Connections: Ishmael Beah and the 14 year old boy share similar characteristics. Both of these young males were taught kill at a young age. The difference between them is that Beah was a child soldier and the other male was influenced through video games and media. At age 12 Beah was forced into the army. He fled to the army in hopes of seeking safety but ended up being forced to kill. The commanders drugged Beah everyday to keep him sane and numb to his feelings so he could be a killing machine. Beah became numb to the world around him and began to think killing was normal. He felt what he was doing was the right thing. Like Beah, the 14 year old's influence to kill was violent video games and media. These forms of media were the boys commander and drug. The games and media numbed him to the world around him. He thought shooting or stabbing some one was normal and he began to accept it as a survival skill.
Challenges: In the "Brutalization" paragraph it states "Until they're six or seven years old they are developmentally, psychologically, physically unable to discern the difference between fantasy and reality. Thus, when a young child sees somebody on TV being shot, stabbed, raped, brutalized, degraded, or murdered, to them it is real..."This statement is not true to all cases. Most times young children can differentiate fake from real. Those who believe what they see on TV were not taught to not believe everything they see or hear. These children are very influential and should not be watching or experiencing these type of acts.
Concepts: A key concept to remember is that war can effect child soldiers and adult soldiers negatively. Children are forced to kill and take drugs in order to survive. Soldiers are forced to obey instructions and act like drones. They are striped of their individuality by wearing the same clothing, and haircut. Both are given a gun and are ordered to kill the enemy or those who could possibly be the enemy. Under the command of their superiors they act like drones waiting for an order. The violent images stay with them their whole life and scar their minds. The brutality the Soldiers and child soldiers endure will always be carried with them for the rest of their lives.
Changes: Ishmael Beah and his fellow child soldiers had to endure the biggest change of their lives. At age fifteen, Beah was rescued by UNICEF and was taken to a rehabilitation centre. The hardest part for Beah and the other children was returning back to normal human behaviour. Lashing out on doctors and nurses were normal in rehab because the children still had the violent mentality in them. Fighting his addiction for drugs was very hard. Being fed drugs everyday had a toll on him and it was hard for him to function during the first two months of his rehab. Beah felt deceived by his commanders because he felt as if they were his family and now they abandoned him. Ishmael gradually came back to his senses after talking to the staff at the rehab centre. Once he was back to his normal self he was able to go back to school and continue learning.
Brayden, you have made some interesting points in your blog response. For example, many children know the difference between what is fake and what is real. You have also captured some of emotions that were expressed in the video. One of the things we should do when we challenge a text is to ask some questions. Some of these could include: whose perspective is this told from? Who stands to gain from this perspective? Whose voices are missing and why?
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