This article begins by discussing the various ways in which people suffer and whether or not it is possible to determine who suffers the most and from which event. Does the person who is physically tortured suffer more than the person afflicted with a painful disease? Can physical suffering be compared to psychological or emotional suffering? The main point discussed in the piece is how social forces ranging from political to economic become "embodied as individual experience". To explore this theory further, author Paul Farmer has studied the far-reaching effects that poverty and political discord have had on the Haitian population. There are many things that contribute to the suffering of the Haitian people: low life expectancy, little to no political freedom causing social constraints, poor health care and education systems, lack of food and jobs and increased violence statistics to name a few. The article goes on to describe the lives of two people who faced undeniable suffering as their fate. "They were both, from the outset, victims of structural violence." The stories of these individuals provide an insight to the whole. There are many others who have or will see a similar fate, but one cannot discuss the suffering of people without also considering the forces that caused it. This brings into question the theory of cultural relativity. As the author asks, "Is every culture a law unto itself and answerable to nothing other than itself?" This includes the idea of cultural relativism. What is considered tradition in one culture may be deemed suffering in another. This is why cultural awareness is a key component of alleviating human suffering.
I found it interesting in this article [On Suffering and Structural Violence] how the author points out the true meaning(s) of suffering and that everyone has their own “version”. We often associate suffering with racism, sexism, and being poor, but we do not think outside of the box. There are multiple other branches/types of suffering happening every day all around the world, in various forms. The author states, “The capacity to suffer is, clearly, a part of being human, but not all suffering is equivalent. I now have a better understanding of the true definition of suffering; everyone has their own individualized form of suffering. For instance, many of us do not think of illness, premature death, and poverty when we think about suffering (not at first anyways). For many places in the world, these very reasons are the leading causes of extreme suffering. The World Health Organization now acknowledges that poverty is the world’s greatest killer. The statement that proves this theory states, “Poverty wields its destructive influence at every stage of human life, from the moment of conception to the grave. It conspires with the most deadly and painful diseases to bring a wretched existence to all those who suffer from it”. This statement entails that when one is born into poverty, it is almost impossible to escape the effects followed by suffering throughout life. In today’s society, the world’s poor are the victims of structural violence. Not only are the poor more likely to suffer, they are also less likely to have their suffering noticed. This is typically true in American Culture, because we tend to associate the term “poor” with the terms alcoholic, drug addict, lazy, homeless, dirty, etc. While these descriptions may be accurate at times, for many this is not what actually being poor means. In order to identify the forces conspiring to promote suffering, we have to break the silence and understand that these are differentially weighted in different settings (the term “suffering” cannot be associated with one definition/meaning). It is impossible to detect exactly who suffers the most and from which/what events cause this act.
The aspect of this article I found most interesting was the author's attempt to generalize suffering, a concept I had always assumed varied from person to person and situation to situation. However, after reading this article, I do believe that most of his assertions about factors leading to suffering are accurate. For example, it cannot be denied that gender, race/ethnicity, sexual preference, etc. do have a great influence on a person's likelihood to suffer. The author's most interesting contention was his repeated connection of poverty or socioeconomic status with suffering and structural violence. In South Africa, women, blacks, and homosexuals may be more likely to suffer than others, but the chance is much greater if someone in one of the aforementioned groups is poor. This reminds me of the state of the educational system in the U.S. Minorities tend to perform worse in schools than white students, not because of any inherent obstacles to education, but instead because most minorities are in lower socioeconomic levels due to racism and prejudice. In situations where students of different races come from the same socioeconomic class, variations in educational performance all but disappear. With this in mind, I believe that the type research done by the author is pivotal if we are to someday eliminate the systems that create structural violence.
This article was a very informing read. The way that the author was able to use the stories of the two people involved was a great way to draw the readings into the life that the author was trying to describe. The stories about the social and economic sufferings and what happens because of that were crazy. It changed my perspective on places like Haiti. What I would like to know is the effect that the earthquake from a couple years ago had upon the people. My only guess is that it make the situations much worse. An updated version of this article would be very interesting to read.
I thought the author did a good job explaining different types of suffering. There is no single standard to describe the term because it varies across cultures, and between individuals. Haiti is still the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, and the stories of the individuals described in the article were chilling. The worst part to me is that the suffering that Acephie and Chouchou endured are common in Haiti. As the author stated, “fatal beatings in the countryside did not count as news” because of the way their government operates. AIDS is also a major health concern because there is a lack of methods that can keep people from spreading disease, and there is no way for them to access the necessary medical treatments. I also found in interesting that the author included the poem differentiating between simply explaining suffering and actually making sense of it. There are still psychological studies being conducted to understand why some people enjoy inflicting pain on others, and how different individuals cope with their suffering. It would be interesting to apply the claims in this article to other nations.
This article begins by discussing the various ways in which people suffer and whether or not it is possible to determine who suffers the most and from which event. Does the person who is physically tortured suffer more than the person afflicted with a painful disease? Can physical suffering be compared to psychological or emotional suffering? The main point discussed in the piece is how social forces ranging from political to economic become "embodied as individual experience". To explore this theory further, author Paul Farmer has studied the far-reaching effects that poverty and political discord have had on the Haitian population. There are many things that contribute to the suffering of the Haitian people: low life expectancy, little to no political freedom causing social constraints, poor health care and education systems, lack of food and jobs and increased violence statistics to name a few. The article goes on to describe the lives of two people who faced undeniable suffering as their fate. "They were both, from the outset, victims of structural violence." The stories of these individuals provide an insight to the whole. There are many others who have or will see a similar fate, but one cannot discuss the suffering of people without also considering the forces that caused it. This brings into question the theory of cultural relativity. As the author asks, "Is every culture a law unto itself and answerable to nothing other than itself?" This includes the idea of cultural relativism. What is considered tradition in one culture may be deemed suffering in another. This is why cultural awareness is a key component of alleviating human suffering.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting in this article [On Suffering and Structural Violence] how the author points out the true meaning(s) of suffering and that everyone has their own “version”. We often associate suffering with racism, sexism, and being poor, but we do not think outside of the box. There are multiple other branches/types of suffering happening every day all around the world, in various forms. The author states, “The capacity to suffer is, clearly, a part of being human, but not all suffering is equivalent. I now have a better understanding of the true definition of suffering; everyone has their own individualized form of suffering. For instance, many of us do not think of illness, premature death, and poverty when we think about suffering (not at first anyways). For many places in the world, these very reasons are the leading causes of extreme suffering. The World Health Organization now acknowledges that poverty is the world’s greatest killer. The statement that proves this theory states, “Poverty wields its destructive influence at every stage of human life, from the moment of conception to the grave. It conspires with the most deadly and painful diseases to bring a wretched existence to all those who suffer from it”. This statement entails that when one is born into poverty, it is almost impossible to escape the effects followed by suffering throughout life. In today’s society, the world’s poor are the victims of structural violence. Not only are the poor more likely to suffer, they are also less likely to have their suffering noticed. This is typically true in American Culture, because we tend to associate the term “poor” with the terms alcoholic, drug addict, lazy, homeless, dirty, etc. While these descriptions may be accurate at times, for many this is not what actually being poor means. In order to identify the forces conspiring to promote suffering, we have to break the silence and understand that these are differentially weighted in different settings (the term “suffering” cannot be associated with one definition/meaning). It is impossible to detect exactly who suffers the most and from which/what events cause this act.
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of this article I found most interesting was the author's attempt to generalize suffering, a concept I had always assumed varied from person to person and situation to situation. However, after reading this article, I do believe that most of his assertions about factors leading to suffering are accurate. For example, it cannot be denied that gender, race/ethnicity, sexual preference, etc. do have a great influence on a person's likelihood to suffer. The author's most interesting contention was his repeated connection of poverty or socioeconomic status with suffering and structural violence. In South Africa, women, blacks, and homosexuals may be more likely to suffer than others, but the chance is much greater if someone in one of the aforementioned groups is poor. This reminds me of the state of the educational system in the U.S. Minorities tend to perform worse in schools than white students, not because of any inherent obstacles to education, but instead because most minorities are in lower socioeconomic levels due to racism and prejudice. In situations where students of different races come from the same socioeconomic class, variations in educational performance all but disappear. With this in mind, I believe that the type research done by the author is pivotal if we are to someday eliminate the systems that create structural violence.
ReplyDeleteThis article was a very informing read. The way that the author was able to use the stories of the two people involved was a great way to draw the readings into the life that the author was trying to describe. The stories about the social and economic sufferings and what happens because of that were crazy. It changed my perspective on places like Haiti. What I would like to know is the effect that the earthquake from a couple years ago had upon the people. My only guess is that it make the situations much worse. An updated version of this article would be very interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteI thought the author did a good job explaining different types of suffering. There is no single standard to describe the term because it varies across cultures, and between individuals. Haiti is still the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, and the stories of the individuals described in the article were chilling. The worst part to me is that the suffering that Acephie and Chouchou endured are common in Haiti. As the author stated, “fatal beatings in the countryside did not count as news” because of the way their government operates. AIDS is also a major health concern because there is a lack of methods that can keep people from spreading disease, and there is no way for them to access the necessary medical treatments. I also found in interesting that the author included the poem differentiating between simply explaining suffering and actually making sense of it. There are still psychological studies being conducted to understand why some people enjoy inflicting pain on others, and how different individuals cope with their suffering. It would be interesting to apply the claims in this article to other nations.
ReplyDelete