How do YOU relate to Williams expression that people saw her uncle for "what he did not have rather than what he did have"? Write a paragraph that substantiates your experience with this fact.
The quiz will be graded on the following 3 traits from the Six Traits handout :
ORGANIZATION - Thesis statement, 3 supporting details, Conclusion
IDEA(s) - Creative, clear, provide a sensory description of what is being stated.
VOICE - is succint, I can see or hear you as you develop your paragraph.
Have fun doing this!
Dr. Morales
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The Village Watchmen is an essay on how people with different mental condition are looked upon. Thankfully I was brought up in a family that has taught me not to treat these people indifferently, so I don’t feel bad reading it. But what is normal, why do people try so much or even care so much to be normal. Why be one more in the crowd, when they can be the one the crowd follows?
ReplyDeleteWhat is normal? I really though that the definition of normal was like the essay "a rule; conforming with or constituting an accepted standard, model or pattern, especially corresponding to the median or average of a large group”, but who is normal? I had the opportunity to do community service in Bolera Caribe where still today a group of kids with “impediments”, get together to play bowling and then gather to do different art projects every Thursday evening. And I can assure you that not one single Thursday I saw an art project that seemed similar to other kids’ projects or projects done earlier. Other than the fact that many of the kids can draw much better than my “normal” friends I didn’t see anything different, the drew with their hands, painted with crayons heck a blind 8 year old could mold perfectly anything he could touch that would leave you mesmerized. Maybe that’s not normal to them, but I call that talent.
What if they are normal? I’ve far too many “mentally disable” people and the one thing they all have in common, they all understand each other. You can see that they don’t have any type of chain that ties them to what you’re supposed to be. They don’t have to live in this social pyramid that classifies me for what I look like. I’ve been in far too many situation in were if I was the new kid nobody would talk or even look at me because I was not normal. I don’t see this in them, every one off Thursday a new member would should and before I could learn his name every other kid was giving him pointers and applauding every pin he knocked down. You could appreciate the respect that they had for each other even with these “abnormalities”.
Why can’t they be the one the crowd follows? You should have been there, eight pairs of bowling lanes filled with kids burning with anticipation, waiting for the counter girl to shout the magic words. “You may begin bowling.” And this time it wasn’t an event it was the whole spectacle. All faces staring up at the monitor waiting to see their name light up. When it did, they stood up like a firecracker and precariously looked both ways, like crossing the road, to see if they would interfere anybody else throwing. Then they would assume the position and throw the ball down the lane, and it didn’t mater how many pins they knocked down or left standing, that whole table would rise simultaneously and cheer for exactly the amount of time the person throwing would wait for his ball to return as soon as it did they all sat again and stared at the monitor to see who’s turn was next. I called that a normal day at the bowling alley with my supposedly “normal” friends don’t you?
Many have been there you see somebody with Down syndrome and suddenly everything is quiet nobody talks everybody ignores it until it goes away, like if it was contagious like virus A H1N1. I just think we got this all vice versa, I say we live the normal live and they are living life, they don’t have any pressures, they can be who they want to be and still many of them have incredible talents that for many of us takes years of practice. I think they are like old people; nobody takes care of them or pays attention, until you really sit down to talk about a productive theme, and a whole Pandora’s Box of wisdom is opened.
Izquierdo Muñoz Orlando A #6
INGL 3103 Sec. M06
P.S. I’m very sorry if I offended any family, relatives or friends in this essay. I can assure you it was not my intention.
This expression or sentence is often used when people are being judged or feel like they are being judged. I can relate to this because at my middle school there were a lot of "clicks" and to be able to fit it with them you have to be a specific way. To be in the popular group you needed to be a cheerleader, to be in the Goth group well you needed to be Goth, Emo, or Rock, and to be in the Latin group you needed to be Spanish. I was only "accepted" by one group...the Latin group only because I spoke Spanish. They didn't even get to know me before letting me in their group they just heard that I spoke Spanish and automatically let me sit with them at lunch, let me hang out after school, and called me to go out on the weekends. They didn't know how I was, what kind of friend I was or even what my name was they just saw me for another Latin girl. I can also relate because most of my girl friends are single because there isn't a guy out there that actually takes the time to sit and talk to them. They go out and meet a guy but all they look at is your physical appearance and if you don't fit the mold...you’re done! They tell me that the guy usually tells them that they like taller girls or that their hair is not long enough or simply that they are not his type. That is what happens to Williams’s uncle, they see him for being handicap and slightly "retarded", what they don't see is that he is smart, he can think, talk, walk and eat on his own and he looks like everyone else. My brother gets treated like that at school every day. He is told that he has to go to a separate class with kids that have the same "problem" as him. He is always being watched and told what to do. My brother never really notices because he seems to be used to being treated like that, I mean it's been like that since the second grade and he is now in seventh grade. I feel like people see my brother as a kid who can learn anything and I don't think it's fair. I hate to see him struggling to fit in and not be accepted for who he really is...a 13 year old boy that has a fun spirit and loves life. I know that my brother is smart and he can overcome any obstacle but what people don't see is that he does it in a different way. So I encourage each and every one of us to stop judging a book by its cover and actually take the time to read it.
ReplyDelete-Emma Lee Silva
In today's world we are surrounded by prejudice. We are judged daily on how we look and how we act by people who don't even know us, and yet they can pick out every single flaw from across a room. In the essay Alan's condition makes him unique to the people around him but in life these condtions are very abundant and disheartening. Our whole lives we are used to seeing "normal" human beings, normal according to society, so when we see people affected by these sicknesses we tend to shun them or treat them differently as if they were inferior. As I have grown older I have realized that the people who surround mentally challenged people, such as their families and friends, actually suffer more than the person who is directly affected. I think this is because those affected are living in their own reality. To them living like that is normal becuase they've never known anything different and they find happiness there. I believe that as long as their families are able to accept this condition, like Alan's family did, they will be happy and be able to lead normal lives.
ReplyDeleteJuan Carlos Pages Miranda
INGL3103 Sec. M06
In the essay "The Village Watchman" the author talks about how people who are different are often treated that way, different. People tend to relate anything that is very common as normal. The standards or requirements to be considered normal change from time to time, and vary from location to location. The change in these standards is usually referred to as "the flow".Groups of people feel obligated to follow this concept in order to be accepted as part of groups and feel sure about themselves. But this is not always the case as some people become accostumed to these standards unconciously. Sad thing about this is that any person who does not meet these self created standards is considered "different" and is usually discriminated or treated different in a more general sense. Another thing one might notice is that, this concept is also being applied to other things besides social communication, it can also be recognized affecting industries, like the music industry for example. Artists are forced to create songs that meet certain standards or they will not be a "hit". This is a big problem as it is limits the amount of creativity artists can work upon, forcing them to do something they don't want to do, and making them something they dont want to be, like in the case of people becoming something they are not, just to get the attention they seek. We should not try to be something we are not, just to get attention. We should get recognized for being ourselves and for the talents we have got. Another example that can be used is that we say that we want the world to change, but the world will remain the same if we are all the same, no change what so ever will ever occur if the same elements remain intact, when the elements of the composition that is the world are changed only then can we have a whole new reaction and the change that we all desire will come.
ReplyDeleteLee D. Rodriguez Mercado #13
Ingl 3103
PS: I sent you my Mentor essay to your E-mail
Miguel A. Morales Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteIngl 3103 M06 10:30-12:00
The Village Watchman
This is my reaction the statement that people saw him for "what he did not have rather than what he did have". This is something we go through every day. People get stereotyped before getting to be known. This is a modern day act and it is destroying our society. We margin people for being different, and what should be done is accept them for their uniqueness. We have to remember that being different is not a bad thing, is something that we should be proud of. The character in the story was different in the sense that he was always happy or looking to be. He drew attention to feel important, and he did the things he wanted whenever he wanted. He expressed his feelings at the time he felt them, not hiding a single emotion. For doing this he was categorized abnormal, weird, or even stupid. He was just being happy. This is what we all want, so why does he have to be overlooked like ‘normal’. This is how I understand the phrase in the beginning. We cannot judge people for how they act before getting to know their situation and personality.
People often take things for granted and underestimate people. They tend to look at negative side of things and every imperfection instead of enjoying what they have and being proud of who they are. The fact that this author implies this in such a drastic way let's you see how the heart and persona of a human being can be affected just by a single smile. How do I relate to this? You dont have to be "retarded" to at least experience one time in your life what it's like to be rejected or treated like an inferior person. I know for a fact that being in that spot is very uneasy to the heart and painfull. So "retarded" or "mentally disabled" is just a lousy term made by man to NOT accept the fact that this people are us too and that they individually have their gifts and talents. What do I mean by this?.. Man has made a term for almost for every imperfection a human being could have on the other hand their qualities are barely noticed. Normal? Who is normal? Every person in the world has their own qualities and unique therefore not normal or ... is it normal to be unique?
ReplyDeleteAlison S. Santiago Morales
ReplyDeleteIngl 3103 M06 10:30am
What I understand for this expression is that most of the persons judge other persons for what they see in their first impression and not for whom they really are. People judge too much about their appearances and not for their real self and feelings. For example, I have experience of how my cousin is in “special education” in school; yet in his home, he is a master in playing video games and could solve some very difficult problems of any subject if he likes it. He only pretends in school to be dummy just because he is lazy. This has taught me, to really get to know the person before judging them because it creates a false imagine of the person.
In this essay the author transmit us and let us see how the world discriminates against people they regard as different. Nowadays there are many people who do not accept others just as they are and if they do not like them, they abuse or insult them. I think that people who do such thing are ignorants who feel they are insignificant to others and they try to make those people look bad in front of everyone to feel superior. I thank my parents because they have taught me to treat and respect everyone equally. Each person, no matter who they are, from where they are or how they are, deserves respect and being treated well. I was raised with a cousin who has disabilities and growing up with him has been an irreplaceable experience. He is 24 years old with brown eyes, black hair and the best personality ever. Also, he is a person that is always happy and try to make everyone happy. My cousin is always telling everyone that he loves them and to never forget that. People like them are very special and they really know how to demonstrate love to someone. Growing up with him has taught me to be more sensitive and to see everyone equally without discriminating against anyone based on their appearance or way of being. Maybe people like my cousin do not have the necessary knowledge but they do have better ways to demonstrate love than people like us.
ReplyDeleteReality is people tend to reject other persons just because theyre "different". If we pay attention we would see it around us everyday. But the truth is that if we have the opportunity to know someone with any "impediment" we would see them for what they truly are. They are very special human beings, their talented. caring and even smart. They have wants and needs just like the rest of us do, and they notice when they are being trated differently or being rejected. I know this because I had the opportunity to work with childrens like this in different activities form school and church. The most beautiful thing is you can actually learn from them, to enjoy even the most simple things in our lives and sometimes stop worrying about what people around us may think. I believe God sends miracles everyday, we just have to train our eyes to be aware of them. These persons are a miracle and instead of just rejecting them we should try to find out what they truly have and what they truly are.
ReplyDeleteLinette Ramos Nieves (#8)
In this essay the author writes about how the people looked at his uncle. Including how the people mentioned all the things he could not do instead of the things he could do. When I read the Village Watchman it touched me very closely. It was an essay that I felt that was read to me before several time, this because I have a handy caped brother. Since I was little I knew my brother was different and after I grew up and understood everything I learned that different is means special, unique and that is what my brother is. My brothers disabilities are that he can not speak or do his personal hygiene him self and he uses pills for his anger attacks. All these things have tough my family how to take good care of him. He is very sweet and affectionate, he says hi with a hug and bye with a kiss, his bright smile and brown eyes are warm and overwhelming. He is my life and when people find out my brother is not "normal" to them, the start to feel sorry for me. This has happened to me since I was little and every time it happens I tell them that they should no feel sorry for me because I can assure them he is smarter than us. Ha loves newspapers and people get shocked when he points at the correct word when I ask him were is a random word in a certain page. He is very smart and I do not care of the things he can not do because the things he can do are so many and wonderful that it makes me proud of him. People should not look at people with "impediments" like there a "thing" from another planet, we are all brother and sisters; our differences make us unique and that is a good thing. It bothers me that when I am in some place public and people see my brother the start to stare, that is bad education and for that reason parents should teach there daughters and sons that people with a certain disability are special, because with all their "impediments" they keep fighting and never look back. Everyone should look at the bright side of every thing because these people look at the bright side. Do not feel sorry for them, because they are happy of what the have and with what they can do.
ReplyDeleteIris A. Mateo Pacheco
When I read this essay, a lot of things comes to mind. First It kind of makes me mad that people threat him different just because of his condition and when I mean different I mean bad, feel sorry for him and stuff of that nature and I bet that kind of treatment hurt him more than his condition, even thought he was always happy and it doesn't seem that he cares about it. Now getting back to the main topic, I can relate to Williams expression because why our society have to used this "normal" standard. I mean it really doesn't make sense. Everyone that is not in the parameters of what society consider "normal" it's something to be criticize. Just to make a point clear, no one is what society consider normal, nobody is, people just act like everyone does just to maybe fit in society. Alan was different, by having this condition he was automatically abnormal, but did he tried to fit in what they consider normal? No he didn't. He just was himself, he realize that he doesn't have to be what other people want him to be. He feel comfortable acting the way he did and that was enough for him. But we don't usually do that, we are always looking for ways to fit in, sorry if I offend somebody for this comment but who's the retard? I assure you that is not Alan. He also mention that Alan did stuff that they weren't allowed to do or they didn't dare to do. I think that were just so overwhelm to be normal and we forget about what we want to do. If I'm right,in this case I'm pretty sure I am, in the constitution said that everyone of this country have liberty of speech. But we don't actually used this right don't we? Why we don't do it? Are we afraid of what other people think? I could say yes, but Alan wasn't and I actually admire him for that. Just to point this out, I am in favor of freedom of speech as long it doesn't break the law. Something that really called my attention is that even thought he has past for a lot of things in his life he always find time for God. That actually surprise me. Lot's of people would lose the faith in God, his parents would lose faith thanks to Alan's condition but they didn't. While a lot of "normal" people would lose faith, while a lot of us consider "normal" don't assist to church for whenever reason but not him, he always find time for God. Instead of questioning why he made him with this condition, he dedicate the time to talk and hear what God says. But what actually shock me was when William ask Alan "what is it really like to live inside your body?" That to me was the whole meaning of this essay. Like Martin Luther King Jr. said in his famous speech I Have a Dream: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Even thought this is not a racial thing but it's related. In this case why we have to judge Alan for his condition? we can't do that. Maybe he is a lot like us but we never will realize that because as soon we see a kid with impediments we feel sorry or we reject them and it shouldn't be like that. But let's be honest some of them have special needs but other than that they are just like us and they can do whatever thing we can do and sometimes even better. Alan died hurt, he leave this world with his feelings hurts because almost nobody threat him by who he was, but just for what the condition he has. People always notice the condition and focus on it and forget completely about him. I'm just going to make this last comment. Haven't society show us don't judge a book by his cover? And why we judge Alan for his condition and not for his character? Our society have a lot to think and a lot of ratification to do.
ReplyDeleteINGL 3103 Sec. M06 #8
The appearances are important but you can’t always use them when we judge people. For example I have always been a cheerful and energetic person. Sometimes I tend to act spontaneous and been like that frighten people. It is not that I like to frighten others is just that that I am a very dynamic person. Some people may find my behavior as strange ,they may think that since I act that way I must be some kind of “loco” or someone who always make a lot fuzz of everything. They have only seen one part of my personality and they quickly concluded that everything about me is crazy. That’s the problem they judge without really knowing someone’s life. Oh what a different world this would be if only we take time to know people the way they really are.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Santiago Rodriguez M06
Have you ever been to a place where you see someone that you consider strange? Why is it? We are all brought to this world by God that made us all equal. Then, why do we think that other people are not normal? Are we normal? What is normal? Truly there no normal people; we are all a community of selfish, heartless, greedy people that need to change our way of thinking about others. We do not see people for how they really are. We just like to see the world our way; if you are not like me you are different, not normal. The Village Watchman is precisely about how people with disabilities are seen; we only see what we want, not how the person truly is. I have had many experiences in these situations, including me as a victim. A lot of time I have been going out with my friends an some them are this kind of people that are always looking at people and criticizing them. One day a was out on the street with my friends and this kid goes by; he was very thin and you almost felt as if he was going to brake in half; he had bad, curly hair, sunglasses, a fearful smile, and a hump back. My friends just started laughing so hard that they cried. I did not see what was so funny; I felt sad for the kid. If I were in that situation I would have felt rejected and wondering why people saw me so strange. When I was a little boy I felt this way. I was the humble, lonely, quiet, and shy kid at my school. People were always making fun of me and had me as a target. I got depressed and thought why everything was refusing to be my friend. Was I normal like everybody else? Of course I was. I remember once when I was watching TV and I saw a program where they were showing people with disabilities that had amazing talents. It was incredible. One of them was able to paint so harmoniously and beautiful; that was unquestionably art. I felt amaze; I can only draw with circles and sticks, and now I see this man, that everyone sees as a retarded person, painting like a true artist. We really need to start seeing people for how they are rather than for how they are not; simple as that. When was the last time you saw the true beauty in someone? We really have some amazing people around us, people that we could learn from, and we are just so focus on things hat do not really matter like the aesthetics. We need to severely let go of our ignorance; it is destroying are being. There is so much we can learn from these people and we are blinded. We got to mature and take time to know people like these, and maybe we could find the true, most precious value there is to life, and that is to love one another.
ReplyDeleteTorres de Jesús, Jesús M. #19
INGL - 3103 - M06
I think that she want to say that the people who don't know a mentally disabled person, when they saw somebody with this condition, they saw a person different to us, thay look thay like if they not be humans and thay think that have a son with this condition, hace to be a really hard load. Some people think that this kind of people don't serve to anything, and this type of thought is not of this time only, it come of past civilization, who kill the babies that born with this kind of condition. I think that all of this prejudice came of the ignorance, came of the lack of knowledge, because they criticize this people without know what are they are saying, because they are not investigate that the people with this condition are very useful like us, that they can made any work like us. To me the word normal is relative, because to us we are normal and the people with this condition not but maybe to this people they are normal and we not.
ReplyDeleteJuan Carlos Santos Ferrer, Section M06 (#18)
Unfortunately, I have not a close encounter or an experience with a disabled or handicapped person. Although, I do watch a TV series in TLC titled Little People Big World. This show revolves around a couple of dwarves and their four children, who three of the four happen to be average sized. I find it really amazing how these four foot dwarves manage to own and work a 36 acre farm. Besides the pumpkin business, Matt Roloff, the head of the family, works with computer software sales and he co-founded Direct Access Solutions. Said company markets accessibility kits for little people to the hospitality industry. As if that isn’t enough, Matt is constantly working with large projects to be done in order to improve their farm.
ReplyDeleteWilliams states that people saw her uncle for "what he did not have rather than what he did have”. By this quote he is calling upon us to respect and treat those who are handicapped equally. We judge people based on ourselves and what we do is that we compare what we have and what they don’t have. Clearly, this is not the correct thing to do. They are people as well and we should learn how to see them for their personality rather than their physical appearance. Little people, for example, can do what everyone else does but just in a different way.
I find this family to be very inspiring and I respect them deeply for that. Throughout their TV series they have showed me that size and appearance does not matter. What truly matters is desire and the yearn we as humans beings have to live a regular life, regardless of our impediments. We can’t be so quick to judge simply because we seem them different than us. I consider myself to be very fond of people who need help due to their disabilities. And I greatly thank this family for letting this beautiful message come into millions of homes.
Almodovar Frau, Maria G. #1
INGL-3103-M03
Erika Marie Cortes Garcia
ReplyDeleteINGL - 3103- MO3 # 2
Over the years I have met a couple of people which our society calls disabled or mentally challenged. When the author wrote that people saw William’s uncle for "what he did not have rather than what he did have" she was right on. I have seen this a lot. People see others for whom they are not rather than what they are, as in he or she is not normal, or he or she can’t do this or can’t do that, but what about what they can do? Do people see that? I don’t think so. Sometimes a disabled person has the biggest heart of all, but people don’t notice because they are to busy judging them based on what he or she cannot do. As soon as they see this they already think, that person is stupid or not normal and some of them don’t even try to get to know them. People become coldhearted and distant when it has to do with this kind of situation. Here in the university I have a peer that seems to be disabled and reading this story has opened my eyes to the truth. I too at times was distant, but not anymore. I have realized that he is just like me. Maybe he does things in a different way or sees things in a different way but hey, that’s what being unique is all about. Some people may laugh at him and others will think that saying hi to him is embarrassing but not me. Now I see him for whom he is, not for what he is not. He is human being just like the rest of us and a happy one for that matter. I just wish more people would notice this and start treating disabled or mentally challenged people the way they should. After all we are all human, brothers and sisters in God's name.
Wao I dont know how to express myself.This eassy is one that touches my heart beacuse it was something that was telling me that I most keep helping people whit impediments. Wen I was 15, I visit a hospital of people whit mental problems in San Juan. There was a girl that reminds me Alan whit the football helmet. I think that all the people in this world have some kind of mental problem like my mom. She is one that thinks that she is always wrong, that she is doing bad things like helping people(I dont think that this is bad but she thinks it). I think that Alan was more normal than me beacuse he was telling thing that I belive that were true like the way that he thinks about happiness.
ReplyDeleteHappiness is something that needs sadness, why? Because everything in your life is not pink. You can try to make it pink but the reality is that live cant be pink, it got to be black in a way or another. I admire Alan because the way that he talksabout God without regrets. I think that many of the people in this world needs to read this eassy because I think that it will touch the heart of the person that read it.
I imagine myself sitting in the wolf totem talking whit Alan about the meaning of life o what do I have to do to change this world because I would ike to hear what he have to said about it.
my name is luis A. Rodrguez and my number is 14.
People used to look at my handicapped uncle for "what he did not have rather than what he did have". He was born handicapped, and was deemed to live his life on an automated chair. I was told by my grandmother that as a child, he was bothered and joked on, because he couldn’t play with the other kids, and he had to have an escort with him at all times, in case he needed special assistance. But when you looked past the semi-paralyzed man on that chair, you would find the most brilliant and talented painter in the city of Ponce. He did not live enough time for me to get to know him much, but his legacy, his paintings, were left behind. I can now appreciate how much talent he had, and with how much dedication to detail he painted. He painted about everyday life in the old times in Puerto Rico: kids playing outside his house, flaming red “flamboyanes”, and cities that looked beat down from the time that had passed. He was such an influential painter in the city that he was recognized in the “Plaza de los Próceres” in Ponce, due to his contribution to the arts. I am proud to say that I am one of David Medina’s relatives.
ReplyDeleteRuben Medina Suarez
Section M03
Mine is very long! XD I printed it out and will bring it in tomorrow. I made an essay.
ReplyDeleteIn present day people do not choose their words carefully in their ways of describing facts, people or situations. They do not know how insulting the word “normal” can be. Where I stand know I practically live the phrase: “you can't 'judge a book by its cover". Even though they’re certain people that have certain limitations does not mean that they don't have their own talents. You can not label someone because of what you see, because they can exceed your expectations. I personally have had the experience of being proved wrong; in middle school one of my classmates had autism (let’s call him Larry). The first couple of week’s students excluded him from the crowd and teachers treated him separately, until one day he decided to take a stand for himself and let us all know that he didn’t need any special treatment and that he could be “normal” so he could “hang out” with us. That same day we all went to have lunch at a local fast food. As soon as we got there my friends started to act stupid, by saying random things, making stupid comments acting like children, jumping up and down and when we were eating they would stick fries up their nose, Larry would look at them as if they were something from another world. When we were finished and on our way back to school Larry said to me: “I don’t know why I try to fit in and be “normal” so I can hang out with cool people like you guys, because now that I have I think it’s stupid to act the way they did. And as a matter of fact I consider myself “normal” compared to them; I would never do the stupid things they did”. I have a better meaning to the word normal and I personally think that there is no such thing. I think that in the essay that is what Alan wanted people to see who he was (as he states “I feel pain for not being seen as the person I am”), not even try to be someone else just to please other people (as Terry describes him wearing someone else’s clothes: small jackets, big pants or shirts that didn’t match). Overall to be heard and known as the person he was (because personality is what matters). I also think that the author wants us to create conscious and be careful with our actions because when words and actions are drawn you can take them back, but the harm has already been made.
ReplyDeleteOur society has shown over the years that we are people full of prejudice, envy and incomprehension. These factors working in our hearts have created a series of barriers about what or who is right or acceptable. “That’s why so many people are marginalized, being completely out of a society full of individuals who passed the exam: “Being like everyone else.”
ReplyDeletePersonally I see how this happens every day. My sister was diagnosed with autism at about four years old. Although it was perfectly normal for me, but as the years past I was beginning to see that every time people get farther of her for no apparent reason. I think that was the reason why I also started to see her differently. I regret to say this, but I began to reject her as everyone else out there did. I do not understand exactly why they could not relate to her, but it was much easier to meet somebody that worry about the treasure that God had given to me.
After I get mature I saw how my sister was growing up in things that I did not dominate like love, patience, etc... I saw that she was a hidden treasure and that outsiders were being lost the privilege to meet someone sincere, genuine and without malice as my sister. So I began to spend more time with her and I discovered that she has an impressive range of talents. The best example is her memory; she is able to remember all the names of the characters in a movie with just see the credits once. Finally, I discovered that my sister is just incredible. People from outside come to my sister and look for defects in order to categorize as "crazy ", and do not see what she is just to see what she is not. I learned something new that changes my life; I learned to see everything she can do, to admire her for her courage. The Villiage Watchman can make a difference as my sister did in me.
Bryan Arroyo Fernandez
M06
Whit this particular situation I dont have a close experience.But something that I think its really true is that people always see others for the things they don't have, not for what they have. The autor talks about her uncle letting know that not only handicap people,but normal ones have limitations becase nobody is perfect and when a person have a deffect you have to search for more because that person also have gifts and talents. We have to know a person before to even start thinking of.
ReplyDeleteThe closest situation to this that I experienced was an accident that my brother had some years ago that let him without mobility in all of his body's left side and people looked at him like if he was an useless person because of his limitations. But with the pass of the years he showed everyone that if he want to do something he can do it. And until today, he has acomplished everything that he wanted to and that gives me hope and motivation to never quit for something that I want. So if you want to do something in your life just do it, no matter what people say to you, or the obstacles that get into your way, nothing is impossible... ;)
Jovan Rodriguez
I thank god for having a family that don’t judge others by their looks, religion or their behavior. We don’t judge people if they don’t fit the “norm”. People who discriminates others by the way they act or a problem they have don’t go to well with my family members. In this essay there is a party that says “It was an unspoken rule in our family that the character of others was gauged by how they treated Alan” that same rule applies to my family. My family gauges people on how they treat others especially to my little brother because he has a speaking disorder. People only see my brother in a way that he is not, because he can speak well doesn’t mean that he is retarded or out of the “norm”. And people gauges him on what he doesn’t have rather than what he does. It is a fact that my brother has a talking disorder but he has a very brilliant mind, he is only five years old but he writes really well and adds and subtracts very well also better than most of his class. He learns really quickly in school thank god they see him for the mind he has that’s why he is not in any special classes only in those to make him speak better. But people when they see him talk ask my mother “el tiene problemas” and my mother answers of course not. People see others in a way that they are not be that by the way they dress, talk, walk, speak and even eat that’s not right. People have to learn that many times some things are more than meats the eye.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Gonzalez M03
What he did not have, rather for what he did have? To me, this statement has a lot of different perspectives, but all of them are positive. How do we really see people? What are our real feelings towards them? Sometimes people treat these “not normal” persons in an inhumanly way. They laugh for the things these so called mentally “challenged” people cannot do, they even hurt them either mentally or physically. That always happens, but I ask you: Who’s the mentally challenged now? Violence is the absence of intelligence to resolve our problems through peace.
ReplyDeleteThe most beautiful part of being human is that we get to love; we get to cherish life because it tends to end, it has a limit, and just because it has a limit we get to value life. To see a person for what that person did not have, rather for what he did have. I believe that’s love. You can only truly love someone by accepting them for who they are, by accepting those imperfections that make us perfect, to let them be what they really are.
When we accept people for who they are, it means that we get to see them with our heart, with the eyes of the soul. These “not normal” people are born with a capacity to see each person for what they really are. They get other people’s reactions clearly and they sometimes get rejected. I have always felt “not normal” because I was never able to fit in with the crowd. I was the weird, creepy guy that was always alone in the same spot. Always alone, sad, happy, forgotten… I was always watching how the world moved around me, and because of that I never made contact with the world. I waited for the world to come to me.
I always try to think if that’s the way these mentally “challenged” people feel. Do they feel left out? Do they feel as if they are forgotten and left on that same spot until someone else brings them out of there? Are they happy there? If that’s how it feels, then I understand why they know so much about life and why they don’t approach life. Being out of contact with the world and watching everything that happens around you, teaches you how cruel the world is. How the big fish eats the little ones, how your new truth is a lie, how the walls slowly come crashing down on you, how treason, pleasure and money like to dress up like love, but it has taught me that the people that see this are also called “not normal”.
I can relate to Williams expression because we as human beings have to accept our differences and imperfections so we can live a pure life. So we can know if what we are doing is right. To act by our own ideals, not the crowd’s ideals. To see things with deeper eyes, with love. After all, we’re the same in the eyes of God.
Christian G Rivera
M03 #10
I'm sorry for being so late. My sister had some .... situations and I had to leave early this last 3 days... There's no internet in my home also. I just wanted everyone to know what I think. ^_^
The Village Watchman is a story about how people with different health conditions are being treated differently by people who are “normal”. I think that the main problem here is that there are certain people that consider themselves and people that are alike them normal, and the rest are abnormal. Really, who is normal? We are all different, special, and unique. Why would you consider yourself one of the many? God made us special in different ways, and it takes every single one of us to make our world. An example is a class room. There are the “normal” ones and the “abnormal” ones. When one person is absent, we immediately feel that emptiness in the room. We miss that person. If it was not like that, we would not care about whether a person came or not. It would as if we were robots with no feelings. I think that we all have different qualities that make us extraordinary. What would the point in living if we are not going to do anything significant that contribute with our world?
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a special and different person. I have a few health conditions being one of them a muscular atrophy, and when my friends first heard of it, they started to treat me as if I could not do something. As if I was this really weak person. Obviously, there are some things that I cannot do, but I can do things that they can’t do. I have the talent of making music. Almost all my friends cannot do it, and that is one of the reasons I believe I am special. Later, my friends realized that they were wrong. Now, they see me as who I am, and don’t see who I’m not.
In conclusion, I can assure that no one’s normal, because normalcy does not exist! So if someone considers himself (herself) normal, that person does not even know himself (herself). If you open your eyes really wide, you are going to see the beauties of being a different person, and getting to know different people. We are all God’s sons and daughters. He loves us all and we are all special to him. If God thinks your special, why don’t you?
Mariam González Castro
M06