History of terrorism

History of terrorism Terrorist acts or the threat of such action have been in existence for centuries. Historical examples of terrorist events can be traced, in writing, to biblical times; the Romans were known to have both practiced and been the recipients of terrorist activities. (Carr, 2003). The earliest known organizations that exhibited aspects of modern terrorism were the Zealots of Judea, and the Sicarri, theand Jewish groups active during the Roman occupation of the first century Middle East. The preferential weapon of the Sicarri (literally, Dagger Men) was the sica, a short dagger which they used it for murdering those those (mainly Jews) they believed to be traitorsy deemed apostate and, thus, selected for execution.The Zealots, who generally targeted Romans and Greeks, gave the modern term Zealot, one translation of which is a fanatical partisan.. (Merriam-Webster, 1984). Such killings usually took place in daylight and in front of witnesses, with the perpetrators using such acts to send a message to the Roman authorities and the Jews who collaborated with them. This tactic was adopted by subsequent generation of groups which are now known as terrorists. The Assassins, also deemed as a terrorist organization, were an eleventh century offshoot of a Shia Muslim sect known as the Ismailis.They also perhaps also recognized the significance of high publicity as do contemporary terrorists. Like the Zealots-Sicarri, the Assassins were also given to stabbing their victims (generally politicians or clerics who refused to adopt the purified version of Islam they were forcibly spreading) (Bugress, 2003; Rapaport, 1965). The term Assassin (from where the modern term assassination is derived) literally meant hashish eater- , -which is in reference to the ritualistic drug-taking, they were perhaps falsely rumored to indulge in prior to undertaking their murderous missions. (Bugress, 2003; Rapaport, 1965). Often, the Assassins deeds were carried out at religious sites on holy days a tactic intended to publicize their cause and incite others to it.Similar to the numerous religiously motivated terrorists nowadays, they also looked at their deaths on such actions as sacrificial. Even though both the Zealots and the Assassins operated in the past, they are relevant today: First as forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of motivation, organization, targeting, and goals. Second ly, although both were eventual failures, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused. Sacrifice was also a central element of the killings carried out by the Thugees (from which the word thug is derived). They were the followers of an Indian religious cult which ritually strangled their victims (usually travelers chosen at random) as an offering to the Hindu goddess of terror and destruction, Kali. In this case, the intent was to terrify the victim (a vital consideration in the Thugee ritual) rather than influencing any external audience. The Thugees were active from the seventh until the mid-nineteenth centuries. They were known to have committed as many as one million murders. Perhaps they were the last example of religiously-inspired terrorism until the phenomenon re-emerged a little over 20 years ago. According to David Rapport, Before the 19th century, religion provided the only acceptable justifications for terror. (Robespierre, 2009). Probably all holy texts (not just the Quran) have been conveniently interpreted to justify violence against others. Robiespierre described terror as the emanation of virtue. An additional tendency at the end of 19th century was the ever-increasing wave of nationalism throughout the world, which incorporated the nation (the identity of the citizens) and the political state. Simultaneously, the states began to stress upon the national identities of the citizens who were conquered or colonized, much like the Jews during the period of Zealots who either chose to integrate or fight back. Over the last several decades, the most well-known, Irish nationalistic struggle has still been unresolved. Nationalism, similar to Communism was the most ideological force of the 20th century. (Burgess, 2003). Nationalists and Anarchists The English word terrorism comes from the regime de la terreur that prevailed in France from 1793-94. In the beginning it was a device of the state, and was intended to strengthen the authority of the new-found radical government, shielding it from elements thought to be subversive. Always value-laden, terrorism was, initially, a positive term. The French revolutionary leader, Maximilien Robespierre, viewed it as vital if the new French Republic was to survive its infancy, and proclaimed in 1794 that: Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue; it is not so much a special principle as it is a consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to our countrys most urgent needs.(Hoffman, 1988). Under such rationalization, some 40,000 people were executed by guillotine, a fate Robespierre and his top lieutenants would themselves suffered. In the meantime terrorism started to take negative undertones which it carries today. (AltThough the terrorists themselves do not consider themselves to be unconstructive or harmful to society). Edmund Burk, who demonized the French revolutionary practitioners, made the term popular in English writings. As a result of the French Revolution,new distinct concepts of nationalism and citizenship were evolved, which also led to the development of a new form of primary secular terrorism. The Italian revolutionary Carlo Pisacanes theory of the propaganda of the deed, which recognized the utility of terrorism to deliver a message to an audience other than the target, and draw attention and support to a cause was a hallmark to this new form of terrorism. (Laqueur, 1999). Pisacanes thesis was first put into practice by the Narodnaya Volya (NV), which was not in itself new and would probably have been recognizable to the Zealots-Sicarri and the Assassins. In 1878, a Russian populist group, (which was described as to Peoples Will) was formed to be in opposition to the Tzars regime. The groups most famous decisive action was the assassination of Alexander II inon 1 March 1881, which also effectively sealed their fate by incurring bringing upon themselves, the full wrath of the Tsarist regime. Unlike most other terrorist groups, the Volya went to great lengths to avoid innocent deaths, carefully choosing their targets; usually state officials who symbolized the regime. Often compromising operations rather than causing what would today be termed collateral damage. It is also called bluecalled blue on blue by the military. Volya actions inspired radicals in different places. Anarchist terrorist groups were particularly enamored by the example set by the Russian populist Volya. Nationalist groupslike the ones in the Balkans and Ireland decided to resort to terrorism to meet their goals. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th century, terrorists attacks were carried out as far as India, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire. Two US presidents and a succession of other world leaders were victims of assassination by various radical elements often affiliated to groups but operating without their explicit knowledge or support. 9 (Stern, 2001). As in Europe , terrorism arrived on American shoresalso arrived in America before the twentieth century Not only were Anarchists active in America throughoutall through the 1880s, but during the American Civil War;, had seen acts deserving of the name, committed on both sidesAnarchists as were also instrumental in the formation of the Ku Klux Klan to fight the reconstruction effort which followed. (Hoffman, 1988). Terrorism and the State Sponsored Terrorism Long before the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, what would later be termed as state-sponsored terrorism had already started to manifest itself in Europe. For instance, many officials in the Serbian government and military were involved in supporting, training and providing arms to the various Balkan groups which were active prior to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand inon 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo; an act carried out by an activist from one such group, the Young Bosnians credited with setting in progress the chain of events which led to the war itself. (Guelke, 1998). Similarly, the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (MRO) survived largely because it became for all intents and purposes a tool of the Bulgarian government, and was used mainly against Yugoslavia as well as against domestic enemies. ( Walter Laqueur )that it became for all intents and purposes a tool of the Bulgarian government, and was used mainly against Yugoslavia as well as against domesti c enemies. Such examples clearly illustrate that state-sponsored terrorism is not a new phenomenon. The events in 1930s led to a fresh wave of political assassinations which justified the word terrorism. This led to proposals at the League of Nations for conventions to prevent and punish terrorism as well as to the establishment of an international criminal court (neither of which came to being as they were overshadowed by the events which eventually led to World War II).12 (Volkan, 1997). Simultaneously, in between years of war, state terrorism increased; a reference to the oppressive measures imposed by various totalitarian regimes, particularly in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Stalinist Russia. While terror from above, from the states ruling elite, was the predominant form of terror from Roman times through the French Revolution up to the present, even in the twentieth century, terror from above, such as the Hitlers Holocaust, Stalins purges, Pol Pots Killing Fields, the Rwandan massacres, and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, has clearly claimed many more lives than the terror exerted from below. (Volkan, 1997). In the beginning of twentieth century, the term terrorism started to become synonymous with terror acts from below that attempt to disrupt, overthrow, or simply express rage against the existing political order. 14(Reich, 1990).Generally, academics agree that modern terrorism from below first surfaced as an identifiably notable entity with the emergence of the Narodnaya Volya (the Peoples Will) in Russia, at the close of the nineteenth century. This particular group harboured intellectual ideologies, and they believed that by creating an institution of the state, they could ferment a revolution to completely cleanse the existing system. They tried to accomplish this by terrorist acts such as assassinating numerous Tsarist officials, including, in 1881, the Tsar Alexander II himself. (Parry, 1976).Even though they possessed an enduring hatred for their victims, this group showed remorse and regret for their actions, inflicting self-torture and beatings as punishment for taking the liv es of their victims. In fact, they were so concerned, selective and meticulous about only killing their intended victim that if their target was accompanied by a family member, or if there was a danger that innocents might be killed, they would call off the attack and wait for a better situation to present itself. (Laqueur, 2001). But they continued their actions because they comprehended that, political terror is unavoidable, moral and effective and that organized terror movements are the preferred alternative to a blind, witless insurrection of dumb people. (Ivianski, 1987). More recently, other governments, such as those of military dictatorships which ruled some South American countries in recent years, or the regimes in Zimbabwe, have also been open to charges of using such methods as instruments of state. Some commentators, such as Bruce Hoffman, argue that, such usages are generally termed terror in order to distinguish that phenomenon from terrorism, which is understood to be violence committed by non-state entities. (Hoffman, 1988). However not everyone agrees that terrorism should be considered a non-governmental undertaking. For instance, Jessica Stern insists that states in deliberately bombarding civilians as a means of demoralizing enemy, states have indeed resorted to terrorism. According to Stern, such instances include not only the Allied strategic bombing campaigns of World War II, andbut the American dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended the Pacific phase of that conflict. (Stern, 2003). This issue remains controversial, with individuals such as the World War II British Air Chief Bomber Harris was simultaneously defended and despised for his belief in the utility and morality of strategic bombing. It bears similarity to the modern-day concept of collateral damage. Terrorism Sincesince World War II In By contrast, the predominanceprevalence of non-state groups active in the terrorism that emerged in the wake of World War II is less arguable. The immediate focus onfor such activitiesty primarily mainly shifted from Europe itself to various colonies in the continents.Across the Middle East Asia and Africa, emerging nationalist movements resisted European attempts to resume colonial business as usual after the defeat of the coalition Axis powers.As the colonialists had been recently expelled from or subjugated in their overseas empires by the Japanese, it provided psychological support to such indigenous uprisings by dispelling the myth of European invincibility. Often, these nationalist and anti-colonial groups conducted guerilla warfare, which differed from terrorism mainly in that it tended towards larger bodies of irregulars operating along more along towards military lines than their terrorist partners in the other regions.Similarly in China and Indochina, such forces conducted insurgencies against the Kuomintang regime and the French colonial government respectively. In other places, like the Algeria, campaigns were fought, in both rural and urban areas, using guerilla warfare, for independence from French rule Struggle for independence against British and French rule also took place in Kenya, Malaysia, Cyprus and Palestine. (Both the French and the British bore the brunt of this new wave of terrorism, a consequence of their large pre-war empires). These struggles were conducted by groups who can more readily be described now as terrorist. These groups quickly learned to exploit the mushrooming globalization of the worlds media. According to Hoffman: They were first to recognize the publicity value inherent in terrorism and to choreograph their violence for an audience far beyond the immediate geographical loci of their respective struggles. (Hoffman, 1988). Furthermore, in some cases (such as in Algeria, Cyprus, Kenya and Israel) terrorism perhaps helped such organizations in the successful realization of their goals. As such these nationalist and anti-colonial groups are notable for any wider understanding of terrorism. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, terrorist numbers swelledincreased to include not only nationalists, but also those motivated by ethnic and ideological considerations. Nationalists groupslike the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and its several affiliates came into existence. Moreover, other groups mushroomed such as the Basque ETA and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA also comprised of organizations such as the Italian Red Brigade, and the Red Army faction in Germany (then West Germany). With As with the emergence of modern terrorism almost a century earlier, the United States couldwas not remain immune from this latest wave of terrorism, although there the identity-crisis-driven motivations of the white middle-class Weathermen starkly contrasted with the ghetto-bred malcontent of the Black Panther Movement. (Lacqueur, 2001). Many of the terrorist groups of this period readily adopted methods that would allow them to publicize their goals and accomplishments internationally.The Palestinians were among one of the well-known groups who pioneered the hijacking of a jet airliner as a mode of operation and publicity. One such group, Black September, staged what was (until the terrorist attack of 9/11, 2001) perhaps the greatest terrorist publicity coup then seen, with the seizure and murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games.Such incidents resulted in the Palestinian groups providing the inspiration, in some cases, mentorship and training, for many of the new generation of terrorists organizations. Most of these organizations today have reduced their operations or ceased to exist altogether, whileothers, such as the Palestinian, Northern Irish and Spanish Basque groups, motivated by more enduring causes, remain active today, although some of them now have made moves towards political rather than terrorist methods.Meanwhile, by the mid-1980s, state-sponsored terrorism re-emerged, the catalyst for the series of attacks against American and other Western targets in the Middle East. Countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria came to the forefront came to be supposedly believed to be the main sponsors of terrorism as a popular belief. Falling into a related category were those countries, such as North Korea, who directly participated in covert acts of what could be described as terrorism.[xviii] (Guelke, 1998). In the recent years the re-emergence of the religiously inspired terrorist attacks are common. But the state-sponsored terrorism remains a concern of the international community today (especially its Western constituents), although it has been somewhat overshadowed. The latest manifestation of this trend began in 1979, when the revolution that transformed Iran into an Islamic republic; the West blamed Iran to use and support terrorism as a means of propagating its ideals beyond its own borders. (Hoffman, 1988). Very soon the trend had spread to places as far as Japan and the United States, and to other major world religions as well as many minor cults. Sarin gas used in Tokyo subway attack in 1995 may not have been the first breach of the psychological barrier in the use of toxic/chemical agents becausesmallpox-infected clothing was used by the Pilgrim Fathers against the indigenous tribes of North America. Also, plague-infected bodies were launched into besieged cities and used to pollute water supplies in the fourteenth century. The same year Oklahoma bombing took place in USA. At this stage, the complex mix of motivations included religion. But it was the 9/11 al Qaeda attack which made the world realize, particularly the United States, just how risky this latest transformation had become. Contemporary Terrorism At present, terrorism influences events on the international level to a degree which was not previously achieved. This was primarily the outcome of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 on the World Trade Center, which destroyed the symbolic Twin Towers; and threatened the Pentagon. It thus dented the stronghold of America. Most Americans came to believe that an unmatched era of terrorism had erupted and the world had changed forever. Some observers of the event even believed that the daring, yet tragic, events of this particular day should be considered as an epochal moment in the history of the world. (24) (Carr, 2002). Soon after 9/11, US President George Bush declared the start of a Global War on Terrorists: an open-ended war with an undefined terminal objective. In a speech to the Congress, he committed all resources at his disposal, every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, and every necessary weapon of war (Bertrand, S, 2003) to defeating Am ericas newest adversary in that nations first war of the twenty-first century. (26)(Mandelbaum, 2001).However, for most people in the world, terrorism was not new and these events, while spectacular and disturbing, did not constitute the dawn of a new era in terrorist activities. On the contrary, the attack became a continuous and developing reality for the world, which was present in different forms for centuries. Hence, for most of the world, terrorism was familiar and acceptable as an additional form of traditional warfare. (Henrichon, 2003). Still, for most North Americans and many other Western observers, the radical novelty of the 9/11 terrorist attacks represented a new form of terrorism for the 21st century. (Deschenes, 2003). Since then, in the United States at least, terrorism has largely been equated to the threat posed by al Qaeda, a threat inflamed not only by the spectacular and deadly nature of the 9/11 attacks themselves, but by the fear that future strikes might be even more deadly and perhaps employ weapons of mass destruction. The worldwide threat of terrorism by al Qaeda and its franchises, to a large extent remained egocentric, and were seen as the rhetoric of the US administration concerning a so-called Global War against Terrorism. This was far from unique, considering the implications that al Qaeda in fact intended to start a global revolution. For instance the general public of countries such as Colombia or Northern Ireland that had long faced terrorism was more preoccupied with when and where the next FARC REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA ( FARC or FARC-EP, is a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia. They have fought in the ongoing Colombian Civil War for more than 40 years)or Real Irish Republican Army attacks would occur rather than where the next al Qaeda hit will descend. Thus, the above reflections indicate, terrorism goes beyond al Qaeda, which it not only predates but will also outlive. Hence if terrorism is to be tackled efficiently, any consideration of handling it must be seen beyond the threat which is presently posed by this particular organization. Consequently, without a broad-based approach, this threat of terrorism will not only be difficult to resolve, but may become uncontrollable. The Evolution of Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century Terrorism is continuously changing. While at the surface it remains the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fearit is fast becoming a major strategic tool of the opposing forces. In the twenty-first century, it has become the most predominant irregular warfare strategy. It is easily adaptable to changes in facilities available to the terrorists, in order to operate, acquire finances, and evolve new capabilities; thereby developing a different relationship with the world at large. Two major events in the first half of the twentieth century predisposed the nature of present-day conflicts. The effects of two World Wars inflamed passions and hopes of nationalists throughout the world, and severely damaged the legitimacy of the international order and governments. During the earlier decades of the twentieth century nationalism and radical political ideologies were the major developmental forces acting upon terrorism. After World War I the Treaty of Versailles redrew the map of Europe by breaking up the Austro-Hungarian Empire and thus created new nations. It recognized the rule of self-determination for nationalities and ethnic groups. The minorities and ethnicities not receiving recognition to campaign for independence or autonomy were thus encouraged. Nevertheless, in most cases self-determination was limited to European nations and ethnic groups and deprived the others, especially the colonial assets of the major European powers, creating bitterness and setting the stage for the long conflicts of the anti-colonial period. The Arab nationalists particularly felt that they were betrayed. Believing they were promised post-war independence, they were doubly disappointed: first when the French and British were given authority over their lands; and then especially when the British allowed Zionist immigration into Palestine in keeping with a promise contained in the Balfour Declaration. In the last two decades, terrorists have committed tremendously violent acts for so-called political or religious reasons. Their political ideologies range from the extreme left to the extreme right. For example, the far left can consist of groups such as Marxists and Leninists who propose a revolution of workers led by revolutionary elite. On the distant right, one finds dictatorships which typically believe in an amalgamation of state and business leadership. Consequently, all Arabs have been united in their opposition to the State of Israel and to the Western Powers, particularly the United States. The Western world feel f eels equally a sense of guilt and remorse for the treatment of the Jews during the Second World War. (Berman, 2003). Consequently, the Western powers, under the patronage of the United Nations, have championed the Israeli right to a homeland at the expense of the Palestinians. (Hoffman, 1988). On the other hand, equally important has been the growth of Wahhabism in the Arab World. The indignation of the Wahhabis was initially directed, not against Western and colonial sources, but against those practitioners of Islam whom they believed were degrading and betraying the religion from within. The Wahhabi sect became true Islamic zealots who sought to eliminate anything or anyone who failed to meet the strict standards of their belief of purity and Islamic authenticity. (Hoffman, 1988). Even though initially a creation of eighteenth century Arabian Islam, Wahhabism has flourished because of its association with the ruling parties in most Arab countries. These particular regimes were ins talled by the Western powers when the various countries were created, because these particular Arab leaders had either granted the European powers with legitimacy during their colonial rule of the region; or had supported the Allied armies during the two World Wars. Under the old Arab system, social injustice and power were limited. However, with the new structure of states, the oil wealth, and the prevalence of modern communications, the inequality gap has been widened and the discrepancies have become much more obvious.Hence, lacking any other outlet, new and growing discontents find expression in religious extremist movements (Hoffman, 1988), like the so called Islamic Fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. In contrast, for the Palestinian movements, which had concentrated and limited their efforts in the Middle East against Israel and for the repossession and recreation of an independent Palestinian state, these new organizations have a worldwide r each. Their supporters believe that the remedy for all of the ills of modernization is to return to true Islam. This thought process, included the abolition of all laws and social borrowings from the West and the restoration of the Islamic Holy Law, the Sharia (Berman, 2003). Their aim was not only to remove the Western intruders from their homelands; they also wanted to transport their message through violent means into the heart of the Western nations, especially the hegemonic United States, their most dangerous enemies, as they see it, are the false and renegade Muslims who rule the countries of the Islamic world and who have imported and imposed infidel ways on Muslim peoples. (Lewis, 2003). In addition to the traditional terrorist groups, the nationalists, and the religious, the 1980s and 1990s also saw a growth of terrorist groups with a variety of motivations, such as narco-terrorists, eco-terrorists, anti-abortionists, and animal liberationists. Some terrorists were simply m otivated by common criminal activities. (Laqueur, 1999). Religious inspired terrorism has a universal theoretical basis. The patterns of religious violence of the Sikhs could be exactly that of Irish Catholics; or Shiite Muslims in Palestine; or a fundamentalist Christian bomber of abortion clinics in the United States. (Juergensmeyer, 2001). Special interest groups include people on the radical fringe of many legitimate causes; e.g., people who use terrorism to uphold antiabortion views, animal rights, and radical environmentalism. These groups consider that violence is morally justified to achieve their objectives. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of Cold War in the early 1990s, the features of international terrorism took on a new face. The changing geopolitical situation, following the end of the East-West conflicts, a third radical concept has evolved in the form of twentieth century terrorism. There was no Soviet Union, no Warsaw Pact, no Cold War, and no consensus on what came next. (Lacqueur, 1999). However, it was now clear that the Soviets were no longer available to provide financial support or ammunitions to terrorist organizations or to their sponsoring states. (Bell, 1999).However, instead of retreating into their own nationalistic or religious cocoons, some of these terrorist groups adapted and evolved into truly global transnational organizations. As a result, counter terrorist organizations are not confronting a specific state, nor are they confined to their old norms of understanding and operations. In addition, todays terrorist groups are very well-financed. (Kushner, 1998). Such transnational groups no longer rely on handouts from sponsoring states, but, instead, have developed exceptional methods of gaining and handling their financial resources. Today robbery and ransom are replaced by high-tech criminal businesses, such as growing drugs; fine processing and distribution operations; and, finally, money laundering through legitimate businesses. (Combs, 2003). The modern terrorist is also very well-trained and well-educated. They have not only learnt from their past experiences, but also from military and criminal training methods, and integrated them into their own training programs. The former independence and isolation of many terrorist groups has given way to complex, multilayered, transnational organizational structur es, resembling the corporate hierarchy of a multinational corporation. Lastly and most significantly, todays terrorist groups are said to have access to the knowledge of highly sensitive destructive weapons; and have the ability to use Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weaponry, although use of this type of armaments is still abhorrent to many terrorists. (Schweitzer, 1998). The use of terror has, throughout history, been known as an effective technique to achieve political, criminal, religious and ideological aims. The underlying objective to use the terror was aptly captured by the fourth century BC Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, kill one, frighten ten thousand. The Anatomy of Terror (Sinclair, 2003) indicates that history is replete with examples of the use of terror in the pursuit of religious aims (e.g. the massacres by the Crusaders); material aims (e.g. the Stranglers of Southern India who terrorized road travellers, and the Mafia); quasi-moral, and ideological aims (e.g. General Bedfords supremacist Ku Klux Klan and the Shining Path); state and political aims (e.g. the Tzarist Okrhana and the Nazi Geheime Staatspolizei); and in the current context, religio-political aims (e.g. Al Qaeda and Hamas). Terror is easier to define than terrorism. Over 100 definitions of terrorism have been evolved. Sinclair gave interesting examples of the early use of biological and chemical agents as means of inducing fear and terror. These include the use of poison gas by the Spartans during the siege of Plataea in 428 BC; the use of smallpox infected materials by the Pilgrim Fathers from England to conquer the indigenous population

The Mind of Someone Who Uses Drugs :: essays papers

The Mind of Someone Who Uses Drugs In the mind of someone who does drugs there is always a reason to take that hit of acid, that pill of ecstasy, that line of coke or that bump of crystal. Justification is a powerful tool of persuasion, it’s a manipulation tool that others can use on you but more commonly you use on yourself. You don’t have to go to work for ten hours and the acid trip will only last about seven hours so as long as you don’t go to sleep you’ll be fine. You’ll not sleep for twenty-four hours and you’ll be cracked out as all hell at work but hell, it’s worth it. Most people that do drugs will say that they have great will power and only do a drug when they know they have the time and energy. I have heard and said that phrase so many times. The more drugs you do the less will you have to say no and the easier it is for people to persuade you to take that pill with them. Friends don’t persuade you because they want you to be â€Å"bad† like they are or any of that other crap you see on anti-drug commercials on television. Your friends want you to be there so that they can have fun with you while on the drugs together.. It is generally true that I have had most of my drug experiences with friends and it is also true that I have made some true bonds with people while on drugs. The question I use to always ask myself is â€Å"who are my real friends and who were friends that I made simply because we were on a substance†. It is so easy to bond with someone while on drugs, especially ecstasy. On the drug ecstasy it’s possible to bond with someone while that you have never gotten along with and probably never will again. My girlfriend who I dated for about three months, while knowing that I was gay, I met through drugs. Since she and I were generally high on something at all times our relationship was completely ( what does this meanthrough) and because of drugs. I have not spoken to her for over five months and if we did speak we would probably have little interest in each other.

Unearthing the meaning behind “the matrix”

What will you do if one day you wake up plugged into a computer, and that computer gives you a reality that is far from what you know? Will it change anything? Will it give less sense of the things that you thought are real? The Matrix is a dazzling depiction of the adventure of a computer programmer as he seeks to find answers to his mind’s multitude of questions. The Matrix was first shown on March 1999. It is a futuristic film which predicted that in the near future, humans’ lives will revolve around Matrix, a simulated reality. It tells the story of a computer programmer who lives under the pseudonym â€Å"Neo†. At the same time, he’s also a hacker who’s been dying to know the real enigma that lies behind the Matrix. In his desperation to find answers, he came across Morpheus, a man who promised him that he’d know the answer if he’d swallow a red pill. Neo doubtfully obeyed Morpheus and after he took the pill, he is unconsciously taken to a strange place wherein his body is connected to a wide array of wires. He woke up to an artificial program that nurses human beings by sustaining them with manufactured and trashed realities. He is rescued by a group of escapees by removing him from the pod that he’s attached with. The group saved Neo, for they believe that he is the one destined who will save the humankind from their doom. In the latter part, Neo found out that he’s in the year 2199 wherein a current rage between humans and intelligent machines is happening. Neo came to a realization that the world that he has inhabited in 1999 is just an illusion. It was made and developed by certain intelligent machines to keep the human population peaceful. Thus, it gave birth to the name Matrix. Morpheus and his team are lucky enough for they are free. Their duty is to remove other humans from their attachment to the Matrix and in return give them inhumane abilities. They believe that Neo is â€Å"the One† who will end the war because of his infinite control over the Matrix. To completely become a member of the group, Neo is trained to possess several self-defense disciplines which primarily include martial arts. Alongside with this, he’s also informed of the dangers that entail the Matrix life.   All the injuries that he will acquire in the Matrix will manifest in his physical body in the real world. As the time progressed, Neo gradually tagged along with the team’s operations. The group entered Matrix wherein Neo met the Oracle. She told Neo that he possessed a gift for being â€Å"the One† but that he is waiting for something. After this, the group was ambushed by Agents, the fast programs whose aim is to eradicate any threats to the simulation. Unfortunately, Morpheus is the only one who was captured by the Agents. All the members of Neo’s group died except him, Tank, Trinity and Morpheus. It turned out that they were betrayed by their own member, Cypher. A lot of things still happened but one of the most gripping scenes is when Neo is captured by the Agents and he was shot dead by one of them. Neo should’ve been dead if not for Trinity who kissed him. Long before that occurrence, Trinity was already warned that she would fall in love with â€Å"the One†. It’s hard for her to accept Neo’s sudden death so she kissed Neo. To her surprise, Neo’s heart starts beating again. The Agents tried to shoot him but Neo just raised his pal and stopped their bullets in the mid-air.   And finally, Neo saw the Matrix- an infinite number of streaming green lines. Hence, he became â€Å"The One†. The Matrix is indeed one of the most compelling examples that can illustrate some of the facets of the cultural anthropology. Anthropology, as defined â€Å"is the study of humankind, both ancient and contemporary.† (www2.cedarcrest.edu) Anthropology also examines the various facets of the society without any biases. Thus, it envisages society without putting any kind of stereotypes. The Matrix contains a lot of implications that which in return are just manifestations of humankind. The film somehow portrayed that humankind is currently driven by a lot of implicit yet unnoticeable things. Some might think that The Matrix is just a great and dazzling action movie but if you’ll really scratch beneath the surface, you’ll discover that a lot of realities about humankind are hidden in the film.   Innumerable people have watched this movie, but only few really understood the superb analogy that covers the film. Cultural anthropology is indeed vast as it curtains a lot of cultures from different sides of the world. However, The Matrix was able to come up with a coherent comprehension of what is happening in the cultures right now. Cultures now including its people are living in an illusory world that’s full of deceits, slavedom, economic turmoil, fear, media stereotypes and material indulgence. What humankinds fail to realize is that a real Matrix also exists within their cultures. They are driven by the wrong things that they gradually forget to value the things that really matter. Because of their struggle to be wealthy and powerful, their task to nurture and enrich their culture is disregarded. The Matrix gives the image of an existence that’s full of superficiality and trivialities. The image shows that people do everything to block an upsetting reality by wallowing themselves with material pretensions. It is quite intoxicating for some cultures that are drenched in wealth while the other cultures are wallowing in misery. The Matrix can also be connected to cultural anthropological perspectives as it neatly depicts the demarcation that the cultures have right now. The film evidently showed the conflict that’s present between Neo’s side and the Agents. It showed that cultures, despite some of their similarities with other cultures will still remain to be poles apart. It is primarily because these cultures live up to diverse ideals and beliefs. The Matrix is undeniably a worth watching film because it’s not just an ordinary action movie full of explosions, special effects, and adrenalins.   It is a movie that truly makes sense as it will help the people to reflect and realize what’s really going on. The film might also show them how to modify their distorted principles about their cultures. A film like this is quite moving because it offers the possible things that might happen to humankind in the future if the continuous clashing of culturally-acclaimed principles will continue. Although you have to really ponder on the film to see its relation with cultural anthropology, it’s still worth-watching because of its profound illustration. The entire hidden implications of the film are completely and utterly true. The Matrix is a ground-breaking film as it changed how action and sci-fi movies are supposed to be made. It demonstrated its own unique sense as it made people change how they look at their cultures. There are lots of symbolisms that were used in the film. Nevertheless, the spirit of humankind still managed to shine in its own way. Neo's journey toward understanding his real fate teaches a lot of lesson regarding culture. The diversities of the people in the film can be clearly related to the present culture. It gives a lot of anthropological manifestations, yet it still pursued the coherence of the factors that revolved around the film. The movie has generated a lot of controversies and questions until now- questions that remain undiscovered and will still continue to raise unfathomable debates and discussions. It was a revolutionary movie filled with mind-boggling questions and intrigues. Though many films before have already demonstrated their assumptions, nothing can beat The Matrix as it presented its ideas in a more graphical way.   In the end, it just sums up the film in a single question: â€Å"Are we really living in a real world right now?† References Cedarcrest Education. (2008. April). The Anthropological Perspective. Retrieved April 26 2008, from http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/socsci/anthropology_perspective.htm ;

How I Remember The Genocide - 908 Words

Title: How I Remember the Genocide I remember from my childhood the remembrance services conducted for the survivors and victims of the Holocaust. The anniversary of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), the night when Nazi Germany conducted a massive pogrom against its Jewish community on November 9, 1938, seemed to be the unofficial remembrance day for members of my family’s synagogue as well as my home state of New Jersey. At the age of ten, I was honored to light a memorial candle at the New Jersey Statehouse during its Kristallnacht commemoration. As I walked down to light the candle, I tried to grapple with how the Holocaust impacted me. I was quite aware of my Mother’s study and teaching of the subject. Additionally, I knew of the semi-distant family members who were killed during the Holocaust. Despite this understanding, it was extremely difficult for me to truly understand the horrors of the genocide. Even when I performed Holocaust research a few years later, it was still difficult. The concentration and death camps alongside the ghettos were monuments of the horrors of a distant history. While only more than half a century old, there seemed to always be a distance between myself and what occurred. My knowledge and experience did not elevate the Holocaust from being a subject of study to shipping my basic fundamentals. My connection to the Holocaust changed over time. This change did not stem from growing older or learning more about the horrors.Show MoreRelatedEssay on Rwandan Genocide: Tutsis versus Hutus1421 Words   |  6 PagesRwandan Genocide: Tutsis vs. Hutus The many tears that stream down my face cry for the generations of my kids to come. I sit here as an innocent victimized Tutsi woman, to tell you my story of the Rwandan genocide and how it impacted my people. Through many years of pain and suffering I sit here before you to relieve my anger and install my knowledge of why the Belgium through colonization only installed more love in me toward my people and hatred towards me for not being able to help my peopleRead MoreThe Armenian Genocide and Its Denial1503 Words   |  7 PagesGenocide. The killing of hundreds of people. The extermination of a nation. Such a thing may sound too horrible to be true, but it happens right under our very noses. And what is even worse, is when such tragic events are not recognized as what they are, or simply forgotten. Such is the case of the Armenian Genocide, also referred to as the Forgotten Genocide, the Hidden Holocaust, the Secret Genocide, or the Unremembered Genocide (Balakian xvii). The Jewish Holocaust is well knownRead MoreEssay on The Mass Slaughter: The Rwandan Genocide881 Words   |  4 Pagesin Buchenwald.† This quote by Jack Werber is inspiring to some people. Jack Werber did live long enough to tell his story, like a lot of Tutsis in the Rwandan genocide. The Rwandan Genocide impacted not only the Tutsis, but the world. Its surprising how a place outside of the United States made such a big impact on the world. A genocide similar to the Holocaust took place in a small african country. Rwanda, is a small landlocked state in central and east Africa. Located a few degrees south of theRead MoreGenocides Have Been Going On For Many Years Whether People1127 Words   |  5 Pages Genocides have been going on for many years whether people may want to accept it or not even recognize an event as a genocide, Genocide is a deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. The term Genocide was created by polish attorney and writer Raphael Lemkin, by combining the Greek word â€Å"genos† which means race and the Latin word â€Å"cide† which means killing. Which as from now one can see that it’s that a massive killing of a specific race(s)Read MoreThe Genocide Of The Holocaust885 Words   |  4 Pages The Holocaust genocide lasted for approximately 4,482 days. There were nearly twelve years of planning and organizing the extermination of Jews in Europe. For most of those years, nearly all surrounding countries did not partake in assisting the survival of these Jews. Why? Why was there such insufficient help from countries around the world while the Holocaust had been occurring? Had other countries stepped in sooner to provide safety and rescue for the Jews, how different would history be? Read MoreThe Horror of Genocide in Our World 1065 Words   |  4 PagesGenocide is a crucial topic in International Relations, as Genocide means the killing of thousands of people from different ethnic groups, races, religions, or national groups. After viewing the full-length documentary on â€Å"Genocide: Worse Then War,† I understand what genocide is now and just how many people it has affected then and now as survivors and family members re tell the stories from what they remember. This video starts out by explaining what genocide is and how it’s worse than war becauseRead MoreThe Genocide Of The Holocaust1313 Words   |  6 PagesGenocide is the destruction of an ethnic, racial, or religious group. The most famous genocide, conducted by the Germans, is the extermination of the Jewish population known as the Holocaust. There are other genocides such as the Armenian or Darfur genocide, but the Holocaust is the one talked about and studied the most around the world today. Museums exist in Washington D.C, Los Angeles, and parts of Europe that focus primarily on this dark time in history. Vast amounts of books, movies, and documentsRead MoreEssay about Examining Genocides in Germany, Armenia, and Darfur991 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life especially through fire†. This definition describes the Nazi Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, and genocide in Darfur, to name a few (UHRC). In 1933, Hitler’s Nazi regime took power in Germany at a time where the people lacked patriotism and were upset with their government. After losing World War I, Hitler’s anti-Semitism mindset was based on his ideals that the â€Å"final objective must unswervingly be the removal of the Jews altogether† (RothRead MoreThe Terrible Acts of Rwandan Genocide1296 Words   |  6 PagesIn between 1930 and 1945, an event took place that changed the world in many ways. The Holocaust was a genocide that consisted of the decimation of one single race, the Jews. This solemn event is very similar (and also quite different) to another event that took place only four thousand miles away. Like the Holocaust, this event is was a genocide and it took place at Rwanda in 1994. This genocide was between the Hutus and Tutsis. These two groups have a long background with each other that consistedRead MoreEssay on Holocaust and Rwanda Genocides787 Words   |  4 Pagestheir terrorizi ng reign of Germany and throughout Europe and the Hutus horrific acts of genocide that happened because of a culmination of deep ethnic tensions brewing over a century and intense political corruption. Not only was it used to promote and endorse the party and its leaders extreme racist values but also to mask the horrifying truths of what was to become known as the Holocaust and the Rwanda Genocides. Anti-Jewish measures and pogroms have taken place numerous times throughout history