In what context can we use the word ‘barbaric’

One article I found on LexisNexis is “Robbers jailed after they hurled corrosive fluid in women’s face in ‘Barbaric’ attack” by Chloe Chaplain, and this incident took place in the UK London. This article was about how robbers sprayed ammonia in women faces so they can  not fight back while thy are trying to rob them. In this specific article two women got attacked, one by the age of 51, and the other 49. These robbers were the age of 24, and 20. With the first woman they had trouble robbing her because, even though they sprayed her face with ammonia three times she still fought back. While she fought back they decided to punch and kick her on the floor, luckily she was able to press the panic alarm button to get some help. So the robbers fled the scene without getting anything. But on the other hand the second woman was attacked 10 minutes later and she was held to the ground while they continuously sprayed her. Her vision blurred as soon as the first spray got into her eyes so she did not fight back, the robbers managed to get away with her bag. After this successful robbery the men ran off laughing and rejoice that they were successful. The two victims were rushed immediately to the hospitals and rinsed out with water rapidly, even though they suffered minor burns on their faces, nothing was permanent. This ‘barbaric’ attack scarred the women so bad that they both decided not to work anymore.

In the second article “What is barbaric Mr. Obama?” by Paul Gadalla he was questioning whether President Obama understands what is barbaric and what is not. Only because President Obama he considered that the abduction of one of his soldiers in another country. The author totally misunderstood President Obama because he then counters Obama’s statement with saying so the genocide in Gaza is not barbaric. Just because President Obama did not mention the other genocides that goes on in another country does not mean that it is not barbaric. I feel that the author is too caught up in his feelings about other problems that he jumped to conclusions by saying that Obama does not know what ‘barbaric’ really is. This article took place in Texas.

But the ‘other’ in the first article was represented as the robbers. They were the other because they have done something so outrageous that their action is considered ‘barbaric’. The targeted audience for this article is everyone, not only to be informed of this tragedy but to be aware of your surroundings, because people do not care what your age is anymore, they will still beat you or rob you. In the second article I consider the author to be the ‘other’ because he totally took President Obama out of context and decided to write a whole article about other problems hat President Obama never said that their actions are not ‘barbaric’. President Obama was just speaking on a current situation that was brought forth, not just bringing up problems from across the globe at any given time. There is a time for him to talk about everything. Not just because he used the word ‘barbaric’ for the abduction of soldiers makes him think indifferent towards genocides that are happening in parts of Africa. Therefore barbaric is more towards the action and not because someone said something and you think it is wrong based off of your opinion you think it is barbaric.

Similarly to the Persians, they cannot be barbaric just because they appear different and they do not look similar to the Greeks, nor speak the same language. Barbaric ad to be an action or something said that totally goes against what is normal and goes against proper moral attitudes. Devils advocate: Some things can be barbaric because what can be normal to you may not be normal to me. There are different cultures all over the place and some things may come off barbaric because that is not what they are used to. Therefore that word has to be used in context to fully understand who is being ‘barbaric’ at the moment.

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Citation

Chaplain, Chloe. “LexisNexis® Academic.” LexisNexis® Academic & Library Solutions, 8                                 Dec. 2017, http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/

Gadalla, Paul. “What Is ‘Barbaric’ Mr. Obama?” LexisNexis® Academic: Sign In, 7 Aug.         2014, http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?                          docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26932203580&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo =1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26932203584&cisb=22_T26932203583&tree.

Barbarian Sex

 

Reeder on LGBTQ campus activists: ‘They don’t want to debate what a marriage actually is. They want to silence those they cannot answer.’

Gay marriage, gay sex and all things not heterosexual is under fire in Georgetown University! Constantly the media is plagued with the argument that gay marriage should be accepted into the lives of others who may or may not care what someone else’s relationship is to another person. The Catholic Church and many extreme Christian Groups are among the people who rape the privacy of those who love whom they love without bothering anyone else. Campus activist promoting heterosexual marriage lost its funding and permission to be on campus due to their article “Defund Intolerance” (Reeder III).

One memorable comment by this Roman Catholic group is “As it [Christianity] moved north, south, east and west, it encountered barbarian tribes with barbarian cultures, including barbarian definitions of marriage and family such as bigamy and polygamy. When Christianity came, lives were changed and the structure of marriage and family was changed” (Reeder III). The statement bluntly refers students and faculty of Georgetown University as “Barbarians” or foreigners of their expectations and guidelines to “morality”.  This article, aimed at all of the college students to invoke embarrassment of their sexual orientation, shows how because religious group disagrees and does not understand another person’s view immediately uses the term barbarian. The term is used in order to tease, discriminate and make anyone a part of the LGBTQ feel there marriage is illegitimate by addressing biblical verses.

References

Reeder, Harry L. “Reeder on LGBTQ campus activists: ‘They don’t want to debate what a marriage actually is. They want to silence those they cannot answer.’.” Yellowhammer News, Yellow Hammer, 8 Nov. 2017, yellowhammernews.com/uncategorized/today-perspective-11-8-17/.

 

Barbaric People

As described in the Herodotus readings, the use of the word “barbaric” is mostly used to describe someone or something as being different and sometimes even out of place. In the articles, “Decolonizing Judaism: Barbarism and the Return to Nativism” by Kevin Whelan and “Barbarian Virtues” by Samuel Moyn these articles also describe either someone or something being considered irrational or unsophisticated to others.

In the article, “Decolonizing Judaism: Barbarism and the Return to Nativism” by Kevin Whelan, Whelan discusses the political divides, contemporary social divisions, and political action of the Irish community. Within his article, Whelan states that the Irish are being treated as the “other”. Whelans most probable target audience would have been bothe the Irish and the English. However the argument would sympathize toward the Irish and how they were being poorly treated, while the English would be under the lens of being the ones who would judge and discriminate against the Irish because of their beliefs and customs. For example, when Whelan states, “If Enlightenment were refused, Ireland was placed outside the pale of modern civilized society, thereby consigning it once more to the realm of the irrational, barbaric, and superstitious.” This quote explains how the Irish were being forced to follow the ways and customs of the English in order to not be seen as different or strange.

In the article “Barbarian Virtues” by Samuel Moyn, Moyn also describes how regular people are being seen as being the “other”. In his article, Moyn describes how James C. Scott the author of Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States, explains that people who do not follow his diet of being paleo, which is eliminating wheat out of one’s diet, are considered barbaric. Moyns point throughout the article isn’t to criticize Scott, but to criticize how people nowadays are too eager to follow all the new trends in order to not be seen as being strange or weird. Myon states,“… accusing civilization of evil, extolling “barbarian” virtues, and telling his readers that they have had the bad luck to be born amidst the moral ruins, mesmerized by the distracting grandeur of the states that enslave them”. This quote shows to prove how Myon believes that people should not be on top of all the new trends just to be considered “acceptable” to others.

Both of these articles are similar to the way that Herodotus described barbarians in his works. In Herodotus Histories, Herodotus described Croesus as being the “other”. Herodotus explains that Croesus “.. was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries, and entering into alliance with others”. This is similar to the other two articles because they all describe how someone would be considered barbaric just because they do not fit into someone’s view of an ideal person.
Works Cited

Hochberg, Gil and Shir Alon. “Decolonizing Judaism: Barbarism and the Return to Nativism.” Boundary 2, vol. 44, no. 4, Nov. 2017, pp. 179-194. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1215/01903659-4206385.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=a461dc3b-f611-4766-b3d8-9673a22e8930%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=125447755&db=hus

MOYN, SAMUEL. “Barbarian Virtues.” Nation, vol. 305, no. 10, 23 Oct. 2017, pp. 27-32. EBSCOhost, ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=125509296&site=ehost-live.

Barbaric “scummy” thugs

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4848135/wisbech-schoolboy-battered-by-thugs-urinated-on-him/

This article is generally about a 16 years boy was walking home and got ambushed by the thugs. Those thugs attacked him, leaving him unconscious on the street, took his mobile phone and trainer, and urinated over him. In the article, the author stated that “The popular student was walking home from a late-night party when he was ambushed by barbaric “scummy” thugs.” The author used the word “barbaric” referring to the thugs, and the word barbaric in here mean brutal and cruel. In this situation, the word “barbaric” is very different than use in ancient Greek period. In ancient Greek period, “barbaric” usually refers to the people other than Greek, even though the “barbaric” is not really a good word even in the ancient time since it means people who were not civilized. In the “Herodotus” the author wrote “Croesus, son of Alyattes, by birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys. This stream, which separates Syria from Paphlagonia, runs with a course from south to north, and finally falls into the Euxine. So far as our knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries, and entering into alliance with others.” In this phrase we can see that the author uses “barbarian” is just for the people who were not Greeks. But in here I don’t think the author use “barbaric” refer to cultures or races, he probably used that to show how brutal and how cruel the thugs were. I personally feel very sad about the boy and mad of the thugs, because I hate bullying very much since I have a similar situation before.

MLA Citation: Webb, Sam. “BATTERED BY THUGS Schoolboy, 16, battered by teen thugs who then URINATED on him in the street after ambushing him on way home from a party” The sun newspaper. 5 Nov. 2017 Google News Web. 6 Nov. 2017

Barbarian attacks in Myanmar

In recent news there has been recent attacks against the Rohingya Muslims by the Myanmar Army and police. The Myanmar police and army are being called barbaric for their violent actions against the Rohingya Muslims. Many have claimed this as an ethnic cleansing because their is only a single group being targeted as stated in the article Barbarism in Burma “Burmese security forces have visibly outshine the IS barbarians in the Middle East..” referencing the violent acts of Isis and comparing how brutal the attacks on the Rohingya people have become. The Myanmar police and army are considered as the barbarians in this conflict for their daily massacres against Rohingya Muslims.   The way barbarian used in this reference is different in the way Herodotus used it in Herodotus’ Histories. Herodotus used the word barbarian as a way to refer to the persians who came from different origins and spoke a different language. But in this article the Burmese army and police are being labeled as barbaric, as I’ve said, for their violent acts. So the meaning of barbarian was shifted from someone who spoke a different language to someone who does violent acts. 

    The article is trying to gain attention from mainstream media so they can learn about the atrocities happening in Burma. The Rohinyga people are an estimated one million with a major amount of them being muslim and the others being hindu. This attack has been claimed as an ethnic cleansing because only the muslim group has been targeted of the violent attacks.

Malik, Mohsin Raza “Barbarism In Burma” The Nation September 07, 2017 Google News Web September 11,2017 

Herodotus Herodotus’ Histories 

http://nation.com.pk/columns/06-Sep-2017/barbarism-in-burma

Barbaric in Perspective

Sabelo Nsele, Kerushun Pillay & Vincent Madlopha, Shock, mystery after gogos and six children slain in ‘barbaric’ attack, News 24, 2017-10-05 12:00.

In the article, there was a mass killing in Matimatolo. It is frequent for attack’s to happen in this area. Some attacks in the past were like “Terrorist attacks”- planned. This attack had no purpose or political motive. This attack was considered barbaric. In the article, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda said police would not rest until the killers were caught. “This is barbaric and [must] be condemned with the contempt it deserves. How do you explain killing a two-year-old?”

The murderers are considered barbaric because barbarians commit actions like these. The target audience for this article isn’t anyone specif but is for everyone who are against barbaric actions and murders. This is different from the way barbarian is used from Herodotus by Herodotus saying good things about them by saying “that great and marvelous deed done by  Greeks and Barbarians…” Deeds done by barbarians isn’t something frequently heard of. But from Herodotus, barbarians have committed deeds and are seen as good at first glance. If I didn’t know who barbarians where, then after reading this article I would feel hatred towards barbarians after murdering children.

Therefore in perspective, Barbarians can be viewed in different ways but when murders are being classified as barbarians, it shows how they are being described as.

High Security Prison Inhumane???

Many people have opinions on death sentencing and the way a person should be executed on death row. In this article, the News Minute Staff discusses hanging as a “mode of executing death row convicts”. A public interest litigation filed in the supreme court challenging the execution of death by hanging.
Throughout the article, you see many petitioners and court cases that apply to this issue. As said in the article’s title, they believe that this method is “barbaric, inhuman and cruel”. The News Minute Staff continues by describing the process of hanging in a high security prison in the United States. “The day before an execution prisoner goes through a harrowing experience of being weighed, measured for length of drop to assure breaking of the neck, the size of the neck, body measurements etc. When the trap springs he dangles at the end of rope. There are times when the neck has not been broken and the prisoner strangles to death.” The description goes on and is even more graphic and disturbing but this is the sad truth behind death row.
The prisoners are clearly being treated as the “others” in this article. The target audience are American citizens who really don’t know what goes on in prison or how the execution process works. The social value that is being discussed is that dying this way is inhumane. “The Right to Life including the Right to Live with human dignity would mean the existence of such a right up to the end of natural life. This also includes the right to a dignified life up to the point of death including a dignified procedure of death. In other words, this may include the right of a dying man to also die with dignity when his life is ebbing out.” Herodotus speaks in book 1, the chapter of “Ethnography of the Persians”. He speaks about how the Persians are the “others” and describes their sacrifices similar to the death row punishment described further in the article. “It is not lawful to offer sacrifice unless there is a Magus present. After waiting a short time the sacrifice carries the flesh of the victim away with him, and makes whatever use of it he may please.”

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/barbaric-inhuman-and-cruel-pil-challenges-hanging-mode-executing-death-row-convicts-68768
Brittany, Team Hephaestus

NewBarbarians, CLAS3, Herodotus, Thucydides

Suspended Until Death

The ultimate fight between life and death was occurring in the very eyes of the bystanders there, but all they could do was look away as the gruesome fight comes to its end.

“A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court challenges the execution of death sentence by hanging, which the petitioner describes as “barbaric, inhuman and cruel,” as well as violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.”

In this article, the prisoners that are sentenced to an hanging execution are being treated as the alien group because of the severity of the punishment. It causes extreme suffering for both the prisoner and witnesses. After the drop occurs, the prisoner is forced into a fight-or-flight reaction for just a gasp of air. He struggles to breathe as the rope tightens around his neck, and witnesses are forced to watch this gruesome scene to the extent they pass out. According to the article, all of the executions are terrible to the extent where at least one witness passes out every time.   The author feels that this type of death is not necessary because of how horrific it is. Hanging on a noose does not only cause the prisoner to struggle for his life for almost 15 minutes, but it also forces the witnesses to see something that can’t be unseen. This article targets the general public. The way the article is written appeals to the public in a way that gathers remorse and sympathy. In the article, they included a very vivid description of the hanging, which puts readers in the horrific scene. The author is trying to emphasize the urgency of this matter. Execution by hanging is not a humane way for anyone to die. It’s very cruel and savage.

“His own rank was too humble for him to hope to obtain vengeance without some barbarian help.”

This is similar to a use of the word barbarian in our readings for this class because of how it is used. In class, the term ‘barbarian’ is used to describe someone that’s different from the others, a person who is alienated due to his traits. This relates to the term used in the article because it shows how people can be subjected to cruelty like that. In the story of Herodotus, there is a line that refers to the aid of the barbarians. The tone that is used in this line is not very nice. The way the terms ‘barbarian’ and ‘vengeance’ are used in the same sentence shows a bad image of the barbarians because they are portrayed as petty and villainous in a sense. In other words, barbaric, or barbarian, is a term often used to describe something bad and horrendous.

TNM Staff. “’Barbaric, Inhuman and Cruel’: PIL Challenges Hanging as a Mode of Executing Death Row Convicts.” The News Minute, 21 Sept. 2017, http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/barbaric-inhuman-and-cruel-pil-challenges-hanging-mode-executing-death-row-convicts-68768.

– Rebecca, Team Jupiter

Senseless Murder

The word “OTHER”, has a sense of feeling that this person is different and unusual. In this article, A University of Santo Tomas law freshman was killed in a hazing incident. So the “Other” is the criminal from the Aegis Juris Fraternity because the article explained that they blamed the people from the Aegis Juris Fraternity. The tone of their writing made it sound like, the people of Aegis Juris Fraternity is a bunch of low-lives. Even though the death of Atio is still under investigation, the article is telling me that the criminal is from Aegis Juris Fraternity. The target of the audience is to tell people of the injustice that is happening and support the justice for the death of Horacio Castillo III.

The social value in this case is that if someone commits injustice, the victim’s family should have the right’s to do justice. The family of the deceased wrote a statement to bring forth the killer, so justice can take place. In class, we discussed about how barbarian are people who are foreign to the land and speak a different language. Just like in the Herodotus of the Persians, “For Asia,  with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhibit it…”. This quote explained that the Greeks treated Asia as the Other because of their language. So the Greeks invaded Asia and destroyed the kingdom of Priam. To me it looks like the Greeks are Barbarians because they went in to destroy the kingdom just because they took one woman. However, when the Greeks took their woman, the asiatic did nothing. So in my opinion, I felt that the barbarians were the Greeks.

News, ABS-CBN. “’Barbaric’: Family of UST Student Killed in Hazing Cries for Justice.” ABS-CBN News, 18 Sept. 2017, news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/19/17/barbaric-family-of-ust-student-killed-in-hazing-cries-for-justice.

Bannon The Barbarian is quite catchy.

Today’s political climate is very polarizing. The divide by the two major groups, conservatives and liberals, are shown to be increasingly wary of each other. If you do not agree with their opinion, you are obviously the enemy. This is the case with the media too. In this article, it accuses CBS as purposely manipulating camera angles in order to ensure that Mr. Bannon was seen in a negative light. Furthermore, it praises Trump’s plans and bashes on Hillary Clinton. The author, Chuck Muth, describes Hillary Clinton as a fraud. The only reason she was even seen in a positive light was due to the fact that the media kept praising her and calling her “intelligent”, when in fact, she was far from it. This is in line with this quote, “If you are not with us, you are against us.” If you are not in line with what a group believes in, you are polarized for even having a different belief. Same goes for both sides, liberal and conservative. The title is a play on this issue, where we see the other side as this evil, this dumb, stupid backwards savage that does not understand the REAL issues. One would describe Mr. Bannon as a “barbarian”, if the person describing him were to be a liberal. This is also noted in Herodotus, where “the Greeks forced some to be tributaries, while allying with others (1.5-7, Paragraph 6). The Greeks would force those with a different culture into becoming one of them, meanwhile, they also allied with those that aligned more with their ideals. This is an extreme version of modern USA, where political groups would try to accuse the other of being savages just for having a different opinion as them. The idea of joining a group, or being forced to, because you are the enemy remains very true to this day. In this increasingly tense times, one must note that both groups are the same people, just with different beliefs, but both deserve respect for showing their opinions.

 

Muth, Chuck. “Bannon The Barbarian Conquers ‘60 Minutes.’” Google News, dailycaller.com/2017/09/13/bannon-the-barbarian-conquers-60-minutes/.

Barbarians throughout the ages

Spain saw one of its most violent days in recent memory as a series of incidents throughout the country appeared to be connected to a terror attack Thursday in Barcelona that left thirteen people dead and more than hundred injured. “The atrocity was the first successful attack on Spanish soil since 191 commuters were killed in the 2004 Madrid bombings” (Reilly). The deadly events began in the early evening with a van plowing through crowds on the renowned Las Ramblas avenue, a popular tourist section of Barcelona. There were at least 18 nationalities among the victims who came from countries as varied as France, Venezuela, Australia, Ireland, Peru, Algeria, Belgium and China, according to Spain’s civil protection agency. As police searched for the van driver, Spain’s Prime Minister called it an act of “jihadi terrorism.” Both articles contextualize the van drivers and their terrorist actions as ‘barbaric’. The first article gives a factual chronology, with no hidden bias or agendas, of what had happened in Spain these past few weeks. It also mentions quotes from world leaders condemning the accident and sharing their concern to the victims and their families. The second article offers a perspective of a witness, who shared his descriptive view of what had happened. Isaac, the witness, mentions, “streams of blood” and “panic stricken tourists”, expressing more emotion in contrast to the first article. Generally, most people could agree that foreigners inflicting terror and threats on citizens of a nation can be categorized under barbarians. These two articles manifest that idea and explicitly calls ISIS, the group who took blame for the crimes, barbarians, and in a sense treated as ‘other’. The targeted audience are the people who need to be informed of the atrocity and brutality of terrorists. The purpose behind this article is to instill in it’s audience that loyalty between one another and between the citizens and its government will ensure safety and combat terrorism. Loyalty is a social value under the provisions of the U.S constitution, a document that holds the foundation upon which this nation was constructed. Loyalty is embedded in the social contract, which is an agreement between the government and its people that states that as long as they don’t misuse their power we will remain loyal to them. In other words, the articles intention is to inform us on loyalty, a value that serves as a bedrock in preserving the tranquility of America and a value that if correctly practiced, can prevent terrorism anywhere. Over two thousand years ago, barbaric, as used in the newspaper articles, was used in Greece, but to a different extent. The Greek historian Herodotus divides the world into those who speak Greek and those who do not. Barbarians are the latter. Herodotus writes: “But the Greek stock, since ever it was, has always used the Greek language, in my judgment. But though it was weak when it split off from the Pelasgians, it has grown from something small to be a multitude of peoples by the accretion chiefly of the Pelasgians but of many other barbarian peoples as well”. Within English usage, the word ‘barbarian’ has a derogatory connotation, regarded today beyond its definition as an uncivilized savage. In 490 B.C.E in the age where Herodotus lived, the word barbarian held its own context and would often be defined as ‘different’. Herodotus is just an example of word that evolves over time almost to a completely different definitions.

How Extreme Should The Punishment for Rapists be?

Human Rights activists oppose the proposal that rapists should be castrated as their punishment because they feel as if it is too violent of a punishment. The CAGED spokesperson Thomas Fann believes that criminal justice shouldn’t be decided by one state in particular as it is a federal matter. He went on to say that punishments that are irreversible should not even be considered, as no criminal justice system is perfect, and mistakes are very likely to occur. If a situation were to arise where someone was wrongfully convicted and was given a irreversible punishment, it would only cause more problems. In addition, he argued that these crimes wouldn’t simply be stopped with this punishments. Fann believes it is more important to figure out how to get victims to handle situations like rape and incest so that they are able/comfortable enough to report it and to find the reason behind these horrific occurrences. The Amnesty International Malaysia’s (AIM) executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu says that although sexual crimes are atrocious, this kind of punishment would be inhumane and a violation to human rights. She urges for the Sarawak government to find a more “effective” punishment for these offenders. Another opposer of this proposal is the Tenaganita director Aegile Fernandez. She says “ the castration of rapists is wrong and questions the need for such “a barbaric act” on a human being”. All these human rights activists against using castration as a punishment for rapists believe that instead we should be focusing on making a better a environment for rape and incest victims to come forward and report their situation without being afraid of being judged by their society. Not having a safe place where people can talk about the injustices that happen to them has caused a rise in both rape and incest over the past years, so the creation of a “safe” environment for them is absolutely necessary.
The “other” in this article are the victims of rape. In this article human rights activists are arguing that castration is too barbaric to use as a punishment for rapists, however the acts they committed would be considered as more barbaric than castration by most people. The target audience for this article would be those who favor castrating as a solution/punishment for rapists, because it provides multiple reasons for why castration would a barbaric thing to do to rapists. The social value being affirmed as shared value for the target audience is that although someone commits something very wrong, the solution to that should not be something cruel because that would not fix anything. Barbarian is a person in a savage, primitive state. Therefore, this is similar to the word barbarian in class because the rape is a barbaric action. Herodotus states “men of sense care nothing for women.” This is an example of barbaric.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/09/12/castrating-rapists-a-barbaric-act-say-human-rights-groups/

Mohammed Uddin, Vulcan

The ‘barbarian’ in the mirror.

It was taught during one of our lectures, that the word ‘barbarian’ originated from the Greek word, ‘bar bar.’ It was a term they used for foreigners that didn’t speak their language, the Greeks as history portrayed, were not too keen on foreigners. As you can imagine, the word itself underwent some changes since then and now and may yet to change again. As an illustration, I will discuss two articles that mentioned the word ‘barbarian’ to decipher what it meant in that subtext.

The article, “Bow Down to the Tattooed Queen” is about the actress, Judi Dench’s role as Victoria in the saga,”Mr. Brown.”In her saga, her character became involved with a younger servant after the death of her husband. In the second addition to the saga, called “Victoria and Abdul,” she mourned the death of her Scottish lover, but was soon after involved with another servant. Her relationship with the second servant was especially controversial because of his race being Indian Muslim.  For instance, while filming the movie, they ran into some issues when a group of right wing Indian nationalist charged the set, they claimed that the movie wanted “to absolve our barbaric behavior in colonized countries.”

In the second article, “School Lunch Without Shame” was about the importance of keeping the lunch payment discrete so as not to humiliate the students that could not afford to pay. “Nationally, however, far too many school districts still employ barbaric policies under which children are openly humiliated when their parents cannot pay lunch bills”. This article was written to berate the cities or states that do no use this program.

The target audience for both these vary, for the first article, the issue regarding the first article was race. The building of the statue of Victoria was purely for the film production but the right wing Indian nationalist saw it as an act of disrespect considering that they were under the British rule. The target audience would be the film makers, actors, and any future acts. In the second article, it could be said that the target audience would be the parents, by making the parents aware of how of how their children might be feeling, it would also urge them to ensure that their children have these programs at their school.  These articles are similar in the way that they use the word ‘barbaric’, it was first used to describe the right wing Indian nationalist and then it was used as to describe an old law that no longer fits in with modern society. They are similar in the way that they are both used to describe people that are holding on to things of the past. In a way I think of the “the destiny of a man is in his soul” from Herodotus fitting of the word ‘barbarian,’ it will forever be changing based on what is the aim of the person.

Works cited:

1. “School Lunch Without Shame.” New York Times, 8 Sept. 2017, p. A26(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA503736222&asid=3f179db234cee34f6832cf7f25307cc3. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.
2. Dowd, Maureen. “Bow Down To The Tattooed Queen.” New York Times, 24 Sept. 2017, p. 1(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA506142771&asid=1add9bd9ceb797a16679f774a2f87ef1. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

 

 

 

Barbaric Killings of Wild Animals?

For centuries we have been learning to kill and hunt for the sake of survival. This can be found in both humans and animals. What happens when this skill is actually damaging our wildlife population? The lives of the animals we don’t consume, are being hunted and killed to protect the animals we do consume. How can we stop this way of hunting and killing innocent wildlife?

In this article, it explains how these organizations are standing up to protect innocent wildlife from the government and Wild Life Services. They use the term barbaric in this sentence: “This idea of killing wildlife anytime there is a conflict is just barbaric.” (Collette Adkins, senior attorney at The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)) In this article, they use the term “barbaric” or “others” to refer those that kill wildlife for the reason of protecting the animals we do consume. The targeted audience for this article is those that support the lives of wildlife and that are willing to stand with these organizations. The social value that is being affirmed as a shared value for the target audience is to let their audience know that they can stand together and fight for something that is right. The way they use the term barbaric/barbarian in this article isn’t similar to the way Herodotus used it. Example being: “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it…” They use the term barbarian to refer to those that didn’t belong to their place or race meanwhile in the article below, they basically called the act of killing the animals for no reason, barbaric.

Works Cited

Hugo, Kristin. “USDA Sued over Millions of “barbaric” Killings of Coyotes and Other Wild Animals.” Newsweek. N.p., 12 Sept. 2017. Web.

War. Does it mean we have to be Barbarians?

“to search out and destroy the last vestige of this barbaric war, to pacify our own hearts, to conquer the hate and fear that have driven this country these last 10 years and more.”

“His own rank was too humble for him to hope to obtain vengence without some barbaric help” – Herodotus

The Vietnam war started in November of 1955.  The United States joined in to combat the Vietnamese along side the French. Both the united States and the French used very questionable methods of warfare. The French would even go as far to use guillotine’s to execute Vietnamese soldiers. The United States was responsible for the bombings in Vietnam and also the countless Napalm strikes. The burning of innocent villages and the radiation even done to their own soldiers are all effects of the United States and their strive to win the war. The Vietnamese are essentially the “Others”. In the conclusion of the article the Vietnamese have a museum in Saigon for the war crimes that took place.  Through reading the article ” Vietnam revisits a barbaric war and asks, what went wrong” the targeted audience is the American people because of how the article points out many wrong doings by the United States. Such as shooting and killing the civilians, pursuing Vietnam even though the United States was no closer to winning the war, resulting in more lost lives. Hopefully the same mistakes aren’t repeated again.  Barbarian ties into our readings from class with the meaning not like ourselves.

#NewBarbarians #CLAS3 #Herodotus #Thucydides

https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2017/09/13/ken-burnss-vietnam-revisits-barbaric-war-and-asks-what-went-wrong

“I was ordered to”

Solon, the wise men of Athens regards seventy years to be the limit of a man’s life. But Dinton Crocker’s life was put to an end by the age of 19. Why, you may ask, because he loved his country and decided the best way to serve it would be to enlist in the army. Though his name lives on Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial, his life no longer remains. He is one of many that was sacrificed in the Vietnam war.

This personal narrative was told in the article Ken Burn’s ‘Vietnam’ revisits a barbaric war and asks what went wrong, which relates the Vietnam war as a war that had little reason, but immense sacrifice.  According to the article, John Kerry told Congress “to search out and destroy the last vestige of this barbaric war”. The term barbarian, in this case, does not mean ‘one who does not speak your language’ as it did in Ancient Greece. In Herodotus, it is used in the context of “they [Hellenes] displayed the greatest strength they had against the barbarians, fighting recklessly and desperately”(Herodotus, 223), which refers the enemy as the barbarian.  However, in the context of the article, barbaric refers to the inhumane nature of the war itself, not another race of people. Though the use of the term does not single out a race, it does single out people who perpetuated this inhumane nature of war.  Thus in this article, the “others” are those who supported the war and participated in war cruelties. However, we see in the quote from Herodotus, that the one who fought recklessly was revered rather than being treated as the other. This shows the difference in the shared value of the contemporary and ancient audience. The target audience for this article is the general public as it informs us of the events of Vietnam war. And it affirms antiwar values and speaks out against the “barbaric” nature of war.

 

Schroth, Raymond A. “Ken Burns’s ‘Vietnam’ Revisits a Barbaric War and Asks, What Went Wrong?” America Magazine, The Jesuit Review, 16 Sept. 2017, http://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2017/09/13/ken-burnss-vietnam-revisits-barbaric-war-and-asks-what-went-wrong. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017

Masuma, Team Mercury

“Barbaric” Level: Human or Animals?

“…the agency employs people to kill wildlife, including 2,726,820 animals in 2016”.

Hugo, Kristin. “ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUE USDA FOR “BARBARIC” KILLING OF MILLIONS OF WILD ANIMALS”. Newsweek web. 11 Sept. 2017

There is often a boundary that separates humans and wild life because one would usually harm the other. In this case, the USDA Wildlife Services agency killed millions of wild animals per year in order to keep them away from people’s livestocks. This barbaric action can lead to a mass extinction of many animals on Earth. In this article, wild animals are treated as ‘other’, some humans think of them as a hassle because they damage their crops/livestocks. The target audience for the article are animal lovers, those that care about the lives of wild animals or animals in general. The social value that is being affirmed as a shared value for the target audience is that animal lives should also be valued. If this agency continue on hurting animals, even if they do not intend on hurting them, then many species can actually go extinct.

In our readings in class, the term ‘barbarian’ is used to call someone who is an outsider. Barbarians are people who dress differently, talk differently, and look differently. According to Herodotus, Croesus “…was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks…” (4). Croesus is not from Greece and is therefore considered a barbarian. The meaning of the word barbarian in this article is to show the cruel actions done by humans. The killings done by this agency is “barbaric” meaning they are doing things monsters would do.

The barbarians and Philistines

“A note to all philistines” is was written by Wayne Kublalsingh on 8th September 2017 (Kublalsingh). Wayne Kublalsingh addresses the Tulsi family and Oropouche Wetland and Lagoon as the “Other” to reach the adult and educated who are his primary audience. His main social value in the article suggests that the educated and adults should not live a life similar to that of “barbarians” and philistines.

In the article, the author affirms the Philistines’ barbarism as the main social value in the articles. In the article, the author starts by affirming a philistine as a barbarian, a lout, savage. In addition to this, barbarism, in this piece, as well plays a role as a shared value to the audience, who in this case are the laypeople. In this case, barbarism reflects the fundamental concept, belief, and principle that underlies the culture of the Philistines, and which guides behaviors and decisions of the Philistines; a Philistine is the highest order brigand and bandit (Kublalsingh). In that, they do not respect civilization, origins, culture as well as source. For Kublalsingh, the Tulsi family represents a barbarian, philistine and which is the main subject in “A House for Mr. Biswas, VS Naipaul” quoted chapter. The Tulsi family in the article is characterized by the swimming pool, animals, the machines, the cocoa estate, the pasture, as well as the lovely trees. Kublalsingh suggests that it was their Short-hills’ legacy and a place they headed to for making their home. Pursuing this further, Kublalsingh has it that the Oropouche Wetland and Lagoon is an ancient high culture seat. The author highlights Peter Harris and his 1969 archaeological team that discovered Banwari man/woman (Kublalsingh). The excavation marked the oldest skeletal remains of human over found in the Caribbean that had an age of about 7000 years (Kublalsingh). In this case, this burial was discovered in a low mound, a laden with bones, flint, and shells; a holy place.  This article states that in Lithic cultures preserve teeth, shells, crystals, stones and hard objects for making tools and implements. The human and animal bones in this culture are exhumed and worship, long after passing.

The word “barbarian” which was used to describe people who spoke in different language, wore strange clothing and had weird behavioral traits. For example, they were very secretive and portrayed weird gender habits. But the writer of this article the author defined a barbarian using the life style of Philistines. He further used words like  lout and savage to expand his views. But Herodotus uses the word barbarian to describe non Greeks, Persians to be precise. In his writing, I quote,

“Truly,” said Magi in reply, “it very much concerns our interests that thy kingdom be firmly established; for it went to this boy it would pass into barbarians hands, since he is a Persian: and then we Medes should lose our freedom, and be quite despised by the Persians, as being barbarianers.”

Also, “A note to all Philistines” reflects Herodotus’ quote that,

“Not so; it is we alone and none others that have this skill whereof you speak, yet even of us not many but a few only; there are some among my Persian spearmen that will gladly fight with three Greeks at once; of this you have no knowledge and do but utter arrant folly.”

This can be compared to the article as a reflection of the quote above as Herodotus says force has no place where there is a need of skill and Knowledge.

Works Cited

Kublalsingh, Wayne. “A Note to All Philistines*.” Sunday Express. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 September, 2017.

Article from google news

Richard, Team Vulcan.

 

The Intellectual Vs. The Soldier

The article I chose to write about from Google News is Words vs the Swords…And the Trolls.  The news report is about a journalist named Gauri Lankesh who was killed because she wrote offensive things about the Hindu people regularly in her articles.  The author, Vikram Muthanna,  wondered why insulting people online is considered no big deal and physical violence is considered a crime when arguably verbal abuse causes significantly more damage. The author comes to the conclusion that emotional violence can not be measured while physical violence can be. Also the use of language as a weapon is associated with intelligence, making it clever as opposed to cruel.  “The intellectual can hurt with his\her words. The soldier can hurt with his\her weapons. We live in a world where the former is accepted even encouraged. The latter is not…I, the intellectual  have the right to provoke; but you who only knows to wield violence has no right to get provoked and respond in the only way you know how to…”

Vikram Muthanna, in this article, is speaking to those who were a victim of internet trolling, showing the damage that it causes, and affirming the danger of it. Hurting people with words is considered such a normal, every day thing that people who respond with physical violence are called barbarians and thus considered Other.

This is a very different use of the word barbarian then the Ancient Greeks had.  Muthanna used the word barbarian to mean people who use physical violence. While the Greeks used the word to simply mean someone who was not from Greece/ someone who didn’t speak Greek. An example of this is shown in Herodotus” …He was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks forcing some of them to become his tributaries…” (chapter 6) Herodotus wasn’t saying Croesus was violent the Persians just weren’t Greek!

Muthanna,  Vikram. “Words  vs  the  Swords…And  the  Trolls. ”  Star of Mysore 9 Sept. 2017. Web. 10 Sept.  2017.

Words vs swords

 

!EPAR !EPAR !EPAR BARBARIAN!

” A woman left unconscious after a ‘barbaric’ late night sexual assault in Ipswich town centre, which has reopened the debate over police patrols.”- (Evening Star)

“According to the complaint registered against Tamber for this barbaric act, he did not allow nurses to enter the check-up room before asking the woman to remove her clothes.” (Free Press Journal)

“!Epar !Epar !Epar” is an anagram for “Rape! Rape! Rape!” and I didn’t want to title my blog that, but I wanted the idea of “!Epar !Epar !Epar” to sound like “Bar! Bar! Bar!” and signify the act of a barbarian, because it is my opinion that rape is committed by no one other than a barbarian, in the modern sense of the word.

These two quotes are taken from two separate  newspaper publications regarding the rape of two women, (both twenty and twenty-one) in different countries. The former quote from the Evening Star talks about a young woman who was raped and whose body was discarded in a car park on September 3rd in Ipswich, Suffolk UK.  The act was done anonymously and no one was charged or held responsible for the incident; it was not the first time and it will not be the last time something like this will happen.

The second quote talks about a woman that was raped by Patrik Tambe, a Thane doctor in Mumbai. She went for an appointment, where he instructed her to take her clothes off, and then proceeded to touch her inappropriately and eventually rape her. He threatened her to stay quiet and after he released her she reported the crime to authorities. Tambe was arrested and his crimes were made public, the girl he raped being scarred for life after entrusting someone to make sure that she felt physically better,  only to have him do the unthinkable and make her feel worse than she’s probably ever felt in her life.

Rapist are being treated as the ‘Other’ with probable cause in both of these articles. The act of rape is referred to as ‘barbaric’ so that we distance ourselves from the deed and notion of such a crime. The target for both of these articles are  the local community, its purpose is for them to come together and understand how atrocious such an act can be. It is supposed to draw empathy from the audience, the first one in particular because the rapist was never found. It was intended to alarm the public that someone this savage has not been caught and hopefully motivate the people to join the police and keep the area safe, especially for young females. This article is not supposed to make you feel safe and comfortable, but rather inspire you to band together for the good of the community. The target audience is supposed to feel a sense of togetherness and strife for what is right.

The term ‘barbarian’ is different from the way we learnt about it in class because it transcends the difference in language; it now explores the difference in person and the difference between man and beast, humanity and heinous. The term ‘barbaric’ now reduces a man or woman to less than human, having commit something that made them be viewed as a pariah of society. It’s similar to what we learnt in class because like the ancient folk, I no longer want to listen to anything a man like this would want to say because I refuse to understand him. Everything he says now may as well be “bar bar bar” because when I think of a rapist all I can think about is the fact that they raped someone, everything they say becomes “rape rape rape” and I personally refuse to look at any other contents of their character because as a young woman myself, it is despicable to me that a man can do that to someone.

“Croesus, son of Alyattes, by birth a Lydian- was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks.” (Herodotus) In Herodotus’ Histories, the term “barbarian” is mentioned quite a lot. The term is much more loosely used and usually is not always referring to someone of lower human quality, but just someone that was not Greek or Roman; they are the ‘Other’, someone that is different and does not speak the same language. Herodotus is referring to Croesus, a Lydian king, as a barbarian so the term had nothing to do with poverty and lowliness. The articles are so different from Herodotus Histories’ because of what they are referring to as barbaric, something truly awful, while Herodotus’ Histories do not use the term in regards to any heinous actions.

Works Cited

 Free Press Journal. India. FPJ Web Desk. “Thane Crime: Doctor Asks Woman to Remove Clothes, Rapes Her” August 21, 2017. Lexis Nexis. Newspaper. September, 13th 2017. http://www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26488317531&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26488317536&cisb=22_T26488317535&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&selRCNodeID=163&nodeStateId=29243001en_US56E8257609904D94976F126743B5E1E9,1&docsInCategory=12&csi=404871&docNo=4

Evening Star. PR Script Managers. “Woman Left Unconscious in Brutal Sex Attack.” September 4, 2017. Lexis Nexis. Newspaper. September 13th 2017.  http://www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26488317531&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26488317536&cisb=22_T26488317535&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&selRCNodeID=163&nodeStateId=29243001en_US56E8257609904D94976F126743B5E1E9,1&docsInCategory=12&csi=304101&docNo=2

Herodotus Histories’.  

 

 

 

 

A No-Longer-Needed Term

In an article regarding the murder of a journalist in Mysore, India, the ‘Other’ appears to be people who use violence to solve issues. The article states that “you, the barbarian who only knows to wield violence, have no right to get provoked and respond the only way you know how to”  (Words vs. Swords, and Trolls). This suggests that this “barbarian” has responded in the only way they know how; through violence. The term regards those who look towards swords, instead of words to reach an agreement. In an article regarding the death of Steve Biko, violence is stamped as barbaric, no matter what the person who is doing it was labelled as before he/she became violent. The article hints that “it does not matter who the victim or perpetrator/aggressor is or the colour/pigmentation of the victim or perpetrator – violence is barbaric and should be abhorred by all of us” (No Justification For Acts of Violence In Our Country). It is noted that no matter whether you’re on the “good,” or “bad” side of an argument, once you prove to be violent you’re automatically “barbaric.” Both articles appeal to the same audiences; those appalled by horrific events and those looking for a change in tone. Both articles are preaching to chose words over violence at all times to insure a coherent compromise; a social value that is preached often, but not really followed by many.

Herodotus’ opens up his book on differentiating “the great and marvellous deeds done by Greeks and barbarians” (Herodotus). He also mentions Asia, “with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhibit it” (Herodotus). He has no reason to state who the “barbarians” are; they are just not Greek. Herodotus would probably not understand the two articles mentioned above, as they try to make an understanding of the use of the term “barbarian,” where Herodotus seems to have a clear idea of who he thinks they are; anyone that isn’t him! From reading Herodotus’ and the discussions we’ve had in class, a “barbarian” in Ancient Greece was a term used to differentiate the noble Greeks from everyone else. In the articles I read, and in daily modern life, the term is now used only in discussion of horrific, violent events. Today it is easy to not have to use the term “barbaric,” and is certainly not used to describe people we don’t understand.

“Words vs. Swords, and Trolls” LexiNexis. www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26487660355&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26487660359&cisb=22_T26487660358&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=345270&docNo=1

“No Justification For Acts of Violence In Our Country” LexisNexis. http://www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26487660355&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26487660359&cisb=22_T26487660358&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=345270&docNo=1

 

Camille, Team Diana

 

Barbaric Atrocity in the World

Unfortunately, many atrocities occur in the modern world. An example of these atrocities is the deaths of Thato Salemane and Tumisang Lengau. These girls, ages 16 and 18, were brutally murdered and possibly raped on Friday, September 8th and discovered the next day. In the article, the provincial deputy police commissioner, Major-General Jones said,”To have such young vulnerable women killed in this barbaric manner is appalling and cannot be tolerated.” In this statement, the word barbaric is referring to the murderer/s and the brutal way they killed these girls. I think that this term is used justly for today’s meaning of the word because in modern society, barbarian, which is where the word barbaric is derived from, means a person in a savage, primitive state according to dictionary.com. If we are referring to the original meaning of the word, which is a non-Greek, then this word would be unfit, but since we are not, it is used justly. The target audience that this article is trying to reach is the general public because the police want to protect the public and to get as much information as they can about the girls’ murder. This article is meant to show that such horrific violence against anyone, especially women, will not be tolerated.

The word “barbarian” has been around since Ancient Greece. It has been used in the writing of Herodotus to describe non-Greek warriors throughout history. In his writing, Herodotus uses barbarian to describe the Persians. For example, Herodotus writes, “That was what the barbarians thought; but the Athenians, when they came to hand-to-hand fighting, fought right worthily” (Herodotus 47). I think in this context, Herodotus says barbarians in a negative context. This is because he uses Persians and barbarians interchangeably and he usually uses the term barbarian to describe the Persians when he is boasting about the Greeks like the example shown above. In both the article and Herodotus’s writings, barbaric and barbarian are used in a negative context. The difference is that Herodotus uses barbarian to describe non Greeks and to speak boastfully about Greeks and in the article, barbaric is used to describe the dark side and savagery of humanity.

“Barbaric.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/barbaric?s=t.

Barbaric Definition

EtheridgeNew24, Jenna. “Two Teenage Girls Stabbed to Death in ‘Barbaric Manner’.”News24, News24, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910.

Full Article

Is Dave Truly a Barbarian?

I, much like many of you grew up watching Disney channel. One thing I learned from watching shows on Disney was what a barbarian was. Dave the Barbarian. That sounds pretty familiar right? Well that’s because it is. Dave the Barbarian was indeed a cartoon on Disney channel. It depicted a man, named Dave of course who lives in a tree swinging around letting out a feral scream. Essentially Dave is a Neanderthal. Representations such as dave lead us to believe that a barbaric person is uncivilized.

Rugby is often described as a barbaric sport. The reasoning behind that is the lack of rules, protective gear and brutal physical contact. But the article didn’t exactly focus on the sport, it alluded to the players being the barbarians as mentioned in the title, “Rugby is fast becoming a thug’s game played by barbarians’ the players are being treated as the “other”. The author basically calls the players Barbarians because of their behavior. The player “got himself a 10-year ban for – and there’s no better word for this – bitch-slapping a young referee during an Australian Under-19 club game.” No matter which side of the coin you look at, that kind of behavior is uncivilized thus in effect being deemed barbaric. The word barbaric in this scenario is used to to describe an ill mannered violent person similar to when in Herodotus men attacked others using daggers with glee, exhibiting violence. Differing from how barbaric is interpreted in these two scenarios, in class we refer to barbarian as someone who is not Greek.

 

Citations.

ww.sport24.co.za/Rugby/rugby-is-fast-becoming-a-thugs-game-played-by-barbarians-20170909

Barbarians vs. the Innocent

The News Week article named Environmental Group Sues USDA for ‘Barbaric Killing of Millions of Wild Animals” is a informative article about the murder of innocent animals and a lawsuit that is trying to stop this. In this particular article the ones being labeled as the barbarians is the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) . They are responsible for the murder of over 2,726,820 animals in 2016. The act of killing animals in this article is considered barbaric,“This idea of killing wildlife any time there is a conflict is just barbaric.”

This article was written for environmentalists, agriculturists, wildlife conservationists and anyone who is concerned for the well being of animals. Animals are considered innocent creatures and this article is bringing to light the efforts of several groups that are trying to put to a stop their barbaric murders. The shared value between this article and the potential audience is the awareness of the killings of millions of animals yearly and to the ongoing situation between the USDA and environmental groups’ concern for wild animals in the  U.S.

In the ancient world, the word barbarian was used to describe an outsider, more specifically someone that did not resemble them, speak like them or shared their cultures’ specific values. “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it,” is from Herodotus. Herodotus was a Turkish historian and so when he talked about the Asians he referred to them as barbarians because they were not Turkish. In this article the use of the word barbarian has a similar definition because the USDA are considered outsiders for not sharing the same values as the environmentalists, who are suing them.

Citations:

Hugo, Kristin. “USDA Sued over Millions of ‘Barbaric’ Killings of Coyotes and Other Wild Animals.” Newsweek, 11 Sept. 2017, http://www.newsweek.com/usda-sued-barbaric-killing-coyotes-wild-animals-663227.

Herodotus. “Histories”

 

Blunt Coworkers and Unjust Solitude: Barbaric?

In the article, “Dalio Book Lays Bare Bridgewater Culture”, the word ‘barbarian’ is used in a context that describes the methods of a controversial CEO. In this article, Book has a set of principles that seemingly justifies rude behavior between his employees. He gave them a platform to freely express whatever opinions they have about each other without sugarcoating in order to promote growth within his company. Any employee reading the article would be shaken to know that he even published a book to encourage other heads of companies to adhere to his outlandish ideals. Harsh criticism makes for an uncomfortable atmosphere that would stifle even the most opinionated of employees if they knew all their coworkers would bully them after. His principles are counterproductive if everyone is too scared themselves and the ones that remain in his company knowing he runs it like this are most likely similar in character, which makes for a lack of diverse thinking. The article states, “Mr. Dalio’s critics — and there are many — say his principles offer permission to be verbally barbaric,” which emphasises how extreme his techniques are by calling them barbaric.

The article, “Evolving Attitude on Solitary for Juveniles” explains the effect solitary confinement has on young prisoners. The prison system strips these kids, some of which are even in there unjustly, of their humanity by locking them up in lone cells without contact for as long as they deem fit. The confinement is usually counterproductive being that it messes with their mind and drives them slowly insane, resulting in an increase of the behavior that put them in there. “The barbaric conditions of solitary may cause or worsen depression, paranoia and outbursts of anger that often result in even more time in isolation.” There had been actions put forth to remove this cruel form of punishment.

These situations uses barbarian in ways different to both each other and the ancient uses of it we all discussed in class, showing how in different contexts the definition changes. In the first article it uses it an exaggeration while the second article uses it to describe the despicable treatment of young prisoners. Herodotus once said “force has no place where there is need of skill” and this applies to both unique situations because their wouldn’t be the barbaric acts if they skillfully handled their issues.

 

http://www.nytimes.com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/

http://www.nytimes.com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/

By: Samentha

Those who are not and do not think like me

As the name of the article tells it: “Abortion is barbaric and immoral” by Billy Long, the article specifically states the arguments of how it is an inhuman act to do an abortion. The author refers as barbaric to those who believe that abortion is based on health issues prevention, he sees as barbarians those who argue that it is okay to do abortions for medical reasons, since from his point of view an abortion represents an act of convenience for the future mother and her family, either for economic or social reasons, and also a lot of money won in favor of the abortion industry. The author is trying to catch the attention on all those who are in favor of abortion and expresses a series of arguments where he explains why the ideas of all those who are in favor of abortion are wrong and how those ideas make them barbarians.

In this article the term barbaric is used to show the points of view of those who are against what the author thinks, and what the author believes is proper in society as human beings. This term has been used since a long time ago in history referring to people who are different, who have different customs and thoughts, but to refer to them as “savages” in other words, as used in this article and as used in the reading of ”Herodotus’ histories” when it says “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on a distinct and separate.” Showing how this term was first used to refer to that group of people who were different from the Greeks but perhaps not necessarily wild as the Greeks saw them.

Long, Billy. ”Abortion is barbaric and immoral.” Myrtle beach online. September 10, 2017 10:28 AM

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171255212.html

Jamilex Dominguez. Team Mercury.

Fetus Killers or Barbarians?

If one is ever called a barbarian they should take that as a great insult. To be barbarian means to be a savage, inhumane, having no relation to civilization. In the article Abortion is barbaric and immoral by Billy Long, he refers to everyone who have a role in abortion or simply support the practices as barbarians. He begins bringing out how in the ancient religions such as Baal worship, child sacrifice was used to pay their sins to the Gods yet they were still highly immoral and promiscuous. Long compares it to how in today’s society people have not changed and similarly have no respect for the lives of unborn infants. He expresses his hatred for the practice and ties it back to the term barbaric in the title with the following sentence ,

“The practice of partial-birth abortions proves the evil and callousness of the industry.”

Barbarians were often thought to be “evil” and “callous” by the Greek. Long even goes into detail about the gruesome abortion practice to drive home his point and targets all who may be leaning towards acceptance of abortion. Barbarians were also thought to use  gruesome ways to murder individuals such as cannabalism and were perceived to lack any moral laws or sense of right and wrong similar to how Long portrays individuals who condone of abortion to be. In Herodotus on the Persians he states,

“For since the Greeks fought orderly and in array, but the barbarians were by now disordered and did nought of set purpose…” (Book 8, Chapter 86)

Apparently there was an orderly way to fight and a disorderly one. Whether this referred to the difference in fighting tactics or the weaponry used, one this is for sure barbarians were thought to lack order in whatever they did. As was learned in class, since they did not speak Greek they were seen as lower than humans some kind of animals and this is exactly how long views those who practice abortions.

 

MLA-

Long, Billy. “Abortion is barbaric and immoral.” Myrtlebeachonline, Myrtle b, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171255212.html#storylink=cpy. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Genocide In Myanmar

A barbarian is someone defined as “uncivilized, or brutish.”  Originally, the word was used by Ancient Greeks to describe foreign cultures that they deemed beneath them. However, at some point in history “barbaric” stopped exclusively meaning uncultured, and also became synonymous with an egregious act of violence.

“The National Human Rights Commission thinks Myanmar should be sued at the International Court of Justice for its ‘barbarian acts’ against the Rohingya people in Rakhine state.” According to Kazi Reazul Haque, the commission’s chairman. He states that those acts include oppression, killing, rape and arson. The Rohingya minority are being actively ethnically cleansed, so by pointing out the inhumane cruelty of the Myanmar campaign by calling it barbaric, Haque is effectively othering them. There is a good reason for doing this, as few people are aware of this human rights crisis. Advocates have to make people aware of and sympathetic to the plight of the Rohingyas. Choosing the word “barbarian”–a synonym of savage, heathen, and brute– affirmed that Haque would probably like readers to agree that the people committing these acts of violence are less than human, and that the victims are facing extreme violence. This is similar to the way Herodotus describes “the barbarians, fighting recklessly and desperately.”, as they both invoke images of violent warriors.

Staff Correspondent. “‘Rohingya persecution tantamount to genocide’.” Prothom Alo, Prothom Alo 1998 – 2017, 11 Sept. 2017 

-Maggie, Team Hermes

 

The PC Anti-Virus Police by David Gelman

The use of barbarian in this article would likely refer to the nonwestern application of Islam in order to use it as a weapon against those who do not follow the general accepted norm. The Western World currently consists of Europe, North America, Japan, Russia and other assorted countries. Western Countries are often modern with hi-tech industry and high standards of living. Barbarians are often seen as either being economically, culturally or religiously disadvantaged.

I.e. rich white people on poor black people.

I.e. Germans on the Slav’s of Eastern Europe during WW2.

I.e. Muslims on Jews.

The use of “Other” in this article would be the religious and fanatically militant extremism of ISIS who are seen as barbarians in most of the world and in most of the Muslim world. The target of the audience would either be conservatively minded people and those who oppose the suppression of free speech as barbaric. The social value that is being as an affirmed value would have to be the value of free speech or right to say what we believe in speech. Culturally the west accepts Judeo-Christian values as most of the world has been settled and controlled effectively by a Judeo-Christian country. While as above ISIS (A Muslim extremist group) is in control of an ideologically barbaric (By modern standards of what a religion should be practicing) interpretation of a religion it causes us to revolt in horror

Kozak, Edmund. “PC Madness: Student Investigated for Mocking ‘Barbarian’ Terrorists.”LifeZette, LifeZette, 5 Sept. 2017, http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/pc-madness-student-investigated-mocking-barbarian-terrorists/.

Barbaric’s in todays world

Imagine moving into another country and not having anything or knowing anyone. You find yourself immersed in a new and exotic culture to which you try to adapt with little luck. It gets no easier when people are judging you wherever you go, by the clothes you wear, your outer features and broken language. You are otherwise referred to as a barbarian or barbaric. Unwelcomed, along with the hundreds of others from your country who are seen as uncivilized and strange. This was the treatment others received from Athens and many Greek nations in general. Barbaric, you’ve heard this word many times before, but what does it actually mean? The two most common definitions for this term are as follows: either savagely cruel or unsophisticated and uncivilized. But when do we actually refer to someone or something as being barbaric? Although both definitions can be quite similar, in context they can symbolize many different meanings. The two articles which use the term barbaric interpret the definition to be savagely cruel, unlike what we have read in Herodotus’ work.

The authors use of the word, barbaric, in “School Lunch Without Shame,” allows the term to be loosely translated to its first meaning, savagely cruel. He quotes, “far too many school districts still employ barbaric policies under which children are openly humiliated when their parents cannot pay lunch bills.” The main point of this article focuses on the brutal policies employed by NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE) which prevents millions of children from being fed unless their parents have paid the bills. They have grouped these hungry school children into a certain other who won’t be fed during lunchtime. This method of collecting money is certainly cruel and problematic to children who solely depend on their parent’s support. Moreover, if you consider the fact that this lunch lacks real nutritional value and is nothing more than slop, you would also learn to resent this notorious policy. In the second article, “Today Our Entire Nation Grieves With You.’ Read President Trump’s 9/11 Memorial Remarks,” Trump declared ““This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life and decent people.”” In this statement Trump calls the Taliban a bunch of “barbaric criminals.” Many people have used this term when speaking of the Taliban because of their extreme violence to control a country of innocent people. The Taliban are the other, the savagely cruel invaders of Islamic nations. Both these articles use the word barbaric in a similar context. The meaning they convey is the actions taken by those who discriminate against people and group them into a certain other are unethical and cruel. While one article refers to NYC Department of Education’s school lunch policies, in his remarks Trump refers to the Taliban and their effort to control millions of civilians using immoral tactics. Both articles argue that it is shameful to dehumanize a group of people; to not feed hungry children because their parents haven’t paid the bills and to destroy homes of thousands of people because you would like to employ your new strategies of ruling a country. These articles are, presumably, appealing to the public at large. To those who care about human life and treating everyone equally.

The use of this word in these particular articles are more different compared to the reading, Herodotus. In his excerpts Herodotus mentions the Greek “grown from something small to be a multitude of peoples by the accretion chiefly of the Pelasgians but of many other barbarian peoples as well.” When he uses the word, Herodotus refers to anyone who is not Greek as barbarians; the uncivilized who have moved into the Greek world for one reason or another.
Board, The Editorial. “School Lunch Without Shame.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/opinion/school-lunch-without-shame.html?mcubz=3. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Alana Abramson. “Donald Trump Honors 9/11 Victims for First Time As President.” Time, Time, time.com/4935852/president-trump-9-11-september-speech-transcript-memorial/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Those who are not and do not think like me

As the name of the article tells it: “Abortion is barbaric and immoral” by Billy Long, the article specifically states the arguments of how it is an inhuman act to do an abortion. The author refers as barbaric to those who believe that abortion is based on health issues prevention, he sees as barbarians those who argue that it is okay to do abortions for medical reasons, since from his point of view an abortion represents an act of convenience for the future mother and her family, either for economic or social reasons, and also a lot of money won in favor of the abortion industry. The author is trying to catch the attention on all those who are in favor of abortion and expresses a series of arguments where he explains why the ideas of all those who are in favor of abortion are wrong and how those ideas make them barbarians.

In this article the term barbaric is used to show the points of view of those who are against what the author thinks, and what the author believes is proper in society as human beings. This term has been used since a long time ago in history referring to people who are different, who have different customs and thoughts, but to refer to them as “savages” in other words, as used in this article and as used in the reading of ”Herodotus’ histories” when it says “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on a distinct and separate.” Showing how this term was first used to refer to that group of people who were different from the Greeks but perhaps not necessarily wild as the Greeks saw them.

Long, Billy. ”Abortion is barbaric and immoral.” Myrtle beach online. September 10, 2017 10:28 AM

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171255212.html

Jamilex Dominguez. Team Mercury.

 

Justice for the Wild

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUE USDA FOR “BARBARIC” KILLING OF MILLIONS OF WILD ANIMALS

“This idea of killing wildlife any time there is a conflict is just barbaric.”

The article published by Kristin Hugo treats the wild animals as victims of harsh and cruel treatment from government agencies that kill millions of animals every year. The intended audience of this article would be people who can/do sympathize with animals, as well as groups that work to better conditions of life for animals. The article provides insight as for what the purposes are for filing several lawsuits against different Wildlife Services. “This idea of killing wildlife any time there is a conflict is just barbaric.” Going based off this, the shared social value is that treating animals this way is immoral and unjust, and there needs to be a stop put to it.

 

Generally, when we think of the word “Barbarian”, or “barbaric”, one might assume that you’re calling a person (or their actions) uncivilized, uncalled for, or overall hectic/crazy. This definition would go hand in hand with the usage of the term in this particular article, but if we compare it to how the phrase was used in readings from class, there is a relatively noticeable difference. For one, in the readings from Herodotus on the Persians, “barbarians” are characterized as people who aren’t from the particular region in Greece, or who didn’t speak Greek at all. One of the key similarities however between these two differences would be that both are used as labels for those who act/can be considered as outsiders. People who don’t necessarily fit in, whether it be because of their behavior, or their mannerisms.

“For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhibit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race look on as distinct and separate.” This quote from Herodotus goes to show that whilst the Persians looked at Asians as their own people, the Europeans and Greek didn’t necessarily look down on them, but rather made it known that Asian members and the European & Greeks were not the same.

Hugo, Kristin. “ ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUE USDA FOR ‘BARBARIC’ KILLING OF MILLIONS OF WILD ANIMALS.” Newsweek, 11 Sept. 2017.

 

#NewBarbarians #CLAS3  #Herodotus #Thucydides.

Who is a barbarian by modern terms?

In ancient Greece, a barbarian was a person of foreign origin. These people were seen as inferior to the Greeks in morals, the structure of their societies, and their achievements. In Histories, Herodotus describes a battle between the Persians and the Greeks which perfectly demonstrates this idea: …” but they believed that the Athenians were possessed by some very desperate madness, seeing their small numbers and their running to meet their enemies without support of cavalry or archers. That was what the barbarians thought; but the Athenians, when they came to hand-to-hand fighting, fought right worthily” (112).  The barbarian Persians underestimated the brave and ambitious Athenians who waged ahead despite being outnumbered. Herodotus wants to demonstrate that even when outnumbered and seemingly hopeless, Greeks will always win because they are determined and fearless and the barbarians cannot break them.

In modern day, “barbarian” has taken on a different meaning. For example, one might call a murderer and their actions barbaric. This is the case for two teen girls, found murdered and presumably raped. “To have such young vulnerable women killed in this barbaric manner is appalling and cannot be tolerated,” said one of the officers. Here, the brutal injuries inflicted on the victims is described as barbaric. One can say that their murderers were barbarians. It is clear that this definition of “barbarian” is very different from how the ancient Greeks defined it. Today, we can define a barbarian as someone who commits unspeakable crimes. Therefor the target audience of this article is today’s society who will take to heart the victim’s stories and condemn their murderer to ensure their imprisonment.

 

Etheridge, Jenna. “Two Teenage Girls Stabbed to Death in ‘Barbaric Manner’.” News24.Com, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910

David Grene. “Herodotus on the Victory at Marathon.” Historyguide.org, The History Guide, 28 Feb. 2006, http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/marathon.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Elene T., Team Mars

Others

Greeks always liked to put themselves above any other nationality and culture. So called “barbarians” were the non-Greek people, and the word barbarian actually means “muttered/babble”- those  who can not speak Greek clearly.  Greeks seemed their language as true human tongue. All strangers, foreigners were considered as uncivilized men. But were barbarians worse or weaker than Greeks or Romans?

“In the absence of any technological advantage, the conflict between Rome and the barbarians was almost entirely a purely physical and moral struggle, between a physically and morally enfeebled Empire, and more vital, healthy, prolific tribes. In comparing Rome to the West today, what is striking is the noticeable lack of any ideologies of self-hatred among the Romans (although some like historian Edward Gibbon have argued that Christianity fulfilled that role), as well as of any unusually pronounced hatred of Rome by the barbarians. “(Wegierski, Mark. “Sixteen years since “9/11” – the “Fall of Rome” and the “Decline of the West””. Quarterly Review (UK).September 11, 2017)

In this article, author use the word “barbarian” to name the Rome Empire’s enemies, people who wanted to invade to the territories of the Rome. He describe them as a powerful force that is able to attack and take over the city or the whole Empire. By writing this article Weigierski comparing the events that happened in Roman Empire, the fight between Rome and Germanic tribes(barbarians), with a 9/11 events to show how those strangers, “others” negatively impact already formed, huge and powerful society. And I believe it was written for American adults audience to make them think about how to avoid the collapse of a country.

However, if to read the historical article from actual Ancient time: “Herodotus”, there are some differences and similarities between the sense of the word “barbarian”. Herodotus described war between Greece and Persia, and he states: “The Asiatics, when the Greeks ran off with their women, never troubled themselves about the matter; but the Greeks, for the sake of a single Lacedaemonian girl, collected a vast armament, invaded Asia, and destroyed the kingdom of Priam. Henceforth they ever looked upon the Greeks as their open enemies. For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”(1.4 p.3)

Again, here the barbarians are invaders but in the article they are described with a negative tone which shows an objection towards them.

-Yuliya,  Team Minerva

 

People who are different than us, Barbarians!

The word “barbarian” has had many different connotations throughout history. In many ancient texts, the word barbarian was used to describe people who were unlike one’s self. Over time as people became more diversified, the word barbarian was used more for its denotative meaning to describe someone as uncivilized or primitive.

In the article, Two teenage girls stabbed to death in ‘barbaric manner’, the word barbaric is used as such, “To have such young vulnerable women killed in this barbaric manner is appalling and cannot be tolerated says  Major-General Jones Qhobosheane, the provincial deputy police commissioner for crime detection.” In this article the word barbarian is being used to describe the murder of the two teenage girls, indirectly making the perpetrator the “other,” as he committed murder, which is described as something that an uncivilized person would do.

I think the primary audience of this article are parents who also have their own kids, to warn them of the dangers of this world and of the type of people living in it. A social value that is being affirmed as a shared value for the target audience is that anyone can be a “barbarian,” as a person’s outwardly appearance does not always exude their inner personality.

This is different from the usage of a barbarian in Herodotus;

“So as far as our knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries, and entering into alliance with others.”

This quote clearly shows how the word barbarian was used to describe Croesus, a Lydian as one who was different from the Greeks. Croesus was not necessarily an uncivilized being, he didn’t behave as an animal, but in the Greek perspective his outward appearance looked barbaric to them because of his beard and unusual clothes (they wore robes.) By describing Croesus as a barbarian, they indirectly made him of lower value and themselves superior to the Lydians.

Etheridge, Jenna. “Two Teenage Girls Stabbed to Death in ‘Barbaric Manner’.” News24, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910

Shakiba Ghaffar, Team Vesta

The use of the word ‘Barbarian’

The term “barbarian” was first introduced in High School world history, while learning about invasions, attacks and different sorts of brutal deeds. The term Barbarian isn’t a good term, it always reflects a negative aspect of some sort and is used to describe as something that brings grief or pain upon someone. In Greek literature, the term Barbarian is used to describe an outsider; someone who doesn’t belong and is different rather than uncivilized and brutal.

Recently, a student at Edinburgh University has been under investigation due to his hate crime that he publicly posted on the social media website, Facebook. The student, Robbie Travers wrote “I’m glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins” which another student activist described as ‘blatant Islamophobia’. In another Facebook post, Robbie again wrote “If you have terrible, oppressive views that seek to attack the rights of others, expect to be called out for those views, regardless of being oppressed yourself..”  This post was said to put ‘minorities at risk’. The term ‘barbaric’ in Travers writing was directed towards the followers of Islam and ISIS who are placed in two completely different categories, who would be considered the ‘other’ in this situation.

The student Robbie delivered his message to the audience through the social media platform Facebook. Thus, his targeted audience were the people who have access to his profile. Seeing that this post was discussed as a controversy, it must have been public. Thus, Travers target audience was those who were active on social media. Social media is an effective but dangerous way of communicating and sharing ideas with anyone and everyone.

Robbie’s use of the word Barbarian compared to the use in Greek literature is different. In our readings, the word “barbarian” was used to describe an outsider, or someone who was different (speaking a different language, wearing different clothing etc..). For example, in Herodotus’s histories (book 1, 1.5-7) it wrote “Croesus, son of Alyattes, By birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys…So far as our knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks.” Based off of this quote, it is shown that the term “barbarian” is used to describe someone who is simply different. In this example, Croesus was described as a barbarian due to his background, he was born as a Lydian, thus a barbarian to some

Citation:

Hunter, Brad. “Student’s ‘hate crime?’ Mocking ISIS” Toronto Sun
September 5th, 2017, Web. September 11th, 2017
<http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/05/students-hate-crime-mocking-isis&gt;

Moran, Rick. “Edinburgh Student Accused of ‘Hate Crime’ for making fun of ISIS” PJ Media
September 5th, 2017, Web. September 11th 2017
<https://pjmedia.com/trending/2017/09/05/edinburgh-student-accused-hate-crime-making-fun-isis/&gt;

A different side of Trump

One of the most horrific and devastating events in American history took place on September 11, 2001. 2,976 innocent lives were taken in total at the World Trade Center in New York City, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC and the United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The aftermath of that one day affected in the country, and the world, in a way we couldn’t have imagined. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, gave a speech in regards to the tragedy at the Pentagon during its memorial service. He gives recognition to millions of young men and women who have decided to join the military to “defend our country against barbaric forces of evil and destruction.” When Trump uses the word “barbaric,” he is referring to the terrorists who willingly carried out this inhumane attack.

The target audience for this article are American citizens. Throughout the article, the author, Gabrielle Levy, includes several quotes from the president, such as “In that hour of darkness, we also came together with renewed purpose” and “we are reminded of the timeless truth that when America is united, no force on Earth can break us apart – no force.” These quotes from the president give American citizens the motivation and strength to stay strong in times of crisis. The social value of unity is being affirmed as a shared value for American citizens. It allows citizens to come together and solve issues when in need rather than push each other away with hate. Although I don’t share the same views with the president, I do agree that those who are responsible for the attack are barbarians.

The use of the word “barbarians” is not the same as used in “Herodotus’ Histories.” In Herodotus, it states “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians, that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race thy look on a distinct and separate.” The Greeks referred to barbarians as people who were acted strange and were different from them. The Greeks thought this way because they thought of themselves as perfect beings.

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-09-11/trump-first-lady-commemorate-september-11-attacks-at-pentagon

Citation

Levy, Gabrielle. “Trump, First Lady Commemorate September 11 Attacks at Pentagon.” U.S. News & World Report, 11 Sept. 2017, http://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-09-11/trump-first-lady-commemorate-september-11-attacks-at-pentagon.

-Estrella Roberts, Team Vulcan

Herodotus and Animal Cruelty

Wildlife Services is a government funded agency intended to placate wild animals and facilitate a harmonious relationship between humans and non-domesticated animals. The agency prides itself on nonlethal methods to resolve animal based conflicts, yet has found itself in the thick of violent animal deaths and mutilations over the course of the past twenty years. Kristin Hugo’s “Environmental Groups Sue USDA for Barbaric Killing of Millions of Wild Animals” discusses the history, rationale, and implications of this lawsuit. The  piece is most likely intended for animal lovers and activists who might find in it a common cause. The social value of animal cruelty being unjust is capitalized upon to appeal to this audience and incur their support. More importantly than target audience and article content- for the purposes of our class at least- is the use of the term barbaric to describe the inhumane and often cruel killings to which wild animals are subjected.

“This idea of killing wildlife any time there is a conflict is just barbaric.” This testimony of senior attorney for Center of Biological Diversity provides a perfect example of the associations we have come to make with the word “barbaric”. The term is a harsh one, often said with malice. It jumps off the tongue, biting and accusatory, more often than it rolls. Barbaric is an extremely polarizing term- when used properly it creates the illusion of an us versus them. Barbaric, as used in Hugo’s article, renders Wildlife Services the ‘Other’. It alienates them, makes them less than human.

The use of “barbarian” to alienate and dehumanize in this article bears resemblance to its use in Herodotus’s Histories. We see a similar connotation in Magi’s dialogue with Astyages in which the former states “…it very much concerns our interests that thy kingdom be firmly established; for if it went to this boy it would pass into barbarian hands, since he is a Persian…” The Persian, in this context, becomes barbarian by virtue of being foreign. In the eyes of the Greeks this makes him alien and subhuman.  

Hugo, Kristin. “USDA Sued over Millions of ‘Barbaric’ Killings of Coyotes and Other Wild Animals.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 11 Sept. 2017, http://www.newsweek.com/usda-sued-barbaric-killing-coyotes-wild-animals-663227.

The Amazon meets the Barbarian

I came across a comic news article which talks about how two fictional characters from two completely different universe face off against each other. Wonder woman and Conan the Barbarian each with their unique sword wielding techniques are both in an arena fighting to avoid being thrown into slavery. Andrew McMahon stated that “The story will start with Conan washes up on the shore of an unknown land. Soon after, the Barbarian meets the worlds most notorious arena fighter, Wonder Woman.” the word “Barbarian” is used to describe Conan’s image. The way the story starts off portrays Conan being an outsider, hence why the term barbarian was used. Also he is called a barbarian because of his aggressive behavior and appearance as a fictional character in the comics.

The social value that is being affirmed is that is easy to label characters or people in general based on their appearance. The target audience are comic book fans that keep up with all these alternate universes. Since comics generally tell the backgrounds of different characters, the way they are drawn in comics makes the readers label how they are perceived. The way barbarian was used in the article is similar to Herodutus’ text; “ For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”(Herodotus, 1.4) In both cases the word barbarian is used to describe outsiders or people who weren’t originated in that location.      

Citation

McMahon, Posted By: Andrew. “A First Look at the Wonder Woman and Conan The Barbarian Comics.” The Nerd Stash, 3 Sept. 2017, thenerdstash.com/wonder-woman-conan/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017

Mayweather v. McGregor

 

http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/mayweather-mcgregor-shows-primitive-barbaric-can/

“Mayweather vs. McGregor ‘Shows How Primitive and Barbaric We Can Be’.” Sportsnet.ca, http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/mayweather-mcgregor-shows-primitive-barbaric-can/.

Dr. Jeffery Sammons, an expert in African American history, culture and sports at New York University ends this article with the words, “It’s something that shouldn’t exist in our day and age,I think it just shows how primitive and barbaric we can be ”, in response to the then upcoming fight between McGregor and Mayweather. Any avid sports fans would have known of the fight between McGregor and Mayweather, both well known boxers competing in the UFC Championship, with Mayweather defending his title as champion and McGregor fighting to take the title for himself. In sports, especially fighting sports, it is commonplace for people to talk trash, both the competitors and the spectators, since it helps to both hype up the fights and for the fighters,  helps them make more money, with all the bets being placed. It is this ‘trash talk’ that the article, and Simmons, makes a case against. It argues that the talk, no matter how gimmicky it may be, fuels an both a social and racial divide. Leading up to the fight, both Mayweather and McGregor would makes quips against eachother. They would use age, women, money and thier opposing races (black and white respectively) in order to perform for their audience, create an ideal rivalry and give viewers a good fight. 

The article reflects those who feel that this rivalry and the words exchanged during the duration of it take things too far. They feel that a barbaric nature is reflected in the  fact that the UFC and fans would allow/support comments that they feel are hurtful and of a dividing nature. The use of barbaric here is one that is in line with the meaning of the word in Herodotus, namely, that it reflects a cruel, uncivilized and unruly peoples. The definition is  almost exacted iterated here, where Herodotus reflects on the greedy and arrogant nature of King Xerxes and his ‘barbarians’, ” … he(Xerxes) instructed his men to say barbarian and insolent things as they were striking the Hellespont.” (7.35) Clearly, the setup of UFC and boxing in general is seen as flawed by the article, due to the primal nature of the sport and its allowance for a traditional or stereotypically expression of male aggression and competition. While the ‘others’ of Herodotus are the Northern Europeans, the ‘others’ in this case are the spectators and fans, who embrace said agression. Regardless of how it is perceived by those who refuse to support boxing and other rough sports, they remain very popular, and their popularity ultimately dominates the opposing opinions, similarly to how ultimately, the barbarians conquer the Greeks/Romans, despite the unsavory title.

David and Goliath

“We will respond to the barbaric plotting around sanctions and pressure by the United States with powerful counter measures of our own”

This response comes after the U.S. made further sanction threats on North Korea such as and oil embargo, banning their exports, and prevent the hiring of North Korean workers abroad. The other that is implied in this article seems to be the U.S. who tries to meddle in the affairs of North Korea one of the last true communist states in the world. The article is intended to be read by those around the world who follow the political interactions between the two countries because of the major geopolitical effects that could unfold if anything were to happen. The use of the term “Barbarian” in this case is said to the U.S. because of the cruel and detrimental effects further sanctions can haveon their already economicaly weak country.

The part that relates to our class is the comparison of the U.S. and North Korean relations to that of Cyrus and Croesus. Both Croesus and the U.S. thought that if they were to defeat there lesser adversary they would be better off then to leave them to grow in strengh. North Korea and Cyrus are the underdogs who if conflict were to arise would be outmatched in technology and resources but are the more determined forces. Like the empire of Croesus the U.S. would have more to lose because the North Koreans just like the Persians would come from nothing and fight with what they have and not with years of riches to support themselves.

“Thou art about, oh! king, to make war against men who wear leathern trousers, and have all their other garments of leather; who feed not on what they like, but on what they can get from a soil that is sterile and unkindly; who do not indulge in wine, but drink water; who possess no figs nor anything else that is good to eat. If, then, thou conquerest them, what canst thou get from them, seeing that they have nothing at all? But if they conquer thee, consider how much that is precious thou wilt lose: if they once get a taste of our pleasant things, they will keep such hold of them that we shall never be able to make them loose their grasp.”

#NewBarbarians #CLAS3 #Herodotus

Citations:

N.A. “N.Korea vows ‘powerful’ sanctions response” Yahoo News, N.p. , 7th Sept. 2017

 

Mad Misogyny

Most of the readings in this class  from earlier civilizations, and even up to now, are full of blatant misogynistic behavior. Not only is there misogyny everywhere, but it is just seen as normal, there’s nothing unusual about it. Even those who love women, as Candaules did, do things as if they are mentally impaired, like showing their naked wives to others without her knowledge, as written in Herodotus Histories. The misogyny is still going strong onto this day. In fact, just yesterday two teenage girls were stabbed to death in a “barbaric manner” as they attended a night vigil for a loved one they had lost. In top of this tragedy, the young women were found half naked on the floor and were believed to be raped. It takes so much to attempt and execute murder, but to add onto it buy committing another crime and also to do it to another person is truly barbaric. The ‘other’ person that the article refers to is the man who murdered the two young women. I believe that the social value being affirmed as a shared value for the audience is protection. I believe that everyone deserves protection, no matter who they are, but I also believe that young women may need more, especially if they are out during darker hours, as the two young women in the article were. Women bring life into existence each and every day, it is strange to always see women being made fun of, wronged, and being ridiculed as a normal thing when they should be treated with love and respect.

We Turned The Bad Guys Into Barbarians?

In ancient Greek society the Greek people referred to individuals who didn’t speak their native tongue barbarians ,more specifically those of another non-Greek speaking region , simply because it sounded to them as if they were just saying just “bar -bar-bar” , according to our academic teachings . Today the meaning of the term “barbarian” has conceptualized to have an entirely different meaning and have a different connotation. In today’ media we are likely to stumble across the term “barbarian” as a conduit for expressing an inhumane or uncivilized act/person. When we hear or read the word barbarian we associate it with a negative connotation and the media is no help to these inaccurate discrepancies.
Let me put it in perspective , in the article ” ISIS Barbarians ‘Jim a martyr for freedom’ Parents proud amid anguish & rage at slay”
(New York Post , Golding , 2014) it informs us about a young journalist , James Wright Foley, who was beheaded by a middle eastern terrorist group , ISIS. Now , this group is seen as a group full of hate and cruelness because they use religion as a scapegoat to murder and torture humans for not joining forces with them, having the same religion, etc.. ISIS beheaded the young man , then posted the heading on YouTube. Many were appalled and disgusted in this behavior which resulted in deeming them the names “barbarians” in the article.For instance , “”He met the most horrific end, and it haunts me how much pain he must have been in and how cruel this method of execution is,” .The word barbarian which is simply use to describe someone who doesn’t speak Greek was converted by modern society to describe ruthlessness or someone that is cruel.
Likewise, in the article ” The Barbarians!” ( The Northlines, 2017), the text informs us of a mob from Kashmir, India who lynched a police official , Sh. Mohd Ayub Pandith. We also learn of a stream of violence towards police officers in India by the citizens who feel as if the system is against them. Once again , we inappropriately mix up savagery with the term “barbaric/barbarian”. As , expressed by the text , “A deputy superintendent of the police, Sh. Mohd Ayub Pandith was lynched by an irate mob near ” and “two policemen were killed by terrorists in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area. A police check post in Anantnag town was attacked by terrorists and one assistant sub-inspector and a police constable were killed on June 3. 11 policemen have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the past month.” Again , we see terrorist and “irate” acts and label them as barbarian acts even though it has nothing to do with the original translation. In fact , in the original Greek literature Herodotus it says, “For Asia , with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it , is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”. In other words, anyone besides the Greeks or those with similar dialects were barbarians, like the Asians according to Herodotus.
In my final analysis , we can conclude the two articles ” ISIS Barbarians ‘Jim a martyr for freedom’ Parents proud amid anguish & rage at slay” and ” The Barbarians!” both identify the word “barbarian” with inhumanity which illuminate a negative appeal , which is far from the mother definition that mean’t those who don’t speak Greek. In modern day society we have morphed the definition into something it originally wasn’t, and the original Greek literature Herodotus proves it.

Sincerely , Samantha , Team Minerva

MLA Citations:

-“ISIS Barbarians ‘Jim a martyr for freedom’ Parents proud amid anguish & rage at slay.” New York Post [New York, NY], 21 Aug. 2014, p. 004. New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA379415941&it=r&asid=7857ee2eb8a496c5d0c3dc6ea0321191. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

-“The Barbarians!” Northlines [Kashmir, India], 24 June 2017. Infotrac Newsstand, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA497067714&it=r&asid=c43f749cfef003b6b3e2520c3e760c10. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

 

We need to see situations from different perspectives! Really!

 

In the article There’s no such thing as Islamophobia , the author discusses various topics regarding Islam and people involved in it. He discusses double standards we have in today’s world and gives us possible reasons as of what have brought us to where we are today. “Religion of the Koran, a “practical and indulgent” religion, better adapted to indigenous people’s, while Christianity is “too complicated, too abstract, too austere for the rudimentary and materialist mentality of the Negro.” Seeing Islam as a civilizing force that “removes peoples from fetishism and its degrading practices” and thus facilitates European penetration, the author calls for an end to prejudices that equate this confession with barbarism and fanaticism, castigating the “Islamophobia” prevalent among colonial personnel.”(Pascal Bruckner) In this quote, word barbarian is used to speak of Christianity and the way they colonized and reinforced their beliefs and religion upon people in Africa. However, means of the word here has nothing to do with the rest of the article. I highly urge all of you to read the original text and draw your own conclusions as of what’s written and what is being told. The way I understood it is that this article is directed towards the millennials and such, it’s directed towards us – for us to be informed. The author wants us to know about the double standards everyone is closing their eyes on. In today’s society anything said against ISIS or other terrorists is being compared to saying those negative things against the entire Muslim society.. Why? Those who compare actual Muslims to terrorists are the ones assuming that they share the same beliefs. Like what happened with the guy who posted something about ISIS, everyone started attacking him for comparing Muslims to Isis terrorist, when he really wasn’t. People have to stop thinking what others are thinking, because that way they are themselves setting certain stereotypes and boundaries for certain people without acknowledging it. The way this term – barbarian is used, is pretty much different to the way they use the term in Herodotus Excerpts. “. For Asia, with all the various tribes of Barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as a distinct and separate.” (Herodotus Excerpts) Here they talk about the different kind of people inhabiting those areas, and they are called Barbarians just based off of their difference to the common people of Greece. The term has now been given a different feeling to it. One is talking about people being different, and one is talking about people acting ‘wrong’ I’d say. However, it could be considered similar in a way that both of the terms are made to indicate something unusual – those people in Asia practice things unusual and different to those in Greece, and it’s understandable why one wouldn’t be able to understand another. For those ‘Barbarians’, people of Greece might have been also considered ‘Barbarian’. The ‘barbaric’ practice was something considered unusual and different for people of Africa, so I see how those two things be different yet so similar at the same time.

• Diana, team Mercury.

Pascal Bruckner is a French writer and philosopher. His article was translated by Alexis Cornel. “There’s No Such Thing as Islamophobia.” City Journal, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.city-journal.org/html/theres-no-such-thing-islamophobia-15324.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Here come the Barbari… oh wait, wrong ones

There were 2 recent articles used on the New York State Newspaper Database website, using the terms ‘barbarian’ and ‘barbarians’.  The title for the first one was “Bannon is ready for #War”.  The quote that used the word was “While exiting stage far right on Friday, Mr. Bannon referred to himself as “Bannon the Barbarian” and declared that he was ‘jacked up’ and ‘ready to crush the opposition'” (Rutenberg, 2).  The second post was titled “ValueAct increases stake in Kravis’ KKR”.  The quote that had the specific word in it was “Although ValueAct and KKR are both known for rattling the cages of the companies they invest in – KKR’s tenacity, of course, was immortalized in the 1989 book “Barbarians at the Gate” – this engagement so far seems friendly.” (New York Post, 3).

Both articles have a unique way of using the word.  Each have their own person or thing they are referring to.  The article discussing Bannon uses the term to help describe Bannon, though more specifically how he describes himself.  Bannon uses the term to call himself ‘Other’ in a way.  Its sort of a self-proclaimed title.  As for the article about ValueAct, it uses it to describe how KKR was previously seen back in 1989.  For its targeted audience, I believe that both articles are very different in that matter.  For the Bannon article, I think the targeted audience is people who are into politics and are fans of Breitbart.  Breitbart is a political website that talks about daily political news, which is also where Steve Bannon works.  People who read on that website daily or are a fan of his work would like this article perhaps.  The second article about ValueAct is most likely trying to attract people who are into business and want to be involved in stock markets.  With that, the social value being shared with the public in this article is that of how the world of marketing or working in one like it can be very hectic and crazy sometimes.  It can also show how dangerous some companies can get sometimes in that area of life.  The social value however for the article about Bannon is in how he feels the need to act strongly and almost “barbaric” for the ‘#War’ that’s coming.  In doing that however, the use of the word in the Bannon article is much more relatable in our class than the ValueAct article.

With the Bannon article, him describing himself as a barbarian for a war is very war-like and battle ready, similar to that of the Greeks view of the Persians.  It can also be seen in a quote from our reading, as it says “The Persians, who had long been impatient of the Median Dominion, now that they had found a leader, were delighted to shake off the yoke.” (Herodotus, 127).  Its almost like as if he wants us to believe that he is the strongest and fiercest their is.  That if you mess with him, you are in big trouble.  The ValueAct however is referring back more so to the way in which people attack and take from people like ValueAct in a barbaric way.  That doesn’t really connect that well back to what we discussed in class.  If we focused more on how economically the Persians and “Others” attacks affected Greece financially or economically, then it could be more relatable.  This also makes it so that the use of this word is different in many ways in both articles.  For Bannon’s use of the word, it is more present tense, war like, and used to describe himself.  The ValueAct articles use of the word is more past tense, and is more so to describe an event and what happened to multiple people.  In conclusion, it can be seen that both articles have their own use of the word.  Whether it be referring back to an old piece of work or to describe ones mood, the term barbarian is still alive and well today.

• Scott, Team Cronos

Links and MLA citation:

http://go.galegroup.com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T004&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CA501489666&docType=Brief+article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=SPN.SP01&contentSet=GALE%7CA501489666&searchId=R1&userGroupName=nysl_me_brookcol&inPS=true

http://go.galegroup.com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T004&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CA501226569&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=SPN.SP01&contentSet=GALE%7CA501226569&searchId=R2&userGroupName=nysl_me_brookcol&inPS=true

“ValueAct increases stake in Kravis’ KKR.” New York Post [New York, NY], 23 Aug. 2017, p. 027. New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA501489666&it=r&asid=3d79a5c6c4a61800fe88db37ab4c77c7. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Rutenberg, Jim. “Bannon Is Ready For #War.” New York Times, 21 Aug. 2017, p. B1(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA501226569&it=r&asid=0815333f49223e1d13239d6539da1214. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Build Bridges, Don’t Tear Them Down

The article, “Building Bridges,” written by Khai Hoang of The Daily Herald, a Roanoke Valley-based news source, is about a man named Tru Pettigrew and his efforts to repair relationships between minorities and law enforcement.

Pettigrew led a discussion – called his “COHORT (Community Organizers Helping Officers Restore Trust) Forum.” At one point he asked about people’s experiences with “when another person lumped them into a single story,” to which one attendee –  Roanoke Rapids police Sgt. Mark Peck, responded by telling a story of how while he grew up in Japan, “the children there called him gaijin, which he said means foreigner or barbarian.” In this instance, the word, “barbarian,” is used to distinguish Sgt. Mark Peck, a young American boy in the context of his story, from a group of young Japanese children. Here, Mark Peck is being treated as the “Other.”

The target audience of this article is primarily made up of members of the Roanoke Valley – Lake Gaston community, as this news source is a local one for that area. The target audience is also likely made up of people who also want to see social justice issues, like police brutality, fixed, as that is essentially what the article is about. This passion for social justice, especially for the fight against police brutality, is the shared, social value that the target audience has.

In the context of the article, this use of the word “barbarian” is quite different from its use in the texts of Herodotus. While in both texts, “barbarian” denotes a distinction, and usually has a negative connotation, the article, “Building Bridges” uses the word to tell a story, ultimately for the purpose of raising awareness for a social issue. In the historical texts of Herodotus, he uses the word simply to mean non-Greek people. At one point Herodotus writes, “His (Harpagus’) own rank was too humble for him to hope to obtain vengeance without some barbarian help.” This phrase implies that a person of higher-status would not have to stoop so low as to get help from an outsider, so there is still negative connotation, but the word is being used here solely to tell a story and preserve history.

-Harry Keener

Tags: NewBarbarians, CLAS3, Herodotus, Thucydides.

MLA Citation:

Hoang, Khai. “Building bridges.” The Daily Herald, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/local/building-bridges/article_f54d4c7c-95b6-11e7-b187-0b17642914b0.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Link:

http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/local/building-bridges/article_f54d4c7c-95b6-11e7-b187-0b17642914b0.html

 

Ooh, Shiny!

When is it appropriate to label someone a barbarian? When they eat with their hands? When they speak a language that is not your own? Well, in Greek society a person was considered a barbarian because they were different and to the Greeks, anything that wasn’t Greek was beneath them. In modern culture we are somewhat similar. Anyone who does not share our moral standards is a barbarian.

Greed has the capability of turning the most civilized of people into total barbarians. Such is the case with illegal poachers and the Ivory trade. In Los Angeles, the sale of Ivory products is now illegal under the new law filed on September 6th, by Attorney Mike Feur. Three men charged with the illegal sale of Ivory products are being regarded as barbarians.

“The Ivory trade is barbaric. It jeopardizes many animals that are at risk or on the verge of extinction,” Feuer said.

This article is most likely centered towardenvironmentalist and those who advocate against cruelty toward animals. These men, through their actions are characterized as selfish and greedy and are now depicted as barbarians because they do not share the same sympathy toward endangered animals, and animals in general, that the law or public does. This barbaric Greed is similar in the case of Croesus us whomever forced the Greeks to pay tribute to him and “conquered the Aeolians, Ionians and Dorrance of Asia.”

And though Croesus had succeeded in doing these many things, he was still referred to by Greeks as a lowly barbarian.

http://www.dailynews

September 6, 2017

-Carrissa, Team Hestia

The other side of the ‘Wall’

As a huge, indestructible structure wall been declared to defend the territory and their inhabitants away from the invaders. The historical inspiration England’s Hadrian’s Great Wall makes the northern boundary of the Roman Empire, which was designed to separate the Romans from the barbarians. As the British writer and academic Richard Lockhurs side in the article, ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL ‘ about the building walls: “[walls] are often gestural markers that serve more social, psychological, and symbolic purposes. They help a culture to define itself by keeping what it’s not at bay.” the wall is not only for protecting people from the barbarians but also prevent the spread of king’s power. on the inside of the wall, the people are controlled by the federal system, where had an unequal social status, as well as on the outside of the wall people believed in the democratic system. This wall has separated the ideas of how life should be, and the one who built the wall disagreed with the idea that came from the ‘outside world’. The wars between inside and outside the wall were not only defending their land from human invaders but good and evil, the traditional concept between people, the wall should be regarded as more metaphor than any other thing – no longer split our things, we are the same. this ‘wall’ has still appeared in society now, the wall that’s called the race, gender, social classes, and etc. languages and the looks were no longer the ways we use to judge people, and the ideas were no longer be control by the ‘King’.  the way we are being treated and the way we treat others are both showing the invisible walls that built in between people. we believe in ‘all men are created equal’, but are we really following what we are believing?

In the reading, Herodotus quoted “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate” which shows how Greeks thought that the people with different looks and speak languages other than Greece does not belong to their society, they are the outsider. the Greeks refused to accept those not understandable people and decided to be the enemy with these Barbarians.

 

Team Zeus, Yao

 

Citations:

The other side of the wall:  http://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/perspective/the-other-side-the-wall-1458811

all men are created equal:  http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

quote from the reading Herodotus on the Persians, Book 1 Chapter 4

Barbarian Barbecue

The word ‘barbarian’ has been used for centuries in this world, referring to an uncultured or brutish person. In the terms that matters to Classics, the barbarians were what we call the ‘Others’ or those who were not a member of the Ancient Greek community. The term originates from how the Greek perceived these outsider’s language as a jumble of words sounding like: “bar, bar, bar, bar…”. Now in modern day we stick to the more brutish person definition, instead of it only referring to a stranger in our regular surroundings.

We can see the term being used frequently in news, articles, and other forms of media to describe unforgivable behavior. If we look at the article, School Lunch Without Same by the Editorial Board of the New York Times, the term “barbaric” is used in the the brutish context being discussed. The State of New York allowed for 1.1 million children to receive free or reduced lunch, which is a very good step towards giving relief to impoverished children. Though this is a positive aspect, some discrimination towards these children still exists. The Board describes some mistreatment towards children says, “Nationally, however, far too many school districts still employ barbaric policies under which children are openly humiliated when their parents cannot pay lunch bills. These shaming tactics include berating students, stamping their arms with messages like ”I need lunch money” and throwing meals into the garbage while hungry children stand by.” (Editorial Board para. 3). Here these children are being treated as the ‘Other’, seeming as they are inferior due to their economic level. The article is pinned towards a more liberal mature audience who understands the state of economics in this country. The audience should know and feel sympathy for these children and the barbaric behavior being thrown against them.

The use of “barbaric” can also be seen elsewhere in the modern media like the New York Times. An article by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Dalio Book Lays Bare Bridgewater Culture, discusses the principles and behavior of Ray Dalio, the chairman to the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates. The term is used when Sorkin states, “Mr. Dalio’s critics — and there are many — say his principles offer permission to be verbally barbaric, and they question whether the $160 billion firm’s success is a product of such ”radical transparency” or whether he can afford such a wide-ranging social experiment simply because the firm is so financially successful.” (Sorkin para. 16). Here it is clear how Ray Dalio’s behavior can be seen as barbaric due to his financial level giving him a “leg up”. The ‘Other’ here is anyone who is the recipient of Dalio’s behavior/principles; seemingly they must keep up with it since he is such a powerful figure so he is allowed to, in some form, act barbaric. The audience is the same as the last article, mostly aiming at an audience of a sympathizer for the economically impaired.

Both articles have a clear line showing how economic dominance allows for a barbaric atmosphere to be put upon them. Those who struggle economically, whether it be a impoverished child in NYC, or anyone in Ray Dalio’s path, can be on the receiving end of becoming the ‘Other’. In Herodotus’ History, we see the long mistreatment of the Medes, or the ‘Other’ frequently throughout the story. One section states “For, supposing that he was obliged to invest another with the kingly power, and not retain it himself, yet justice required that a Mede, rather than a Persian, should receive the dignity. Now, however, the Medes, who had been no parties to the wrong of which he complained, were made slaves instead of lords, and slaves moreover of those who till recently had been their subjects.” (Herodotus 129). Here we see how the Persian Revolt, should in some form allow a Mede to receive fair treatment, always puts them in an inferior position. This look back at the classic Greek history, allows us to observe how “barbaric” behavior has been excused, passed on, and promoted through superior positions in society. It’s almost ironic, how the definition of barbaric went from the ‘Other’ to the ‘Not Other’. Seemingly how the Greeks treated the Medes in our definition IS barbaric, yet the Medes and foreigners were the barbarians themselves. How we translate and look at this word will always twist and turn but always will see a barbarian as a cruel, brutish thing to be.

Sean Reilly, Team Artemis

CITATIONS:

Board, The Editorial. “School Lunch Without Shame.” New York Times, 8 Sept. 2017, p. A26(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA503736222&it=r&asid=3f179db234cee34f6832cf7f25307cc3. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Sorkin, Andrew Ross. “Dalio Book Lays Bare Bridgewater Culture.” New York Times, 5 Sept. 2017, p. B1(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA503308278&it=r&asid=367952845a32aa7c10f8efc3ff1d8c63. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Definitions Changing with Society

The definition of barbaric has changed throughout time because we have changed culturally. So many people use the word barbaric on TV and in articles when explaining someone who does something out of the ordinary or does something in a brutal way. Barbarians were great fighters and they were brutal on the battlefield, thats why when the Greeks beat the barbarians on the battlefield, the dying gaul was created. The Dying Gaul was made to celebrate the victory against the barbarians, this statue was very different because it showed features of the barbarian that were unique to them like their hair and mustache, they also gave the statue a muscular build to show that they took down a very strong warrior. This statue was created during the Hellenistic period when statues were becoming more detailed in body type, age, and movement. Barbaric used to be a label for warriors, now it is used more to describe the actions of someone. For example, in the Los Angeles Daily News there is an article about three men who were involved in an ivory trade which was described as barbaric. The article states that “The ivory trade is barbaric. It jeopardizes many animals that are at risk or on the verge of extinction,” the word barbaric is used in a different context here because back then it used to be a label because of someones looks , how the fought, and a language barrier but now it’s because of the brutal actions someone does. The three men are being treated as the other because they are killing endangered animals for a profit which is reckless and illegal, in todays society doing something like this is barbaric and wrong.  In Herodotus in 7.223 it is stated that the Hellenes “displayed the greatest strength they had against the barbarians, fighting recklessly and desperately.” Which is one of the reasons why the definition of barbarian today means brutal and rough. The word barbarian has changed and evolved since the barbarians fought on the battlefields, but is still used in our vocabulary for someone who is brutal and reckless.

• Aiden Ferris

Service, City News. “LA Charges 3 Men in ‘Barbaric’ Ivory Trade.” Daily News, Daily News, 6 Sept. 2017, http://www.dailynews.com/2017/09/06/la-charges-3-men-in-barbaric-ivory-trade/

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Are you War Hungry?

Barbarian’s are considered to have a negative meaning. They are someone who doesn’t have manners, someone who is unrefined. They are the odd ball. In Greek society a barbarian was anyone who didn’t speak their language. They were called this because all the Greeks could here was “bar bar bar”.

Today people are still being regarded as barbarians, but with a slight more negative connotation. In a news article from the New York Post,  the Antifa an anti- fascist movement that are known by their militant protest attacks. They were recently called barbarians when a “peaceful” protest got out of hand. “The barbarian Antifa are genuinely contemptible, and unfortunate innocents, like the martyred Heather Heyer, sometimes find themselves on the same side of the barricades as these thugs.” This is comparable to the way  they were regarded in Herodotus. “Such was the number of the barbarians, that when they shot forth their arrows the sun would be darkened by their multitude.”They were regarded as savages that were out for blood. Something that is  comparable to another article I read. “Bannon Is Ready For #War” is about Stephen K. Bannon and his statement as he left the white house. He catogorized himself as a barbarian. Someone who was ready for “#War”.

These two articles are the same in that they both seem to put barbarians in a negative light, they both speak of barbarians as if they were a war minded people. This is also seen in Herodotus. They are in the midst of a battle and there are so many barbarians lust ing at the chance of war that they completely block out the sunlight as they rain death down upon the Greeks.

“Calling Out Leftist Violence: Antifa’s Unchecked Attacks.” New York Post [New York, NY], 4 Sept. 2017, p. 018. New York State Newspapers, login.ez-

Rutenberg, Jim. “Bannon Is Ready For #War.” New York Times, 21 Aug. 2017, p. B1(L). New York State Newspapers

Barbarian

Barbarian, the word in the history of the West from the Roman Empire during the tribes and the nation’s call, due to the Roman Empire internal cultural differences, in the east of Italy, dominated the Greek, while in the Italian and western regions, Latin Language as the main language, ancient Greek and ancient roman belong to the same language, there are many common language, barbarian source is not that can not speak the common language of the nation, when the barbarians are mainly the north of the Germans, Wales and Scotland Kyle Special people, oriental Persians and Patti people, southeast of the Arabs and so on. they were called barbarians because back in ancient times they were always invading and pillaging and generally unleashing their fury on the more “civilized” Greeks and Romans. In Herodotus, the Histories, “They made it plain to everyone, however, and above all to the king himself, that although he had plenty of troops, he did not have many men.” It shows Croesus didn’t have followers, people doesn’t like him even he is wealthy and the king, therefore, you can tell that he is a barbarian. 

In the article “‘Barbaric’ arson-homicide prompted by violent relationship”,  a 41-year-old stepfather, Randy Miles Jr. had been charged with first-degree murder and arson in the death of 26-year-old Christopher Lenhart, which is his stepson. The police was saying that “It doesn’t get much more barbaric than setting someone on fire”, he was using the term barbaric to described how cruel he is.  The target audience for the article is everyone. It shows the relationship between stepdad and stepson. And I believe that in the society, there are so many problems occur within a family. Not only family, might be friends, boyfriend and girlfriends, or wife and husband. In this case, we can know from the neighbors is that they fight all the time. It’s  important to manage our mood and the ways/attitude we deal with one other. And the difference in the used of the word ‘barbarian’ is in the article, the author described a person with no human being, no manner, no conscience as barbarian.

Citation

Laura Terrell – http://www.kcci.com/article/barbaric-arson-homicide-prompted-by-violent-relationship/12148166

Types of the Barbaric

Barbaric has many meanings. It has changed since it was first uttered by the Greeks. They used the word to describe others who weren’t Greek, since other languages sounded like gibberish to them. Nowadays, barbaric has a different meaning and is used to describe the primitive ways of life.

In “Don’t Romanticise Violence-Reject It” by The Sunday Independent, it says:

“It does not matter who is the victim or perpetrator/aggressor, or the colour/pigmentation of the victim or perpetrator, violence is barbaric and should be abhorred by all of us.”

The subject being targeted as ‘the other’ is the act of violence. The author wants the audience, everyone in South Africa who reads the paper, that violence is a barbaric act which should not exist in civilized human beings. According to the article, South Africa has a deep past buried in violent acts which overshadows the fact that they condemn violence. The author wants to move past the barbaric ways and go toward a violence-free society. He outlined detailed steps, such as making the public representative someone who has no history of violence and doesn’t associate with criminals.  This social value should be accepted throughout the country for South Africa to prosper with other nations. This term is used differently from the Greeks version. For one, the Greeks used the word to describe others who didn’t know their language, but the author is using the word in order to show that using violence should be prohibited. However, the word was used to condemn violent behaviors in both models. The same way that the author used to describe people who use violence, the Greeks used the word to recount their war opponents because of their violent behaviors.

In “London Stands with Barcelona Against ‘Evil of Terrorism'”, it says:

“My thoughts are with the victims of this barbaric terrorist attack in the great city of Barcelona and with their brave emergency services.” 

The subject associated with ‘the other’ is a terrorist attack, which is also an act of violence. The target audience is the adults who read the paper in London and people who can sympathize with victims of terrorist attacks. The article was about the recent attack in Barcelona, where a white van went headfirst into a crowded sidewalk, injuring a ton of innocent people and killing thirteen. This was a shock to people and showed the barbaric tendencies of the terrorists. London’s mayor both sympathesizes and empathizes with the victims because his city also fell into the trap set by the terrorists. He reminds the public that these crime are inhumane and uncivilized, but also that the people of Barcelona has a friend in London. This situation shared similarities and differences with the Greeks’ version of the barabric. First, the word was used to explain the feeling of the situation. It was uncivilized and not common in others. To the Greeks, foreigners were not common and was considered uncivilzed because their ways of living didn’t conencile with the Greeks’ way of living.

In “Herodotus”, he writes:

“For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that in habitit, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”

This shows that the word barbarian had its definition trnsformed as time went on. We now use it to describe the ways a mannered person would act. We use this word to highlight that these people are different and are not the norms of society. In some ways, we use this word just like the Greeks, to show unfamiliarly in behavior and lifestyles.

Morrison, Sean. “London Stands with Barcelona against ‘Evil of Terrorism’, Sadiq Khan Says.”London Evening Standard, 17 Aug. 2017. LexisNexis Academic [LexisNexis], www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/hottopics/lnacademic/.

“Don’t Romanticise Violence – Reject It.” The Sunday Independent, 27 Aug. 2017. LexisNexis Academic [LexisNexis], www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?oc=00240&hnsd=f&hgn=t&lni=5PBG-PGW1-JCV0-1097&hns=t&perma=true&hv=t&hl=t&csi=270944%2C270077%2C11059%2C8411&secondRedirectIndicator=true.

-Fariah, Team Hermes

Kings vs. Terrorists

Barbarian, is generally a word with a negative connotation. Throughout human history, the word has been used to describe the “others.” If you’re not the usual, you’re barbaric. A great example of this is in Herodotus’ Histories; “Croesus, son of Alyattes, by birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys … So far as our knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries, and entering into alliance with others. He conquered the Aeolians, Ionians, and Dorians of Asia, and made a treaty with the Lacedaemonians.” (1.6) Herodotus was a Greek historian and was describing King Croesus of Lydia. Since Croesus wasn’t like the Greeks, he’s called a barbarian although his achievements don’t sound as such. Describing the lands Croesus conquered and calling him a lord is contradictory to a barbarian. If Croesus was somehow Greek, he’d be heralded for his achievements.

A recent article from LifeZette features the use of the term barbarian as well. A student had posted on Facebook about a successful airstrike against ISIS: ‘“I’m glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins.”’. Once again, barbarian is used to describe the “others” who are not the usual. Now I don’t support terrorism or ISIS at all, but why isn’t barbarian used to describe any events in America? Plenty of horrific crimes are and have been committed in America but I’ve never witnessed any suspects or criminals be called barbarian. Barbarian is used to describe the uncivilized but if an American commits an uncivilized act it’s supposed to be just a hiccup in society. This results in a split in communities where people are singled out because they’re similar to the barbarians. Racism and Islamophobia arise when a group of people is described much differently than others. Connotations and assumptions are brought into the mix and separation in society occurs.

A simple term such as barbarian can cause many problems in our society. Herodotus singled out Croesus as a barbarian, ignoring his achievements, and attributed to the negative connotation attached to the Eastern empires. A student singled out a group of people as barbarians which attribute to the rise of racism in our society. Both of these instances can be avoided and as a result, our society can become a less hateful one.

-Ahmed, Team Mars

“PC Madness: Student Investigated for Mocking ‘Barbarian’ Terrorists.” LifeZette, 5 Sept. 2017, http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/pc-madness-student-investigated-mocking-barbarian-terrorists/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

 

Barbarism Today

According to our everyday life, we can conclude that living in the United States is relatively safe and peaceful. I always questioned and still do, why educate students on ancient history and conflicts encountered throughout that era? I believe it is of our best interest to educate the students with the battles we are fighting in the current world, internally and externally.

In article one, we are given an insight on being a sex slave victim of ISIS. ISIS, a violent militant group conquering chunks of Iraq and Syria terrorizing civilians, has been a major issue in our society for years! Farida Khalaf, only 19, has fallen into the hands of Islamic Terrorists when her village, Kocho was taken over. Separated from her family and a long way from home, she is now on her own. ISIS uses the women they capture as sex slaves or even trade, but the men are usually shot and killed. The writer of the article refers to this trade as the “barbaric trade,” to grab the attention of readers to such outrageous and sickening topic. As she shares her experience being imprisoned, I realized that this is a cry for help, for the slave trade that many people still do not acknowledge. In Herodotus, Cyrus has second thoughts of killing Croesus, until a divine warning stretched into his mind from the lips of Solon, “No one while he lives is happy.” It similarly relates to the victims of ISIS or soon to be victims because they won’t find peace or happiness until a community as strong as ours does something to prevent it.

“In a radio interview with LBC, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, called the attacks barbaric,” referring to the acid attack. According to article two, these attacks have caused severe damages to the victims; in fact, it is an ongoing issue in the city of London. There were many incidents, particularly, the two Muslim women in London that were badly burnt by a white man who attacked them with acid, splashing it on their faces. This specific attack interests me to a certain extent. I believe this attack was hate-motivated. With all the terrorism taking place in our world today, especially when Muslims are to blame, it points at the xenophobia that is still alive in many people.

Citations:

(1) “My Hell as an ISIS Sex Slave Iraq Girl Relives Evils of Fiends’ Barbaric Trade.” New York Post , 17 July 2017.

(2) Rod Nordland. “Men on Scooter in London Throw Acid in the Faces of 5 People .” The New York Times , 15 July 2017.

-Amirjon, Team Juno

A Barbarian’s Sport Played by Gentlemen

 

I came across a sports news article which talked about how rugby is becoming a “thug game” played by barbarians. Smnikiwe Xabanisa retold the story about rugby players brawling over a racist team player and said that “the lesson hidden in that caning was an interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s quote about rugby being a barbarian’s sport played by gentlemen, and football being a gentleman’s game played by barbarians” (Xabanisa). What Xabanisa wants his readers to understand is that sporting opposites attract: rugby is a barbarian sport because of its aggression in nature and the likeliness of getting injured, whereas football is considered a sport that is less aggressive considering the ground rules, but with players being much more aggressive than rugby players. I chose to write about this article because it shows how the word ‘barbarian’ has evolved and how it is used in everyday English language. Barbarians are those who are considered very violent, as portrayed in the article. I believe that the target audience are people with an interest in sports. The social value that is being affirmed is how easy it is to be labeled. Just because something is said to be or appears to be a certain way, doesn’t mean it is true about everyone. Rugby may be widely known as a “barbarian’s sport”, but it doesn’t mean that every person that plays it lives up to the definition of a barbarian: a person without culture or education.

The usage of the term in the article differs from one of the lines in Herodotus’s text: “…and that great and marvelous deeds done by Greeks and barbarians, and especially the reason why they warred against each other, may not lack renown” (Herodotus, Preface: Statement of Purpose). This differs in how barbarian is used in the article because barbarians are represented as non-violent people whose deeds are being acknowledged, as opposed to people who are violent. This comes to show how the word barbarian can take on many different meanings depending on how you use it in your writing and how easy it is to generalize different groups of people.                                                                                                                                                                                           

Simnikiwe Xabanisa -. “Rugby is fast becoming a thug’s game played by barbarians.” Sport, 10 Sept. 2017.

#NewBarbarians #CLAS3 #Herodotus #Thucydides

Be careful what you Post!

A law student with a full life ahead of him put his career in danger. This student known as Robbie Travers, has been put under investigation for what is known as a ” hate crime” after posting a racist message on Facebook.  He had posted “I’m glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins,”. While some people saw this post and kept scrolling, a student known as Esme Allman  took action right away and filed a complaint. This complaint showed that there are many people out there who will not take criticism in any form  or manner.

Allman believed that this would put minority students in a state of panic which is otherwise known as ” blatant Islamophobia”. Allman gathered many people on her side and began to prove her point and showed many people including myself how she was right for filing a complaint against Robbie Travers.  This shows us that Travers had no right for his post and hurt many people by doing so. Whether or not Travers post was personal, people took it the way the felt was right.  This has gone against peoples social values and therefore stood up with Allman to make sure this situation was justified.

In Herodotus, the men also do not care if they violate others peoples rights, they just do and say whatever they feel. For example,  Darius states ” I fear to hurt Thee” and Gobryas replies ” Fear not, strike though it be through both. ” ” Darius did as he desired, drover his dagger home, and by good hap killed the Magus. ” This shows that they do not care about the feelings of other people and end up hurting others . In Herodotus, it was hurting people physically and on the Facebook post it was hurting people mentally, which both still have dangerous outcomes and terrible impacts on peoples lives.

 

Link to Article:

https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/pc-madness-student-investigated-mocking-barbarian-terrorists/

 

 

Rugby: A Barbarians Game

Rugby has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous. It is, after all, the sport where players cover their ears to prevent them from being mutilated or ripped off. In the article written by Simnikiwe Xabanisa, she explains how she witnessed a “free-for-all brawl” occur after racial slurs were said during the game on the field. Xabanisa then begins to reflect on some other physical fights she has seen throughout her experiences watching rugby, including players assaulting referee officials for bad calls.

In this article, the rugby players are seen as the “others” in the situation that some players can become very involved in the game and take it way too far. Xabanisa is trying to convey this message to people who may have interest in rugby so that they can have a primary source of what is seen going on during the games. The use of barbarian in this article is suitable for the definition. The definition of barbarian is a human who is perceived to be uncivilized. In the article the players who have participated in those acts of violence were not being civilized at all in the slightest bit, making the definition appropriate to describe them.

The meaning of barbarian has changed drastically over time. It is perceived to mean now to describe someone who is uncivilized but when the word first originated it had a whole different meaning. In Herodotus’s Histories, the word “barbarian” is used to describe civilizations outside from one’s culture. It states in Book 1, Chapter 4 (1.4), “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on a distinct and separate.” This shows that the barbarians were just people who were different from the norms of the Greek culture.

 

-Bryana DeLuca, Team Ares

 

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/rugby-is-fast-becoming-a-thugs-game-played-by-barbarians-20170909

Xabanisa, Simnikiwe. “Rugby Is Fast Becoming a Thug’s Game Played by Barbarians.” Sport24 , 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/rugby-is-fast-becoming-a-thugs-game-played-by-barbarians-20170909.

 

 

 

 

 

Barbarians Over the Years

Over the years the meaning of the word barbarian or barbaric has changed. It can be used to describe a group of people being categorized because of where they are from or the actions they have committed. The word barbarians in the past was used to describe a group of people that were foreigners. They wore different clothes, had a different culture, spoke different languages. The main reason they were called barbarians was because of how they spoke. To a commoner when a barbarian spoke all they would hear are the terms Bar-Bar-Bar. However the term barbarian is used in different context in the reading Herodotus. In Herodotus Croesus was described as the barbarian. He was a very wealthy King that came into contact with the Greeks. In the reading it states “So far as our knowledge goes, he [Croesus] was the first of the barbarians that dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries and entering into alliances with others.”  This statement shows that Croesus was a foreigner to the Greeks and he also showed some characteristics of a barbarian in certain cases such as when he forced the people of Greece to follow his rule and fight for his cause.

Nowadays social media is used as an outlet for many young adults to express their feelings. Robbie Travers is a 21 year old student at Edinburgh University. Travers is under investigation by the university for his activities on social media. In the article it states that Travers responded to a recent bombing from the United States in an ISIS location. On a Facebook post he states, “I’m glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins.” This created an outrage among the students and staff at Edinburgh University.  In his statement, Travers uses the term barbarian as a term to describe the group who are savages and commit cruel activity. But some parts of his statement has created controversy and many students have labeled Travers statement opinionated and racist.

The target audience for this article is for the people that are active on social media. This is an example that even though social media can be an outlet for many to pour out their feelings it can have many repercussions and you must be careful of what you post online. These are just two examples of how the word barbarians has been used throughout time. In one reading he was being portrayed as a foreigner and in the other article the group was being labeled because of their actions and intentions.

Citation:

Howes, Scarlet. “Uni Student Probed for ‘Hate Crime’ as Called ISIS ‘Barbarians’ on Social Media.” Mirror, 5 Sept. 2017, http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/student-probed-uni-bosses-hate-11113823.

Naim Nuvel, Team Vulcan

 

 

The Barbarians of the Modern Age

http://www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/9049/turkey-accuses-europe-of-turning-to-barbarism-and-fascism
Mevlüt Cavusoglu considered that Europe “was turning towards the values of the era which preceded the Second World War…barbarism, fascism, violence and intolerance.”

As this article is presented from a pro-Europe point of view, the ‘other’ is the opposing viewpoint which in this case is the Turkish government. This is the case as the paper publishing these anti-Europe comments is a European paper attempting to show the hypocrisy in the comments from a nation slowly abandoning democracy. The target audience of this article is the populists of Europe, as the article describes a Turkish government member commenting on German  “submission to populism”. The social value of populism is specifically the social value being affirmed in this Belgian newspaper. This is apparent as Belgian society is ruled by and dominated by these ideals. Things like social welfare and publicly funded works and aid are some of the governments most strongly supported actions. This kind of society is being embraced all around Europe from the ultra-progressive Scandinavians to the newly populist Germans. The use of this term barbarism is meant to describe the changing dynamics of the politics in Europe from the point of view of anti-populist Turks. This is similar to how it is used in class as both the Greeks and the Turks believe that the ideals of another group of people are wrong not because of any facts or well put together reasoning, but simply because the people with those ideals look and talk differently from those who claim barbarism.

Croesus,son of Alyattes ,by birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys. This stream ,which separates Syria from Paphlagonia, runs with a course from south to north, and finally falls into the Euxine. Sofara sour knowledge goes, he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the greeks.

This quotes basically shows that the Greeks considered any group of people that looked and spoke different from them to be Barbarians and uncivilized.

 

News, TBT. “Turkey accuses Europe of turning to.” The Brussels Times, 11 Sept. 2017, http://www.brusselstimes.com/eu-affairs/9049/turkey-accuses-europe-of-turning-to-barbarism-and-fascism. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017

John Jacobs Team Diana

The dramatic change of the usage of “barbarian” and “barbaric” over the centuries

The term “Barbarian” has evolved in the past thousand years; the word was first used as someone not associated with the Greek’s language, such as the Gauls, European tribes, and civilizations outside of Greece in the Middle East, such as Egyptians and Persians, since the Greek’s could not understand their language and thought they were speaking oddly (“bar, bar, bar”). The word was changed by the Roman’s when it became used a term to describe people who were not cultured of Roman and Greek traditions such as the many tribes that threatened Rome’s borders. In today’s culture, the term “barbarian” now refers to those who are uncivilized and commit horrific or cruel atrocities. The term “barbarian” has radically changed from once referring to those who did not speak of the Greek language to those to commit horrifying and inhumane acts.
In today’s media, a “barbarian” could be used as someone who has either committed heinous or inhumane acts or someone who metaphorically commits “barbaric” ideas. For example, an article written by The New York Times delves into the different moral views on statues in today’s society. In the article, one of the opinions talked about were the “barbaric examples of the Taliban and ISIS, whose practice it has been to destroy relics of the past”. The word “barbaric” is used in the context of an act deemed cruel and sadist, defining that these groups are deemed “barbarians” in this contextualization. The “other” in this article are shown as the terrorist groups ISIS and the Taliban, showing that the target audience is the populations outside of the countries and areas the terrorist groups occupy in. The social value that is being demonstrated as a shared value to the target audience is that acts like these (which are far more horrific) hinder icons of the past and that culture should be preserved (a topic that is hard to tackle and is a complicated topic for me to handle on this post alone). Another example is seen once more in an article written by The New York Times that tackles the views on solitary measures for juveniles in modern society. In the article, the writer goes into depth on how the conditions given to juveniles only worsen their psyche and that “the barbaric conditions of solitary may cause or worsen depression, paranoia and outbursts of anger that often result in even more time in isolation”. The writer also adds that “more than half of suicides in juvenile justice facilities take place when the young person is alone.” The word “barbaric” in the article is used in the context as a horrific and inhumane way of life for juveniles in solitary; the “barbaric” conditions are used as a psychological act instead of a physical act. The “other” in this article are the prisons that implemented these conditions, whereas the target audiences are those studying law and psychology, but in addition, advocates for mental health. The social value that is being shown as a shared value to the target audience is the fact that juveniles should not (or should not have been not since federal prisons no longer use solitary confinement for juveniles but still applies to others) been subjected to such “barbaric” treatments and conditions that led many to depression and even suicide. The articles’ use of the term “barbaric” are used differently from each; in the “Moral Debate Over Statues” article, “barbaric” is used to characterize the actions of ISIS and the Taliban when they destroy artifacts that meant something culturally to other people (in addition to their other horrific actions) while the term “barbaric” in the article “Evolving Attitudes on Solitary for Juveniles” is used to describe the conditions in the federal prisons that cruelly and inhumanely affected juveniles psychologically. The articles used as examples of the modern use of the words “barbaric” and “barbarian” are portrayed differently since Greek and Roman times, as previously explained in the beginning of the post, as the words “barbaric” and “barbarian” are used to demonstrate someone or something committing cruel or horrific actions. In Herodotus’s Histories, the term “barbarian” is used a word to describe civilizations outside from one’s culture. For example, Book 1, Chapter 4 reads, “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate” (1.4). The terms “barbarian” and “barbaric have changed dramatically since their creation, going from people who didn’t speak the language and learn the same culture, to people who commit cruelsome and horrific atrocities.
“The Moral Debate Over Statues.” New York Times, 3 Sept. 2017, p. 8(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA502860853&it=r&asid=8143318c3fc2e603d74a8e4448958dac. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.
“Evolving Attitudes on Solitary for Juveniles.” New York Times, 6 Aug. 2017, p. 8(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA499943270&it=r&asid=67e9b3fe7d64ca2a87223719aa4dcc4b. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

#NewBarbarians, #CLAS3, #Herodotus, #Bonus

-A.C. Bowman, Team Saturn

Barbaric Murder

Last Sunday two teen girls were barbarically stabbed to death in Botshabelo South Africa. The two girls were making there way through town after a vigil for a family member when they were jumped and brutally murdered, found with multiple stab wounds. Deputy police commissioner of the region Major-General Jones Qhosbosheane says “To have such young vulnerable women killed in this barbaric manner is appalling and cannot be tolerated.” The intended audience of this article is mainly those in the nearby region as its main goal is to have those with any possible tips contact authorities, however its reach is much farther then just that. It is a shocking article that shows the reader how brutal the world truly can be. The way the article is written shows how acts like these are not tolerated in any kind and those who preform such acts will always be found resposible and faces the consequences. The word barbarian is often used in the same manner across different platforms, in this case a news article uses it to shed light on a harsh and forceful murder at an attempt to remove those responsible from society, in a very similar way Herodotus says ” Croesus, son of Alyattes was lord of all nations to the west of the river Halys… he was the first barbarian who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing them to become his tributaries.” The way in which the word barbarian is used in tboth texts depicts someone who is forecful, vicious, and cruel.

Etheridge, Jenna. “Two teenage girls stabbed to death in ‘barbaric manner’.” News24, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

Oliver Khoury, Team Hestia

Bar-Bar-Bar

“Bar, bar, bar.” That is what one would sound like to a naive Greek citizen if they were a non-greek-speaker. This lack of recognition didn’t only apply to foreign  languages but rather most non-greek cultures. For the Greeks, at that time most other cultures were simply viewed as barbaric.These cultures included the Persians, Egyptians, Medes, and Phoenicians.

One lazy afternoon as I was reading this article titled, “Parents Shot Their Teenage Children With a BB GUN When They Did Not do Their Chores Properly in ‘Bizarre and Barbaric’ Punishment.” Yes. Although the  title of the article was very informative the part that engrossed me the most asserts, “The couple, aged 50 and 33, have been sentenced for the ‘bizarre and frankly barbaric chastisement’ of the youngsters at their home in Blackpool, Lancashire.”Barbaric? You can imagine how perplexed I was upon seeing the word being used in such a context. Now, the connotation of the word seems to be punishing the parents. Ideally, parents are very protective of their children and they go to certain lengths to show them love and affection. But in this scenario, I’m uncertain that using the gun was the best way to deter the children. Thus, that explains the diction of Rachel Smith, which is the author of the news article. The contents of this article in my better judgment would be very appealing to those in the parenting stage of their lives. I think they were meant to feel sympathy for the child and that home, and hopefully, that would be a wake-up call or parents, to parent their children the right way. As I am sure that no child would like to live under such scrutinizing circumstances where they are being threatened with a BB gun.

Compared to how the word barbaric is used in the article, in the reading, Herodotus, it is used as follows, “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.” This phrase is conveying the message that, although the various tribes were different, Persia still looked at them as their allies; but the Europeans and the Greeks were looked at as if they were dangerous outsiders. #NewBarbarians #CLAS3 #Herodotus Izadora, team Aphrodite

 

Citations:

 

Mailonline, Rachel Smith For. “Parents Shot Their Teenage Children with a BB GUN When They Did Not Do Their Chores Properly in ‘Bizarre and Barbaric’ Punishment.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 5 Sept. 2017, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4853368/Parents-shot-teenage-children-BB-GUN.html.

Barbaric Raid

In this article, Nnamdi Kanu’s home has been raided by the officers of the Nigerian Army on Sunday.  Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode called for restraint and an end to the unprecedented violence and he strongly disapproved the unprecedented violence that is being employed. In this news artice, Nnamdi Kanu is being treated as the ‘other’. Nnamdi Kanu is a British-Nigerian political activist who raises awareness about certain issues by protests or lectures. The target audience for the article is the public of Nigeria who will get to know the cruel and barbaric actions of the army against the innocent. The article depicts, “Three people have been killed by the military and 20 wounded in their raid on Nnamdi Kanu’s home. This is wicked, barbaric and unacceptable. STOP!” Nnamdi Kanu might have taken step against something crucial (not mentioned in the article) due to which his home is raided. The barbaric about this incident is that the army killed and injured various innocent people. In relation to the class, Barbaric is someone who is non-Greek, who is different from normal people, has different habits, speak differently , wore funny clothes, has different gender styles whereas in this article, the word barbaric is used to describe cruel and unacceptable because innocent people have been killed and injured. In today’s world, barbaric is considered to be something that is immoral or unlawful as illustrated by the incident in the article. The social value that is being affirmed as a shared value for the target audience is that the reality that a person (Nnamdi Kanu) brings up to the group of people against someone or something is often not liked and that person is more likely to be harmed. In Herodotus, it says, “Such was the number of the barbarians, that when shot forth their arrows the sun would be darkened by their multitude.” This quote conveys us the idea that these barbarians were in huge number who could even do the impossible things as darkening the sun by their arrows. This could be related to the article as the barbaric Nigerian army harmed innocent people.

Work cited-

http://sundiatapost.com/2017/09/10/biafra-armys-raid-of-nnamdi-kanus-home-barbaric-fani-kayode/

Gurleen Kaur, Team Venus

Barbarians and Abortion

Abortion is one of the most contentious and infuriating topics discussed today. People are either for it, or think of it as “barbaric and immoral,” as does the author of this article. Published in Myrtle Beach Online, this article links higher abortion rates to our current attitude towards sexuality and compares abortion to the child sacrifice practiced in Baal worship. Since this article doesn’t take on a very persuasive tone (comparing someones behavior to child sacrifice doesn’t often invite an open-minded debate), it can only be assumed that this is written for like-minded people who also oppose abortion and sexual promiscuity. In the past chastity was highly valued, but today we are more encouraged to pursue our desires and be more sexually open. The more conservative view of life and sex is valued in this article as morally superior. Practitioners of abortion are considered evil and murderers. Young people engaging in “unbridled sexual activity outside of marriage” are seen as irresponsible, not to mention sacrificing children to the “god of convenience”.

Given the author’s opening lines comparing modern sex culture and abortion to Baal child sacrifice, it’s very clear that he sees modern sexuality and abortion as ungodly and unjust; it is not behavior befitting of our modern society. In Herodotus’ Histories,  Herodotus defines the Greek opinion of outsiders. “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate” (Book 1 Chapter 4). In establishing modern sex culture as different and barbaric, the author sets the same tone that the Greeks did for barbarians: Those who are different aren’t a part of our society.

Long, Billy. “Abortion is barbaric and immoral.” Myrtlebeachonline, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171255212.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.

David, Team Saturn

We Live In A Barbaric Society

 

The term “barbaric,” in the modern society, means to be exceedingly cruel, or savagely brutal. Many incidents transpire daily which involve barbaric acts being executed. Any act done in this manner should be disapproved of, and should be avoided through implementing strict regulations.

In the article “Saudi Arabia must do something about its Barbaric Human Rights Practices,” the author explains Saudi Arabia’s difficult situation of transition. The newly crowned Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, intends to usher his land into a prosperous and successful era, called the “Vision 2030,” which entails building “a thriving country in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes and ambitions,” whilst being “tolerant,” and providing a “gateway to the world.” Since commencing this initiative, multiple incidents opposing these principles have emerged. Firstly, 14 Saudi men were accused and arrested with “terrorism-related offences” after allegedly staging protests in the kingdom of the Prince, countering the principle of being “tolerant” and allowing citizens to fulfill their “dreams, hopes and ambitions.” These new ideologies of the “Vision 2030” were again violated in the wrongful arrest of a Saudi blogger who advocated for a more liberal, secular and moderate country. According to authorities, these were violations of the nation’s conservative Islamic Establishment. The term “barbaric” is used in a very predominant sentence to the article, “If Saudi leaders really want to embrace modernism, they could start by reversing the barbaric death sentences imposed on 14 Shiite men for taking part in demonstrations,” meaning that the kingdom should start following the principles of the new regime in order to increase the pace of development. The “others” in this article most likely are the authorities who fail to adhere to the new regulations of the new vision. The target audience of the article are human rights advocates, and any right-minded logical person who would see that the system that is trying to be built is being hindered by the actions of the established order. This audience shares the values of recognizing a wrong act, correct administering of punishment, and tolerance in society, which ought to be done in this kingdom. This article does relate to the use of the term the Greeks used to refer to the Persians, “barbarians,” in that the Persians did instill harsh punishments over their people for small matters: “If a Persian has leprosy, he is not allowed to enter into a city, or to have dealings with other Persians; he must, they say, have sinned against the sun.” Even though the modern definition of “barbaric” does conform with the ways of the Persians in the types of treatments, it has a sort of hyperbolic meaning to that of the Greeks’ description of the Persians, in that the Greeks only thought they were barbaric due to the difference in lifestyles, and mainly speech. The word has now taken the stance of something that would not be morally acceptable.

 

“The Persian image specifically underwent the highest degree of artistic license and the result is a stark contrast between the ugliness of the “others” against the nobility of the Greek soldiers.” – https://ndidusch.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/

 

In the article, “’Barbaric act’: World reacts to Barcelona Attack,” leaders from all around the world condemn the acts of the driver of the van who ploughed through hundreds of people on a famous tourist location in Barcelona, Spain. This dreadful event led to the demise of ten people, and the wounding of one hundred other persons, with nationalities stretching over 18 countries. Many world leaders addressed this situation, deeming this act as “revolting,” “cowardly,” and “barbaric.” In this article, the “other” being referred to is the driver of the van, who was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The target audience of this article has a wide range, which includes the families of the victims of this senseless act, the citizens of Spain, and to the victims of other terrorist acts internationally. All these people share the value of eradicating these horrendous people from society and putting a halt to the violent demonstrations. The actions of the driver do relate to the use of the term “barbaric,” used to classify the Persians by the Greeks, in that the Persians did take extreme measures to get across a point, like, said before, exiling a citizen with leprosy – “If a Persian has leprosy, he is not allowed to enter into a city, or to have dealings with other Persians; he must, they say, have sinned against the sun.” But, again, the modern-day use of this word has a more violent and somewhat evolved meaning to that of the Greek, which simply meant nothing like us.

These two articles are similar in manner to the use of the terms “barbaric” and “barbarian.” They both exhibit situations of senseless power and ill use of violence to maintain order or to carry across a point, but the contexts in which the term was used represent how much the word has evolved over time. In Greek times, it was used to describe people the Greeks didn’t know, and especially who, they said, only said “bar,” “bar,” “bar.” In conclusion, there are some similarities, but major differences, mostly due to how society has changed over time and the word’s evolved meaning.

 

Daniel, Team Diana.

 

Citations: 

• “Saudi Arabia must do something about its barbaric human rights practices.” Washingtonpost.com, 5 Aug. 2017. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=cuny_broo39667&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA499943697&it=r&asid=dabf0a4cc3f7405288d4a31e989578eb. Accessed 11 Sept. 2017.
• “‘Barbaric act’: World reacts to Barcelona attack.” Al Jazeera America, 18 Aug. 2017. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=cuny_broo39667&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA500927983&it=r&asid=2f937af552b410c29fc2bf5357f4d97f. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

The term Barbarian have changed Overtime

The term barbarian has changed over time. The term barbarian in the past was basically weird sex behavior, clothing, language was spoken, and weird opposite sex behavior. The term Barbarian was used to describe people that didn’t speak well Greek. Also, people that sound like “bar bar bar”. However, as the time passed by, the term and the definition have changed. The meaning of the word barbarian has changed to someone in the community that doesn’t belong in the great civilization or savage.

An article from the New York Times “Google Doesn’t Care What’s Best For Us” Jonathan Taplin states, “Executives were terrified that Drexel would start a raid on their companies. Politicians would seek Mr. Milken’s counsel and his money. His ”who’s going to stop me?” attitude was the perfect libertarian credo for the Reagan era of deregulation. Drexel gave us culture, too — ”Barbarians at the Gate,” ”The Bonfire of the Vanities” and Gordon Gekko in ”Wall Street” telling us that ”greed is good.” But Drexel flew too close to the sun. Mr. Milken went to prison and Drexel is no more.” In the same article Taplin states, “Somehow the citizens of the world have been left out of this discussion of our future. Because tools like Google and Facebook have become so essential and because we have almost no choice in whether to use them, we need to consider the role they play in our lives”. In this article, the ones who are being treated as “other” are the people and the children since the companies are putting those Facebook and media and forcing people to use it. I think the target audience in the article are the people since tools like facebook and google became their basic essential. Also, google is on people’s privacy on what we buy on Amazon or what we search. The social value that has been affirmed as shared value for the target audience is that not having the Drexel. Also, I think sometimes is good that google being the privacy of what we buy. It ok sometimes since people can be buying the gun or illegal items. This situation is different to a use of the word barbarian in the reading “Herodotus”. In the “Herodotus”, the role that the barbarian played was Croesus, son of Alyattes which was the lord of river Halys. And forcing people to become his tributaries. In the book it states, “So far as our knowledge goes he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries and entering into an alliance with others.”. (1.5-7: Who Really Inflicted the First Injury On the Greek)

Another article from the New York Times “Bannon Is Ready For #War” Jim Rutenberg states, “While exiting stage far right on Friday, Mr. Bannon referred to himself as ”Bannon the Barbarian” and declared that he was ”jacked up” and ready to ”crush the opposition.” In this article, the one who is being treated by “others” is the people who are watching the News because since doesn’t always give the truth. People have the different mindset of what they are watching and bring in different perspective. I think the people are the targeted audience. The article is also targeting the conservative group. The social value that is being affirmed as a share of the target audience is that people are going for anti-Trump voice. This situation is different from the reading “Herodotus” because this more about political issues that are happening in the White House.

Therefore, the Barbarian topic also connect with Art history because we learned that people who didn’t know how to speak Greek or spoke differently than they would be sound as “bar bar”. And how Greek people had short hair and messy hair but other had beard at times which wasn’t Greek.

Citation for the articles:

• Taplin, Jonathan. “Google Doesn’t Care What’s Best for Us.” New York Times, 13 Aug. 2017, p. 3(L). New York State Newspapers, http://go.galegroup.com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T004&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=98&docId=GALE%7CA500401607&docType=Essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=SPN.SP01&contentSet=GALE%7CA500401607&searchId=R5&userGroupName=nysl_me_brookcol&inPS=true
• Rutenberg, Jim. “Bannon Is Ready For #War.” New York Times, 21 Aug. 2017, p. B1(L). New York State Newspapers, http://go.galegroup.com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T004&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=87&docId=GALE%7CA501226569&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=SPN.SP01&contentSet=GALE%7CA501226569&searchId=R5&userGroupName=nysl_me_brookcol&inPS=true 

Mantaha Mannan, Team Vulcan

Barbaric Politics

India is currently under control by a communist party. The political party is using horrific crimes to stop activists from overthrowing them. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, activist, was brutally murdered with 89 wounds on his body. This crime was described to be barbaric in nature and a disgrace to humanity. Federal Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “It is cruelty of a barbaric nature…Even an enemy country wouldn’t do this kind of brutality but a political party did this.” In a third world country, having different political ideologies and opinions could very well get one killed. It is not uncommon that politics in India use lack of freedom of speech to instill fear among the masses. People with controversial opinions are censored by the government for having opposing and disagreeing opinions of the people in power.
In both articles, activists are seen as the “other” in which the government finds as a threat. The target audience is the rest of the world to raise awareness of what is happening in communist India. A social value that is clearly being affirmed as a shared value for the whole world is freedom of speech. Not only is it a given human right from birth, but in third world countries such as India, speaking out against the government results in the lost of a loved one. Similar to the readings in Herodotus, it states that, “No one is so foolish as to prefer war to peace, in which, instead of sons burying fathers, fathers bury their sons.” (1.87 Croesus is defeated by Cyrus) The government is represented as a father. It is supposed to be a civilized system that not only protects their people, but makes sure order is kept in place. How can the Indian population trust their government if they keep taking the lives of innocent civilians just for speaking out about a problem that they do not agree with? Everyone shares a different outlook on a matter, but endless killing to solve the government’s problem results in a corrupt and biased society. It makes the masses revolt against the people in power and makes them fear the society they live in.
The definition of barbarian seen in our readings is one that is ostracized for being different (in terms of culture, race, dialect, physical features, etc.) Barbarians in Greek culture were people who weren’t Greek. In terms of today’s society, barbarians are known as people who commit merciless and audacious crimes against another individual. There is never a time where hearing the word barbarian brings a positive outcome; barbaric is always associated with something negative that happens. In both articles, it exposes the barbaric and monstrous ways the communist Indian government copes with their problem. The death of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, along with many other activists, were made into examples of what would happen if the public did not comply with the government’s orders. Both articles represent the term barbaric as an underlying offense that continuously occurs. Murder of another man is always the easiest solution, yet it is an endless and inhumane cycle. The only solution to tame barbaric behavior is to work in numbers and rebel against a corrupted government.

Citations:
“Kerala RSS Man’s Murder a Barbaric Crime: Jaitley.” Gulf Times (Doha, Qatar), 7 Aug. 2017, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-503291566.html?refid=easy_hf.

LexisNexis

“Jaitley flays RSS man’s ‘barbaric’ killing, visits kin.” Oman Tribune (Syndigate Media Inc), September 10 2017 21:54:47, http://www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26471139524&format=GNBFI&sort=DATE,D,H&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26471135694&cisb=22_T26471139530&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&selRCNodeID=31&nodeStateId=411en_US,1&docsInCategory=849&csi=407844&docNo=8

LewisNexis

You Uncultured Swine

As we all learned in class, the word “Barbarian” comes from the Greek description of those who didn’t speak their language. Since the foreigners would sound like, “Bar, bar, bar…” they decided to classify them as such. However, over the years the meaning slightly changed. When we think of the word now, we classify it as someone who is uncivilized or a savage.

As mentioned in the first book of Herodotus’ Histories, Herodotus refers to the Persians as barbarians because they are strangers to the Greek and contrasted from the way that they looked. “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”(Book 1 chap. 4)

“The barbarian Antifa are genuinely contemptible, and unfortunate innocents, like the martyred Heather Heyer, sometimes find themselves on the same side of the barricades as these thugs.” (Rabinovitz) In the article, Calling Out Leftist Violence: Antifa’s Unchecked Attacks, the Antifa are referred to as barbarians because they ‘violently attacked innocent people.’ The targeted audience would be the public and also the government. There are a number of people outraged about how terribly the Antifa acted and how the police just stood there watching. Everyone wants justice to be served and social order to be maintained if this happens again.

The article, Texas Abortion Restriction Is Temporarily Blocked, discusses the federal judge temporarily blocking a law against second trimester abortion. This is where the whole “morality” debate amongst people come into play. Some agree with this ruling while others, like Ken Paxton, disapprove. “The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, criticized the ruling. Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Mr. Paxton’s office, said in a statement that dilation-and-evacuation abortions were ”gruesome and inhumane, which makes it troubling that a District Court would block Texas’ lawful authority to protect the life of unborn children from such a barbaric practice.” (Astor, para. 8) He uses the word ‘barbaric’ as a synonym to ‘unlawful’ or ‘cruel’. This means that those who agree or goes through with this procedure, they too are barbaric. Just like the previous article that I mentioned, the focused article would be towards the public and the government.

Both articles about the abortion and Antifa use the word ‘barbaric’ and ‘barbarians’ to describe cruel and unlawful people. On the other hand, Herodotus uses it to classify a specific group that the Greeks were unfamiliar with. As we could see, the meaning of the word has definitely been altered throughout the years.

Ivory Tyson, Team Artemis

Astor, Maggie. “Texas Abortion Restriction Is Temporarily Blocked.” New York Times, 1 Sept. 2017, p. NA(L). New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA502626734&it=r&asid=99f3a59c2cdc1bf2d8c53660ad4c611c. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

“Calling Out Leftist Violence: Antifa’s Unchecked Attacks.” New York Post [New York, NY], 4 Sept. 2017, p. 018. New York State Newspapers, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=SPN.SP01&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA503495233&it=r&asid=cf2456c41148968512533f5373eab1f5. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Are Yesterdays Barbarians The Same As Todays?

The word “barbaric” is best defined as “primitive; unsophisticated” or simply not in the norm. The definition best illustrates how the word barbaric and how someone or thing is constituted as such should be evolving and changing as we move forward. An example of this would be the difference in how the Greek viewed barbarism in ancient times and how we as modern 21^st century view barbarism. During the time of the Greek a barbarian was one that did not speak their tongue. The Hellenic themselves saw barbarians just because of the change in speech. Ex: Book One of Herodotus: “The Hellenic race has never, since its first origin, changed its speech… It was a branch of the Pelasgic, which separated from the main body.” Where else us as the millennial in modern day constitute a barbarian as one that doesn’t share not our tongue but our views. One who thinks differently. Our views of barbarians shifted from people who didn’t share our language and our land to people who don’t share our belief and views. We could share almost everything: heritage, language or skin pigment, however if we do not hold the same views then we are seen as barbarians.

I came across a couple articles pertaining to barbarism while reading the newspaper this past week. The first article I read was about “Pulling Back on the Barbaric Use of Solitary Confinement.” It spoke about the consequences solitude confinement has on the mind and how the act of solitary confinement was and is barbaric. The article spoke on how these barbaric or out of the norm form of punishment affects our society and why they are “barbaric.” According to the article the barbaric act was found mainly in the consequences these actions made. The article noted that “based on research, isolation promotes mental illness and self-harm and the conditions of solitary caused or worsened depression, paranoia and outbursts of anger that often result in even more time in isolation.” In this article the act of depriving one the right to certain freedoms was what made it barbaric.” Just as how not speaking or assimilating with the Greek culture and custom was barbaric and inhumane as is with the isolation of human life in todays era.

The second article I read was on “Acid becoming weapon of choice among teens in London amid growing attacks.” This article spoke on the barbarity in which actions were displayed. The article addressed the way in which certain British citizens have fought back against the recent attacks with the use of acid. According to the article “A horrific wave of acid attacks have overtaken London, leaving victims gruesomely disfigured and suffering life-altering injuries.” Its important to understand that the greater majority of these people are committing these acts in defense but nonetheless doesn’t constitute that it’s not a barbaric act. In the article the thing that is barbaric is the action of these teens going out and attacking citizens. What is barbaric is not only just why but how they are attacking them. The fact that these children find it normal is what makes them the barbarians in this scenario. The article goes further in supporting why this is an unkind or inhumane act in stating: “The use of acid in attacks has even spread to children as young as 12 who have been arming themselves with substances “for self-defense.” For these teens to say that their actions are a result of self defense and thus are in some way are okay is what for me is barbaric. Not the action but the excuse. It shows a state of insanity.

In conclusion even as the definition of what being barbaric changes. Whether it’s the act or the excuse, I would best conclude it as something no logical person would think to do in his or her right mind. Just as those that were once for punishment by solitude isolation or exile by failure to assimilate, the act of is not confirming with the norm will always be barbaric.

Works Citied

Acid becoming weapon of choice among teens in London amid growing attacks

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/10/acid-becoming-weapon-choice-among-teens-in-london-amid-growing-attacks.html

Pulling Back on the Barbaric Use of Solitary Confinement

“Just face it, that’s your fate”

Put yourself in this situation; you’re in your own home lying on the floor, injured and helpless when suddenly a bunch of intruders come to capture you, tie you down, start speaking a completely foreign language and before you even get a chance to understand what’s going on, you’re killed. You never got the chance to even comprehend the situation, but you did feel every moment of distress while in captivity. Don’t worry, im not talking about a human here. So now when I say this, you may be thinking “thank god she’s writing about an animal, and it wasn’t an actual person that was slaughtered”. But don’t animals have families? Feelings? Senses?  In general, animals we slaughter for food are sensitive and defenseless, yet most slaughtering are done in a proper way. But what if it were done for the amusement of yourself, and well, others.
In the article Man charged in ‘barbaric’ killing of injured kangaroo by Amanda Woods of The New York Post, a 43 year-old man from Melbourne, Austrailia was “nabbed” and arrested after a gruesome and inhumane video emerged of him killing an injured kangaroo. “The killing of this kangaroo is barbaric and cruel and we expect the police to prosecute the man involved,” World Animal Protection Senior Campaign Manager Ben Pearson said in a statement to the outlet. From what i understood in this article, his actions were deemed ‘barbaric’ because (1) he killed an injured kangaroo when he could’ve merely helped it, and (2) he as well as onlookers laughed while he took action.

The term ‘Barbaric’ is defined as savagely cruel; exceedingly brutal. Generally, an act that is barbaric is extreme, and disliked. The manner in which the 43 year-old  killed the kangaroo is what I personally, would call “the other”. No person in their right mind does something cruel like this. The target audience for this article would most likely be animal lovers, as well as the general public. Which leads me to the connection i thought this term had with what we have learned in our Classics class. In Herodotus, where it says “Then these men, with cheers encouraging one another, drew their daggers, and stabbing those who strove to withstand them…” relates to the way the people reacted when the man killed the kangaroo. They laughed, and just looked instead of helping. This cheering may have encouraged the guy, making him sensless to his actions.

Woods, Amanda. “Man charged in ‘barbaric’ killing of injured kangaroo.” New York Post, New York Post, 1 Sept. 2017, nypost.com/2017/09/01/man-charged-in-barbaric-killing-of-injured-kangaroo/. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Barbaric Rugby

A couple of years ago, two teams were witnessed playing a game of Rugby. During the game , one white player called the opposing black player by a racial slur. The white player was warned but did not listen. This caused a fight to break out and the referee called the game off. Because of this fight, one of the teams was punished by their school. “The lesson hidden in that caning was an interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s quote about rugby being a barbarian’s sport played by gentlemen, and football being a gentleman’s game played by barbarians”(Xabanisha,City Press). The quote is saying that just because you are involved in a violent game, you should not turn yourself into a violent man. Rugby is nothing more than just a game, and you should not let it turn you into a scum.

 

The others in this article are the rugby players, as they fail to distinguish the difference between a game and a way of life. This article was written for athletes who let their vicious sport overcome them and turn them into a barbarian. Xabanisha writes in the beginning of the article that a racist slur was said by one of the athletes. This addresses  the social issue of discrimination, as criticizing and insulting someone because of their race is a very barbaric thing to do.

In the reading, Herodotus’ histories, Herodotus talks about the barbarians in ancient Greece. “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate”(Herodotus). Xabanisha writes about the barbarians as cruel whereas Herodotus writes about them as savages. The barbarians are nothing more than just foreign outcasts in Herodotus’ eyes and not so much evil people.

 

 

Simnikiwe Xabanisa -. “Rugby is fast becoming a thug’s game played by barbarians.” Sport, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/rugby-is-fast-becoming-a-thugs-game-played-by-barbarians-20170909. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

“Herodotus’ Stories.” Www.dropbox.com, http://www.dropbox.com/s/46ve1jgbadzylt8/Herodotus%20on%20the%20Persians.pdf?dl=0.

 

 

Donald Trump and the Greeks

“Our [decivilizing] society is like a vast wasteland that tries to escape its meaninglessness and thoughtlessness by entertaining itself with the notion that glory against [non-civilized] barbarians is still possible. Our [decivilizing] society goes on gazing into its meaningless existence until it seems its busy imagination at last wills the barbarian into existence.” (Singh, Abhimanyu)

Abhimanyu Kumar Singh, a journalist, discusses the idea of a group of people being ‘civilized’ or ‘uncivilized’ as a construct of the western nations. The western culture has established the concept of “civilization” to refer to a people that uphold their values. everyone else, is ‘uncivilized’ or; ‘other’. In this case, Singh writes that “Other Muslims from certain countries” are referred to as “barbarians” by President of The United States, Donald Trump, in his speech delivered to the citizens of Warsaw, Poland. The article is targeted towards people living in western nations who, Like Trump, see Muslims from outside nations as ‘uncivilized’ or ‘barbaric’. The shared value of the targeted audience is their ignorance and lack of perspective when it comes to cultures other than their own. The small-minded view of seeing your own cultural standard as a world-wide standard is something many (if not all) western nations experience. “Such was the number of the barbarians, that when they shot forth their arrows the sun would be darkened by their multitude.” In Herodotus, the term ‘barbarian’ was used to describe all Non-Greeks. The Greeks considered any group of people who didn’t talk like them, dress like them, conform to the same gender values and sexual customs as them, to be uncivilized and barbaric. They saw their own cultural standards as standards for all nations. if we use history to learn from it, we can see how similarly the mistakes of the Greek ideology mirror ours. We can learn to embrace differences instead of attacking them.

Gabriella, Team Hestia

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/books-and-art/100917/empathy-morality-traits-of-a-civilised-nation.html

Singh, Abhilasha. “Empathy, Morality: Traits of a Civilised Nation.”Http://Www.deccanchronicle.com/, Deccan Chronicle, 10 Sept. 2017, http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/books-and-art/100917/empathy-morality-traits-of-a-civilised-nation.html.

 

Unlawful Barbaric Deeds

Those who are for abortions and/or have partaken in one, are the “barbaric” beings who are targeted in this article. With a title such as ‘Abortion is barbaric and immoral’ the authors purpose becomes unambiguous. Throughout the article, the author includes countless methods to implement their purpose of bring awareness to the reader about the truths of aborting a child. “If the same procedures were performed on a baby outside the womb, the cries of that same child would be heart-wrenching.” This quote form the article serves as a guilt trip to the reader, so that if the option of aborting a child crossed their paths, they would consider about all the pain, agony and suffering this living being would endure.
In relations to our class, the word “barbaric’ used in this article faces a slight difference. As discussed in class, the word “barbaric”, or “barbarian” was seen as someone who wore funny clothes and often were viewed to have weird gender habits. Whereas in this article, the modern day definition of the word barbarian is used, which is an adjective used to describe an unlawful or unruly action. The social value being shared in this article is very transparent; abortion should no longer be an option. “A godly and righteous nation might survive even with bad economic policies, but an immoral nation filled with ungodly practices will inevitably face the judgments of God, unless there is repentance.” The author used religious appeal to sway the perspective of the reader to not indulge in such a “evil” doing. “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it…” This quote from Herodotus shows the definition of the word barbarian to be a set of people to which most of the population fount to be as strange and weird.

Works Cited

Long, Billy. “Abortion Is Barbaric and Immoral.” Myrtlebeachonline, Billy Long, 10 Sept. 2017, 10:28 A.M, http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171255212.html.

 

A New Facebook Trend… Supporting the Barbaric Terrorist.

In the article, “PC Madness: Student Investigated for Mocking ‘Barbarian’ Terrorists” a Scottish college student praises the successful U.S. airstrike on ISIS targets. He states, “I’m glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins,”(Kozak par. 3). In this quotes he claims that the ISIS targets are the barbarians and he is glad that they were destroyed. Unfortunately being in Europe so close to ISIS bases this comment caused lots of panic on campus. Several students filed complaints against this student saying that he was “putting minority students at risk”(Kozak par 4). The student is currently under investigation. The targeted audience seems to be younger people, it seems to want inform the audience and it is probably for the local area. This article is also on a political website so it is targeted towards an audience who understand world politics and find it interesting. This is similar to Herodotus’s way of using the term “barbarian” in the fact that is used to distinguish a lesser person. In Herodotus’s opening statement he calls the Persians the barbarians and throughout the rest of his story one can sense the discrimination. One example is, “according to the Persian story, which differs widely from the Phoenician…”(1.1). The tone of this is very condescending; it is the kind of tone like “well if you ask them it will be very different and not correct” kind. Both uses of barbarians is used to describe some one else who is less than the person using it. The student has called out ISIS and threatened several students though, whereas Herodotus just uses it as a description. –Emma

 

Bibliography

Kozak, Edmund. “PC Madness: Student Investigated for Mocking ‘Barbarian’ Terrorists.” LifeZette, LifeZette, 5 Sept. 2017

All They Hear is ‘Bar’

Our views of barbarians shifted from people who didn’t share our language and our land to people who don’t share our belief and views. We could share the same ancestry, we could share the same language, however if we do not hold the same views then we are seen as barbarians or that our methods are barbaric and or uncivilized.  Even those in the same home or household would call each other barbarians from something like a political dispute.

Before I begin, first I must present what would be seen as barbaric then within ancient times in the Greek’s eyes. We can see an example of this within the first book of Herodotus: The History where the Hellenic are seen as barbarians just because of the change in speech. “The Hellenic race has never, since its first origin, changed its speech. This at least seems evident to me. It was a branch of the Pelasgic, which separated from the main body, and at first was scanty in numbers and of little power; but it gradually spread and increased to a multitude of nations, chiefly by the voluntary entrance into its ranks of numerous tribes of barbarians. The Pelasgi, on the other hand, were, as I think, a barbarian race which never greatly multiplied.” Within the first book alone the term ‘Barbarian’ is repeated 8 times at the least, and at least 40 times throughout the whole collection.

Now to current time, there are many different sides to a wide spectrum of topics, and many sides that oppose each other. For the sake of simplicity, let’s take the common known generalization/label of the many groups, the Right and the Left. Generally the Right is more conservative and leans more towards structure and stronger government. The Left on the other hand is more on the liberal side and strives for opportunity and equality. Both would name each other awful things based on the extremists that lie on each side. The Left would see the Right as a group of neo-Nazis and supremacists while the Right would see the Left as bleeding hearts and keyboard warriors also known as SJWS (Social Justice Warriors). Now the names aren’t locked to those options obviously, as Kemi Badenoch would say. In her own experience her own side’s views were labeled barbaric.  As for who she feels is to blame, she feels the social media is to blame as can be seen per this quote in her article, “How did we get here? Who is to blame? Social media is a prime culprit. Online, disagreement is frequently expressed on a spectrum ranging from mere outrage to outright hysteria. The greater the disagreement, the more extreme the language. Keyboard warriors are thankfully armed only with their laptops and as much invective as their vocabulary permits, but this virtual behaviour is spilling over into the real world. At a hustings this year a 16-year-old boy approached me, trembling and with fists clenched, to snarl about the Conservative Party’s “barbaric” grammar schools policy.”

Now on the other side is Deana Uppal who feels that our ways of reforming criminals is barbaric and that in addition we should also focus on bettering our police and administration. “Second, instead of merely concentrating on barbaric and exemplary punishments – which too undoubtedly act as a deterrent by putting fear in the oppressors’ mind – we should also focus on reforming our police and administration, who, currently mired by their social stigmas, , who, currently mired by their social stigmas, increase the trauma of the victims.”

These are two different sides, two different views on the same topic. One feels people have become too fragile and will find themselves outraged way too easily and jump to conclusions way too quickly. In turn attempting to ruin careers and reputations which she elaborates more within her article. The other side feels that we aren’t doing enough, that there is too much bias floating around and our current methods are not working, that there needs to be change as stated within her quote and is elaborated more on within her article. They are both targeting to strengthen their own cause and give ideas as to what can be done to correct the issues they speak about. Although I will say the first one addresses a solution that deals more with the community that shares her view points while the second article mentioned tries to speak of a solution that stretches to officials.

Yekaterina Ignatyeva, Team Cronos

 

Citations

Herodotus. The Landmark Herodotus : The Histories. New York :Pantheon Books, 2007. Print.

Badenoch, Kemi. “The Tories must put an end to divisive identity politics.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 10 Aug. 2017, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/10/tories-must-put-end-divisive-identity-politics/. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

LexisNexis Link

Uppal, Deana. “No country for women? Sadly, yes!” The Pioneer, 11 Aug. 2017, dailypioneer.com/vivacity/no-country-for-women-sadly-yes.html. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

LexisNexis Link

 

The Barbarian in Mumbai

(Statue found in my backyard of a face which has the characteristics of a barbaric man)

In Mumbai there was this barbaric man who beat his dog to the extent of fracturing his skull. “There are some barbaric people who have shed every ounce of their humanity and are just downright cruel.” said Akancha Miharia in her article Mumbai Man Mercilessly Beat Up A Dog Fracturing His Skull. Yes, Monsters Like These Do Exist. The man attacking the dog was completely unprovoked, the dog was harmlessly passing by when the man decided to beat it. This cruel and uncivilized nature of Animal abusers is what makes us considered then as the barbarian.  The target audience is the general people to show how wrong animal cruelty is, this article is here to inform that situations like this still happen and maybe to prevent people from harming animals.

The use of the work “barbaric” is extremely different from the way it was used in Herodotus. In the reading it states “Croesus, son of Alyattes, by birth a Lydian, was lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys…he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks.” (Book 1 chapter 6). As you can see here the word is being used because Croesus was not Greek he was considered an outside or a foreigner which is why they used the word “barbarians” to describe him.

In Art history we looked at a statue named “Dying Gaul”(220 B.C.E) it was made in Ancient Greece and was remade into a marble copy by the Romans. The sculpture of the head in my backyard reminded me of the statue because of many similarities they shared. They both share a rugged face, the hair in both look slightly messy, with rugged facial hair with a full grown beard, also their facial expressions both look stern with a furrowed brow kind of like they are suppose to be aggressive in some sort of way. Which can lead to how we think of he word barbarian in today’s terms.

When we think of a barbarian you think of a human who is uncivilized, primitive, or overall just a bad person. In reality barbarian was just a word to describe people from a different culture other  than the Greeks. This is because when the Greeks heard different languages all they would hear is “bar bar bar…” so they created the word barbarians. The word developed over time into a negative connotation for people. Overtime words from Greek culture has evolved and became what we know in modern time.

Francesca , team Cronos

Miharia, Akancha “Mumbai Man Mercilessly Beat Up A Dog Fracturing His Skull. Yes, Monsters Like These Do Exist”, Scoop Whoop, Sep 05, 2017, https://www.scoopwhoop.com/mumbai-man-beat-dog-fracturing-his-skull/#.aa0te04uz

Barbaric Killing

In this article, they tell a story of two girls who were stabbed in a town called Botshabelo in South Africa. In the story, the girls were being treated as the ‘other’. The target audience for this article could be teenage girls and/or boys in south Africa; to tell them be careful when going out at midnight. The social value that is being shared value for teenage girls in South Africa is that girls (and boys too) are looked to be weak and “easy”, so they could get raped and/or stabbed if they are not careful. In this article the deputy police commissioner for crime detection, Major-General Jones Qhobosheanehas, has said “To have such young vulnerable women killed in this barbaric manner is appalling and cannot be tolerated”. This quote from the article is similar to our readings for the use of the word barbarian is that people in the readings are being killed or stabbed barbarically during battles; the girls from the article were stabbed to death in the news story. In Herodotus, it says “Then these men, with cheers encouraging one another, drew their daggers, and stabbing those who strove to withstand them, rushed forward to the apartment of the males”. This quote from the reading tells how these men cheer encouraging one another before they were killing the ‘other’ men. In the article, they did not say what the killer or killers did before they stabbed these girls, but in some way they were probably encouraged by their minds or other people to kill them.

Etheridge, Jenna. “Two teenage girls stabbed to death in ‘barbaric manner’.” 10 Sept. 2017: 1 page. News24. http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/two-teenage-girls-stabbed-to-death-in-barbaric-manner-20170910. Accessed 10 Sept 2017.

Barbaric Acts in the Ivory Trade

In the article, “LA charges 3 men in barbaric ivory trade”, the “Others” are seen as those who massacre helpless animals that are close to extinction, for their own profit. Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer, stated, “‘The ivory trade is barbaric. It jeopardizes many animals that are at risk or on the verge of extinction’…’we must protect these rare animals, who are killed so cruelly for the sake of greed.’” Feuer believes that those who engage in the ivory trade must have no emotions for the lives of animals almost gone extinct. He further states that they are killed for “the sake of greed.” This implements the notion that the “Others” must be emotionless and avaricious. The target audience for this article are those who are against the killings of exotic and rare animals, as well as other poachers. As the article states, “‘a message is being sent to others who would profit from the heartless killing of these creatures: You will be brought to justice.'” This affirms the social value that these heartless killings are inhumane and immoral.

In Herodotus’ Histories 1.4, it says, “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.” This usage of the word barbarian by Herodotus is somewhat different to the usage of the word barbaric in the article on poachers in that Herodotus used it to classify the superiority of the Greeks to those who were foreign to them. Basically to outsiders who had different customs, languages and ideas compared to theirs. Whereas in this article, the word barbaric is used to denounce the act of killing animals for your own desires.

Aisha, Team Ares

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Citation:

Service, City News. “LA charges 3 men in ‘barbaric’ ivory trade.” Daily News, Daily News, 6 Sept. 2017, http://www.dailynews.com/2017/09/06/la-charges-3-men-in-barbaric-ivory-trade/. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

 

Barbaric Bestial Behavior

 

    In the KCCI Des Mones news article, entitled: ‘Barbaric’ arson-homicide prompted by violent relationship,  a man is being charged with the  murder of his stepson. According to this article and the officals present in the investigation , the barbaric man allegedly set his 26- year- old son on fire, after a series of arguments and disputes. So who exactly were barbarians ? Well, barbarians were people who didn’t speak greek and were just different in terms of their culture,  Book 1, 1:4 , ( by herodoctus) gives us an insight of who the greeks considered barbarians. It states “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.” The term “barbaric”, used in this article refers to the persons actions, and is similar to the way the greeks used the word, to describe the ” strange ways ” foreign nations acted, and spoke.  The act of setting another human on fire is the “other” or like the greeks probably would say weird or strange in terms of behavior in society and is deemed barbaric because of how unusual and cruel it is . The article was generally published, for the public and most specifically the people of the county. The social value being affirmed is kindness. In the article it is said that some of the neighbors instead of just being  non active bystanders, got involved- one even brought over a fire extinguisher . The death of the young man was caused by the severity of the burns, which was said to cover 95 percent of his body. One of the police sergeants responded to the incident by saying, “It doesn’t get much more barbaric than setting someone on fire,” Parizek

In an article published by the Mirror, entitled: Inside North Korea’s barbaric prisons where inmates are starved, tortured, undergo forced abortions and dig their own graves ( quite a mouthful), the harsh conditions in which prisoners are forced to go through are discussed. The article discusses how the inmates in North Korea are deprived of food and sleep, beat regularly, forced to have abortions or perform strenuous activities that result in abortions , and many other gruesome  things. The term barbaric refers, to the horrible treatment of the prisoners and means inhumane, and differs in meaning to the greeks definition of barbaric, which again also was used to describe different or strange  culture of other places ( their language, religion…etc.,). The target audience in this article is the general public. Initially I was led to believe that the audience was only the people of North Korea, however I think this article was published  to bring world wide awareness to the situation , and to evoke change within the system.

Both articles share a central social value of social justice. They both also used the word barbaric to explain an inhumane way of treating others. However  in the first article with the guy who killed his stepson, the word barbaric was used to define the choices he made, that resulted in tragedy. It described a person characterized by their actions . Whereby the second article focused on the people who suffered as a result of  the choices other people made for them. These prisoners , lived in dreadful conditions, because of the control the government had over them.

 

Terrell, Laura. “’Barbaric’ Arson-Homicide Prompted by Violent Relationship.” KCCI, KCCI, 31 Aug. 2017, www.kcci.com/article/barbaric-arson-homicide-prompted-by-violent-relationship/12148166.

AFP), (Image: et al. “Inside North Korea’s Barbaric Jails Where Prisoners Dig Their Own Graves.” Mirror, 21 June 2017, www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/north-korea-prisons-otto-warmier-1065349

Sharifa, Team Hestia

 

Barbaric Violence? Click to find out more..

          The ‘Other’ used the term in an article, “No justification for acts of violence in our country” is those who use violence. The government, political parties, and leaders that disunity the South African culture with “barbaric” violence. “We need to collectively set very high standards for ourselves and communicate these standards to the rest of the world without fear or favor.” This quote demonstrates that if we need to take action in regulating the county in a more formal and communicative approach. Their current system of violence is troubling more victims than helping them. The target in the South African newspaper is convincing its citizens as stated,“ We consciously and unconsciously glorify and promote violence in many ways. And the amount of graphic violence on our national television, social media, and other platforms is not helpful; it somehow continues to perpetrate acts of violence in many ways.” The way in which it is stated in “we” form is conveyed to the public. In order to change their perspective, she gives a form of personal/emotional connection to connect with her audience.The social value for the citizens is to become more aware of violence and to stop it. Hoping to stop the force of brutality in her nation, the editor hopes to make a change politically and economically. “Our violent past cannot be used as an excuse for us to fail to aggressively act against any acts of violence.” This quote reveals the type of change she hopes to change. In a form of confronting the citizens that there should be no excuse in the way they should behave because of their past experience, rather they should learn to act in an orderly manner.

        The ‘Other’ in article “Nation pays homage to Bangabandhu” are those who are bombed. The nation survived under the most barbaric carnage since 42 years ago. The target audience were outsiders. Since it is an attack on a different nation,, many were unaware of such trauma in Bangladesh. The editor left many survivors name in honor for their bravery. “Nation pays homage to Bangabandhu” is trying to tell others that such carnage at that time, which was recent, barely happens. However, because of such tragedy, “ A munajat was offered seeking the eternal peace of the departed souls of the August 15 carnage” This quote offers a compelling sense of sorrow for those who died.

        During the Persian Revolt, 1.230, it states, “His own rank was too humble for him to hope to obtain vengeance without some barbarian help” I find that both usages of the word barbaric were used in the same context in the readings in class. However, they are not seen as outsiders, but rather a disgrace in the nation. The two articles use the word ‘barbaric’ in many similar ways. It is to show as a negative, inhumane word, and morally wrong. Both countries, Bangladesh and Nigeria, are trying to make their citizens aware of how barbaric their government system has changed the way of living.

Citations:
Hasina, S. ” Nation pays homage to Bangabandhu.” The News Today[Bangladesh] 16 August 2017: 1105

“No justification for acts of violence in our country.” WeekendPost [South Africa] 26 August 2017: 522

The Barbarians’ Tendency to Delight or Horrify, No Matter What the Time.

Religion is a chaotically differing subject that everyone has their own unique perspectives on. Whether you’re a believer or non believer, Christian or Muslim, it stands true that no two people view the proposed sanctity of religion in the same way. Yet, there are acts done in the name of supporting or scorning of religion that most people would vehemently disagree with. That act is taking away the lives of others. Two examples of these horrific acts are of two religiously centered incidents that took place last month. In Spain, there were the infamous terrorist attacks and in Nigeria, there was a shooting that took place in a Catholic church. Both of these reprehensible acts have these ‘others’ that are blamed and despised. For Spain, there was ISIS who claim to be followers of Islam and for Nigeria, it’s those that stand violently stand against Christianity. Both of the articles I found detail these events in their own respective ways. In ‘The Advertiser’ (Australia), they seem to praise the attackers funnily enough. Though, they’re certainly not admiring them. From the tone they use, they’re questioning their own courage and faith when comparing it to ISIS who seem to hold the courage to place themselves in reckless abandon. The audience being targeted at this article is definitely those questioning their own determination and courage in their own religious and personal pursuits. As Bolt states, “Likewise with the Manchester bomber. He blew himself up with his victims. Evil, barbaric, depraved – yes. But cowardly?” he’s thoroughly trying to assess the strength and courage that these attackers must possess in order to commit such atrocious acts. In a sense, you can certainly say that humanizing these perpetrators by giving them positive feelings is a way to disgust the general masses into hardening their own steel, their own righteousness. For ‘The Sun’ (Nigeria), they seem to be reiterating a simple lesson that many tell over time. Don’t let your faith be shaken by those who seek to selfishly disrupt it. In fact, they blatantly quote that “In a condolence message to the government and people of Anambra State, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Jonathan Obuebite, described the incident as most disheartening, shocking and barbaric.” Their message is simple yet effective and it’s obviously meant for those wavering in embracing their religious beliefs after such a horrific act. It is completely understandable as even if you weren’t physically affected, the agony it can cause you can become a permanent burden.

Despite the different messages these articles share however, they both share a common social value that’s being affirmed. That social value is the sheer importance of individual liberty. The two articles don’t at all downplay the sheer misery that these attacks caused. In fact, they emphasize it in their own respective ways. The utter despair that comes from having your faith trifled with and used in the name of acts you abhor is meant to strengthen the masses into leaning onto each other. This way, they can reaffirm the values of their beliefs with one another and have their individual voices be heard. It’s quite inspiring in a heart wrenching sense. Funnily enough, a vital ancient man seems to use the term ‘barbarian’ in a different way than how these two articles did. In the Preface of ‘Herodotus on the Persians’, Herodotus states that “What Herodotus of Halicarnassus has learnt by inquiry is here set forth: in order that so the memory of the past may not be blotted out from among men by time, and that great and marvellous deeds done by Greeks and barbarians and especially the ​reason ​why they warred against each other, may not lack renown.” With this, Herodotus refers to the ‘barbarians’ deeds as “great and marvellous”. That’s certainly different than the two articles. Even the Australian one didn’t outright praise those they called ‘barbaric’. They held cynicism and baited breath but Herodotus seems almost excited and delighted by the barbarians’ actions and the history that might unfold because of them and the Greeks fighting each other. That, and the Nigerian paper was completely bashing the attackers. It’s severely different in tone of usage. The two articles bash their barbarians but Herodotus almost seems to praise his. Lastly, when it comes to the two articles themselves, they both use the term ‘barbaric’ with much animosity and agony behind it. Neither of them go against the fact that the attacks were gruesome and despicable. There is solely ill intent, nothing more, and nothing less. As seen from the sorrow these two articles emit, religion can just be used as a tool and crutch to lean on for those who are cowardly enough to attack those that disagree with their line of thinking.

Atuma, Uche. “Pope Sad over Catholic Church Massacre.” The Sun News, 9 Aug. 2017, sunnewsonline.com/pope-sad-over-catholic-church-massacre/.

Note: The second article has an issue with its origin site as it is subscription based. I found via the Lexis Nexis directory however, so in order to remedy this, I’ve posted the article information that was provided from what I’ve read there. The URL is there as well but I don’t think it works.

Bolt, Andrews. “IS terrorists aren’t really the cowards in this fight”. The Advertiser, 21 Aug. 2017, http://www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/hottopics/lnacademic/

Bailey Seemangal, Team 5, Hephaestus

Civilized World, Barbaric Tragedies

Barbarian, refer to people who are rude and uncivilized. This term originates from Greek in ancient time. The original meaning for barbarian was people who do not speak Greek. However, we use the term barbaric to describe atrocity now. Barbaric tragedy happens very often. Rape, murdering, kidnapping, countless violent actions happen every day.

According to the Nigerian newspaper The Sun, the author Uche Atuma points out that brain washed parents donate their child to be used as bomb suicide in North East, a geopolitical zone in Nigeria. Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman condemns that “The acts of these parents and guardians are not only barbaric, but condemnable and unacceptable.” In this news article, the “other” is referring to those people who do not have love and mercy for their own children. The target audience is all the people who read the article, appeal citizens to report any suspicious could have sent child for suicide bomb use. Those child’s human right is being token by their parents, nobody has the right to take another person’s life, no matter what relationship do they have. In this case, the author is affirming a sympathize value for the audience, those young children had no option to decide what they want and what to do in the future, they have no future, their life is manipulated and destroyed by their braid wash parent.

According to the England newspaper Nottingham Post, the author David Briggs indicates his opinion relating to fox hunting in the article “HS2 on CV will be embarrassing”. He claims that people who protest for fox hunting are behaving double moral because either they are respecting animal’s right. “PEOPLE who eat meat and then condemn fox hunting as barbaric are hypocrites.” People oppose fox hunting in the name of foxes’ right, but isn’t it is very unfair that they eat meat from other animals but defending the right of foxes? The term barbaric in this article is used to describe those people who enjoy meat in their meal but get offended that other people hunt fox. The target audience in this news is all the people who read the news. They said that they need to protect the right of foxes, but they forget that all those meat that they eat are pieces of other animals, then what about those animal’s right? The author is showing a social value of rational thinking to the audience. Also, don’t judge or claim to the other people if you cannot be an example of that.

In the book “Herodotus on the Persians”, the use of the word barbaric is different than the use of barbaric in those articles mentioned before. Herodotus wrote ““For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.” At that time, any other non-Greek people will be considered barbarian because they do not speak the same language and Greeks cannot understand what they talk. The word barbarian is just a name for all these non-Greek people, however, the work barbaric that people use in nowadays is very different, as we can see from the news mentioned before, barbaric can be used as rude and ignorant.

Atuma, Uche. “Parents donating children for suicide bombing, Army raises alarm” The Sun[Lagos] 6 Aug 2017 1 Print

Briggs, David. “HS2 on CV will be embarrassing” Nottingham Post[Nottingham] 5 Sep 2017 1 Print

How Bad Should the Penalty be for Barbaric Crimes?

Recently, according to nypost, a 43 year old man from Melbourne has been charged of slitting a injured kangaroo’s throat and killing it while making foolish remarks. In the article it has stated “The killing of this kangaroo is barbaric and cruel and we expect the police to prosecute the man involved,” World Animal Protection Senior Campaign Manager Ben Pearson said in a statement to the outlet. “It is hard to understand how anyone could commit such a brutal act, let alone film it.” [1] However, even though this person has committed such an barbaric act, he was only fined $7,900- $38,000 and 6 to 24 months in jail. This may seem a little too fair for a man who has committed a crime like this and even have the audacity to post it for millions of people to view. According to Herodotus, he once said “The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless.” His quote is relatable to this article because the man who committed this crime has made a bad decision is his life, but because of a little bit of luck he was able to receive a kind penalty. However, his act was still a bad decision regardless.

The man that killed the kangaroo is being treated as the “other” in this article because he has committed a barbaric act, therefore the attention is being based on him at the moment. Most of the attention being given are mainly based from adults and teens, since the barbaric act has been filmed and posted on a well known Chinese social media site named “QQ”. It is also clear that the audience is disgusted by this barbarian and his act because he was abusing the kangaroo while it was injured, which is considered as animal cruelty. Due to the amount of attention the video has gotten, it has lead to the man being prosecuted by the police. Resulting to him being fined and jailed. Differing from the word barbarians in Greek mythology terms to today’s definition of barbarian. Greek mythology defined a barbarian as a foreigner, meanwhile the definition of barbarian in today’s society describes a person as being uncivilized. Therefore, the man who killed the kangaroo is defined in today’s definition of a barbarian because he is being perceived as an uncivilized human being for his acts.

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[1] Woods, Amanda. “Man Charged in ‘Barbaric’ Killing of Injured Kangaroo.” New York Post, New York Post, 1 Sept. 2017, nypost.com/2017/09/01/man-charged-in-barbaric-killing-of-injured-kangaroo/.

Barbarians in Barcelona

Back then in Ancient Greece the term “barbarian” was a little bit different from how it is today. The Greeks used this term to describe people who didn’t speak their language so they saw them as different and barbaric. However now a days when we use the words “barbarian” or “barbaric” we are usually describing something destructive, brutal and violent. Over time the words we use and their meanings have changed to fit society.

The news article called, “’Barbaric Act’: World Reacts to Barcelona Attack”, states,” “Revolting”, “cowardly”, and “barbaric” are some of the words leaders worldwide have used to describe the attack in Barcelona that killed 13 people.” Also another article called ” MASSACRE ON LAS RAMBLAS; 13 dead and 100 injured as van rams Barcelona tourists; Two suspects held, one shot dead after a barbaric Isis attack; Holidaymakers tell of horror amid scenes of carnage; Selfie sticks. Baby buggy wheels. .. and a scene of utter carnage” states, ” Broken bodies lay in pools of blood on the famous street, where shops, bars and restaurants are normally packed with tourists and locals.”.

These two articles talk about how terrorists drove a van into a crowd of tourists in a holiday hotspot, Las Ramblas in Barcelona. The ones being treated as the term, “Other”, in this case is the ISIS terrorists because they are the ones acting violently. I think the target audiences for these two articles are the ones who suffered any sort of pain from the events like loss of a family member or they 100 people that got injured from the van charging through the crowd. Besides the people who suffered in these events, I think the articles are also targeting the general readers as their target because it warns them to be careful and not to do such dangerous activities that cause others so much suffering.  One social value that’s being affirmed as a shared value towards the target audience is peace or the idea of it because in the articles, it shows that people were surprised that Barcelona would be a target of an attack. They were surprised because Barcelona is a beautiful city with a huge mix of different nationalities. Also another social value that is being expressed as a shared value towards the audience is sympathy. In the articles, many world leaders from various countries are showing sympathy towards the families of the ones who were killed and injured. An example of this is the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announcing a three day mourning period for the victims. The way we use the word “barbarian” or “barbaric” is very different compared to its meaning from ancient Greece. Besides using it to describe someone who spoke a different language or an outsider, Greeks used the word barbarian to describe a group of people or tribes. This is shown in Herodotus’ Histories in (1.4), “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.” The term “barbaric” or “barbarian” are used the same to describe how violent the terrorists acts were.

“‘Barbaric act’: World reacts to Barcelona attack.” Al Jazeera America, 18 Aug. 2017. Infotrac Newsstand, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA500927983&it=r&asid=c762eefde6341fbbd70329eef4dc46f3. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

“MASSACRE ON LAS RAMBLAS; 13 dead and 100 injured as van rams Barcelona tourists; Two suspects held, one shot dead after a barbaric Isis attack; Holidaymakers tell of horror amid scenes of carnage; Selfie sticks. Baby buggy wheels. .. and a scene of utter carnage.” Daily Mail [London, England], 18 Aug. 2017, p. 1. Infotrac Newsstand, login.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&sw=w&u=nysl_me_brookcol&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA500964884&it=r&asid=3951a9418c5636ba0ff8c7cd08adb7fb. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Barbaric Taunts from the Lunchroom

In The New York Times article, “School Lunch Without Shame,” the Editorial Board discusses the new policy of free lunch for New York City’s public schools. The city’s lunch program has provided free or reduced lunch fees for those who come from low-income families. However, an additional 200,000 children can receive free lunch. This includes families that forget to fill out reduced-lunch forms, and those who had to pay previous lunch fees.

This new policy has also helped the initiative to stop the “barbaric policies under which children are openly humiliated when their parents cannot pay lunch bills” (The Editorial Board). The past lunch-fee policy has brought a form of social and financial scrutiny onto other children. Social setting in schools shifted for those who faced shame on having to bring their own lunch to school, and those who ate nothing in school. Their differences came from their families financial backgrounds and the food they ate.

Similar to Herodotus’ Excerpts, he described how ‘barbarians’ were looked down upon based on a person’s differences. In 1.4, Herodotus states how the Greek viewed Asia as the place “with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate” (Herodotus). The Greek’s described themselves as “distinct,” in other words, unique, compared to the ordinariness of others (Herodotus). The Asians were also “regarded” as Persians, which delineates how European countries tend to claim others under their superior status (Herodotus). This conveys how the European countries saw themselves to be the ideal form of civilization. It can be inferred that the “tribes of barbarians” had culture and languages that were unworthy to be claimed as their own, and had to be grouped together with the Persians in order to have an identity (Herodotus). Thus, putting down every other ethnic group below the European’s status. In comparison to Herodotus, the school bullies can be reflected as the Greeks — who taunted other children, because they had different financial statuses that deemed them unworthy to afford school lunch.

The term ‘barbaric’ in this article refers to the previous New York City policy that held lunch fees in the public school system, and the ones who wrote and voted in favor of the policy over a decade ago. ‘Barbaric’ typically has the negative connotations of someone that is cruel and savage-like. These ideas may be implied that the policy supporters of lunch-fees are cruel for depriving free lunch for children who are ineligible in the program. Those affected with this new policy mainly includes the audience, parents of children who are in NYC public schools. They are now relieved from having to budget their finances to make sure their children are well fed in schools. This new policy can also open up social understanding and unity with families all over the city who have struggled with lunch-fees in the past.

The Editorial Board. “School Lunch Without Shame.” The New York Times 8 Sept. 2017. Web. 9 Sept. 2017.

Vicky, Team Hermes

Barbarians In The Banks?

“It is time to realise that they are the real barbarians at the gate.”  In this article, the “other” are the central banks and states,  as they are being labeled as barbarians.  They are being labeled as barbarians because in the quote, many don’t treat digital currency systems, such as Bitcoin, as a real threat.  These digital currencies have been present in the economy for quite a while but has only been slowly gaining traction in the recent years.  They are known for circumventing or not having the state regulating and breathing down its back, due to the fact that instead of the state and central banks managing the currency’s value, its value is regulated by the currency’s “unhackable” system/technology.  The “threat” that the state has with this digital money is that their central banks could lose control of the money supply if they don’t control it.  It seems that the target audience of this article is the general public.  It doesn’t really to try to skew or persuade its readers to believe one point too much, it mainly just informs the reader.  It states how all over the world, some countries are trying to get ahead on this technology before it has any possibility of becoming too much to handle by incorporating their own digital currency system into the infrastructure or simply warn and scare off the public from using such a thing.  The social value being affirmed is money, as it is the main focal point of the article.  The article itself is informing the readers that the government and states have a handle on this issue and that the well established money systems will not be affected by these digital currencies.  This article is actually pretty similar in its use of the word barbarian.  This is due to the fact that the quote it uses calls the states/central banks Barbarians for not treating something that should be taken seriously serious.  The chief adviser to the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Andrew Sheng (person that is quoted), essentially calls them stupid for doing such a thing, like a barbarian is unintelligent.  In this quote by Herodotus, he describes the “other” (barbarians) as the same.  “The wealthy man is better able to content his desires,and to bear up against a sudden buffet of calamity. The other has less ability to withstand these evils,”.  

All this talk about barbarians has really made me draw a connection to our Art History class.  In class, we were also talking about “barbarians” and how they are prevalent in Greek sculptures.  For example, we analyzed how in a lot of Ancient Greek structures, like the Parthenon, in the pediment or frieze, a lot of times there were sculptures of metaphorical and physical battles.  These sculptures symbolized and represented the Greeks’ ascendancy over other civilizations, triumphs, their value of rational thought over chaos and their value of civilization over barbarism.

Sean Lau

Citation:

Curran, Enda, et al. “Cryptocurrencies the Barbarians at Central Bank Gates.” The Straits Times, Opinion, 7 Sept. 2017, www.straitstimes.com/opinion/cryptocurrencies-the-barbarians-at-central-bank-gates.

Using the term Barbarian may have gone too far

In this article Robbie Travers, the law student who made such comments praising the air strike against ISIS, is being accused of Islamophobia, due to his insensitive comments. “I’m glad we could bring these barbarians a step closer to collecting their 72 virgins,” This facebook post, risks the safety of minority students at his college. MInorities, especially those who are muslim are being treated as “other” by this student.
He uses the word barbarians in place of ISIS and uses a mocking tone which seems racially charged. The use of barbarian in this phrase seems similar to the Greek definition, referring to being uncivilized, savage, and generally being inferior to others.The Greek used the word barbarian as a way to distinguish themselves from those who didn’t speak their language, and as a way to hold themselves to a higher standard, dragging the other party down in the process. Through this student’s comments, it was racially insensitive, and seemed to put all muslims in a box, while also risking the lives of others in the process. The target audience of this article, would be everyone, as people need to be informed on racial issues to prevent ignorance. The social value being affirmed as a shared value for the target audience would be to be respectful of everyone in order to prevent conflict and ignorance.In Herodotus, the’ other’ is referred to men with no wealth, as they are lower down the hierarchy in terms of social class.“Men of the former class excel those of the latter but in two respects;these last excel the former in many.The wealthy man is better able to content his desires,and to bear up against a sudden buffet of calamity. The other has less ability to withstand these evils…”

Kozak, Edmund. “PC Madness: Student Investigated for Mocking ‘Barbarian’ Terrorists.”LifeZette, Lifezette, 5 Sept. 2017, www.lifezette.com/polizette/pc-madness-student-investigated-mocking-barbarian-terrorists/.
Herodotus on the Persians

Barbaric chastisment.

“He appears in the first instance to have been the instigator of this bizarre and frankly barbaric chastisement.” This is quoted from The Gazette, referring to the shooting of young children by their parents. The father first introduced that way of punishment to the mother and has been using it to enforce the rules ever since. “The pair, aged 50 and 33, would use the weapon on their five kids – aged seven to 15 – whenever they stepped out of line. The father kept it down the side of the sofa and would hand it to their mother to use when he left their Blackpool home.” The Gazette is making it clear the “other” in terms of the word barbaric is in-fact referring to the parents which used abuse as a form of punishment. I believe that the ‘target audience’ for this article is everyone. Every one can see the injustice done to these kids. A social value that is being affirmed as a shared value is that child abuse is unacceptable. These kids grew up being shot for wrongs they did. For instance, The Gazette recounts “one girl, 13, said she was shot when she dropped things, telling officers: “I drop stuff nearly every day.””. Abuse shouldn’t be accepted as a norm or a way to rebuke someone.

The word ‘barbaric’ in relation to this article does not refer to the same meaning of barbaric displayed in “Herodotus’ Histories”. In “Herodotus’ Histories” barbaric is referred to someone who is from a different place and speaks different language then your own. We see this clearly in “Herodotus’ Histories (1.4) : “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”

Citation:

Smith, Rachel. “Parents Who Shot Their Kids with a Bb Gun Sentenced.” Blackpool Gazette, 9 Sept. 2017. Google News, http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/crime/parents-who-shot-their-kids-with-a-bb-gun-sentenced-1-8737060.

– Anora, Team Diana

Barbaric Terror

“This brutal, barbaric and disgusting act will rock Australians to their core. The bloody assault on an Australian child at the hands of these vicious Islamic extremists is more than just a tragic reminder of the time in which we live.” A quote from “Herald Sun” news paper in Australia posted on August 20,2017 in describing terrorist attack in the city Las Ramblas Barcelona injuring four of their own one seven year old Julian Cadman. “The targeting of an innocent Australian child by barbaric Islamic terrorists ” another quote from the ” Herald Sun” makes it clear that the Islamic extremist/terrorists are who are being treated as “other” by the use of the term barbaric in this article. I believe that the target audience for this article is Australian citizens because of the way in both quotes you can see the author continuously mentions the Australians involved in the attack more then the other hundred injured during the attack. The social value that is being affirmed as also a shared value for the audience is fear because now there are attacks and even though it was somewhere else is affecting their people. This situation is different to the use of the word barbaric compared to the use in “Herodotus Histories”. In “Herodotus Histories” the meaning of the word barbarian is some one who isn’t from the same place as you and doesn’t speak the same language. In “Herodotus Histories” chapter six it is stated “and the barbarians over came the middle part of the line” from this quote we can see the word is used in a different context different compared to the “Herald Sun”.

“My thoughts are with the victims of this barbaric terrorist attack in the great city of Barcelona'” a quote from ” The Western Mail” news paper also about terror attack in Barcelona. The terrorists are the ones being treated as “other” by the use of the term barbaric in this quote. I believe the target audience for this article is people everywhere,  the article gives more information about the attack what happened to inform people. The social value that is being affirmed as also  a shared value for the audience is pain, fear, and remorse for all injured, all involved, and fear for what will come next. This situation is different to the use of the word barbaric compared to the use in “Herodotus Histories”. As said before in “Herodotus Histories” barbarians are a group of people not from the same place and do not speak the same language. Another quote from “Herodotus Histories” that show barbarians are a group is ” the Athenians marched back with all speed to defend their city and outstripped the barbarians in their coming.” Both articles had the same use of the term barbaric, both used it as a way to describe disgusting and unjust actions to describe the actions of the terrorist attack in Barcelona. Although both articles are from two different countries they both depict the word the same way.

CITATIONS

Herald Sun, August 20,2017

Herald Sun Australia Article

The Western Mail, August 18,2017

The Western Mail Article

Dina Becaj Group Athena

Barbarians Then and Now

Barbarians was a term used to describe people who did not speak Greek because all they would sound like to the Greeks was “bar bar bar”. That sounds a little ridiculous but if you did not speak Greek then that is what you were considered. This has definitely changed as years have gone by where a barbaric person is seen as one who is uncivilized or known as a savage. As time passes by, the meaning of words just like ‘barbaric’ have changed drastically and it may even continue to change.

A newspaper article on Lexis Nexis called “Don’t romanticise violence – reject it” quotes “We must be very careful and not fall into the trap of becoming a society that romanticises violence. Violence is ugly and barbaric, and no amount of spin-doctoring of the according of diplomatic immunity could ever justify it.” In this same newspaper article, it also says “It does not matter who is the victim or perpetrator/ aggressor, or the colour/ pigmentation of the victim or perpetrator, violence is barbaric and should be abhorred.” In this article, the one who is being treated as “Other” are people who try to speak for violence as in giving excuses for people who do violent things. I think the targeted audience for this article is victims who have been hurt before in South Africa. The social value that is being affirmed as a shared value is that no matter the race or gender of anyone, any act of violence should never be the answer to problems. The word barbarian is used differently in this article compared to “Herodotus” that we have read for this class since the term ‘barbaric’ is used in this article as violence being cruel and something humans should not do even for revenge. While in Book 1, in “Herodotus”, “For Asia, with all the various tribes of barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by the Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as distinct and separate.”, the word ‘barbarians’ is used to describe different types and groups of people.

Another newspaper article on Lexis Nexis called “London stands with Barcelona against ‘evil of terrorism’, Sadiq Khan says” quotes “My thoughts are with the victims of this barbaric terrorist attack in the great city of Barcelona and with their brave emergency services.” That was quoted by Sadiq Khan where he sees these victims who have been hurt by terrorist attacks as very brave. In this article, the “Other” refers to the terrorists who are the ones planning these attacks. The targeted audience for this article is the victims and the families of those victims who may have been affected by the terrorist attack. The term barbarian is used differently in this article than in “Herodotus” since barbarian is used more like an inhuman attack and a brutal attack on innocent people. The two newspaper articles use the term ‘barbarian’ very similarly since both articles used that word in a negative sense to portray the bad in society.

-Raine, Team Jupiter

MLA Citations:

“Don’t romanticise violence – reject it.” The Sunday Independent(South Africa) 27 Aug. 2017. lexisnexis Web. 8 Sep. 2017 <

Morrison, Sean. “London stands with Barcelona against ‘evil of terrorism’, Sadiq Khan says.” London Evening Standard 17 Aug. 2017. lexisnexis Web. 8 Sep. 2017 <

 

 

No justification on barbaric shootings!

The subject of my articles is barbaric shootings. The first article called “outrage, condemnation greet church shooting” describes shooting on St. Philips Catholic Church in Ozubulu in Anambra State. The article explains that shooting was caused by the feud between brothers who live outside of the country, who are the barbarians. According to the article, “Dogara described the attack as abominable, barbaric, inhuman and the height of wickedness.” The second source, published by Belfast Telegraph, called “This isn’t justice’: Police in Derry condemns ‘barbaric’ shooting” show the shooting situation in Northern Ireland. According to the article, 33-years old man was shot by “four coward masked men”, who are the barbarians. The author said, “Police in Foyle has condemned the incident as “barbaric.” I think that the target audience for each article is everyone because that something what has no justification! Shooting is a hazardous form of attack, and all articles in newspapers are shown to inform the worst consequences of these attacks and warn people about things that are going on around the world. I believe that one social value that was affirmed as a shared value for the target audience is protection for all inhabitants of the city and assure them about sufficient protection for the future. By the danger, which in those countries was shooting, some people who have kids, might consider moving out, because they might be afraid of their kids’ safety. Meaning of word barbarian in these situations and reading in our class are different because in class we define barbarian as a person who lives outside the country, who don’t speak the same language and have secret knowledge. In the article, one of the shooting was caused by brothers, who we can definitely call barbarians because they lived outside of the country, where a shooting happened, however they did terrible thing, but in our story barbarian in uncivilized person. They also had feud which they brought to Nigeria, and cause this outrage. In the second article, the barbarians are, as the author of the newspaper said, “four cowards masked men”, and I believe that they must be from outside because the journalists defined them as “coward”, which means that someone has lack of the courage to take a guilt of actions. However, there is no confirmation of this fact. In the Herodotus, the barbarian role played Croesus, son of Alyattes, who was a lord of all the nations to the west of the river Halys.

Quote from Herodotus:
“So far as our knowledge goes he was the first of the barbarians who had dealings with the Greeks, forcing some of them to become his tributaries and entering into alliance with others” (1.6)

The two articles that I found are very similar to each other because both of them shows the situations of shootings, barbaric shootings in two different countries – Nigeria and North Ireland. In both articles, the authors explained that there is no justification for what happened. The only difference between those two sources is that in the first, there was a shooting in the church, and the second, the 33-years old man was shot.

Citations of the articles:

       Buhari, Muhammadu. “Outrage, Condemnation Greet Church Shooting.” The Sun, 7 Aug. 2017, www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26463428907&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26463428911&cisb=22_T26463428910&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=404393&docNo=16.

“’This isn’t justice’: Police in Derry condemns ‘barbaric’ shooting” Belfast Telegraph, 9 Aug. 2017, http://www-lexisnexis-com.ez-proxy.brooklyn.cuny.edu:2048/lnacui2api/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T26463428907&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T26463428911&cisb=22_T26463428910&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=400553&docNo=18

Edyta, Team Aphrodite