Week 15 Journal Response
Focus on causal relationships this week. Look for stories related to cause and effect. Try to make a connection to the different causal relationships we have been studying this week.
Make sure to include a link, summary, and analysis. Minimum 250 words. Comment below.
Topics:
- Gulags
- Cannibalism
- Monsters
Professor Ramos' Blog 
I chose to look up something about Cannibalism, I wanted to know how we as the human race first figured out what cannibalism was and what did they do to the first person who ate another person? So with doing a quick google search I came across a YouTube video from TED-Ed called A brief history of cannibalism narrated by Bill Schutt, and it starts off with the discussion of mumia which was a practice that 15th century Europeans did and they took a brown powder that could be mixed into drinks from grinding up mummified human flesh. It was said that mumia could cure any medical ailment; such as epilepsy, hemorrhage, bruising, and nausea. It also states that Christopher Columbus could be the one to have first came up with the world Cannibal, once he came to shore on the island of Guadalupe.
By watching this video I learned a lot about the history of Cannibalism, I found it really interesting that people in the 15th century saw human flesh as a way to cure sickness, they never answered how first realized that doing that with dead bodies was the answer to help with those medical ailments, but it was interesting nonetheless. Since we were discussing this topic in class I never thought that us as humans could be used as medicine, the big question is do people still use mumia? Meaning the tribes that do eat people, do they use the dead as ways to cure the sickness of the living? Or is the practice of mumia extinct and never to be talked about again?
The Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ODPFiksBE&feature=youtu.be
LikeLike
Consuming another humans’ flesh vile and wrong but is it bad for your health too? Cannibalism has been apart of human culture for thousands of years and occurs in many species. Sometimes this would take to eating one’s enemies in order to take on their strength. Consumption of human flesh can also have a ritualistic significance. In desperate times in history people have taken on cannibalism for survival, such as the North Korean famine of 2013, the Siege of Leningrad inn the 40’s, and China’s Great Leap Forward. And up until the early 18th century in Europe body parts had often used for medications to treat anything from headaches to epilepsy. And in some cultures, after death parts of the cadaver are consumed in order to become a part of you. When we think about it the line between us and cannibalism is more blurred than we think, after all some people eat their fingernails and some woman eat their own placenta after childbearing.
Eating human flesh is no more dangerous than eating animal flesh, However the brain should be avoided. This became evident when the people of new Guinea demonstrated the aftermath of brain consumption. An enzyme known as PrP can be carried spreading an epidemic of Kuru. PrP plays a role in diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Kuru has a long incubation period and one can be asymptomatic for up to 20 years. However, the disease can drag on for 50 years and once symptoms appear, they are psychological and neurological. The patient will die between 3 months and two years after symptoms begin to appear.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/311277.php#9
LikeLike
The post I have chosen to respond to for this week deals with a serious subject matter that is dealt in a humorous way. In an effort to explain this, here is the headline for the article: “Is Woodstock a Cannibal? Charlie Brown Fans Have Thoughts on Social Media”. The purpose for the entire story revolves around the ending of the TV special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. In the scene, Snoopy and Woodstock are eating a turkey to celebrate the holiday. Woodstock is a bird, so does that mean he is a cannibal? This is the question the entire article tries to answer. This story, although short, gives insight to both sides of the argument, something one rarely sees in today’s news. At first, the article goes out of its way to give social media posts and even a poll supporting the belief that Woodstock is indeed a cannibal. Then at the end of the story, Allison Schonter (the writer of the article) cites one of the definitions of cannibalism via Merriam-Webster which describes it as ““the eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of the same kind” (as cited by Schonter). Schonter then concludes the article by confirming that, due to this definition, Woodstock is not a cannibal.
While this reasoning, is insightful, I fear that Schonter may have jumped to conclusions. There is still a possibility that Woodstock could be a cannibal. Schonter’s source for her conclusion, Merriam-Webster, says cannibalism, in animal terms, is only committed by one of the same kind, not one of the same species. Woodstock is the same kind of animal as a turkey – he is a bird. Although, this is not a matter of life or death, so it really doesn’t matter. I chose this article because it involved one of the topics we talked about (cannibalism) but in a way that readers would not expect.
https://popculture.com/tv-shows/2019/11/26/is-woodstock-cannibal-charlie-brown-fans-have-thoughts-social-media/
LikeLike
This week in class we discussed a various amount topics that contain different type of causes. One of the topics we discussed was cannibalism and the possible causes that may lead to someone consuming another person. Personally, if it came to the situation where I was left with nothing but a human corpse to eat I don’t think I would bring myself to eat another person. I feel like it is a moral thing but also it disgusts me to think about also. In addition, I don’t think I would murder someone and eat them too. Unless they tried to harm me then I would be left with no other option then to kill them but still wouldn’t eat them.
An article I found about cannibalism that states, “The term is derived from the Spanish name (Caríbales, or Caníbales) for the Carib, a West Indies tribe well known for its practice of cannibalism. A widespread custom going back into early human history, cannibalism has been found among peoples on most continents.” (Britannica). The most recent cannibalism act I can remember off of the top of my head was the Florida incident with two men, one who was under high amounts of PCP and other various drugs and another who was the victim in this case. The man who was under the influence of the drugs had knocked the other man unconscious and began to tare apart and consume his face. Upon hearing this at a young age made me think what kind of people are really on this planet. The article goes onto say that the practice of cannibalism was practiced until modern times in, ” parts of West and Central Africa, Melanesia (especially Fiji), New Guinea, Australia, among the Maoris of New Zealand, in some of the islands of Polynesia, among tribes of Sumatra, and in various tribes of North and South America” (Britannica). As an old practice, some serial killers made it a common act and were later portrayed as monsters for it. Decades before modern civilization, African and Southern American tribes used cannibalism after a battle to commemorate or even spiritual reasoning. One reason they thought cannibalism was used was to gain the strength the people had lost the day of the battle, and to store it for their next battle if they had one. Cannibalism is an unmoral act that I believe no one should do, not even if it meant saving your own.
link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/cannibalism-human-behaviour
LikeLike
I was very interested in the excerpt read on video in class relating to the soviet gulags. I searched the topic of cannibal island and the Nazimo Gulag and affair emerged. The affair refers to the installation on the island of Nazimo, focused on using deportees and “criminals” to bring sparsely populated land into production for the USSR and Stalin. Those sent there were far from criminals as a whole, as the video suggests. Some of those being deported were merely being sent because they were not able to obtain the proper intercity passports needed to travel, as many of these people were ordinary residents of Moscow and Leningrad. They were sent to Nazimo and only given flour as food with no way of preparing it to be consumed, forcing the prisoners to mix it with water which led to cases of dysentery and death. Within the first month there were reports of cannibalism and murder. The officers in charge made it sport to kill those trying to escape, and those that succeeded were expected to die in the wilderness of Siberia. Once the operation ended, those who did survive were never allowed to go home. Overall it shows how the government prioritized gain over safety as they saw what they were doing as profitable for the greater “state” and it turned normal people in to monsters. The name cannibal island or isle of death is what the island is known to those living around the area today. Had the oppressive rules surrounding travel and the view of “undesirables” been in place, this tragedy would have never happened and these people wouldn’t have died in such horrific fashions. It just really goes to show how desperation and the threat of death can force a person to inconceivable means.
link:
LikeLike
Last week, we listened to stories from a book about horrible atrocities that were committed by people. Later, we found out from the professor that the book were statements from military officers and was in fact real. The one that we listened to took place at the Gulags. Very briefly, all I knew was that it was a place created by Stalin for his political prisoners. So, in the search to learn a bit more of this, I found a summary of what it was on the History channel and boy was it worse that what I knew. Stalin thought of these camps of a way to get to the natural resources of Russia and so used its people to get them. Besides political opponents he also sent “doctors, writers, intellects, students, artists, and scientists” (History). Basically, he deprived Russia of thinking people and left only those that would obey without question. The conditions at the Gulag Camps were horrible, they were ill equipped to harvest the natural resources, and many would rather grievously injure their hands just to avoid being forced to work. Besides that, the Gulag camps were “cold, overcrowded and unsanitary” (History).
All of what was previously said, was but the conditions of the of the Gulag, but what causes were there? Well for one because of the ill-equipped people that were forced to work to collect the natural resources, the overall productivity went down. This was because they were not laborers and could not do the job efficiently; it seems a waste to force a doctor to dig up mineral when their experience could be put into a better area. The cost of maintaining such camps were also great, although there was ‘free labor’, costs were incurred for guards and transportation. Overall, these Gulags were an economical disaster that deprived Russia of a market by removing people from it, with less people being able to work as ‘free laborers’ as is most efficient for markets the overall GDP went down.
Link: https://www.history.com/topics/russia/gulag
LikeLike
I decided to choose the Donner party and analyze why they resorted to cannibalism. In 1846 they were a group of pioneers headed towards California. They made the mistake of leaving late and to compensate for lost time decided to take a shortcut, never before been used by wagons. It proved to be a bad idea as there were many troubles along that route and extended their travel by a month. A early winter caught them by surprise as they were in the Nevada Sierras and halted their travel. They sent off about 15 of their strongest men to go find help and by the end only 7 would survive. They had no food and debated whether someone should volunteer to be eaten. Eventually some of them died from natural causes and the rest of the group roasted and ate them. Also 2 native Americans in their group ran off in fears they would be eaten and upon being found were killed and also consumed. They eventually found help in California after eating several of their own men.
They were starving and that is ultimately what caused them to resort to cannibalism and also led them to success. I’m sure they did not want to eat each other, however they were on a mission bigger than themselves and would have surely died if they did not. Now they are widely known for being cannibals and also evil as well.
https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-donner-party
LikeLike
In the article, “The New Jim Crow,” author Michelle Alexander”. She goes into detail on how women in our society are being mistreated by giving us a story of her first job. She explains how she was disrespected and wanted to write the article. Many people at her work were confused and wondered why she would do this. She wrote it because she wants young women to speak more, and woman in the white house instead of walmart. Slaughter is basically defending women, and does not want men to take over and their opportunities. Being a woman is hard, she explains, but not having equal rights is something far worse.
In my perspective I believe the author Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article is true and precise. I think that she does a great job explaining his thesis, and makes her point clear to the audience. This point of how, women in our society deserve equal chances, and equality. Just because someone is women, doesn’t mean they should be treated differently. I believe that women in our world today are constantly being made fun of, when they act like they can do a man’s job. For instance if a women wanted to be a police officer, many men would probably think she is joking. We live in a world where there is discrimination among our sex.
LikeLike