Month: November 2017

It wasn’t until I was reviewing the paper of one Agustin Arcos that I discovered the majestic and unknown creatures called Pangolins. At first glance, I immediately thought these were some sort of hybrid penguin-fish thing with some kind of cool look or abilities. After Agustin had shown me some pictures of these cute, hard-shelled, little mammals, I realized that I had seen these animals before. The first time had been on the Animal Planet channel. I remember seeing in ravage a giant ant with its large tongue snatching ants left and right. The second time was a little different. A creature from the Pokemon games I “used to play” was entirely based on the pangolin with a similar appearance and abilities. I thought it was funny that these little guys had been right in front of me the whole time and I didn’t even realize it.

As pangolins began to reemerge in my mind, I also discovered the danger they face. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked as its scales are highly sought after for its uses in traditional medicine. I also found out that this issue relates to my essay topic, as more and more pangolins are losing their homes because of deforestation. It brought up another negative effect of deforestation that I didn’t bring up in my essay: the eradication of local wildlife. Animals like the giant otter and the red faced Uakari monkey are on the verge of extinction because of this process. The  worst affected are the large number of unique vascular plant species, which an estimated 40% has been wiped out.

I can remember the morning we were assigned this essay as I felt very tired from a long night before and was unmotivated to do or talk about generally anything. When we got in groups to discuss ideas, I tried to think of the most generic topics that would have a lot of information to work with and did not require that much thought like “global warming is bad”. It was Olivia who had first brought up the topic of deforestation and she seemed like she knew every aspect of it. So naturally we went with her idea since none of us could really think of a solid alternative. I think many of the other students can agree when I say that raising awareness for our topic through social media and presentations was out of my comfort zone and I would have much rather preferred to give the minimal effort required by only writing an essay. Looking back on this however, I realize this was probably the best for me because in the future I am going to have to learn how to communicate with others and how to motivate them to reach a goal or task. To spread awareness for our topic and presentation, we made a post on Instagram describing the issue, the negative effects it has on all of us, and when and where people interested in it can get informed.

We gave the presentation on Wednesday the 8th in the Sanfilippo lounge to a jam-packed crowd of at least ten people! Anyways, our presentation talked about the repercussions of deforestation, what the main causes were for the process (spoiler alert: It’s cow shit), and what we can do as a community to stop the movement or to slow it down by conserving on things like furniture, shampoo, and chocolate. Since I am a resident of Sanfilippo Hall, I knew many of the people who attended the event, mostly because I was the one who invited them. When I brought up the event, they seemed intrigued at first because many of them hadn’t really thought about deforestation that much.

After the presentation, I did not feel like it had gotten anyone running out of their seats to find the nearest rainforest agency they could help, but I do think it made them more aware of the issue and how their daily actions can impact it. Palm oil was one of the major reasons trees were being cut down and everyone was surprised to find out that it was used in many things they use daily, like their shampoo and in chocolate. I believe it made them think about maybe not getting that hot chocolate that next day or something to that extent. None of the audience members have informed me about becoming involved in organizations like the World Rainforest Fund nor has the dorm begun planning events to talk about the rainforests and raise awareness about them. But if I am able to get at least one person to become active in the fight or at least cut back on their use of the products gained from deforestation, I will be satisfied.

 

The main protagonist of AMC’s hit show “The Walking Dead”, former Atlanta sheriff Rick Grimes, is someone who I would consider to be a christ figure. By this, I do not necessarily mean he is perfect and without sin like our Lord and Savior, but he is the closest character on the show to this image. We defined a christ figure as a messianic person destined to save humanity. Someone with strong morals, is pure, and is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. In the show, Grimes is the leader of a group of survivors who have gone through the few peaks and many valleys of a zombie apocalypse together. While his ultimate goal might not be to find a cure and save all humanity, he has made it clear that he will do whatever it takes to find a safe haven for his group and family and will never leave a member behind. He always factors morality into his decision making process. Whether it is negotiating the trade of resources between his group and another, or what to do with a prisoner from a rebel group, Rick always tries to find the morally right choice and execute it. As far as sacrifices go, Rick is willing to risk it all to help or find members of his group. When the neighborhood complex they were living in becomes infested with zombies, Rick decides to try and lure the horde away from the house the group is held up in so that they can find a route to escape. The zombie apocalypse does not present the easiest moral decisions, but Rick Grimes is willing to do whatever is right in order to protect his group.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a thrilling tale full of deception and triumph, but I don’t exactly think Gawain fits the mold of a hero that our class has made. Our definition we ended up deciding on was “A hero is someone who puts him/herself in harm’s way for the benefit of others because it’s the right thing to do (not for personal glory). A hero does something to inspire. A hero will not be afraid to walk on the path less traveled and will bring about change irrespective of the circumstances.” On the surface, it seems like Gawain fulfills this throughout his journey. He volunteers to take King Arthur’s spot when they first encounter the Green Knight and is willing to meet his fate, much to the dismay of Camelot. For me, that’s as far as his heroism goes. For starters, he tries to cheat the Green Knight’s game by decapitating him so he can’t strike back. A great message to send to our kids; when the going gets tough, find the easiest loophole and get out of any consequences. On his journey to find the Green Knight, he comes to the castle of a kind lord who is willing to give him a place to stay, a charitable action. How does Gawain return this generous favor? By getting in bed with his wife multiple times and hides the fact from him. I couldn’t really say these acts are inspiring nor can I say that banging his wife is putting himself in harm’s way for the benefit of others.