Jiya Kohar Week 4: I Guess Kindness Is Cool
The other day, I was imagining a man who was planning on committing suicide, taking a “last walk” around the Lucky’s complex near American. I’m not sure why, but it was an interesting situation nonetheless. He would suddenly have an unimaginable childlike playfulness about him, being awestruck by every single sound or object he would see.
I kept pondering how I would feel in his situation. One after another, different scenarios flowed through my brain, but one stayed with me. How could there be such a big difference between three people experiencing the same things? I created three characters; Good, Bad, and Ugly (yes, named after the movie).
With something as heinous as childhood abuse, they would still handle it completely differently. Good would go to therapy, and get the proper help needed. Bad would bottle himself up, and only perpetuate the hurt he went through. But, worst of all, Ugly would weaponize his hurt until he would purposely thrive on anger and want to make others feel the way he once felt. Hopeless and afraid.
(Side note: I am not trying to speak for what victims should do or invalidate anyone’s response to trauma. I could never understand an ounce of what they experienced. This is purely a hypothetical I thought of and want to apply to what I’m trying to communicate in this post).
However, can Bad and Ugly truly be held guilty for their actions? If every human is just the product of their environment, and hurt people do in fact hurt people, weren’t they just bred this way?
Though it isn’t their fault, it’s still their responsibility. If you study the childhood of the most monstrous influences over history, many of them struggled with some sort of childhood trauma. However, that doesn’t mean the Holocaust is excused or that Hitler was just a misunderstood guy. No amount of trauma or pain could ever possibly excuse even a fragment of his evil.
The point I’m trying to make is that while there are many things people cannot control, they can control their actions. Yes, outbursts and fits are human, but cruelty is not. If everyone is a product of their environment, then the hurt you perpetuate (even from your own pain) continues the cycle of hurt.
Your actions and words reflect who you truly are on the inside. If you (yes, you!) put hate into the world, you could become the very reason someone becomes hurtful. And eventually you’ll turn into hate yourself.
I’m writing like I’m the all knowing god of the universe, as if I’m always kind and empathetic. That’s obviously not true. I’m constantly making the exact mistakes that I’m writing about. But, I practice what I preach and wholeheartedly believe that how you treat others defines you.
After all, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
(Side note, again!: I linked a video below that I hope encapsulates my points. I spent an embarrassingly long time making it).
Video!
The Fallen Angel (painting).
I really enjoyed how your blog used multiple examples to get your point across. I think finding patterns amongst human behavior is the main reason why humans are humans and not these all-knowing perfect beings as you mention, we make mistakes. I think as society has developed we are obsessed with the idea of seeming "woke" or "not getting cancelled" and while it is true people should not hurt others through the actions there are some instances where more than just a one time thing it is a learning experience. Over time I think we have forgotten that not everyone was taught the same way and it is important to have empathy regarding this. Like you argue, rather than shaming others or "cancelling" them we should take time to educate others and understand their point of view in order to peacefully come to a consensus.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your blog the phrase, "History repeats itself" popped into my head and it reminded me how we're not as different as we perceive ourselves. Though everyone has their own experiences sometimes the same lesson can be learned. When something goes bad we tend to isolate ourselves with the idea that no one else can relate to what we are thinking, but that cannot be farther from the truth. Although there might not be someone who is going through the exact same things they may still understand what you are feeling which is something all the support you need.
Hi Jiya! I was really intrigued on your thought experiment on how everyone is a product of their environment. I really liked your example of Adolf Hitler giving an upper limit to this thought experiment. This thought experiment also sparked my own: are slave owners justified? Slave owners had gotten their racist beliefs from societal constructs during their time. It was not really their fault for believing it, you can not blame someone for not having revolutionary ideas. Yet they are villainized because of our modern way of thinking. Using this same analytical lens, we can look at famous historical figures. Albert Einstein, one of the most influential scientists to ever exist was quite abusive to his wife. However, during that time the oppression of women was very common especially where he lived. Moral justifications change over time but who gets to truly make those decisions if they were immoral or not?
ReplyDeleteI also really, really, really like the image you used of Lucifer. From what I remember the author had his own interpretation of Lucifer. Instead of him being purely evil he was also defiant and free willed.
The introduction you began with was so amazing. It was descriptive and ominous. Before continuing to comment, I want to ask if you are okay though because imagining about suicide is a bit unique to say the least. I love the parallel structure included with “Good, Bad, and Ugly” and how these represent actions.
ReplyDeleteWhile working on my physics assignment, I could not help but think about your argument about how people are “the product of their environment.” We all understand this but it should be explicitly mentioned more. I’ve seen so many times in daily life how people get reprimanded for actions that they were brought up from their environment. These people are victims, not problematic children; they do not understand how to behave because they never were taught to. The importance of understanding this core idea is essential to empathize with other people. We need to be patient and caring, even if it takes time for these victims to understand the unwritten rules in American society.
DeleteHi Jiya! This blog was extremely captivating, and I love all of the choices you made in your blog, especially the 3 characters, which were good, bad, and ugly. I completely agree with all the points you brought up, especially the importance of people controlling their actions if they can't control anything else. I feel like so many of the decisions people make are because of those who surround them, and that they just want to "fit in." It's honestly sad that people don't want to be their own person, or are so worried about what other people will think. Like you said, the actions and words of a person do reflect who they are, which also reminds me of the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover."
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