Author: hall.2410

Text Review: 42

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This film is takes place around in the mid 1940’s right after World War 2. This was still a time of much segregation and discrimination. For many people growing up in this time Baseball was the sport to watch. It is now considered Americans past time. This period in time is often over Romanized by lovers of the sport. Even though baseball was in its prime there were still many faults. Up until Jackie Robinson, African Americans weren’t allowed to play in the Major leagues. This was still a time of segregation and discrimination. This even carried on into sports. This movie tells the brave story of an African American baseball player being drafted into the major leagues.

This movie starts off when Jackie Robinson stops at a gas station to fuel up his minor league “the Kansas City Monarchs” team bus. When the gas station attendants deny him and his teammates access to the bathroom, Jackie tells the attendant they will find another gas station to fill their bus up. This angered the attendants, but Jackie stands his ground. This is where Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Ricky tracks Jackie Robinson down. Branch see the confrontation and his interest in Jackie increases. Branch likes Jackie so much he offers him a so much he offers him a spot on the team right then and there. Jackie accepts and moves to Brooklyn to play. This was an unbelievable stress put on Jackie Robinson.

He was the first African American to play in the major leagues. Right off the bat Jackie was exposed to acts of hatred. One of the most notable acts of hatred was in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Manager Ben Chapmen calls Jackie Robinson names and mocks him. This causes Jackie to go back and smash his bat in the dugout with frustration. After encouragement of Ricky Jackie returns back onto the field. Jackie hits a single, then steals second, then advancing to third on a throwing error, then runs home winning the game. This is one of the most notable moments of the movie. Jackie Robinson was an amazing baseball player but also a great man. Jackie Robinson paved the way for African American baseball players in the major leagues. I love this movie because it gives people a role model to look up to. At the time this movie came out I was still playing baseball and I looked at Jackie Robinson as a role model.

Contextual Blog

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Matthew Hall

In this week’s module we will be reading the story “Regarding The Pain Of Others by Susan Sontag”. In this reading Susan talks about the horrors of war and, how many times it is glorified. Susan briefly talks about the Armenian Genocide. This was a horrific act of mankind but, many people don’t even know it happened. The Armenian Genocide occurred during World War 1 and continued even after. As a result over 1.5 million Armenians died. During the great war, the Ottoman Empire “Turks” were in a losing battle. They feared that the Christian Armenians were going to form an alliance with the Russians(Arango). This was the primary enemy of the Turks. This made way for the first genocide of the 20thcentury. Many Armenians were executed right on sight. Others were marched out into the Syrian desert and left to starve to death.

(JusticeInfo)

This being one of the most violent acts of mankind it has still never formally been recognized. Even after a century passing it is still heavily denied by the Turkish government. This is especially hard to surviving decedents of Armenians. Many just want Turkey to formally admit the genocide happened. One way that the Turkish government tried to get around this is by claiming these “atrocities happened during wartime when plenty of people were dying(Arango)”. This has been the countries stance for the past century.

WARNING GRAPHIC

(Britannica)

American politics have even tried to push recognition of the genocide. In 2007 and 2009 the house came close to voting on bills to condemn these killings as genocide(History). This was soon fended off by president George W. Bush and, Barack Obama in fear of damaging American relations with Turkey. This hasn’t stopped presidents from informally calling these acts of genocide. In 1981 President Ronald Regan issued a written proclamation in remembrance of the Holocaust. In this he referred to the “genocide of the Armenians”.

Even after a century there is still no closure to the Armenian people. The Turkish government have denied the even existence of this genocide. With no formal recognition this event has been hidden in history books. The Armenian people hope that one day there will be recognition and, they can put this horrible time in history in the past. Susan talks about about how events such as this are forgotten by many but, still live fresh in people it affected.

 

WARNING GRAPHIC

(Independent Co)

 

 

Works Cited

Arango, Tim. “A Century After Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s Denial Only Deepens.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/europe/turkeys-century-of-denial-about-an-armenian-genocide.html.

History.com Editors. “Armenian Genocide.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 1 Oct. 2010, www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/armenian-genocide.

“The 1915 Armenian Genocide: Finding a Fit Testament to a Timeless.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 5 Apr. 2014, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/1915-armenian-genocide-finding-fit-testament-timeless-crime-9241154.html.

“Armenian Genocide.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Armenian-Genocide.

Afp. “Turkish Politician Had Right to Deny Armenia Genocide: Europe Court.” JusticeInfo.net, JusticeInfo.net, 15 Oct. 2015, www.justiceinfo.net/en/other/2546-turkish-politician-had-right-to-deny-armenia-genocide-europe-court.html.

 

 

Diary of Systemic Injustices Showcase

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Out of all the stories I have written about one has strongly stuck out to me. It left me with a feeling of disappointment, but also hope. I have been fortunate enough to not have experienced many injustices in my life but, this experience changed my life. To start off I need to set the scene. My first year of collage I went to Marion’s Ohio states branch and then transferred into main my second year. I grew up only a half hour north of OSU and decided to commute my sophomore year to save money. I took my classes as early as I could to beat traffic. I drove a truck which allowed me to throw my bike into the back and ride to campus. My Grandparents owned a few apartments north of campus which allowed me to park for free. This made me ride my bike down to campus in order to make it to class in time. On a good day this bike ride would only take 10 minutes. One day I was running late to class and I pulled my bike quickly out of my truck and I heard a snap. I looked down and saw my chain was broken. This was a huge blow considering I was already running late to class. I quickly threw my bike in the back of my truck and started running down the sidewalk. I quickly became tired and realized I was going to be late to class. I took a deep breath and started walking. As I was walking, I saw a muscular African American Man in a construction vest. He looked like he was having a rough day by the look on his face. I walked up and asked how he was doing. He looked up and smiled. He had a look of surprise as he smiled. He then told me that I was the first person who had come up and talked to him on his daily walk to work. He told me many people would speed up when they saw him or put their headphones in and ignore him. We started talking about our days. He told me he was working on the new student housing building right off of Lane Ave. This was where I was heading. We talked all the way to campus and then he did something I’ll never forget. He looked at me and thanked me. I quickly replied what for? He then told me how nice it was to have someone to talk to. We said our goodbyes and completely forgot I was late to class. I never saw this man again but, it left a lasting impact on me. All this man wanted was someone to talk to. It pained me to think about how he felt with all the people just passing him by. This has made me more outgoing to talk to people. A simple conversation can make a persons day.

https://offcampus.osu.edu/search-housing.aspx?property=19011