Video Reaction Paper on John Brown
Katy Woffinden
10/12/12
History 1700
Before I had watched the video I thought he was pro-slavery and that is what made people hate him so much, but after watching the video I realized that the reason he was seen as such an evil person is because of the way he went about trying to get rid of slavery. At the end of the film Abraham Lincoln said something to the fact that John Brown's hanging was (for lack of a better word) earned because he murdered people, but that his cause was a good cause. Really what I think Lincoln was saying was that anti-slavery was/is a good cause, but massacring people in cold blooded murder is wrong and should not be tolerated for any reason. It was said by one of the historians that people either consider Brown a hero for wanting to free the slaves, or an evil wicked person because he was a murderer, but that there are no "fence sitters", meaning that you can't like him and hate him. Personally I think his cause was just and good, but the way he went about trying to get what he wanted was wrong, so I don't really like him or hate him. He had said, and I quote, that "slavery can only be destroyed by bloodshed." If we went about our lives with that mind set, don't you think things would be a whole lot worse. Yes we have wars and yes there are horrible things going on everywhere in the world, but if everyone decided that the only way to get your way is through violence and force and murder, the world would be in huge trouble. Think about it, children would be killing each other over a toy they want (because kids are always fighting over toys), adults would be killing each other over job advancements (because better job means more money and who doesn't want more of that?). . . There are a few people out there like this, but if everyone were that way, things would be a whole lot worse.
On the subject of Brown's character I think the historians were a little wishy-washy because on one hand they said he was this great man who loved his kids and was gentle and funny and just an all out great guy, but on the other hand they would turn around and say that his children feared him and that he was seen as a king that you couldn't rise above (one of his brothers had stated this), and of course he was obsessed with money and he was not one to take orders from anyone.
On the subject of his sanity the historians said he was psychologically unbalanced and a cold blooded murderer. I think he had to have been at least someone crazy to have gone on a rampage and become known for something so awful as the Pawtowatomy Massacre, because anyone who would take people from their homes and just beat them to a bloody pulp and then kill them has to have a screw or two lose, if you know what I mean.
When he was 12 he watched a slave boy get beaten and I'm sure that is a good factor in his "unstableness" in the future, because seeing something like that as a child would really mess you up for life. I believe that's when he first decided he was against slavery and wanted it gone. As he got older and watched how the slaves were treated, it only reminded him of that night and fueled his anger against slavery.
What happened at Harper's Ferry set my decision of John Brown because when the film said that the first abolitionist victim was a free black man the first thing I thought was "If John Brown is against violence and cares so much about the slaves, how could he let a FREE black man fall victim to his 'cause'." I think by this time all he really cared about was getting what he wanted since he was such a stubborn man, he didn't think about what he was doing or what it was going to cause, he just did what he had planned to do and let whatever comes come basically. In the end of the film he was captured, thrown in jail, and the reporters came to interview him. He had gotten what he had wanted all along. I think all he wanted was fame and attention, but according to the historians in the video he just wanted people to listen to him. The reason I think he wanted fame is because he didn't really think about what he was doing, he just did it, and if people had to die for what he wanted, then so be it because its what he wanted and he wasn't going to stop until he got it.
So long story short, here is what I got from the whole thing: If you want something done, do it right, it will most likely take a lot longer, but don't go around killing people because all that will do is cause even more problems. You can fight fire with fire, you just get a bigger fire.
Theory Research Paper
Katy Woffinden
11/13/12
Comm. 1050
You asked us to find a major communication event, but I decided to write about something that no one really says much about because I think it should be a major topic.
The topic I chose is what the media (mostly television) portrays people with mental disabilities to all be like. I’m sure there are many theories that could be used to explain this issue, but the one I chose to look through is George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory. According to this theory; Television has become society’s storyteller. Heavy television viewers see a vast quantity of dramatic violence, which cultivates an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world. Mainstreaming and resonance are two of the processes that create a homogenous and fearful populace. When applying this theory the first thing that came to mind are the news or T.V shows like NCIS or Criminal Minds where the one who is going around killing people or doing criminal acts almost always has some kind of mental problem. Because of this I have noticed that people are much more skeptic about people with any kind of “mental” issue.
Epistemology is the approach I’m going to take towards this topic because it is all about “what is known, and how is it known.” The only things people think they know about people with mental illnesses is that they are crazy people who go around hurting people or scaring people because their “brains are broken”. Unless you have a mental impairment or mental illness (and yes, there is a difference) or know someone with one, you can’t rely on what the media is feeding you. Whenever someone does something out of the ordinary people assume they are “mental”. Maybe that’s just their personality and they don’t have any form of mental problem at all. Television has put a very bad mark on disabilities and I think it should be stopped because not everyone with mental problems is a psychopath out to get you. Television has far too much control over what people are being told and a lot of the times what it is telling us is just someone else’s opinion, whether true or not. No one really researches things for themselves anymore or tries to learn the truth; they just assume that “if it happened on TV it must be true.” If you ask me that is extremely narrow minded and foolish.
People don’t understand disabilities and therefore I think that has made them afraid of it. When people don’t understand something they automatically label it as weird or scary without even trying to understand it. Because of the one sided opinions television gives about disabilities people have become afraid of them and now if you even mention the word “disability” people get nervous and don’t want anything to do with it.
If you want real information on a certain disability find someone who either has it, is close to someone who has it, or find a professional and get credible information, don’t take everything the media is feeding you and just assume its true. I believe that the worst kind of trait for a person to have is ignorance because those kinds of people don’t even try to understand something they don’t like or are afraid of, they just go about their life thinking “I’m right and everyone else is wrong, unless they agree with me, then they can be a little right.” They don’t care about finding out the truth; all they care about is being right and feeling “smart”.
To reiterate, what is known (epistemology) about disabilities is either from credible sources, such as doctors and the people who actually have the disability, or non-credible sources such as television shows. “People who have disabilities are always the bad guys on television; therefore they must all be psychos in real life.” That is what is shown but is it really what is known? I think people should consider that last sentence before they jump to conclusions about things they don’t understand.
I am the source of all the information you have read because I have a learning disability and have experienced everything for myself making me somewhat of an expert on the issue. I have actually had a former boss tell me “well you don’t look like you have a disability.” Now, let me ask you a question: what does someone with a learning impairment look like? Not someone with a specific physical disability that can’t control their body movement but someone who just has a mental impairment. Think about that for a minute.
The reason my former boss said this was because I quit on him due to unacceptable treatment from a manager who was treating me like I was child and in a round about way telling me that I was stupid because I have ADHD and had a hard time keeping up with things. I had told everyone multiple times of my disability but because there was no physical proof my boss assumed that I was kidding about having a disability the whole time, and he even said that.
This is a serious issue and people don’t have a clue about it. Their epistemology is wrong because they don’t know anything about it, they think what they see and hear is true, but it isn’t and people really need to realize that and get their facts straight instead of foolishly following along with what the media says and find out the actual truth about things, because learning disabilities or any kind of mental impairments are real and should not be treated as someone’s story line for a television show.
Works Cited
Personal Experiences and Opinions: Kathryn Woffinden
A First Look at Communication Theory 7th Edition: Em Griffin
When I first started this class I was sure I knew all there was to know about Communication, but there were so many new things I found. Most theories covered in the class I had experience with but I never knew it. Everyone takes part in all of these different theories every day without even realizing it.
The class connected me to every other class I had this semester because every time I did an assignment or listened to a lecture or even participated in a class discussion I was using the concepts that Communication Theory was teaching.
