The short story "A Use of Force" is written by the author William Carlos Williams. It's a story about a young girl who has symptoms of diphtheria, but won't let neither her parents nor the call-in doctor check to see if she is indeed infected. Her stubbornness leads the doctor and her parents to use force to open her mouth and see if she has the membrane typically associated with the illness on her throat. This event invites us to reflect upon and analyze the ethics of the doctor's choice. Was the use of extreme force in order to acquire a diagnosis justified? Does the doctor's admission that he enjoyed it have any effect on the morality of the event? Can this use of force also be classified as violence?
In my opinion, the use of force was indeed justified. The girl's stubbornness is hard for me to understand, but I suppose a reason could have been of the doctor confirming her fears of having diphtheria, a possibly lethal illness at the time. However, her stubbornness, even if understandable, was placing her entire family and anyone who came in contact with them in danger. Diphtheria could be very infectious, and could be transmitted by simple physical contact, or by breathing the "aerosolized secretions" of those infected. A diagnosis was needed for proper action (probably isolation) to be taken, but the girl was getting in the way of that. If others lived can be saved by using it, then I believe that certain force can be justified.
However, the doctor explicitly admits that he received joy from this event. To quote his own words, "I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her." I find this extremely disturbing, to say the least. Although it was possibly his "animal nature" taking control of him, to see that someone who is supposed to be a healer receive pleasure out of causing pain is very off-putting. The morality of his choice and our attitude towards it certainly changes after learning this, but I still believe that, even if only for the health of her family, the use of force was justified.
Finally, can this use of force also be called violence? Yes, sadly. According to Merriam-Webster, violence is defined as "the use of physical force to harm someone, property, etc." or as "great destructive force or energy." The event described in the short story applies to both definitions. However, even when looking at it as violence instead of force, I still believe that, although another method could have been better (I'm not sure if anesthesia of some kind existed at the time), the girl's diagnosis was much too important, and therefore, the violence was justified.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Identity
Well... what is my identity? Our Advanced English class professor asked us to write about our identities but, honestly, I have pretty much no idea what to write. As most people do, I have a pretty hard time talking about myself because I don't want to seem presumptuous, but I also don't want to downplay any of my good qualities. Anyways, I'll give it a try. (I'll be using the article on "Identity" the professor linked to for help.)
I'm a 19 year-old, electrical engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico, and my name is Guillermo José Ramos Oquendo. I've lived in Puerto Rico my entire life, and as such, I've been raised around both the English and Spanish languages. I've heard people say that the language you think in is a big part of your identity, but I honestly divide my "thinking time" in both languages (if I have to put it in numbers, I'd say 60% English and 40% Spanish). Although I do love the island I was born in, I've always wanted to have experiences living in other places. I love to travel (even though I haven't done it much), and since my oldest sister lives in L.A., I spent June of 2013 visiting her. California is definitely a place I'd love to live in! I really liked L.A. but my favorite part of the trip was the weekend we spent in San Francisco. I've been told it's an expensive city to live in, but I was enamored with everything about it, and living there for at least a month is one of the top items in my bucket list. I digress... To close with this topic, I'd also really love to travel throughout the world, including Canada, Norway, Sweden, Colombia, Denmark, and New York, amongst many others. I'd also really like to go to Minnesota in summer, just so I could see and/or listen to my favorite animal, the loon.
As for my personality, I strive to be an approachable and likable person. I like to talk and smile a lot, but I usually prefer one on one or three to four people conversations over big groups. I'd also say that I'm a very loving person. One of my favorite quotes, and one that I try to apply to my life as much as possible, is the one (supposedly by Albert Einstein) that says: "Only a life lived for others is a life worth living." I don't believe it's the only life worth living, but it's an interesting philosophy that would make all of us happier if we followed it to some extent.
Finally, my hobbies. The thing I love doing most in the world is probably playing basketball; I play nearly every day, and for me it's a way to relax and take my mind off whatever other issues I may have for a while. Some of my other hobbies are playing billiards, following sports in general, listening to music, and reading, to name a few. I enjoy reading both novels (the Game of Thrones series, The Outsiders, and The Chocolate War are some of my favorites) and online articles about varied topics, mostly on science. My favorite website for the second type of reading is Cracked.com. It's a comedy website that, although sometimes slightly inaccurate, makes reading about science, history, psychology, and an extremely varied amount of topics less tedious and more enjoyable.
There's a lot more I could say about myself, but I crossed the 500 word limit long ago, so I'll cut it short right here. I hope this has given you an idea about who I am, and if you ever wish to know more, you're welcome to talk to me!
I'm a 19 year-old, electrical engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico, and my name is Guillermo José Ramos Oquendo. I've lived in Puerto Rico my entire life, and as such, I've been raised around both the English and Spanish languages. I've heard people say that the language you think in is a big part of your identity, but I honestly divide my "thinking time" in both languages (if I have to put it in numbers, I'd say 60% English and 40% Spanish). Although I do love the island I was born in, I've always wanted to have experiences living in other places. I love to travel (even though I haven't done it much), and since my oldest sister lives in L.A., I spent June of 2013 visiting her. California is definitely a place I'd love to live in! I really liked L.A. but my favorite part of the trip was the weekend we spent in San Francisco. I've been told it's an expensive city to live in, but I was enamored with everything about it, and living there for at least a month is one of the top items in my bucket list. I digress... To close with this topic, I'd also really love to travel throughout the world, including Canada, Norway, Sweden, Colombia, Denmark, and New York, amongst many others. I'd also really like to go to Minnesota in summer, just so I could see and/or listen to my favorite animal, the loon.
As for my personality, I strive to be an approachable and likable person. I like to talk and smile a lot, but I usually prefer one on one or three to four people conversations over big groups. I'd also say that I'm a very loving person. One of my favorite quotes, and one that I try to apply to my life as much as possible, is the one (supposedly by Albert Einstein) that says: "Only a life lived for others is a life worth living." I don't believe it's the only life worth living, but it's an interesting philosophy that would make all of us happier if we followed it to some extent.
Finally, my hobbies. The thing I love doing most in the world is probably playing basketball; I play nearly every day, and for me it's a way to relax and take my mind off whatever other issues I may have for a while. Some of my other hobbies are playing billiards, following sports in general, listening to music, and reading, to name a few. I enjoy reading both novels (the Game of Thrones series, The Outsiders, and The Chocolate War are some of my favorites) and online articles about varied topics, mostly on science. My favorite website for the second type of reading is Cracked.com. It's a comedy website that, although sometimes slightly inaccurate, makes reading about science, history, psychology, and an extremely varied amount of topics less tedious and more enjoyable.
There's a lot more I could say about myself, but I crossed the 500 word limit long ago, so I'll cut it short right here. I hope this has given you an idea about who I am, and if you ever wish to know more, you're welcome to talk to me!
Monday, February 2, 2015
Running Brave
Over the last 3 classes, our class watched the movie "Running Brave," which focused on the story of Billy Mills, the Native American Indian who won the 10,000m race while representing the United States as a huge underdog at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
I actually enjoyed the movie much more than I thought I would have, considering it's a movie we saw in class (and everyone knows those are usually not too good). The acting wasn't the best, in my opinion, but the messages in the movie are pretty clear. It's easy to see how much discrimination Billy Mills faced as a Native American living in a white world in the 1960s. Similar to the way the offensive n-word is used against African-American citizens today, Billy is clearly offended and angered when a police officer judges him as a trespasser at his own university and refers to him as "chief." At one point, the pressure Billy faces being an outsider in his everyday life brings him to nearly quit on everything. He struggles to find his identity as a Native-American Indian runner living in a white world, facing discrimination and rejection from both the white people he lives with now and the Native Americans he lived with before. However, despite no longer competing for Kansas University, Billy decides to try out for the Olympics as he had originally planned, and marginally manages to earn a spot. His underdog status doesn't inspire much hope in those around him, but he barely seems to be faced by this. Something I really liked about the movie was the fact that, even though I already knew his story and the fact that he had won the climatic event at the end, it kept me in suspense throughout all of the race. Billy Mills wins the gold medal, becoming the first (and, so far, the only) athlete from the western hemisphere to win the gold in this event. He also becomes the second Native American to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics, proving those who thought "they were quitters" wrong.
On a more personal note, as I said before, I had already heard of Billy's story. In elementary school I used to be a bit of a nerdy guy, but I also liked to run, and I was also pretty good at it. I don't quite remember if it was my father or my coach who told me the story of Billy Mills, but one of them did, and I used it as my inspiration to run as best as I could and practice even harder than that. Every practice they reminded me how, with practice and dedication, even the biggest underdog can win. In summary, the movie was very enjoyable, and carried more than its share of inspirational and important messages on never giving up, even when faced with extreme adversity and unfair racial judgments.
Following a classmates' example, I include here a clip from the race the real Billy Mills won.
I actually enjoyed the movie much more than I thought I would have, considering it's a movie we saw in class (and everyone knows those are usually not too good). The acting wasn't the best, in my opinion, but the messages in the movie are pretty clear. It's easy to see how much discrimination Billy Mills faced as a Native American living in a white world in the 1960s. Similar to the way the offensive n-word is used against African-American citizens today, Billy is clearly offended and angered when a police officer judges him as a trespasser at his own university and refers to him as "chief." At one point, the pressure Billy faces being an outsider in his everyday life brings him to nearly quit on everything. He struggles to find his identity as a Native-American Indian runner living in a white world, facing discrimination and rejection from both the white people he lives with now and the Native Americans he lived with before. However, despite no longer competing for Kansas University, Billy decides to try out for the Olympics as he had originally planned, and marginally manages to earn a spot. His underdog status doesn't inspire much hope in those around him, but he barely seems to be faced by this. Something I really liked about the movie was the fact that, even though I already knew his story and the fact that he had won the climatic event at the end, it kept me in suspense throughout all of the race. Billy Mills wins the gold medal, becoming the first (and, so far, the only) athlete from the western hemisphere to win the gold in this event. He also becomes the second Native American to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics, proving those who thought "they were quitters" wrong.
On a more personal note, as I said before, I had already heard of Billy's story. In elementary school I used to be a bit of a nerdy guy, but I also liked to run, and I was also pretty good at it. I don't quite remember if it was my father or my coach who told me the story of Billy Mills, but one of them did, and I used it as my inspiration to run as best as I could and practice even harder than that. Every practice they reminded me how, with practice and dedication, even the biggest underdog can win. In summary, the movie was very enjoyable, and carried more than its share of inspirational and important messages on never giving up, even when faced with extreme adversity and unfair racial judgments.
Following a classmates' example, I include here a clip from the race the real Billy Mills won.
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