Received: from ETOP.ORG (mail.etop.org [12.107.104.150]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with ESMTP id h1OGPGP10589 for <nifl-esl@nifl.gov>; Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:25:16 -0500 (EST) Received: from etop-class-pc1.etop.org [172.16.5.38] by ETOP.ORG with ESMTP (SMTPD32-7.14) id A5D13360150; Mon, 24 Feb 2003 10:18:25 -0600 Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.0.20030224092832.00a35a80@mail.etop.org> X-Sender: lad-oh@mail.etop.org X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 10:25:06 -0600 To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov From: Lorraine Gardner <lad-oh@etop.org> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8586] Re: RE: War as a cross-cultural issue In-Reply-To: <000001c2dc17$546ec7e0$6501a8c0@Default> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Note: This E-mail was scanned by Declude JunkMail (www.declude.com) for spam. Status: O Content-Length: 3993 Lines: 84 People see events in terms of their own experiences, and in some cases, in terms of what they have been taught. I don't know that we can say that any view point is "right" or "wrong," but we can certainly encourage discussion to help students understand why other people feel differently about the situation. I was teaching English in Korea at the time of the Kobe earthquake, and I was just floored to hear my several of my high-school girls say that they were happy because many Japanese people died. Even though they (and probably most members of their families) had no personal recollection of Japanese occupation, the anti-Japanese sentiment was deeply engrained in them. When I told a Japanese friend of mine what the girls had said, she said that she understood their point of view because Japan never apologized to Korea for the things they had done during the years of occupation. Nevertheless, I had no regrets about expressing my displeasure at their joy over such a horrible disaster. I related to them my mother's experience growing up during the Blitz in WWII London. Although she had terrible memories of neighbors being killed and living in bomb shelters for days at a time with no light and little food and water, she did not teach me to hate German people. She taught me that you cannot blame every person for the actions of a few, and that's what I tried to communicate to my Korean students. I hope I at least made them think about why they said what they did, whether their words expressed their true feelings or just something they had been taught to feel. Lorraine Gardner Academic/Workplace Skills Instructor Omaha, NE lad-oh@etop.org At 10:16 AM 2/24/03 -0500, you wrote: >Your students want to know why the U.S. goes around attacking people all the >time? Do they study the history of Japan during the 20th century? I have >great reservations re: the present action being contemplated, but I do know >if we really wanted the oil in Iraq we could have had it long ago. Yes, the >U.S. makes many mistakes, but we don't go around attacking people all the >time. > >******************** >Cindi Riley >Assistant Director >Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry >1403 Prince St. >Beaufort, SC 29902 >phone 843-525-6658 >fax 843-521-1945 >criley@lowcountryliteracy.org >www.lowcountryliteracy.org > >-----Original Message----- >From: nifl-esl@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-esl@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Charles >Jannuzi >Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2003 3:15 AM >To: Multiple recipients of list >Subject: [NIFL-ESL:8579] War as a cross-cultural issue > >Well here I am, an American in Fukui, Japan, and I have EFL students asking >me, Why does the US attack everyone all the time? Why has war become almost >an annual event? > >What do I say? My country right or wrong? That American's unsurpassed power >somehow gives it the moral right to decide who lives and who dies? > >Do I get indignant and tell my students they are talking 'crap'? My students >right here in Fukui City can go ask their grandparents if they want to hear >real memories of what war actually means. The entire city was incinerated, >and the forested hill in the center became one giant charnel. > >I walk there every week among the trees and look at the thousands upon >thousands of gravestones that show life after life barely lived and then >snuffed out. > >Indignation is cheap. I don't think of their questions as attacks. I tell >them what my views are, and they actually appear thankful that not all >Americans think like the current administration does. > >I suggest some Americans I know review what freedom of speech means. They >might start with the recent articles of John Pilger, an Australian. Written >in a plain English that most federal emergency management bureaucrats can't >touch. You might also ask why is it that such blunt journalism makes up less >than 1% of what is published and almost none of it in the mainstream press >in the US. > >Charles Jannuzi >Fukui, Japan
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