Friday, April 10, 2009
"The Armenian Genocide" - Period 1
Over the past week you have seen films and read articles about The Armenian Genocide. On Thursday you heard a schoarly and informative lecture about this terrible event by Father Boghosian. As you know, the last stage of Genocide is denial. Given everything you've heard, seen, and read, what do you think should be done to make more people aware of the Armenian Genocide? Do you think that the President should give a speech about it in order to focus more attention on this emotionally charged subject?
11 comments:
My best friend Sevag, is an Armenian himself. Through him, I learned a bit more about the Armenian genocide, and the public conception of the unfortunate event. I remember reading in our textbooks last year about it very briefly. It was actually called the Armenian massacre, denying that it was a genocide.
The President is not in a position to make a speech to us regarding the happenings of the Armenian genocide. That would cause a political mess. Therefore, it's up to the educational leaders of our society to raise awareness and make people aware of history. If everyone is willing to listen, then it is not a hard thing to accept at all. Father Boghosian pointed out that he is not trying to offend anyone, and that all Armenians want is recognition of the event. Conclusively, awareness=bliss.
I completely agree with Andy on this subject. President Obama is not in a position to give a speech about it. The Turkish government is very important to the USA because we have military bases there, which we use to launch attacks on areas of Afghanistan. The Turkish government would be very angry if the President publicly and openly condemned their behavior. They would become extremely unwilling to help the United States in any future endeavors, which is not something we can afford right now. I agree with Andy's statement about how it is the educational and cultural leaders' of society to raise awareness of an event that the political leaders cannot discuss freely.
I also agree with Andy in that the President is not in a position to give a speech about the Armenian Genocide, but I do think something needs to be done to raise awareness about it. The President isn't the only person with the power to raise awareness. I'm sure that there's a way to make people realize that the genocide happened without the US having to lose Turkey as an ally.
i disagree. as much as turkey is an ally, the armenian genocide is still from their doing and so the president should say something about it. Its the same thing as if germany was our great ally but we didnt say the holocaust was a genocide. Its not like we are or would be actually punishing turkey for what they did, but just getting the recognition that the Armenians deserve.
i felt that the genocide was horrible, and something i knew little about. I knew that it happened, but not how. It was a terrible thing, and I hope in the future that the President will push to make Turkey except what they did, and live with it. Like Germany has to. I agree with all that has been written thus far.
I'm glad that we learned about the Armenian Genocide, because I actually did not really know about it before hand, which is shocking considering that millions of people died or became refugees and that the consequences are still unresolved today. I think one of the main issues is that the Armenian Genocide does not get nearly enough time, if any, in education. Many people remain ignorant of it, as I was, and it isn't an issue to them because of this.
On President Obama making a statement recognizing the genocide, I think that politically he doesn't see enough benefits vs. the costs. In costs, the US could possibly lose a good ally. I think that if there is enough political (both in the US and internationally) pressure, though, he would condemn these events. I think that teaching more people/raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide could help to resolve this issue.
The genocide was a horrible chapter of Armenian history. I would have to agree with Andy with the fact that if the president made a speech about the Armenian Genocide, it would cause a political mess. It would be heavily debated. But I will agree with Tony on the fact that in time, Turkey should admit what they did. It would have a great impact on the Armenian people.
The Armenia Genocide is not known to many because it has yet to be considered a mass murder in history. However the Armenian genocide is a small flaw in the worlds history that has been covered up carefully and denied for years. With this week looking at documentaries and hearing Father Boghosian speak on the matter I do feel that the President should recognize the Armenian genocide. it is not fair to deny something that occurred in history. I would have to agree with Ryan, although social problems could occur out of President Obama speaking about this killing, it would allow the Armenian community to be accepted. Because this is not the first genocide that has occur and will not be he last. Why is it a problem to look back at history and accept it as it is, because there is no changing the past except the future. Every community needs to recognize one another, just because the United States is ally with Turkey doesn't mean that they should ignore the violence that was committed years and years ago between Turkey and the Armenians. The elephant in the room is the Armenian Genocide and without recognizing it then it seems somewhat acceptable. Like some stated Germany has to live with the Holocaust why should it be any different for Turkey?
The Armenian genocide was a horrible period of time where many innocent lives were destroyed. Its sad how many people never realize that this particular genocide took place. Millions of people died during the armenian genocide.I am really glad i now know what happened during this time period because i really never learned about this horrible event.
I agree with Tony. I hope Turkey will someday admit that the armenian did hapen with the cause of the turks.
I think the president should give a speech about the genocide, since it is a very contoversial matter. Till this day the Armenians still haven't gotten the results they have longed for. Having the president declare that this did in fact happen is important to many. I think its important to close the chapter and by doing so it will help heal some of the deep wounds that are still open today. Having the issue be open to the public will help others understand what happened in that time. It will give insight and help people like me undesratnd that the Armanian Genocide is as important as the Holocaust. I have taken so much from the speech like awareness and the history of the Armenians. I was glad to have the speaker come in it was very important to me to hear what he had to say. I think many will agree that having this awareness will help others understand the matter and keep those who were victims in our minds and hope they will some day find peace.
I never knew that the Armenian Genocide ever occurred. I find it interesting that we hear so much about the holocaust, we learn about it throughout our years in school. We also hear about what isn going on in Iraq and Darfur, and we think we are very worldly educated. The Armenian Genocide just shows that we are still blind to a portion of the world. We need to be aware of everything going on around us. Especially something so big. Just like andy said, "Its;s up to the educational leaders of our society to raise awareness and make people aware of history."
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