The Demise of a Wise Man

The “Code Breaker”, written by Jim Holt searches for answers that led Alan Turing to suicide or a victim or murder.  Holt wants his readers to question the faith of Turing; for it is difficult to believe that such a practical wise man would want to end his life. When I first started to read “Code Breaker”, I thought I was reading about another war criminal who committed suicide by ingesting cyanide. The only twist to this story was the fact that the so called war criminal was homosexual. It became apparent to me that Holt was perhaps trying to find just cause in his death by revealing all facts no matter how eccentric they may be. Holt appeals to the readers through, eccentricity, logic, and reason, which instils doubt to the cause of death into the mind of the reader.

                 Holt begins painting a very gloom lonely picture of Turing’s life, therefore viewing Turing’s suicide as no mystery.  The demons inside Turing led him down a path of isolation. Holt states, “Alan was a good-looking boy, dreamy, rather clumsy, hopelessly untidy, and not very popular with his classmates” (Holt, 2008 pg. 339). Could the reason for his suicide be a combination of era and homosexuality? Holt sustains his admirable and mysterist tone throughout “Code Breaker” as he describes Turing’s personal challenges.  Although, Turing appeared to be composed and had everything going for him, I still believe he wanted to live a more honest life. According to Holt, Turing “convinced himself that he was in love with her after their night-shift code-breaking.  Having convincing himself that he was in love with her, he proposed marriage, and was eagerly accepted, even after he divulged his “homosexual tendencies” to her. But he later decided it wouldn’t work and broke off the engagement” ( Pg. 342).

                It was Turing success which initiates questions to his mental state at the time of his death. He had succeeded at breaking the codes of Enigma, which was considered to be impossible. Holt states, “Command refused to believe that the Enigma could have been broken, suspecting espionage and treachery” (Holt, 2008 pg.342). Not only did Turing save “countless lives” (pg.346), he simplified life for generations to come, by creating the “Turing Machine”.

                Holt captivates the reader by creating mystery to Turing death, while he searches for reason. At times Turing’s life seemed lonely and undesirable, although at the time of his death his life seemed to be on the mend, and going in a positive direction. No one in Turing’s life would have suspected such a dismal end to his life. Even Turing’s mother “insisted that her son must have accidently ingested something from something from one of the chemical experiments he conducted at home” (Holt, 2008, pg. 346).

                Was Turing murdered for being too wise? Or were the signs of Turing’s unhappiness that led to his tragic end.  Maybe part of his success was because he had no other passion in his life. Turing already accomplished everything he set out to accomplish, so perhaps there was nothing left holding him back from letting go of his loneliness.

               

                Do you believe Turing’s suicide was related to his homosexuality?

The Silent Victim

“Women Confronting War” by, Jennifer Turpin explores the challenges civilian women encounter during war. Turpin, who now holds an associated faculty position at the European University Center for Peace studies; gives the reader specific facts about the violent acts that occur against women during time of war. While the men are fighting to be heroes, the women are left in the battlefield having to overcome death, rape, and poverty. Turpin uses logical appeal to announce the overlooked victims of war, the women. Women not only fight for freedom but fight each day for their lives and the lives of their children.

               Turpin utilizes her knowledge as she captivates her readers with the horrendous statistics of women casualties.  When hearing about the casualties of war, women are seldom mentioned, probably because “many people assume that women are unlikely to die in wars, since so few women serve in the armed forces worldwide” (Turpin, pg325). It is difficult not to be lured into story and curious as you read the overwhelming statistics, “While 50 percent of World War II casualties were civilians, in the 1980s this figure rose to 80 percent, and the 1990 it was a staggering 90 percent” (Turpin, pg. 325).  It is difficult to believe these overwhelming numbers if Turpin did not prove to be a credible source.

               The research unraveled in this story, paints a gloomy picture to the suffering surviving women face. It makes you wonder if survival is the women’s worst demise.  Turpins educational tone does not change as she tells the facts of wartime rape. Unfortunately, women were being victimized for being women. Both young and old were raped. Turpin states, “Everyone heard everything, all of the screams” (Turpin, pg. 326). It is not apparent to why rapes occur during war, however, “ethnic cleansing” (Turpin, pg.  326) seems to be just an excuse. After reading the facts, I believe rape occurs during war, because it is tolerated.

               Most often forgotten, are the ones who are left behind. It is the women and children that are left to survive with nothing. It was said that, “By the year of 1992 more than 46 million people has lost their home; about 36 million of these were women and children” (Turpin, pg. 325). Refugees are often victimized again by being led into prostitution. Women who are known as the peacemakers are the prey for all crimes against humanity during time of war.

               After reading “Women Confronting War”, I am left wondering why the soldiers who are fighting for their country had no way to protect wives and children. Turpin reveals the chilling facts of the many women and children who suffer in our wars. Women are silent victims that were not heard until the story of “Women Confronting War.”

What can be done to prevent violence against women during time of war?

              

              

In Search of Reason

                It was shortly after a flurry of mass school shootings, that the media publicized their interpretation to why these events transpired. While violence is prevalent in our society, mass killings seem somewhat unusual.  In the essay “There are no lessons to be learned from Littletown”, by Gary Kleck, he evaluates the many excuses to why such travesties occur. It was pertinent for the media to diagnose the situation that caused the  massacres in Littletown, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Arkansas, so potentially these would become isolated incidents. It would become a hopeless cause, as so many variables came in to place. Kleck illustrates the complexity of finding the reason behind these isolated  horrific crimes. There are many factors to why these massacres take place such as; security, gun control regulations, neglectful parenting, and the list goes on. Kleck states, “In a typical commentary, a writer would diagnose one or more key problems that supposedly contributed to the killings, and then prescribe on more solution.”

               

There have been many discussions about gun security in schools and for at home. Metal detectors have been put into some schools, however this would not have deterred the armed adolescents from shooting past security on his way into the school. It would seem logical that parents would lock up their guns to prevent access to their children; unfortunately not all parents are logical. Lack of security can definitely be a factor, but all security measures have their flaws.  

            It is speculated that stiffer gun regulations would have prevented these massacres, and that perhaps background checks should be more extensive. Although, perpetrators like the one related to the Littletown murders would have passed a background check, because “killers who plan their murders over a long period of time are the people least likely to be blocked from getting a gun by a background check.”  It is also apparent that the killers are resourceful at getting what they need, regardless of the laws that are in place.

It is also unknown  how the parents of the perpetrator could have missed any sign that their son was about to commit this horrific crime, however, it is difficult to know what is happening in the minds of teenagers.  In most families today both parents work, and are preoccupied with the chores of daily life. Society and the media will always search for the answers close to home; however, parents are searching for the same answers.

                There are many unknown answers even Kleck a professor of Criminology searches for the reasons, so hopefully these tragic events will never reoccur. Kleck’s “purpose of the essay is not to sort out which diagnoses are correct. Many of them are plausible, and some are probably even accurate.” Only the perpetrator knows why he committed the crime, and every perpetrator has evolved from different circumstances.

Do you believe that these school shootings would be prevented by putting the same gun regulations in place that we have in Canada?

               

Media Madness

Media Madness

It is astounding to read the statistics on the violence that is occurring, especially by our children. “Aggression: The Impact of Media Violence”, by Sessile Bok theorizes about how we perceive what we see on the television, and how viewers are affected.  While television has been link to a variety of societal problems, it is producing a more violent generation from desensitization, tolerance, and denial. Bok is concerned that the violence by our young will only get progressively worse; unless we change the filth young viewers are exposed to from their televisions.

Each year the violence that we witness on our television intensifies.  It is becoming difficult to find programs to watch that are not violent, even sports are becoming increasingly violent. People are interested in watching something that has a certain amount of bloodshed. When you watch a horror film from the past, it is almost comical.  We are being desensitized to violent acts like shootings; shootings are not quite gory enough. Now movies contain images of people getting tortured causing the most possible pain to their victims and most us don’t even cringe. Even when you watch the news, the camera zooms in on the blood scattered on the ground. We are lowering our standards to what is permissible to pass through our television screens “this is lowering of barriers may be assisted by the failure of empathy that comes with the growing desensitization, and intensified to the extent that the viewers develop an appetite for violence-something that may lead to still greater desire for violent programs and, in turn, even greater desensitization.”

                We as society are becoming more tolerant to what is acceptable for our young to watch on the television, and what video games they are allowed to play. There are people who have trust in our laws to protect us against things that our detrimental, however, sometimes we are failed “ Think of a film as a product, something created and brought to market, not too dissimilar from breast implants. Though the law has yet to declare movies to be products, it is only a small step away.” Even though the laws are not protecting us from this television madness, we can still filter what we allow are children to watch at home.

                In order for change to take place society has to come to the conclusion that television is causing an increase in violence.  Society is addicted to the entertainment to get from their televisions, therefore, why would they want to take that fun away. People don’t see the long term consequences to their fun, because there is no solid evidence that watching the TV creates violent monsters, “Nevertheless, the evidence indicates that if hypothetically, television technology had never been developed, there would today be 10,000 fewer homicides each year in the United States, 70,000 fewer rapes, and 700,000 fewer injurious assaults. Violent crime would be half of what it now is.” The evidence is change in society from what it was before the introduction of television, and that cannot be denied.

                Reading “Aggression: The Impact of Media Violence”, has made me more conscious of what my children and I are expose to from the media, and the long term affects.  Every reader of this article should be more aware of the dangers of television, and stop allowing the violence to enter their home.

               

                Do believe violent sports like UFC are too violent for young viewers?