ISIS Review

There are news being updated on ISIS every day now. At the beginning, when I first learnt about them, I mentioned the different variables within first contact when it comes to learning about this topic and how different context leads to different reactions or thoughts. Previously in my last ISIS post, I wrote about a few examples like the decapitation of the journalist, child suicide bombers and basically the fact that at this point, all they are doing is committing barbaric actions. All those examples commonly would trigger some sort of hatred towards them because of these unspeakable crimes. Also I said that their actions are up for discussion. After reading more and more and watching Obama's speech about the Islamic State, I think it is safe to say that there is nothing to be discussed. Alongside with Obama, I have heard many people say that the ideals of ISIS is not a religious defense. "No religion condones the killing of innocent people", says the president of the USA, so after learning more about ISIS and watching Obama's speech, I completely agree with him and the many other people who have said this. It is nothing more than a terrorist attack, but a very serious one that should be treated sooner rather than later. I said that many people might think different things about ISIS depending on how much they research, but having seen this speech and just with all the updates on ISIS, it can be concluded that they are only doing what they are doing to cause harm. 

I was very interested when first reading about ISIS or the "first contact" I had with ISIS was shocking and made me think about it a lot in terms of what really is their final mission or what they want to get out of their actions. In relation to first contact, people just learning about it as of today, will probably think the same way Obama and many other people have. Again, it is a terrorist attack. In this review, all I'm trying to say is that it is pretty clear now to what the ISIS is doing rather than having to sit down and think about what and why they are doing what it is they are doing. Obama is taking action towards this and will do anything to protect the lives of good people and I agree with his methodic plan to attack and defend his own people. 

Hemingway and DFW shorts story writing

"Incarnations of Burning Children" by David Foster Wallace is fast paced traumatizing story which leaves the reader really thinking about who was to blame and what happened to the baby at the end of the story. Basically what happens is that hot water falls over a baby because of the mother being carless and at the same time the father trying to calm the baby down but not realizing that there was piping hot water in his diapers. This story creates a lot of discussion when being viewed from the parent's point of view. As a reader, taking a look at this piece for the first time, like I said before leaves me very puzzled at the end because how can someone really determine who had the fault of the baby almost dying and what really happened to the baby at the end in the ER. From the mother's point of view, the father can be blamed by not having realized that the baby's diaper was filled with hot water but at the same time you can't really blame him because everything is happening so fast. The mother does not even have a chance to explain how and what happened while the dad rushes giving his best effort to save the baby. From the father's point of view, the mother is the one to blame by being careless leaving the baby in a dangerous spot which would be underneath a pot with hot water and not having done anything about it after it happened. All she does is screams and cries for help. How first contact is emphasized here is trying to understand how to the parents react and what their obligations are towards dealing with a situation like this and in the future, preventing one. Also, as mentioned before, trying to figure out what happened to the baby at the end is also something that can be discussed. Many speculations say that he was gravely injured, scared for life or died. Again, whichever may be the case, the blame is traced back to either the mother or father. Personally, I had read this story once a few years ago and that was when it struck me the most but I had never thought about it analytically with the concept of first contact.

Moving on to "Hills Like white Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, first contact is not so clearly displayed when reading the story once. I had to read the story more than once to answer questions such as what did each one of the characters want? It is important to point out that at the beginning of the story the girl seems more enthusiastic than the woman by having found attractiveness in the mountains and stating that they look like white elephants, while the American simply responds by saying that he has not ever seen one. By saying that, I think that the American is self centered and selfish. What if the girl had never seen a white elephant but just uses imagination to think about something like that? It seems like the girl wants to establish a lost connection with the American but he just wants to satisfy him self and that is shown as the story progresses. Like said before, the girl seems more enthusiastic at the beginning but later in the story, when the American mentions the operation, he is thinking of it as a benefit only for himself, where as the girl asks her whether the operation will enhance their relationship in the future? Although the American says he cares for her in the story, the tone I got out of the dialogue between them seemed as if he was doing this on partially for the girl's sake but more for his own purposes. An important thing to note on the side is that during the entire dialogue, the bartender keeps on bringing alcoholic drinks for them to enjoy and that can be a effect on their conversation but is not clearly displayed. Anyways, the woman's tone as the story progresses becomes more melancholic and a little bit questionable. In the first contact way of thinking about it, what I think of the American is that yes he does in fact care for the girl and wants the relationship to move forward but for his own benefit but the girl wants overall satisfaction within both of them.

Comparing both the stories, the thing I found the most important and is really highlighted in both pieces of writing is that they are narrowed down to two important main characters. In DFW's writing it is the mother and father while in Hemingway's piece it is the American and the girl. Both also have what can be considered a bystander one being the bartender and the other one being the baby. In both stories one can think about who the good character is and who the bad character is. In other words, is the mother to be blamed or the father and who really wants the best for the relationship, the girl or American? Bartenders usually have the freedom to overhear a conversation happening at the bar and he can be considered the judge to which is more "correct" in the dialogue between the girl and the American. The baby also can be the judge whether he survived or not after being burnt with water. Out of all, he knows the situation the best because the tragedy happened to him so in the future he can decide if he wanted to whether the father should have realized that water was in his diaper, or the mother was careless enough for it to happen in the first place. Such short stories lead to so many speculations on who really is the hero and the villain or who is right and who is wrong. The intriguing feeling one gets while reading these stories usually happens at the first reading since they are quick yet intense stories and it is this way that first contact is applied. Right off the bat one can start to think about everything mentioned. These are piece of writing which lead to a lot of debate and a good one because of the many factors to be considered when thinking about first contact.

ISIS Value App

ISIS Value Application

Learning about the Islamic State or ISIS now days can go both ways. It can be shocking to read and watch actions that they have taken on minor things but at the same time, it can interest someone to learn more about the topic. My self had not researched this topic at all before the beginning of the school year when it was mentioned during class. During the first weeks of school, the class had discussed the idea of value and the diverse ideas within value, one of them being first contact. First contact can really connect to the topic of ISIS because the articles someone read on the Islamic State for the first time, can make them be very judgmental right away. This is something that happened to me. Although in my case it did not make me judge the ideals of the Islamic State, but more than that it interested me to research more on them. Having said that, and connecting my research to first contact, I was intrigued by my encounters of some brutal things that the ISIS has done in the past month.

First of all, a lot of people have come to watch on the news and read on the newspaper is the american journalist James Wright Foley being decapitated by the ISIS and them having filmed the moment. This matter is very important towards the idea of first contact. My self and I am very sure that other people in the world must have felt the same discontent towards their actions for something that was not even the reporters fault. The US government initially sent this reporter to Syria a few years ago and from there the rest happened. This was actually the first major thing I read about the ISIS coming from online newspaper called, “Truth Uncensored”,  and it brought my attention to what they are capable of. This means that the first “contact” I have had with the Islamic State, really puts me off guard to knowing what they would do to such innocent people, and I am sure other people and not only my self would have had the same reaction. On the other hand, people who learn about the ISIS for the first time through these news, could immediately feel offended and disgusted to research or learn more on them and would judge their actions. Again, in my case, it just pushed me to find more interesting things on the topic. Like this, I encountered another shocking article on atrocious actions they have committed.

The weapons that ISIS possess are out of this world. They have all types of weapons for all types of situations. Some of the weapons that they hold are unethical as seen in the article from the “National Post”. The title of this article states the following, “ISIS captures major military air base in Syria using child suicide bomber”. From my perspective, it was experiencing the first contact or learning for the first time all over again by reading this article. Just by reading the title of the article, I was already amazed at the actions of ISIS. This article made me think of the all the other things the Islamic State has done, can and will do. Just by the simple fact that they took a newborn child as hostage and used as a suicide bomber is an impacting thing to relate to someone’s first contact towards ISIS. I started off reading something quite strong regarding the decapitation and following it up with this article just raises my amazement towards what they do and how they get away with it. Some of these atrocities are not even captured by reporters so one might wonder what else has the ISIS done? As said by the online newspaper, “The Guardian”, the UN is sending investigators to Iraq, also to find out what they have done. A lot of political parties and citizens of many countries are interested in what the Islamic State is capable of doing. Everyone who is new to the topic and has just started learning about it will surely have the same reaction my self and many other people have had. The human rights commissioner of the UN says that, “Jihadis and Iraqi government forces both carried out 'acts of inhumanity” Generally speaking, first contact or slowly learning about the Islamic State is a shocking yet intriguing topic to discuss.

Having researched quite a bit on the matter and connecting it to the concept of first contact, I think it is safe to say that my reactions are relatable to others. There are so many different variables to first contact and it really depends to the situation and context. This being the Islamic State and so many people reading and learning about at the same time makes it a controversial topic and up for discussion. A lot of people might think differently based on the amount of research they have done and exactly how much they know about ISIS, but at least for me and a lot of people in the world, including people in this class may have the same reaction by learning just now about the topic. As said before, first contact and the Islamic State can make people judge their ideals, it can make someone feel the need to research more and others might just simply not be interested. For me, I was interested by reading many things on ISIS and I researched more on the topic.

Bibliography:

"American Journalist James Wright Foley Beheaded by ISIS in Chilling Video to Obama." TruthUncensored. TruthUncensored, 19 Aug. 2014. Web.

"ISIS Captures Major Military Air Base in Syria Using Child Suicide Bomber." National Post News ISIS Captures Major Military Air Base in Syria Using Child Suicidebomber Comments. N.p., 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 25 Aug. 2014.

Black, Ian. "UN to Send Investigators to Iraq over Islamic State 'atrocities'"The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 02 Sept. 2014. Web. 02 Sept. 2014.