Hi. Welcome to the blog for my IB English B class at Jur Hronec High School in Bratislava, Slovakia. Below you will find links to other websites and discussion questions. My students are required to comment on one of these postings every month and also respond to each other's comments. Feel free to add your two bits, but be aware that all comments are monitored before being posted.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
In the face of opposition
What do you think causes racist extremism and what can be done to counter it, both around the world and in Slovakia? Under what circumstances can people make a 180 degree turn in their opinions like this man did? How common do you think such “conversions” are? What keeps people trapped in their status in the eyes of others like this man’s tatoos? Do we believe someone when he/she says that he/she has “really changed”? Did this man deserve his second chance?
I think that despite police efforts, extremism stemming from racism is more common in Slovakia than in most European countries. However, this isn’t meant as a criticism of the Slovak police authorities, since there is no better way to eliminate extremism than by police intervention. Extremists, such as neo-Nazis are a very real threat to common people in Slovakia and often even armed policemen refrain from getting into conflicts with them, since they always go in groups and they are, without exception, armed with a knife or even a firearm. What is necessary in Slovakia is better training of these authorities so they can combat this evil more efficiently and actively. A 180 degree turn as experienced by the man in the article cannot be realistically seen in a country like Slovakia. The main factors that are missing are the mentality of the Slovak people, the general lack of trust, pity and willingness to help, and public awareness that could lead to the funding of such a project.
ReplyDeleteMore than often the people that end up as neo-Nazis only have the minimal level of education. They have been involved in this “craft” for so long they cannot do anything other apart from crime and being useless. This is the second biggest mental “trap” for them after their obvious lack of hope that a complete change in lifestyle is possible. Up until I read this article, I thought that an occurrence like this just didn’t happen. I thought that if a man started walking up this path, there was no turning back. I was clearly mistaken. However, I still think that a conversion of this magnitude is incredibly rare, and that when it does happen, it is after the person has been in prison for a long enough time to know better.
I would be very careful and doubtful if an ex-neo-Nazi came up to me and told me he had completely changed his lifestyle. Despite what the article stated, I am sure it is impossible to completely wipe out all traits of such an extreme personality. I would definitely keep a careful eye on such an individual and he/she would have to gain my trust over a long period of time before I would be sure that the person is completely sane and rid of his/her past. The man in the article doesn’t know how lucky he is to have gotten the support that he received and should be grateful of it. By this I don’t mean that he doesn’t deserve it, I just hope that he will fully appreciate the second chance that he was given, which I somehow secretly doubt.
I suppose that what happened to this man is a rarity and a rather unique case; I have never heard of such a story before. Although he probably did do a lot of bad things in the past, I do believe that if he has the motivation to really change, people should give him a second chance. It seems to me that he really changed into a loving father and husband.
ReplyDeleteI find it admirable that he was willing to endure so much pain as a “penance” for the bad things he did. Most people in his position would probably say something like: “Yeah well, what happened, happened, I’ve changed now.” - Without any sense of punishment for what they did, but this man was different, he acknowledged the things he did and showed a sense of deep regret. Another thing that I believe deserves admiration is that people were actually willing to help him; a person even sponsored his expensive tattoo removal.
The thing with these changes of opinions is that they require a whole lot of motivation and desire in order for them to be complete and permanent. What Sam above me mentioned: “Slovak people lack the mentality for something like this to occur”, is an undeniable fact. Slovakia does have a greater concentration of extremist groups, yet I couldn’t imagine that even a single normal person would help a stranger extremist who would be ardent to convert. This might be due to the fact that the U.S. is without comparison more developed than Slovakia, therefore I do think that it heavily depends on the mentality of the people in a country.
Truth be told, I do not know a lot about the situation of extremist groups in the world. However, this article did spark an interest in me, as I find the question “Can people change?” very fascinating. Obviously, small changes in life are perfectly normal for every individual, but what the man that this article talks about did is taking the term “change” to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I completely agree with Samo’s opinion, stating that individuals that are part of such extremist groups are usually stuck in their situation. They are so trapped in the life of their movement, that even if they wanted to change their way of life, they cannot imagine how they would live and what they would do. In my opinion, that is why these fleeting thoughts of “being reformed” are quickly overwhelmed by their current lifestyle and not many have the willpower to do what this man did. Ignoring his previous ways, I really admire this about him.
On the other hand, similarly with Samo, I also do not believe that a person’s personality can change completely. Although experiences and shock can change a person to some degree, I think that even after this “transformation” some behavior patterns and habits cannot just be gotten rid of. These are parts of us that have developed in our personalities for years and a simple choice to be a better person will not just “turn them off”. For example, in the article it states that, “He reached the point, he said, where "I was totally prepared to douse my face in acid."” I personally do not think that a person with a past unlike his would be able to think about doing such a thing so rationally. Of course, he might have been exaggerating when he said this, but still, I find this thought highly disturbing.
In conclusion, I just want to say that not many people can admit that their whole lifestyle is wrong and consequently go through with their plan to completely change for the better. Not only the man this article is about, but I also want to mention the wife, who although being a former member of one of such extremist movements herself, also changed and kept on supporting her husband in his attempts to “fit into society”. One of Bob Marley’s songs, Redemption Song, has a verse that goes like, “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds”. What this couple did to redeem themselves I find downright admirable, and if all people had the inner strength to get out of negative life situations like they did, I believe that the world would be a much better and freer place.