Thursday, October 18, 2007
Hostility and its Effects
Hostility is often times tied directly to hate and/or revenge. In Romeo and Juliet, hate and revenge lead to public disagreements, lost love, banishment, and even death. What hostility exists in our society today that leads to similar tragedies? Think beyond personal experience and branch into the world around us.
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There are many things in today's world that have spawned from feuds, hatred, and revenge. One we would all remember is 9/11. This tradegy came from the hatred the terrorists had for our country because we were effecting thier culture in a negative way. Another area that is constantly feeling effects of hate and revenge which came from religious and ethnic diferences, is former Yugoslavia. Here many warring countries don't wish to conquer thier nieghbors, they intend to exterminate them instead. Finally, another issue which has cost the lives of hundreds of Iraqis and Americans, the hatred and want of revenge of the Sunni people and Shitte people. This is because of a man killed his brother and the family feud has continued to this day.
Feuding is not so much around today, as continued from ages ago. Since Islam split into the Sunni and Shia over who Muhammad's caliph should be, the two groups have fought ever since. A cycle of violence, that continues today, is obviously prevalent on the streets of Iraq. Ever since the 9/11 attacks by Al Quaeda, the U.S. has had troops in the Middle East, which only adds fuel to the fire. The 9/11 attacks may have been caused by radical Muslims who saw U.S. support of Israel as a threat to their religion, and the U.S becoming directly involved in their own countries has not done anything to dissolve that thought. The feuds there are similar to feuds existing in the Balkan Penninsula, where different ethnic groups attack each other and sometimes the troops stationed to keep peace, out of frustration with past violence and a hatred of differences. Feuding may not exist, for the most part, between two families like it does in R&J, but it is still every bit as tragic today as it was hundreds of years ago.
Hostility is always followed by revenge. Unfortunately, this revenge never ends. No one can ever remeber who started it, but always accuse the other side. This is demonstrated in Romeo and Juliet, but also in modern day gangs. I do agree with Hades however in the fact that there are meny things in the world today spawned from fueds. Another prime example of this is the Palestinian-Isreali conflict. Ever since the two groups have lived close to each other, fueds have spawned. The revenge trickles down for generations, and even to modern day the two groups hate each other. The effects of the anger that first created this hatred is still felt by thieir children, and until the cycle is stopped, the violence and hatred will never end.
But I also think that in the Iraqi war, hostility led to some good stuff as well. I'm not saying that the war is good (I don't believe that AT ALL) but in Newsweek they featured war brides, army personnel marrying the natives of the occupied territory. Even though the article said that the practice of marrying into the Iraqi culture is less common than in other wars (there were more Japanese from WWII whom married American soldiers than Iraqis who are married to US soldiers)there are still people falling in love over in Iraq. So, although the US-Iraqi hostilities are still awful, they are not COMPLETELY awful. Some good is coming out of it, there's just less good and way more bad than anybody predicted.
I agree with all the points made by Hades, Midas, Titan, and Circe. 9/11, the constant feud between the Shiites and the Sunnis, ethnic tribulations in the Balkan Peninsula, warring countries in Yugoslavia, as well as disagreements between “modern day gangs”, are all pertinent examples of hostility tied to hate and revenge. However, these same hostilities existing between governments and world leaders can be found on a smaller scale, in children and teens.
I believe all hostilities that manifest themselves in adults, stem from the resentment and misconceptions that bud in adolescents. A look at the earlier stages of hostility, are school shootings. There have been over 40 major school shootings within the last decade or so in America alone, all of which have been executed by children in their teens. Two of the most notorious and fatal are the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, both in which teenage male(s) of the middle class brought weapons to school and began a wild shooting rampage. Whether or not these attacks are the results of mental disorder or bullying, I believe the resentment and hatred that fueled these teens can, and often do, take the form of wars and genocide later on in life.
Adolescents are very impressionable. As is the case in Romeo and Juliet, disputes between the parents can turn into disputes between the children, with no direct reasons. Thus, this “domino effect” of hostility, a product of misunderstanding often, if not always, has very tragic consequences.
Today conflicts are one of the most critical and costly happenings in the world. I entirely agree with Hades the fact that today, one of the biggest and tolling conflicts in the world today are the conflicts in the Middle East over land, religion, etc. Going along with Titan's idea, gangs are also becoming a big problem in the world today. With gangs such as the Blood and the Crips, the world is becoming more and more protective. Today, feuds between countries, gangs, and people are usually violent and bloody, causing many families to decrease in size and maybe een become more hostile towards one another.
I agree with all of these statements (considering that when we think conflict and fued we think Iraq) but i do not agree with circe said. War is war, soldiers are always fighting. They will have little times with their brides and will end up being shipped home away from them. But back to conflict. Yes there is hatred between Sunni's and Shitte's in Iraq, but like Hades said there was extreme death in Yugoslavia, between Muslims and Christians. This brings to mind that a lot of conflicts in the world are based off of different religons and beliefs. Hitler for example, murdered millions of Jews in Europe by blaming Germany's poverty on them. This (the holocaust) is still today read and taught as it is one of the most horrible events in the history of mankind. And yes there is violence on a smaller scale (gang fights, murder's, ect.) but the ones that happen on a world scale like Iraq, the genocides in the Balkens, andd the holocaust seem to have a greater meaning.
No matter which decade or century you live in, there will always be hostility. In earlier times, feuds would be over who conquered what country or attempts to rule the world. Many crimes todsay are over hatred of another person or event, and they want revenge by blaming another physically or emotionally. Like Titan said, hostility is always followed by revenge. People think it would make them feel better about themselves. Pearl Harbor is a very famous event, where after the bombing of Pearl Hatbor by Japan, America took revenge, joined World War II, and fought against Japan AND many other countries that sided with it. Hostility is one of the most hated and feared subjects today, but there will never always be peace.
Hostility is one of the many things that put us in a cycle. Hostility leads to violence. Violence leads to death. Death leads to vengeance. And vengeance leads to violence. Hostility stems from a multitude of sources putting a multitude of people, countries, and other groups into this cycle. For example: The Israeli - Palestinian Conflict. The Palestinians, feeling threatened, create an attitude of hostility. Then they violently attacked Israel. The warring states lead to the deaths of many people. Then, vengeful people act out with violence repeating the cycle.
Everyone knows how WWII started right? Germany had fallen in WWI and they were forced to repay the other countries. They suffered from that war and the Allies cruely punished them for starting it. (I'm not saying they didn't deserve it, oh no they did, but I believe it was way too harsh)From that war Germany shrank in size and their economy collapsed horribly. They were fustrated and agry at the Allies for punishing them so horribly, and that sparked the rise of Hitler. Because of the way we treated Germany after that war caused a whole other conflict that was known as the holocaust and it was the birth place of WWII. Germany sought revenge from the allies actions and they began to attack. If the allies never punished them that horribly, germany wouldn't have started another World War. Just think at all those lives we could've saved if we prevented that.
Hostility does play a key role in Romeo and Juliet. Because of it, there is that sense of forbidden and secretive love, which is a factor in the reasons Romeo and Juliet are so drawn to one another. Outside the world of "Romeo and Juliet" hostility really depends on perspective. In some situations, one person may find completely normal and acceptable what one person finds hostile. This can often result in tragedy. Take Virgina Tech for example. The person responsible for the tragedy that took place there, was deeply depressed and angry, for reasons others cannot understand. The actions of the one individual is viewed as hostile, but what drove him to this was his opinion that society and the world around him was a hostile place. In response to hostility, he sought revenge. In a sense, it is the same hostility/revenge/hate relationship we see in Romeo and Juliet.
Hostility is demonstrated in Romeo and Juliet, as well as in today's society. Often times hostility is an effect of hate or revenge. I agree with everyone who wrote about 9/11 being a prime example of hostility. Looking at the outcome of 9/11, this case of hostility lead to even greater consequences, including the war in Iraq, and an increase in descrimination against people of middleeastern discent. Racism is revealed in everyday situations, such as airport security. People are interigated daily becuase of their ethnicity. Also, employment opertunities are limited. One act of hatred, 9/11, steriotypes middleeastern people as terriosts who may be willing to strap an explosive onto themselves. It is unfair to judge a person this way.
Another example, as ares mentioned was the holocaust. Hitler thought that anyone who did not look or act like him was wrong. He influenced so many people to think the same, that hostility spawned from his curupted beliefs and its effects was the death of 6 million Jews.
Today, hostility surrounds us, in the form of descrimination, gang bashes, and terrorist attacks. In the story of Romeo and Juliet, the teens were faced with hostility between their families fueding.
Odysseus makes a very good point of how 9/11 lead to other examples of hostility. In some ways, hostility can be looked at as a ripple effect. It only takes one event to lead to many others. 9/11 can be looked at as this triggering event. As Odysseus said, due to 9/11 the War in Iraq started, an increase in ethnic discrimination, and sometimes even job discrimination. It only took the one act of hostility, 9/11, to spark all the others.
I do no entirely agree with Thisbe’s statement of perspective determining if it is hostile or not. I agree that perspective may play some role in determining if an event is hostile or not, but a very a very small role. Using the Virginal Tech shooter as an example, he may have been angry at the world but it only takes common sense to know that his actions were wrong. Perspective may lead us to be more sympathetic in this case, but moral standards and common sense should play a stronger role in determining if an event is hostile or not.
As everyone has already pointed out, hostility exists in many forms today. All the examples mentioned display hostility and hatred. Since the world first began, hostility existed. All throughout history, wars erupted and groups of people, ethnic or racial, were hated and punished based on prejudice and hatred. Wars are a prime example of hostility and revenge. Some sort of hostility or turmoil causes the conflict, and when one side attacks the other side in any way, the other side always feels the need to strike back. No one likes to be the victim of hatred without having the small compensation of hating in return.
World War II is an excellent example of hatred, as mentioned by Ares and Odysseus. In America, all Japanese were looked at as horrible and were punished for it. Many innocent people were seperated from their families and were faced with awful conditions for something they had no part in. In Europe, thousands of innocent Jews lost their lives and even more were just forced to experience and witness horrors no human should ever have to experience. They did nothing wrong, but due to one man's extreme hatred and hostility, they were all punished. In this case, revenge was necessary and for a good cause, as the Allies defeated him and his troops.
More modern examples of hostility can be seen everywhere today. Whether it be racism in a mild form, or in an extreme form, such as genocide, it still exists. Wars are fought every day and people die all because of hate and revenge. Some of it is caused by specific events, but some is still the result of just general prejudice and hatred. World peace is the claimed goal of many public leaders, but as long as the world is diverse and people are unique, some form of hostility will still exist.
I agree with all these points.Hostility leads to hate and revenge. Look at the Palestinian-Isreali conflict. This conflict started out small and grew bigger. The Isrealis wanted a place to live and the Palestinians let them into their county. When the Palestinians relized that they were being over populated, they tried to stop the income of Isrealis, but this did not work. Therefore, a war broke out between these two groups of people leaving the Isrealis as the winners. They got too greedy and took more land than they intended to, which leads us to the Palestinian refugees. This smaller conflict grew into a big one, which has yet to be solved.
In Romeo and Juliet, one thrust of a sword leads to another one, and another one, which eventually leads to consequences. This is an example that happens every day. If one person says a nasty comment to another, the victim will want to say something rude back which leads into a huge cat fight. One tiny squirmish can lead into a huge conflict and until someone does not seek revenge the conflict will continue.
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