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Article3-Papa, The Philosopher

                Two weeks ago, the foundations of 3. bridge on Bosporus were laid by Abdullah Gül, Tayyip Erdoğan and other politicians. Abdullah Gül said that the name of the bridge would be Yavuz Sultan Selim, an Ottoman sultan who killed many Alevi Muslims. This decision caused many objections in society because giving the bridge such a name was thought to be an insult for Alevi Muslims. This is the latest thing that has made Alevi Muslims angry. For centuries, Alevi Muslims suffered from being Alevi; they got beaten, killed and forced to be Sunni. All these things happened because they are different from the rest of the society. Like Alevi Muslims; Jewish people in Germany, Kurd people in Turkland and many other people suffered only because they are different. Leo Buscaglia, an Italian writer, wrote “Papa, The Philosopher” to draw attention to the hardships of being different. He tells a memory of his which he experienced in junior high school. It was the first time he had encountered what being different means. After the incident, he went to home and locked himself in bathroom. His father calmed him down and told him that people like them always came across with such incidents and it would not be the last time for him. Buscaglia did not want to be Italian and wanted to be anything else but his father told him that there was nothing to be ashamed but a lot to be proud of being Italian. Buscaglia tells everything happened just as his father said; his Jewish, black and Mexican friends also experienced such insults and incidents. I agree with writer and his father because this is an international phenomenon; it happens everywhere in the world. In Turkland, Kurds, Alevi Muslims and other foreign people come across with such incidents. They experienced and will experience such incidents. Being different or minority is difficult for people. However, as Buscaglia’s father said everybody, every race or every religion has something to be proud of. I am proud of being a Turk and Muslim. There is something I do not agree with Buscaglia’s father. It is that he does not do anything toward the unpleasant event his son experienced. I would have done everything I could to take revenge. I would show them the superiority of my culture and make them be ashamed. As conclusion, I agree with the writer; different people always suffer.

Article2-I Surf, Therefore I Am

While I was trying to select the article, I had a lot of trouble. I read a lot of articles but could not decide which one to write on. I have chosen “The Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor for article reflection. The article is very informative and enjoyable for me. I have chosen this article because it is one of the shortest articles in the pack and I thought I can write a better reflection for it. I, as a foreign language student, found it very relevant to my education because in the article, Naylor talks about words and how they get their strength. In the article, Gloria Naylor, who is a black person, mentions her early life and talks about the word “nigger”. She explains what kind of different meanings “nigger” had and how that word gained these meanings. In the article, Naylor says “words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power”. This is very critical for us, for the people dealing with language. She tells that her relatives used the word “nigger” neutrally, even in a positive way.  However; other people, especially white people, used “nigger” in order to humiliate the black people. She explains here that people give words their real meanings. Another example for this can be the word “ula”. In Black Sea region, people use it call other people like “ula Orhan” but if it is used toward a person from other regions, it can be taken as an insult. I completely agree with the writer in her statement.  

(Revised)Article1-The Meaning of a Word

While I was trying to select the article, I had a lot of trouble. I read a lot of articles but could not decide on which one write. I have chosen “The Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor for article reflection. The article is very informative and enjoyable for me. I have chosen this article because it is one of the shortest articles in the pack and I thought I can write a better reflection for it. I, as a foreign language student, found it very relevant to my education because in the article, Naylor talks about words and how they get their strength. In the article, Gloria Naylor, who is a black person, mentions her early life and talks about the word “nigger”. She explains what kind of different meanings “nigger” had and how that word gained these meanings. In the article, Naylor says “words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power”. This is very critical for us, for the people dealing with language. She tells that her relatives used the word “nigger” neutrally, even in a positive way.  However; other people, especially white people, used “nigger” in order to humiliate the black people. She explains here that people give words their real meanings. Another example for this can be the word “ula”. In Black Sea region, people use it call other people like “ula Orhan” but if it is used toward a person from other regions, it can be taken as an insult. I completely agree with the writer in her statement.  

Free4-The Two Darkest Sides of World War 2(Zone 731 and the Holocaust)

                World War 1 was the most violent which had taken place up to this time. It started in 1914 and finished in 1918. In this war, nearly 39 million people died, got injured and lost. World’s many countries, from New Zealand to the USA, were involved in this war.  21 years after the end of this war started another war. It was called World War 2. Many countries from all over the world again were included in this war.  In this war, between nearly 50 and 70 million people lost their lives. The world witnessed many cruel things in this war. However, two of them are very important. They are unit 731 and the Holocaust. Unit 731 was a unit founded by Japanese commander Shirio Ishii in 1935. It is claimed that nearly 250,000 people were killed there by being used in cruel experiments.  It is claimed that experiments like “how long can a man stay in cold water, what is there in people’s internal organs, at how much distance of a bomb can a man survive” were conducted there. People were claimed to be boiled in hot water, cut alive and injected blood. These are some experiments done and many more cruelties took place there. The other big cruelty, the Holocaust, claimed nearly 6 million people’s lives. The people killed there were mostly Jewish. Some claim that people were killed in gas chambers, by being shot and in starvation. Josef Mengele, a German doctor, did many experiments on Jewish people there. Josef Mengele is claimed to cut people alive, inject colors to people’s eyes, conduct experiments on twins and try to create a pure German race. After the war, he escaped to South America. It is claimed that in the villages Mengele lived, there was an increase in the rate of twin birth and blue eyed people. These two infamies were the cruelest things of human history.  Actually, it is not surprising that such things happened in the world’s cruelest war. We hope no such things happen ever.