers guilt. It may lead to that because they will blame themselves for something to the extent of becoming very depressed and on edge. This connects to my claim on how violence can destroy families because soldiers guilt is something that is connected to PTSD just a bit worse. Since it's similar to PTSD symptoms such as loss of interest or pleasure in activities, guilt, or loneliness. This may take a toll on the children's life because they need to be engaged with their parents to feel and know they are loved and not a burden. Loss in interest can cause a lot of issues in a relationship because they are too damaged to sometimes acknowledge they are still in a relationship.

In conclusion violence has had more of an affect on veterans and families than it has on the main problem`w. Violence affects veteran mental health causing them to feel guilty due to situations they had no control over; PTSD that can lead to suicide. Not only the veterans are impacted due to warfare but their families have to deal with this issue that will restart every single day. What I mean by this is that PTSD is something that need more attention and patience to deal with because the feel as if they are still under attack.  

Sources used:

https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/veteran-mental-health/

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/07/healing-a-wounded-sense-of-morality/396770/

Paper Article written by Guidhi  

Introduction:

My goal for writing this paper was to bring up a topic that not many really think of. We don’t realize how much it could be affecting us and this topic is how violent music can be influential to society. I’m proud of the research I found and how it worked really well with what I was trying to get across. Music is such an important part of who we all are as people. It is used for many different aspects of life and knowing that it could be doing no good to society is important to pay attention too.

As humans, we don’t think about how influential music may be in society. Music is a form of art. It is a positive outlet for people and a way for people to express their feelings. These feelings can be good or bad and this is where we need to look deeper. Music can dig deep into someone’s emotional status and can lead to certain thoughts or feelings. Now the question is, is violent music influencing our society? This is important to be mindful of because children and adolescents are so into music nowadays. Hip hop, R&B, and Rap are genres that are so popular and there are the ones that can infiltrate violent messages into society the most. Not knowing what is right in front of you isn’t an option. Music can be a part of the reasons why violence is such a problem to society and why people may act the way they do.

Rap is a creative way to form and pair words together to create a hit. Rap music is what most teens listen to today and rap music can often emphasize the idea of violence. An article by, Nakia Jackson, called What Influence and Effects Does Rap Music Have on Teens Today? talks about different ways Rap music can be effective in positive and negative ways. “Rap was born in poor urban communities where violence may be poorly controlled, but social and economic factors can play a much greater role in the prevalence of violence.” This quote is mainly focusing on the idea of how rap music was already created because of the violence that was spread around into society. As mentioned before, music can be used to express feelings and this quote basically says the area where rap was born was just a way for people to explain what they were facing in their community. Also, how she mentions that social and economic factors take a bigger toll in the society which can be true. Lower class communities are where violence takes place the most because as said in the quote, it is “poorly controlled”. There are bigger issues to be aware of that violent music affecting society, especially where the origins of rap music came from.

Some people may view music as nothing harmless. It isn’t something physical but something that means much more in a emotional, intellectual, and spiritual way. A study was done by researchers from Iowa State University and the Texas Department of Human services. The study was published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and it proved that violent music lyrics increase aggressive thoughts and feelings. This necessarily does not have to do with crimes nor creating violence throughout society. This has to do with the fact about how thoughts and feelings can form negatively within a person, leading to physical action. A person who knows someone in a vulnerable place should take this into consideration. Violent music can cause someone to make choices they will later regret in life and knowing these type of facts can prevent that in the future.

Music can be used as a coping method for those who want an escape from the world. In these times, females can be more driven into letting music affect them negatively than men. An article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics goes into depth about how music and all of its aspects can have an impact on children and adolescents. “Female adolescents are more likely than male adolescents to use music to reflect their emotional state, in particular when feeling lonely or “down.” This proves females are more likely to lean on music in their rough times because of their emotional status. As we look at adolescents, it is more important to pay more attention to them since they are still trying to figure themselves out. At times they might feel like no one is truly there for them because they are going through the changes of life and becoming adults. They might feel like music is the only way to uplift them and sometimes even bring out the worst in them.

As a society, we should begin to realize what is right in front of our faces. Certain genres are what bring this trait to music and music artist should see that it won’t always do good for the society. They probably aren’t aware of what they are actually doing to their community. Most violent music is songs about the struggle and the horrible things they had to do to survive. If we don’t want our people to be under the impression then a change has to be made. Science and the Medicine field are giving out proven facts as well. We don’t want our children and adolescents to be mistaken that some of these actions are okay by the music they are listening to. Creators, listeners, viewers, and bystanders need to step in and see violent music does have an impact on society.

War before and after

War doesn’t just come with victory and loss. War comes with a lot of consequences that are permanent in some people's lives, such as, PTSD, destruction, tons of money lost, etc..Civilians that live before war live their life peacefully and in harmony. When a war hits they can’t anticipate what might happen next. War affects a person in a lot of different ways before and after.

One country that has one of the highest rates of mental illness in the world is, Palestine. A quarter of Palestinian adolescents have attempted suicide. About 23.2% have post-traumatic stress disorder (according to a survey of 1,369 over three years) compared to around 6-9% in the US; and the Palestinian territories have by far the highest levels of depression in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Those living in Palestine endure ongoing trauma. Someone who has their house demolished by the Israeli government in East Jerusalem, because it was deemed illegal, must then pay fines to the Israeli government for failing to destroy their homes themselves. (Nearly every Palestinian building is deemed illegal by Israeli authorities.) Up to 40% of Palestinian men have spent time in prison, often for minor offenses such as throwing stones. And many families face the threat of Israeli-army raids and interrogations. All this happens within and out of war. In Palestine there is no, war has ended, war in Palestine is continuous.

Before soldiers go into a war zone, they are healthy. Their lungs are healthy and clear, their minds are stuck only on the mission at hand. When soldiers come back from a warzone or war in general, they have to face things that can not jus go away. They face PTSD, depression, and suicide.

In the film, “American Sniper”, actor Bradley Cooper plays a soldier who goes on 4 tours  in Iraq. Throughout the whole movie Cooper experiences traumatic things such as, shooting a young boy, seeing his partner get shot in the face, and having to watch a brutal man drill into a little boys legs. In a certain scene in this movie, Cooper is at a garage and he starts to start experiencing deja vu from the tools the mechanics use. This film shows how soldiers going in and out of war zones start to slowly but surely have a messed up mentality.

From two perspectives: A soldier going into a warzone and a little boy facing soldiers with guns bigger than himself. The soldier going into a warzone has the mindset of going in and never coming back out, but for those who do come out of a warzone alive they suffer from the mental illnesses discussed before, the most common being PTSD. The little boy facing soldiers has the mindset of praying enough to live or knows well enough that death is coming his way, he will never understand why. The little boy if survived automatically is traumatized, depending on the case he may have lost family, friends, and loved ones.

The conditions after war are inevitable. Buildings are destroyed leaving hundreds of families homeless. Families that are just bystanders in the war are forced to face the consequences brought to them. As an example Palestine is one of many countries that faces this tragedy almost everyday. Some say its a free jail. War affects a person in a lot of different ways before and after. It brings, pain, depression, suicide, PTSD, and a lot more. War is forever inevitable to humans.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reel-therapy/201501/american-sniper-0

https://qz.com/1521806/palestines-head-of-mental-health-services-says-ptsd-is-a-western-concept/

As children grow up, especially now in the age of technology they are exposed to a lot of information. While a lot of the media can help with their development and education, there is too much that is promoted on social media that can negatively affect a child and shape their mindset as they grow up. Social media and the internet is one of the first places that many children first encounter violence, just by tapping through videos on YouTube, or scrolling through an Instagram feed, violence is ingrained in most aspects of American life. Children who are exposed to violence through social media at a young age are very early desensitized and normalize violence making them less likely to interfere or stop violent acts as an adult.

In an article called “Does Social Media Induce Violence Among Youth”, by Shreesha Ghosh, she writes on the effect that exposure to social media has on children. The articles speaks on how social media is part of our everyday life and that it can’t be avoided. Yet, violence is embedded into our media and can have many effects on children, from violent behavior, increased feelings of hostility, and  antisocial behavior just as some of the few examples. In the article she quotes a paper by Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center at the University of Michigan that reads “Meta-analyses of the unhealthy effects of media-violence have shown that youth who view media-violence on a regular basis are more likely to exhibit... acceptance of violent behavior…  and desensitization toward violent behavior,” The society that we live in depicts violence so frequently that children create a “desensitization toward violent behavior”, this means that they begin the process of normalizing violence at a very young age, which can impede many other aspects of their life as they grow up. One of the the aspects that it can affect is feeling sympathy for victims of violent crimes such as bullying and abuse. This means they are less likely to try and stop a violent act when they see one, they would be “accepting violent behavior” because it’s something that they see everyday.

This normalization of violence from young children then creates what is known as the “Bystander Effect”.  The bystander effect as explained by an article titled “Understanding the Bystander Effect”, writer Kendra Cherry writes “The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress.” She then begin to explain why the effect is so common amongst people. The first reason is people feel a diffusion of responsibility when there are many other people around and a violent crime is taking place because everyone expects someone else to make the call. The second reason Cherry explains, “The second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways. When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or not appropriate.” which leads back to the normalization of violence. When there is a large group of people and they all are witness to a violent act they do not react because they are waiting for someone else to tell them “this is wrong”. The problem is that no one can make the call because they see this act as unalarming; they feel like they have seen it too many times on social media to care. If a fight were to break out in front of a group of people more likely than not most people would just walk by; they would go about their day because no one else is taking action. No one is taking action because they see fights on social media and believe that it is a normal occurrence in their day. The bystander effect works hand in hand with the desensitization of violence that is developed as a child.

In a TED talk Philip Zimbardo tries to explain how people are able to commit these horrible acts and why people do not report or try to say anything about the situation. He says that when we are children we are not raised to interfere with things that seem unjust if they have nothing to do with us. He tells the audience “Most people are guilty of the evil of inaction, because your mother said, "Don't get involved. Mind your own business." from a young age children are told “mind your own business”, that is feeding into the role of being a bystander, now when children see violence on the media then are told that they should mind their own business, it makes sense to why no one seems to stand up and why most violent acts go unreported. The mix of being desensitized and then being told that it’s not your problem or issue, is the reason that so many adults now have a hard time knowing what needs to be done during acts of violence. Our society and media have made people grow up on the idea that not saying anything is better than intervening and that violence is a normal act. To combat this idea Zimbardo continued to say “Heroism as the antidote to evil, by promoting the heroic imagination, especially in our kids, in our educational system. We want kids to think, "I'm a hero in waiting, waiting for the right situation to come along, and I will act heroically,”. The same way that children are taught not to interfere and not to do anything, they need to be taught that they are capable of stopping any act of violence that they see, that they need to report and they need to help.

The only way to teach a child that violence is not normal is by teaching them the same way they first learned it; by putting more positive videos and censoring part of the violence then children will grow up knowing what is not okay. This will then translate to the way that the act as adults. If they are raised to learn how not to be a bystander then there will be less cases where violence goes unreported.

The enslavement of African-Americans ended in 1865 with the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, but the violence brought on that group persists to this day. With the knowledge that the only reason that so many African Americans are in America today is that their ancestors were sold as objects still brings tension between citizens today. The freedom of enslaved people didn’t mean immediate equal treatment. The era of reconstruction and Jim Crow followed and began with hate groups such as the KKK emerged, spreading the belief of white supremacy. There are people still alive today who have been affected by the civil rights era; the segregation of white and black people has left scars in this country. The internalized frustration of being dehumanized and treated as less than for so long still exists in the minds of individuals. These frustrations in the past have led to extremist groups. The way the government has mistreated black people has led to a country in which the violence and an internal war within the US.

In 1972, a Philadelphia-based black liberation group called MOVE was formed by John Africa. He and his followers all took on the surname Africa; the deeply religious black nationalist group was involved in many violent occurrences in the city of Philadelphia. Their name derived from a quote from the founder, “Everything that’s alive moves. If it didn’t it would be stagnant, dead.” This belief has brought the group to remain active even today. The war between the Philadelphia police and MOVE began during a shoot out in [] leaving [] officers dead and left nine of the members convicted of murder. These members were sentenced to 100 years in prison and denied parole in 2008. The group relocated to a house in West Philadelphia where the end of the war would occur. In 1985, Wilson Goode, the first black mayor of Philadelphia would order for “military grade” weapons to be brought upon the MOVE house. The house was hit with two bombs resulting in 11 deaths of members of MOVE including 5 children. Before the bombing, the police were initially trying to arrest the MOVE members, reportedly saying over a loudspeaker, “Attention MOVE: This is America.” The layers of this statement begin brought to mind the 2017 released song This is America, a song whose imagery brings to attention the injustice that has taken place in black communities

The bombing gave Philadelphia a new name: “The City that Bombed Itself.” The escalation perfectly captures the war between the black citizens of America and the government. The group was formed out of frustration of inequality. Through years of mistreatment the black communities will eventually manifest itself with retaliation. When fighting back, MOVE was drastic and refused to play by anyone's rules but their own, and with that brought the coming of the escalation. The bombing burned down homes across the the predominantly black neighborhood, showing that the government of Philadelphia was more concerned about eliminating the denial of their power than black citizen’s lives and wellbeing. They were more concerned with the power they possessed and the threat that MOVE was to that, then the displacement of hundreds of families and the lives of five children.

In the past and even in recent years, the lack of care for black lives the justice system and government of the US has shown has been jarring. This created unrest and violent riots. In 1992, when three Los Angeles cops were acquitted after the assault of Rodney King, infamous riots erupted throughout LA. Another instance of this occurred in 2014, with the death of Michael Brown, which led to unrest in ferguson. Both cases had video evidence of the violence brought upon the people, however the deaths and assaults were seen through a lens of necessary force. The lack of justice brought to the loss of black lives is a direct contradiction with ethics upheld  in US society. When people die, someone is held responsible, and the lack of action to convict shows that black people are viewed as unworthy of justice. The notion that innocent until proven guilty doesn’t seem to apply when a black life is lost.

The internal war of America has been waged on black citizens that haven’t been equally been treated or considered. The way in which black life is viewed is disposable. Until the government and justice system truly sees the average black citizen as equal to every other person, the war will persist. Essentially causing frustration and acts of violence across the US. The government is meant to advocate for all, but have fallen flat when it comes to black communities.

You salute to the American flag, train your life away, wear the uniform proudly and travel thousands of miles to do exactly the opposite of what you think you were going to do. You believe the purpose was to fight off terrorism and bring justice back to America, but instead, you end up finding your self killing off innocent people that are only trying to protect their land and families. You find yourself stripping victims front their human rights and you grasp the idea that these humans don’t deserve not one bit of what's being done to them, because at the end of the day they are humans just like yourself. The war in Iraq failed to accomplish the purpose of the war and instead it dehumanized Iraqis. The essential question that we citizens interrogate ourselves with when it comes to the U.S soldiers is can we honor people for their sacrifice and also recognize the evil they did? Even the soldiers themselves don’t know how to grapple with this question. American soldiers have Self regret because the war has turned them evil. In addition, we have to recognize and analyze the evil that has been done, which was the torture of innocent Iraqi civilians. The final blame being the government’s misuse of power.

Iraq veterans are reminded every day for their heroic acts and shown gratitude for their bravery, however not many accept those compliments. These Veterans believe that they do not deserve to be honored for the terrible acts they were forced to perform in Iraq. These soldiers were put in situations where they had to perform actions that they knew were wrong. They were forced to come back to America to live their regulars lifestyle once again, but this time with a guilt twist in their stomachs and an aching heart for the thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians that were murdered for simply protecting themselves. The war, in fact, turned them evil. Philip Zimbardo during his ted talk presents many different experiments that all tie together to represent this larger idea that good people can turn evil with some simple alterations in their lifestyles. He mentions that, “evil is the exercise of power.”(TED, 2008) He justifies his point by giving an example from the Iraq War. He presents a series of pictures from a prison in Iraq that holds Iraqi prisoners and are run by American guards. These guards began to abuse their power, by dehumanizing the prisoners. so that they can weaken them mentally. This tactic was used to retrieve as much information from them as possible.  In fact, these Iraq veterans felt so awful for what was done that they made a union that accumulated over 12 thousand participants. They have performed non-violence protests and have done anything they can do to stop the continuation of the Iraq war.

Iraqi civilians are being labeled the terrorist in our perspective, but in their perspective, the US, in fact, is the terrorists. The US military is invading innocent homes, lighting fire at any sudden reason they believe is threatening. They’re tearing homes apart, and separating each other from their loved ones leaving them stranded or dead. Many of the Iraq veterans that speak today about their traumatizing stories tell the awful destruction that has been done to the Iraqi homes. One veteran, that goes by Grant Collin, tells a story about a call he had to make during the war and how it caused him to break out crying in the scene during the attack he ordered. He ordered missiles to set off this apartment building that contained many Iraqi families. Once he saw the damage that has been done to the families, he couldn’t perform any more tasks. He instead laid up against a wall and cried; the Iraqi woman, who lost her family to the attack, accompanied him. She placed her hand on his face and said “inshallah”, this means “in God's will”, he stated. The veteran continues by stating that “no, it wasn’t God's will, it was my f***ing order! I gave the order to fire those rockets into that building and I killed her family. I thought I had to do that to keep myself and my Marines alive.”(Youtube, Pure Gold, 2010) During this speech the veteran used very short sentences that emphasized the sorrow he felt for what he and his Marines have done to the families. His repetition and stutter before claiming that it was his fault also gave away his anguish for his actions. This story was one of the many stories from the veterans that emphasized that the U.S. didn’t see them as other human beings that deserved to live as his marines did but more of a threat, and he came to realize that all along he was wrong: there was no threat.

The U.S. government has misused its authority and power over the military. The U.S, the government continued to send and risk the lives of thousands of U.S. military soldiers to perform these dehumanizing tasks. The war stretched over 7 years after the reason for the war had been accomplished. On December 4th, 2003, Saddam Hussein, the once and powerful leader of Iraq, had been captured and arrested by the American Soldiers. President Bush announces to the public, "In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over.”(NYT, 2003) However, it wasn't until many years later that the war was finally shut down by Barack Obama in 2010. This shows that even after they have accomplished their mission, the government used their power and risked the thousands of the lives not only speaking on the American troops but the thousands of Iraqi civilians only due to one reason: they felt threatened.

In conclusion, the dehumanizing acts from the U.S. military soldiers towards the Iraqis were uncalled for and should have not been the purpose of the war. These dehumanizing acts have left Iraq veterans with self regret and empathic for the thousands of lives that were terminated for no good reason. The excessive power turning the American Soldiers evil. The touring acts of the innocent victims that were performed from the U.S. military demonstrate the dehumanizing acts that were being done to the legitimate civilians of Iraq. last but not least, the government’s misuse of power over the military and their reasonings. As for the American Citizens, now looking at the different perspectives of how the American Soldiers took upon the war it is possible to recognize them for their sacrifice and the evil they have done.

Citations

Amira Gouri

Mr. Block

English 3

Introduction:

My goal is for readers to learn more about women in the military. I focused on the pros and cons of having women in the military. I’m proud of my analysis because I picked really good quotes to support my statement.

Essay:

As of 2017, women make up 16 percent of the active-duty military. During World War I from 1914 to 1918, women didn’t have any role in the military, but they were working in other fields such as munitions factories and farming to replace men who had gone to fight in the war. They had a role in providing soldiers with military equipment including weapons. Women’ role increased as in during World War II, about 350,000 women had the ability to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. Most of these women didn’t serve in combat because they were afraid of public opinion. To this day, the military is still mostly men. This made people wonder how women's roles in the military differ from men? And how women in the military are changing over the course of years.

Women representation in the military is small and it is slowly growing. Many female stories tend to be ignored in favor of legacies left by men who have shaped the statement of service to the country. Despite the disagreement, servicewomen are successfully creating new career paths for themselves and the next generation as they enter jobs that were once only for men.

Being a woman also means facing criticism from the men. According to the New York Times magazine titled, “40 Stories From Women About Life in the Military” an article about women's experience in the military. Here is a quote from the article, “In 2006, a male shipmate got into my barracks room and placed a camera in my bathroom and set it to record. I found it only after getting out of the shower. I took the camera to my male chief, whom I had known for only about a month. He assured me that he would get to the bottom of it. By lunchtime, the strange looks from everyone became obvious. Another shipmate told me that everyone in the company office had passed the camera around and saw the video of me naked, getting into and out of the shower.”. We can see many different views from women, some claim they enjoy their job and they are proud of what they are doing, while some claim to be experiencing hardships such as sexual assault, and discrimination due to being a woman. This quote clearly shows the hardship women experience at a job where there is a majority of men. We can clearly see how some men view women as sex objects to the point where a man had to place a camera into the woman's bathroom. Some women chose to change themselves in order to blend in with the men. They eliminate their feminine characteristics, and cut off their hair, just so they could be respected by the men.

Now not all women were treated as inferior or experienced bad moments such as sexually assaulted. In fact, some women actually enjoy their job because they are following their passion, and they like being a minority, so they could be role models for other women who wish to pursue that career.  According to the same source New York Times magazine titled, “40 Stories From Women About Life in the Military”, there are stories about women who showed pride. A quote states, “I am currently Mrs. Texas Galaxy. When I was a National Guard recruiter, I came across many young women who said they couldn’t join because they were too “girlie.” So I started to compete in beauty pageants again to prove that you can still be and feel beautiful and follow any career path you want.”. This quote is a good example of a woman breaking stereotypes since the military is often considered as a job for masculine men. But in this case, the woman decides to also join a beauty pageant to prove that you can still be too “girlie” but also join the military or any other job that is considered not appropriate for “girlie” girls. She’s proving that a woman can do whatever she wants, and the stereotypes followed by society shouldn’t be a barrier to following your dreams.

This issue matters because it’s followed by stereotypes. Gender stereotypes act as a barrier for girls to follow their certain dreams such as being in the military. Gender stereotypes are one of the root causes of discrimination, abuse, and violence in various areas which can lead to violations of a wide array of women and human rights. Female participants argued that they are treated really different compared to men. For instance, women had to work twice as hard as men to prove themselves. Also, most of the time men did not trust women’ opinions and ideas or value the quality of their work, particularly in male-dominated ratings or specialties. Although it seems hard and it may take time, women have to continue to fight for their rights including the equality of treatment as men to create more freedom, jobs, and opportunities for the next generation.

Sources (MLA format):

Katzenberg, Lauren. “40 Stories From Women About Life in the Military.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/magazine/women-military-stories.html.

“How Roles Have Changed for Women in the Military.” Norwich University Online, online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/resources/how-roles-have-changed-for-women-in-the-military.

McKay, Dawn Rosenberg. “Options for Women Who Want to Join the Military.” The Balance Careers, The Balance, 30 Apr. 2019, www.thebalancecareers.com/women-in-the-military-4177666.

“How Gender Stereotyping Affects the Enjoyment of Human Rights.” OHCHR, www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WRGS/Pages/WrongfulGenderStereotyping.aspx.

I want to focus on the use of photography and the laws to use cameras for war. Also, I'm interested in how nations used photography and cameras as a weapon. There is a law that we documenting you can not crop, modify or enhance the photo in any way because this act is a modification to what is happening. The idea for police officers to start wearing body cameras. Some people and police officers were against the idea; it shows there is no trust in our authority. When there is no trust in the protection that people need to be safe. There are 3 different ways A camera can be used as; Protection, regulation, and as a weapon.

We see security cameras all the time, Do you know that some of the cameras on the street, in buildings and Nations around the world, use these cameras in a way to protect themselves for example in Russia there is a law where because of the massive size of 6.602 million mi²  and the relaxed country made it hard for enforcing road safety and laws. There's a population of people that try to fake getting hit by cars to risk their lives to get money from the insurance;  the protection from fraud.

In China under the rule of Xi Jinping Has created a new market for security cameras and putting them on the street. The increased amount of the vastly stretched cameras around the nation; lower prices have made it more accessible for stores and residents to use for their own use as protection. The police watch footage from the 4,300 cameras around the nation. This line of work employs more than 3,000 employees in Ecuador, started in early 2011 the idea to bring Chinese footage across the Atlantic to Ecuador where the police “Manually” overwatch the Chinese population.  With great power comes great responsibility, there are some nations that do abuse this as certain censorship called “public opinion guidance” with the misuse of Chinese made a controversial system that started to profile Muslim individuals, the program detected the detected these minorities using facial recognition this isn't the ones in your iphone jib jabs.

What to take away from this small dive into the use of cameras. Theres is also the other uses the cameras in so many more ways that I cant even write because of the word count but  in short there is a good a way and a bad or every way. You might find it creepy or strange. In Chinas case there is a definite sense of invasion of privacy.

Introduction

For my essay, I decided to discuss the bystander effect and its effect on those outside of violent situations. I attempted to discuss multiple factors that allow the bystander effect to remain. Through my sources, I analyzed these factors and created a thesis for my essay.

Acts of anger and violence are hard to miss in United States history. As it appears in American culture, through our entertainment and through our core values, is only enabled to be problematic via the environments it is cultivated in. It is often questioned whether this violence is by nature or nurture. However, because environments which systematically encourage it are entirely responsible, this answer will not have an impact. Looking at the human mind will be rendered insignificant if we fail to pick apart the systems that mind is processed through.

At an initial glance of the many scenarios in which violence occurs, it might be difficult to find a unifying factor between all of the variables at play. One article from Scientific American entitled Understanding Violence goes over some of the reasons violence plays a role in the human experience. Findings from research on our counterparts, monkeys, has explained how other species use violence more practically. “They do not start a fight to alienate themselves from another individual, but rather to renegotiate the terms of an ongoing relationship,” and goes on to say that “peacemaking, an important part of this negotiation, appears to be in part a learned skill.” Looking at how these observations relate to the way monkeys work, it is clear that the learned skill here is not the violence, but what it is used for. Regardless of how their brains impact their actions, the bulk of their decision making comes from their learned routines. Had they grown up around an environment in which violence was used for another purpose, that is the purpose they would use it for as well. In this instance, the violence utilised by individual monkeys is influenced by the culture cultivated by the group, and considering their relation to the human race, it can be inferred that a similar phenomenon might be at play in people.

Observing how monkeys express and deal with issues using violence is not the only way to understand how it relates to the human experience. Philip Zimbardo, an American Psychologist known for his work on the Stanford Prison experiment, often discusses the complexities of violence in the human mind. In a Ted Talk on this subject, he asks the question, “where do people go wrong?” heavily exploring the lines between learned violence and people that are, hypothetically, intrinsically violent. In his conversations regarding violence, Zimbardo outlines some reasons for the violence that comes out in people. More heavily, he blames “blind obedience to authority,” and “conformity to group norms.” Most notably, it is important to point out that this would obviously have an effect on people when their environmental context is that of violence, anger, etc. In his work, Zimbardo discusses the events at Abu Ghraib, in which American soldiers not only torture their prisoners, but documented their horrific endeavours, posing with a smile and thumbs up. These American soldiers were dropped into a world in which violence against the other was acceptable, and so that is the path they took. Along with the fact that these people had previously been functioning, normal members of society, this shows that their behavior was heavily influenced by the environment they were in, both in their peaceful and violence environments.

In 1968, third grade teacher Jane Elliot designed a social experiment to conduct on her students. She wanted to test how the students would react to dividing them up and assigning stereotypes to separate groups. After seperating the class into blue eyed and brown eyed students, she told the students with blue eyes of their intelligence, and brown eyed students that they had inferior traits. Within the day, she noticed brown eyed students becoming more anxious and less confident, in addition to their grades and comprehension dropping. Additionally, the blue eyed students would begin to bully the brown eyed students for their differences, and take advantage of the privileges they were given because of their blue eyes. The next week, the students were informed that they had been misinformed; those with brown eyes were in fact superior. Almost immediately the roles were reversed. This shows, that regardless of their actual intelligence, students based their actions and beliefs on that of the group; when students felt superior, they bullied those in the other group. This shows that the environment set out for a group of people, either by an authority or higher system, is entirely responsible for the way that they take out anger and violence on those around them.

Knowing the impacts of the environments people are placed in, not only in their development but throughout their life, is significant because it can help us to create a more peaceful environment, confident that it will create a peaceful outcome. Regardless of a person’s baseline mental state, they will end up going with the grain. In the end, realizing the impact of systems and environments as influences will help us shift the responsibility on the bigger picture, and come up with larger scale solutions to problems of violence in the world. This is important because it shows that the changes we make in the world should not be with the soldiers or the students, but in the government systems and in the schools.

Bibliography:

1. https://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil?language=en

2. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/understanding-violence/

3. https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-class-divided/

War causes violence throughout many parts of the world. This includes Vietnam, Syria, Iraq, the United States, and many other places. The morality of the soldiers fighting in these wars is questioned from the moment they decide they wanted to become a soldier. The U.S launched an attack on Iraq in 2003 of that year. The soldiers went over to Iraq to lift off bombs, raid their houses, and kill people. It’s hard when a soldier is asked to do difficult things, and once they’ve crossed those lines, it’s hard to navigate back. For an infinite amount of veterans, coming home doesn’t end with kisses and hugs. Now there is an increasing awareness, and some say an urgent need for America and Americans to step up and share the pain of our returning veterans and help them reclaim their lives. An important factor in the return of some vets is that much of the country has not shared the pain of the wars they have been fighting. This essay will analyze the psychological effects that soldiers go through and how that changes them for the rest of their lives. The pain people feel after going through war can be just as traumatic as anything else. War conditions create memories and wounds that outlive the wars themselves. In an article for CNN “I’m Prepared to Talk About the Things I Did in Iraq” Samuel Madel says, “Their images and sounds persist in many parts of peoples lives through multiple generations.” Soldiers can remember things that take decades to work through, and it is not definite that their soul can ever recover. Studies show that there are higher rates of physical and mental illness after coming home from war. These memories can create psychological conditions that are often hidden in the way we write history. In textbooks, we only see the facts, not the opinions, but a person’s perspective emphasizes on their opinion. That can stop us from seeing how war can affect soldiers, specifically in Iraq. People hear about the things that these people did when they were in Iraq and have trouble believing that the soldiers they know and love actually did this. Their experience forever changes the mentality that soldiers go through after going to war. They have seen so many traumatic things that mental illness is increasingly likely to happen. Sonya Timson, writer for the New York Times says, “In evaluation of successes and failures, scholars and policymakers have a responsibility to recognize these intricacies, beyond logistics and statistics, and to resist the urge to reduce a people’s wellbeing to the toppling of a regime.” This quote shows that the question that instead needs to be at the forefront of any discussion about the effects of war is what it means for a “liberated” society to live in conditions of constant rupture. To be “liberated” while experiencing enduring loss and grief caused by the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers; or to be children growing up in exploded neighborhoods and raided houses, internalizing and suppressing wartime anxieties. Unless a person experiences what these soldiers go through, it is unlikely for them to ever understand. For example, many movies and T.V. series cover topics of the PTSD that is created after experiencing war. In the T.V. show, Grey's Anatomy, one of the surgeons fought for our country against Iraq and had experienced PTSD on the show. In the next season, it was as if that character had never been to war. That proves that even if people do extensive research like famous T.V. shows have to do, it is hard to believe that these soldiers will never be the same. People want to believe that their loved ones mental illness will magically go away, but the exploits that these soldiers go through compare to nothing of an American's regular daily life. In conclusion, soldiers have to go through so much pain that there is a question if they will ever recover from it. We don’t know if they will ever be the same, we don’t know what happened while they were there, and we don’t know their perspective on everything they saw. These soldiers will never be the same to the point where they could now have to deal with mental illnesses. They will forever wonder what is right and wrong and what is black and white. They will never forget what has happened to them and will continue to have flashbacks and dreams of being at war. They could wonder what they could have done differently, but in the end, soldiers know that there is nothing that they can change about their pasts. Us as Americans should try our best to help them cope, and hope that the tiny things we can do can make a change in their lives for the better. If you know someone who is a soldier keep an extra eye on them because not only have they helped you in more ways then you know, but they also could be dealing with something you have no clue about. 

Introduction- In this paper I discussed about nonviolence and how that can end many wars going on now. I explained about two activists Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. These two powerful men overcame situations in their society nonviolently.

Essay

How often are you scared about your loved ones getting killed every time you step out of your door? America’s trust in nonviolence strategies are nonexistent, even though there were many successful nonviolent movements in our history. There are many ways people can approach a situation nonviolently. If we look into the Afghan war compared to MLK strategies during the civil rights movement, we see how the civil rights movement Nonviolence can solve the problems that war tries to solve, yet constantly fails at. Today, in the United States, we can venerate and follow activists as a role models to end all the violent wars.

Throughout history, many activist leaders approached problems in a nonviolent manner. This brought peace and unity to the nation. An outstanding example is when the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ended segregation, but not by starting war. Instead, he led protests, strikes, drafted and delivered speeches, and much more. MLK is the reason that we are all able to sit in classrooms with people of many different races, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, persuasions. “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals,” MLK stated. This is a very powerful quote about how nonviolence is metaphorically a type of weapon that could end violence altogether and, as well, engender tranquility, should people allow it to transpire. MLK united his followers and arrived at a variety of nonviolent acts, yet effective, strategies to peacefully end segregation.

In one of the third world countries, India, this nation achieved its own liberation from a powerful country, the United Kingdom, but in a nonviolent approach. Mahatma Gandhi, was the Indian activist who proposed this approach. It certainly was a major achievement for a third world country to over power the United Kingdom in the 1940’s. This alone is a historical event that has been often overlooked. One may inquire, ‘How did Gandhi accomplish this feat?’ nonviolently, of course, although it may seem unbelievable. Gandhi had two main concepts that he followed, ahimsa and satyagraha. Ahimsa is common in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. This concept translated to “not to injure” or “nonviolence.” Gandhi used this concept to overthrow the colonial rule set by U.K, including the racial discrimination and social divisions. Satyagraha translated to “Holding onto truth” or “truth force.” Gandhi developed this concept as a weapon to fight injustice. It is a way of nonviolent resistance that he used to overrule the British. He was a very peaceful, but  powerful man at that time.“Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being.”said Gandhi. As one can see, Gandhi believed even if you react to a situation violently, it does not solve the problem or come to any sort of a resolution. The problem would instead perpetuate, and may even exacerbate. He believes that people need to have the inner faith and change. Gandhi’s morals and speeches were not the only way India became a country; He started a series of hunger strikes, salt marches, and prohibited Britain from their goods. This all brought independence to India without any deaths or casualties.

Next, is the question, “Why does the U.S constantly deploying missiles and bombing innocent homes?” Afghanistan is constantly being attacked now. The U.S has been doing this for years, and continues without any sense of discontinuation. Further, the Iraq war was going on for 15 years and the Afghanistan war has been going on from 2001, with no foreseeable termination. In an article by Kimberly Amadeo, she stated, “In June 2017, President Donald Trump authorized sending 3,000 to 5,000 more troops into Afghanistan to strengthen training efforts there. On January 11, 2018, the Pentagon announced it will send in drones and 1,000 new combat advisers in advance of the spring fighting season. The administration's focus is on attacking terrorists and not nation-building.” This quotes explains that the U.S government is continuously sending troops to Afghanistan till this day. The president sent troops there just to make their training better. This shows that the Afghanistan war has no specific reason why it is still going on. Sadly to say, the U.S government spends so much on these wars for many unknown reasons. Instead of being vicious, the U.S could easily make peace with Afghanistan and put an end to violence altogether.

When the government take action nonviolently is causes more unity among the nation. It is not just about the government, but also society. Many mass shootings are going on in our neighborhoods. We can all end a situation by approaching it in a peaceful manner. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. both successfully brought unity among their own countries without causing crucial destruction. Today we can use these two role models to end many wars going on now. Approaching situations in a negligent manner leads a nation to disintegrate. This is all happening in our society now, as in the aforementioned cases of Syria and Afghanistan. The United States retaliates in a violent way, hundreds and thousands are being put to death because of the sudden bombings. The U.S government can end this and bring unity in a non violent manner. There are more leaders that follow a non-violent approach other than MLK and Gandhi. The United States government could use its tactics and bring unity. Many human lives could be saved and the money could be used for more important needs. If Gandhi can gain independence from Britain, I believe these unnecessary wars can all come to an end. These two events I stated show that taking action nonviolently has a positive and peaceful outcome.  

Citations:

Violence is not inevitable. It's used in many different ways and causes several different emotions in people. Some of those emotions are; suffering,pain, danger, and fear. Violence is known to change people. There are many types of violence. We have brutal beatings, murder, stabbings and so forth. People use violence as a resolution to something or a way of power. The big question is How does violence change who we are?.

The definition of violence is strength of emotion or an unpleasant  destructive force. Another meaning is behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. When people refer to violence, normally they are referring to the second definition. Violence is also known as cruelty. Most times violence is physical, but we can also suffer mentally from it. There's many ways to tell if a person has changed from violence. You can notice the changes in their body language and how they begin to act. Normally we see violence expressed through anger.    

Everyday on the news you hear that someone has been killed. The source of killing is another form of violence. What's heartbroken is the victims are either families, children, or an innocent individual. Each story behind each victim is about something insufficient. violence is being used in a reckless way; they use cruelty for anything without thinking about the consequences. As a community we have to do something to stop all of this. Instead of witnessing these attacks, let's do something to stop them.  

You never acknowledge how much violence can affect you until you experience it firsthand. In my family, we experienced violence and it cost people their lives. The worst experience of all is my uncle. In 2018 I recieved news people fear getting. I remember this day like it was yesterday,, so here we go. An article the violence around us, said “Children (and even adults) may simply imitate the violence they observe”.  The way we see others behave is the same behavior we imitate. Its normal for humans to start acting like one another. When we see violent behavior then eventually that's our new behavior. Unfortunately violence is something that has been used in one point of our lives.

It was a regular sunny day on may 23, 2018. Everyone had just came home from school and work. My mom came home and needed to rest. A few minutes later my step dad also came home. Me and my siblings were downstairs watching tv. Suddenly, i heard my mom on the phone saying” what, I'm coming auntie. Her voice was in a panic and she rushed downstairs and out the door. When my stepdad came down the steps I asked him “what was wrong” . In a normal calm tone, he said your uncle has been shot. The words echoed and I started feeling anxious and confused. I grabbed my phone to distract myself. When I unlocked it i saw a post made by sister. The post said “ I hate getting worst news.” A few minutes after, there was a follow up post. That post said “ and just like that”. As soon as I saw the post i instantly knew what she meant. So i grabbed my phone and texted my sister. The text said any updates on uncle jeffrey. She responded “no baby he didn't make it”. Tears formed my eyes and I dropped my phone on the floor. My heart was hurt for my mother. That was her brother I knew she would be in pain.

Following this sunday, I had to attend school the next day. During the car ride my mom kept repeating how my uncle was shot 37 times. By the time we reached sla i was on the verge of tears. When I went to class I was quiet and tried to explain why I was late. No words came out everything was silent. My mind was somewhere else. Ms. hull took me in the hallway and I explained what happened. The way I told her was through tears and it just blurted out. I was a total mess and couldn't do anything.

 After losing my uncle I realized how much violence can destroy people's lives. The person who commits these violent acts doesnt think about the consequences. He/she just moves on like its nothing. Violence can make someone angry enough to harm someone. Physically hurting someone is not the solution to anything.  

So many things can trigger what makes someone violent.  What they went through in their childhood. Parents, etc. Violence can be inherited within a person. Phillip Jet once said “I think violent crime has more to do with a combination of maltreatment, circumstance, and emotion”. Angry people tend to take their anger out on other people. The amount of anger is enough to destroy someone. Its not about having power, it's about having an outlet to release.  

As humans we don't how violence psychologically affects us or our families. In children we see fear. In adults we have guilt, low self esteem, and isolation. It's not always obvious how violence affects our people. We just begin to act different. In our society, all you see is one of us attacking the other. So when people see us they instantly have fear. No one knows how far someone is willing to go. In any situation someone who commits violence is the person who has control over everything.  

As a society we should realize what violence does to our community. Yes violence is inevitable but it should never be your first choice. In some cases violence is necessary. One  case is when your in danger and need to protect yourself. There are times when violence can be prevented. Something triggers inside our minds and causes us to commit harm on an individual.