Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Extra Credit Post- Due 4/11

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/opinion/the-things-she-carried.html
Consider the author's tone, structure of the article, validity of evidence, persuasive techniques, and your personal reaction.  
2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 5 sentences) in response to the linked articles from The New York Times.  Be sure to use a minimum of one quote in your response.
3. Optional: Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and class period.

20 comments:

  1. The women rights roared around the 1920’s and became big, but slowly when the women got the basic rights everything settled down. Even today many women are not treated equally as the men. It’s sad enough that regular civilian women don’t get treated or respected in a well manner, but the situation gets worse when the women soldiers who fight for their nation don’t get recognized. It insulting to not respect them and honor them as despite gender difference. Why wouldn’t one thank a female soldier dressed in her non-civilian outfit when a male soldiers gets greeted by some strangers wearing the same outfit? I really don’t see a major difference between these two soldiers. They both served for us, so why discriminate. Both male and female are in the same battle field and live the same war and face similar aftereffects. In fact female soldiers are more prone to postwar disorders. “Depression, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness and suicide do not just affect male soldiers, though theirs are the stories we see. Women who have served in the military are three times more likely to commit suicide than their civilian counterparts.”
    In addition, the heroic figure is so stereotyped. Like the article mentioned all heroic figures that are portrayed in the heroic novels are all men, from “The Odyssey” to “The Things They Carried.” Creating the difference between male and female as a hero is completely unnecessary. It’s the deeds not the gender type that makes one a hero. Our culture never was interested in accepting the concept of a female as hero. The “...stories about female veterans are nearly absent from our culture. It’s not that their stories are poorly told. It’s that their stories are simply not told in our literature, film and popular culture.” Also, this quote really made me think why the females soldiers should technically be treated even more respectfully than males if not the same. “Society may come to understand war differently if people could see it through the eyes of women who’ve experienced both giving birth and taking life.”
    ~Shilpa R Period 3

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  2. I dont know why people wouldnt thank woman soldiers for serving in the military because their taking the same risks as any other soldier. A woman in the military is a woman with tremendous courage and heart. If anything woman should be thanked more because they are highly discriminated and they put up with a lot more adversity both in and out of the military. Many unfair and cruel stereotypes are put on woman but they continue to deal with it.In the blog it says, “Depression, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness and suicide do not just affect male soldiers, though theirs are the stories we see. Women who have served in the military are three times more likely to commit suicide than their civilian counterparts.” Also it says,“Society may come to understand war differently if people could see it through the eyes of women who’ve experienced both giving birth and taking life.”
    Period 8 Jack Murray

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  3. Michael Caminear Period 6
    It really is unfortunate that there are so many stereotypes surrounding women in the military. It definitely paints the wrong picture for a woman's role both in and out of the armed services. When a service woman is seen in the hospital, they shouldn't be asked if they are the spouse of a wounded soldier, they should immediately be asked if they are need of any assistance. These types of stereotypes can most likely be rooted back to historical roots that involve women. Women haven't always had the right to vote or run for office. Thus, when anyone thinks of a woman in a masculine or leadership position, there will, unfortunately, automatically be doubt. This is ridiculous and people should be educated as to why gender profiling or discrimination should not be tolerated at any time or in any place. Another reason as to why these stereotypes and negative connotations are in existence is because they are not present in culture altogether. The author of the article even goes to the extent of saying, "I can’t help but think women soldiers would be afforded the respect they deserve if their experiences were reflected in literature, film and art." When one thinks of a war story, one doesn't always imagine a woman as the heroic figure. It is presumed that a man is in that position because men are always in those positions in books, movies, and artwork. Therefore, this shows how if literary and cinematic works change their perspective, then women may be viewed differently in military positions for the better. This change could give them the potential to gain more respect and reverence for the acts that they are assumed to not have done. In total, this article was interesting because I agreed with its arguments and because it gave valid examples and references that reinforced the idea that gender equality needs to be a necessary part of modern society, both in and out of the military.

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  4. Women’s role in the military has always been important. Although this role, until recently, has been as manufactures and nurses. Now that women have been fighting as soldiers for about twenty years, there is no excuse for society to deemphasize the enormous commitment and strength it takes for women to fight along men who do not even respect their service. “In addition, as many as a third of all women serving in the military are raped by fellow soldiers during their tours of duty, compounding whatever traumas they may have experienced in combat.” (The Things She Carried) The prejudice women face upon returning is almost as horrendous as their fellow soldiers treat them. “I’ve stood next to my uniform-wearing brother, a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan, in a grocery store while three separate strangers approached to thank him for his service. Women veterans are rarely stopped by people who want to shake their hands. Even wearing fatigues and boots and carrying duffel bags standing in a bus station or at the airport, somehow they go unrecognized as returning warriors.” (The Things She Carried) I cannot imagine how hurtful it must feel to return from war with no gratitude or even acknowledgment that other soldiers receive. Although male soldiers certainly have many difficult struggles when they return home, women must face the same hardships, along with raising a family. The atrocious way we treat our Women soldier’s disgraces the US and the supposed democracy we claim to defend.

    Caitie Perricone
    Period 6

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  5. I am a strong supporter of the military coming from a very military family. But there are some things that really piss me off about the military and how people react to it. The military is there to protect the people of this nation and most of the people who come back from it don’t get the respect they deserve. The way people react to women soldiers is the worst though. They basically act as if they don’t exist. And I don’t know if it is because people don’t like to think about women as people who could actually take up arms or if they just don’t like the idea of a mother on the front lines. What ever the reason women soldiers never get much recognition from anyone. “Women who have served in the military are three times more likely to commit suicide than their civilian counterparts.” This statistic makes me really sad to think that people don’t care enough to actually help them. As a daughter of a VA doctor i can say that the VA has great programs but as the article said they aren't taken seriously even when they go there. This is why we need to change the popular opinion of women and women in uniform.
    Sam Hayslett
    Period 6

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  6. I find it really upsetting that there is so many stereotypes for the women who are in the military. It makes it harder on a women and the role they play in the armed services and out of the armed services. I feel like people should take the time out and thank women who serve in the army because they are giving up everything a man would. I feel like we should definitely give them credit for being in the army. When someone sees a women in the hospital they should be asked for help instead of being asked if their husbands are here. I feel like if a nurse or doctor would ask a women who is in the hospital that, then they would feel very offended because your not treating them equally. I feel like all these stereotypes of women are never going to end because they are still going on till this day. Nothings really have changed because till this day a man gets to do something first and then the women get to do something. I really dont get the difference between a man solider and a women solider, they are both doing the same job. But I feel as if a heroic figure is so stereo typed because in everything, like movies or books then man is always the hero. You rarely see a women as a hero. So this is whats going to happen in the military since it happens every where else. I feel like women go through so much more then a man ever would. In the article it says, "Society may come to understand war differently if people could see it through the eyes of women who've experienced giving birth and taking life". This quote explains so much because it proves women go through so much then a guy was. They definitely deserve credit as being a hero.
    Karisma Patel
    period 7

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  7. It's sad to see that woman soldiers do not get the same amount of respect and recognition as male soldiers, even though they face the same risks and struggles of being in the military. As stated in the article, "Women veterans are rarely stopped by people who want to shake their hands. Even wearing fatigues and boots and carrying duffel bags standing in a bus station or at the airport, somehow they go unrecognized as returning warriors." The article also states a valid point when the author says,"Male soldiers’ experiences make up the foundation of art and literature: From “The Odyssey” to “The Things They Carried,” the heroic or tragic protagonist’s face is familiar, timeless and, without exception, male." This helps show how woman soldiers are given so much less recognition than male soldiers. It is unfortunate to know that woman soldiers are not able to receive the appreciation they deserve. They should be acknowledged just as much as male soldiers and shouldn't be discriminated against for any reason. Both male and female soldiers serve the country and risk their lives for us, therefore, both male and female soldiers should be thanked and acknowledged for their courage and bravery.

    Harjot B Period 8

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  8. It is upsetting to see how unrecognized women soldiers are. Female veterans come home from war and experience the same thing a man does, but to a whole new level. A female soldier is more likely to get raped than a man is. According to the article,"In addition, as many as a third of all women serving in the military are raped by fellow soldiers during their tours of duty, compounding whatever traumas they may have experienced in combat." Any woman to experience this in a place already filled with horrors of death and violence isn't easing the transition back to society. Women are seen as weaker than men, and if a man has a need in the military, more likely to be a sexual need, they don't feel empathy toward the use of forcing a woman to do such thing. Not only that but commanding officers also tend to be the rapist. According to the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) all sexual assault cases get handled by these officers so these women once they get raped have no choice but to keep it to themselves. Its completely unjust and unfair and this is proven to be a big issue in the military. Take a look at how simple it was for General Sinclair to get off a really serious sexual assault case. Sexual assault faces tons of women veterans,who will never get justice for what happened to them and be haunted with the memories.Not only that, but in some cases women end up with a child and have no choice but to be shipped back to the United States, where everyone judges her. People don't know how it is being raped and holding his demon child in ones body; it is tormenting and it keeps the memories fresh on the surface. Also if the child is aborted, is it the right step? Will it sprout anti-abortion acts? All these issues bring up a lot of flaws in the "equity" and rationality of our military. In the future, women might be in the draft system. At the moment this is very controversial, but if America wants equality, women like men will be in the draft system. This will result in more women veterans and its time that America stops with "Men are better and women are weak." Women veterans aren't weak. Women veterans carry more than men will ever have to carry. Most men aren't sorry or empathetic or even care that a woman got raped; it is just a simple "it happens." What kind of logical thinking is that? When will this be fair? When will women be recognized to be as great as men are? Isn't this America? Isn't equality written in our Declaration of Independence? This is the modern age; women aren't working as child bearers and housewives anymore. Women are on combat lines, medics, nurses, etc. fighting for their lives as much as our men. It is time for the men to step down from the high pedestal and stand as one with women. This country needs to ensure that the man standing next to me or any woman won't harm them. If we are one country, why are we assaulting one another? Why are we harming our people when we are supposed to have each others back in combat? Its rationality and simple morality. Women in society are gaining more equal rights, and I definitely would agree that women veterans should receive equal opportunity for an easier transition into civilian life as men do.It is not hard logic. People need to step out of the traditional age and step into this age. Let's recognize these women, let's make this transition easier. Let us laud our women for their undeniable strength, bravery,and let us find a way to justify sexual assault so each women gets the much needed justice.
    Miranda S. Period 6

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  9. Caroline M.
    Period 2

    It's sad that today we call ourselves equal to each other. Deep down we know with certain aspects that women and men are truly not equal. One aspect is obviously women in war. Even today, me, myself, who is a women is still taken back and confused when I see a women in uniform. That's pretty sad... I think I react this way because its not mentioned in today's society and brought to our attention as commonly. I think that if someone actually has the courage to write a war story about women then I think everyone will be more excepting and knowledge-full about true war. We are only being told one half about war, lets be told the full true story. Lets make a change.

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    Replies
    1. "Women have served in the American military in some capacity for 400 years. They’ve deployed alongside men as soldiers in three wars, and since the 1990s, a significant number of them are training, fighting and returning from combat." I had no idea that we have been serving along side men in actually battle for more than 400 years. I thought we were only nurses but apparently we were much more then that. Even today in school we only talk about men and their jobs and experiences and the things that they carried. If women are in war too then why not appreciate that and respect them. I wouldn't want to serve my country if I knew that I wasn't being respected and appreciated.

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  10. Women serve as the same roles as the men in the military. Sure there are more men in the military but that doesn't change the fact that they go through the same grueling training and have to pass the same tests as the men in order to become a soldier. "Women have served in the American military in some capacity for 400 years." Although they haven't played the soldier role the entire time, they provided support and dedicated their lives for America. It is sad that they don't receive the same recognition because they deserve it. "Men are better and women are weak." is such a false statement as women are strong mentally and physically and help in all aspects of the military.
    Alec Carlson p8

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  11. I believe that every person in the United States should have the option to join the military and support the country. There are many stereotypes that surround the role of women in our society. In the article it says, "For women it’s a different story, one in which they are more often cast as victims, wives, nurses; anything but soldiers who see battle." I think that this is essentially why people think that women should not engage in war, and I think that sometimes it is true. Women can be victims, and maybe some women can't handle the war. But that's also true for some men. Yes, women can be sensitive and not equipped for war, but there are many men that share that same trait. Our country is based on the premise that everyone is equal, so everyone should be able to join the military.
    Jennifer G. Period 3

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  12. I feel that stereotype is a big issue in this world today. Women who serve in the military are not getting equal treatment as they should and it is really not fair. In the article it stated, “Rebecca, a combat veteran of two tours of duty, had been waiting at the V.A. hospital for close to an hour when the office manager asked if she was there to pick up her husband.” This sentence showed me a lot of how women are treated in the military. If I was Rebecca, I would be offended from what the office manager asked me. I honestly think that women should get treated equally because they are doing the same work and are serving for the same reason the men are. Equality between men and women were an issue in the past and is still a big issue today. This article definitely tells how women aren’t getting enough respect for what they did. I fairly respect both genders for serving for me and the country.
    Period 6

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  13. It's extremely disappointing and upsetting to see that women are being treating unequally and aren't being shown the same recognition on the battlefield. They have been battling along side men for hundreds of years. Women could be as strong as men physically and emotionally. Some men can't handle the effects of war, but not much is said about that. Women that succeed in the military should get significant praise because of all the obstacles they have to go through like discrimination and sexual assault. The article explains how often sexual assaults take place when it states, "as many as a third of all women serving in the military are raped by fellow soldiers during their tours of duty." It seems as if these actions towards women within the company are being swept under the rug. This is why a war story from a women's perspective would have such an important impact on society because everyday Americans could see what really happens to women on the battlefield.

    Joe R.
    Period 2

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  14. In my opinion I believe woman should be able to fight in combat because they are just as capable as men. Unfortunately woman tend to face more challenges during the war than men. According to the article, "Feelings of wanting to be alone, of alienation, are more difficult, as women are expected to be patient nurturers who care for spouses and children." This quote shows one of the many hardships woman might face during the war. In my opinion I don't believe any woman out in the world is incapable of fighting in the war I just wouldn't recommend it because of the hardships they face. Sometimes they need more strength in certain situations where men almost always have the edge, and they are usually more emotionally causing a distraction that takes away from the task at hand. Overall, I believe woman should be able to fight in the war, however I don't know any woman that would want to.
    Owen K
    Per

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  15. In 2014 gender stereotypes are still extremely prevalent, but thankfully, they aren’t nearly as bad as they once were. Even so, women serving in the military aren’t getting nearly as much recognition as men are, and I’m left asking myself, why? The article states, “Even wearing fatigues and boots and carrying duffel bags standing in a bus station or at the airport, somehow [women soldiers] go unrecognized as returning warriors.” Why does someone feel more compelled to confront a male soldier rather than a woman? What’s the difference? Each individual is performing the same task, and likely in the exact same way. Discrimination is still extremely prevalent in society today, even after females have been given the right to vote, own land, and have been accepted more into the workforce.
    Generally speaking, I don’t believe stereotypes or gender-specific-icons/roles will ever go away, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. There will always be people who are - for whatever reason - extremely against women doing anything “manly,” or even doing something other than standing in the kitchen. Women are just as capable as men to perform many tasks, and serving in the military is absolutely no exception. One of my favorite sentences in the article, (“Society may come to understand war differently if people could see it through the eyes of women who’ve experienced both giving birth and taking life.”) really explains just how much women go through. Although being in combat is extremely challenging, and can lead to so many health and psychological disorders, men never get to experience child-birth which is a pretty tough thing to go through (or at least, so I’ve heard). If females across the globe and through time (when there were no epidurals or other methods of anesthesia) were able to perform this task, why can they not be out on the front lines?
    There needs to be more stories about women serving in the military, and advertising companies should help to boost this. Let’s face it, many citizens of the United States watch a lot of television, and from there this is often times where they get their ideas and misperceptions of various groups of people. If companies and movie makers alike create visual images of women in combat - or something as simple as a female soldier returning home to her family - then that’s when stereotypes will begin to change, and society will be better off as a whole.
    Period 3

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  16. Alla Miller Period 2
    I think it is wrong how people don't recognize women veterans. They do just as much as males but get treated so differently. They fight for our country to protect us but yet we don't treat them as we should. While reading the article I found most interesting and sad was how when women are in their uniform they aren't thanked as much as males even when they are on there way back home from war. "I’ve stood next to my uniform-wearing brother, a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan, in a grocery store while three separate strangers approached to thank him for his service. Women veterans are rarely stopped by people who want to shake their hands. Even wearing fatigues and boots and carrying duffel bags standing in a bus station or at the airport, somehow they go unrecognized as returning warriors." I found that heart breaking because women do just as much as males and get nothing. Hopefully with more and more people being aware of this poor treatment towards women soldiers, one day they will not feel this way and be treated how they are today.

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  17. I think it is extremely unfair that women soldiers are treated any differently than male ones. It is a human being fighting for their country, gender shouldn't even be considered. The fact that a women veteran can feel so unacknowledged that they get depressed and turn to substance abuse is disgusting. We need to recognize them for everything they've done, not what sex they are. Even though women have been helping in wars for over 400 years (according to the article) it still seems so unusual and foreign to us for some reason. I think that if more people were aware of how many women fight for us and how brave they are, that they would start to be more appreciated and thought of just as highly as men.

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  18. Society has always been a man's world. Slowly but surely we are falling out of that role, so our military should follow suit. "Women have served in the american military in some capacity for 400 years". I dont see how we can continue to view women as second class soldiers. They work just as hard as men, do the same training, yet dont receive the same respect and benefits. Our military needs to change its ways to a new modernized system. Women are strong, and its about time we start to recognize them for it.
    Jared P
    Period 3

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  19. In the article "The Things She Carried", the author brings awareness to an issue that she believes the nation overlooks on a grand scale. She uses the anecdotes of traumatized female veterans in order to develop an emotion response from the reader, inciting them to continue reading. For example, she does this when she accounts, "One young combat veteran told me a harrowing story of crushing a little boy beneath the wheels of her speeding Humvee. I am sure she hears the sound of that vehicle hitting his small body every day of her life." What the veterans anecdote and the authors empathetic reflection achieve a great evocation of sympathy for a faceless veteran, thus garnering compassion for all the faceless veterans afflicted by PTSD. Another point made by the author is that female soldiers are rarely depicted in literature and film, however I'd say that argument is growing progressively weaker as women warriors have been a popular protagonist of American films like Alien, Mulan, or GI Jane. However overall, I do believe this article quite important in its avocation of the public to acknowledge the tremendous lack of regard there exists for female veterans in comparison to male veterans. I believe that all soldiers, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or race, deserve utmost respect for his or her sacrifice and acknowledgement of the neglect is the start to resolving the issue.

    Dan Lalor
    Period 2

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