Eric Epstein

Halter

7/2/15

Discrimination Damnation

    Nobody wants to be alone. It is the epicenter of the human experience to be social and be part of a “group”. Unfortunately, sometimes society arbitrarily ostracizes individuals or groups. In the short story “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and the single “Cleanin' Out My Closet’ by Eminem examine the tragedies of exclusion and discrimination, while Eminem offers a more modern discrimination tale, and Marquez’s story is a more antiquarian version. In “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”, Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda, find a surprise in their yard one rainy day. It is a man with giant wings, whom the wise woman in town classifies as an angel. In Eminem’s song “Cleanin' Out My Closet” he raps about his father turning his back on him as a child, his tumultuous affair with his ex-wife Kim, and his broken relationship with his mom, Debbie. Both texts deal with loneliness and discrimination, however the two characters react much differently to being alone.

    Pelayo and Elisenda decide to hold the “angel” in their chicken coop, away from any mental stimuli. There, he is abused and discriminated by the townspeople, even though they believe he is a sacred creature. Marquez writes, “the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence, tossing him things to eat through the openings of the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural being, but a circus animal” (Marquez 1). Notice the use of the phrase “without the slightest reverence”, which emphasizes how little the townspeople cared for the “angel”.  The townspeople, even Pelayo and his wife do not respect the man’s life. Nobody can understand the man, as he speaks a strange foreign tongue. He has no way of expressing his feelings, so the cruel humans assume he does not have any. However, he has to endure every act of torture and discrimination the townspeople inflict on him, all by himself.

    The famed (and infamous) rapper Eminem expresses the same idea of discrimination in his song “Cleanin' Out My Closet”. This song is about Eminem’s traumatic childhood, and the effects they still hold on him today. Eminem is famous for living the rags-to-riches dream, as he grew up in a very poor family in a very poor neighborhood in Detroit, where rapping was his only escape. In the middle of the song, Eminem writes “I'll take you back to '73, Before I ever had a multi-platinum sellin' CD, I was a baby, maybe I was just a couple of months, Before my father (...) split”. This is of course a reference to Eminem’s father abandoning him and his mom, when he was just a couple months old. Eminem was left with no one to turn to, as his mom was a “pill-popping (..) victim of Munchausen’s Syndrome”, so he essentially raised himself. Eminem was constantly discriminated against in Detroit, and although many would expect discrimination towards African-Americans, Eminem was called “white trash” and other discriminating names for being white in a predominantly black neighborhood and career. Eminem says near the beginning of the song, “Have you ever been hated or discriminated against? I have; I've been protested and demonstrated against, Picket signs for my wicked rhymes”. Notice how Eminem challenges his listeners about discrimination, rather than just stating “I have suffered from discrimination”. The second part of the quote is a reference to the groups of protesters that assemble outside of his performances. They will never leave him alone, so in doing so they leave him all alone.

    Although both texts deal with loneliness, they deal with the topic differently. In “A Very Old Man”, the angel displays a very passive and melancholy personality. Writes Marquez “Even the most merciful threw stones at [the angel], trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only time they succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron”. The townspeople try everything to get the angel to react, and the only thing that worked was literally burning him, and even that had been a reaction out of pain, not temper. On the other hand, you have Eminem, the polar opposite of “passive”. After Eminem was abandoned and left alone as a child, he fought back with a flaming temper. Part of the reason for writing the song “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” was to get back at his mom, who did nothing to help Eminem’s success. At the end of the song, Eminem writes “But how dare you try to take what you didn't help me to get”. This is a reference to the $11 million defamation suit that Eminem’s mother filed against him. At the end, she was awarded $25,000, $23,345 of which she had to turn over to her attorney. But Eminem is not done chastising his mother, he continues by saying, “You selfish b****, I hope you f***ing burn in hell for this (..) Well guess what, I am dead- dead to you as can be!”. This intense ending line to this song was intended to make his mother feel as guilty as possible, but instead, she filed another defamation lawsuit, which she soon dropped. Clearly, Eminem had a different tactic than the angel to cope with being cast aside.

    Another difference between the angel and Eminem is their perception of other people. The angel knows its life is all about helping other people, because as soon as Pelayo and Elisenda are hit with good luck, the angel gets up and flies away, with its job complete. When Elisenda watches the angel fly away, she thinks “He [is] no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon”, because even then she and her husband did not appreciate the tremendous luck that he granted them, and regarded him as impertinent. Meanwhile, Eminem thinks he is all alone in the world, and that no one else matters. He titled his album “The Eminem Show”, and he writes later in the song, “It’s my life, I’d like to welcome y’all to The Eminem Show”. According to him, we are all simply living in Eminem’s sanctimonious world.

    Being alone is more than undesirable. Humans are supposed to be raised and cared for by other humans. But in a few cases, some rejected individuals are forced to have only themselves for company. These two texts, the short story “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and the single “Cleanin' Out My Closet’ by Eminem deal with loneliness and depression, however the two individuals deal with discrimination differently, and their stories have much different outcomes. However, what we can learn from both stories is that it is never acceptable to be an exclusive human being. As my English teacher Mr. Halter would say, “Assume the best of each other”. Hopefully, if everyone learns to be a more responsible, caring, and inclusive person, tragic stories like the angel’s and Eminem’s will be avoided.

    

Eric Epstein

6/26/15

Halter

Zoo Coup

    Ever since the concept of zoos was introduced, it was rather controversial. Tigers, lions, bears, and other wild beasts were impounded in preposterously small cages. Immediately, people debated whether it was charitable to keep beasts of the wild in small encasements. However, the very first zoos were much different than today’s habitats for domestic creatures. In this day and age, zoos benefit both the people, and the animals.

Much of today’s urban population knows little about wild animals, except for maybe their names and what sounds they make. This is a huge problem because animals are slipping away from our everyday lives, and with the exception of our pets, we have very little animal contact. According to animal rights activist Doris Lin, “By bringing people and animals together, zoos educate the public and foster an appreciation of the animals. This exposure and education motivates people to protect the animals.” Another impactful problem is that many people, especially children, only have “virtual” experiences with animals. Most children get what they know about animals from movies and TV shows. Quite often, these portrayals of these animals are not quite accurate, and leave something to be desired. Again, Mrs. Lin makes a very good point: “Seeing an animal in person is a much more personal and more memorable experience than seeing that animal in a nature documentary.” The only way that our generation will feel any sort of connection to the fauna of our earth are by preserving zoos.

Zoos are also an ideal place to domesticate creatures. Modern zoos have to adhere to tremendously rigid regulations laid down by the Animal Welfare Act. These guidelines aim to make living in zoos the most pleasant it possibly could be for animals. However, many narrow-minded anti-captivists have intransigent opinions that all zoos are animal penitentiaries. But in reality, zoos have cutting-edge animal research to enable them to provide the most luxurious habitats they possibly can. In the Op-Ed “A Change of Heart About Animals”, the author Jeremy Rifkin cites a study at Purdue University about the social life of pigs. Rifkin writes, “[Pigs] are easily depressed if they isolated or denied playtime with each other. The lack of mental and physical stimuli can lead to deterioration of health” (Rifkin 1). Zoos have taken this study to heart, and new regulations were passed preventing isolated habitats. But zoos did not simply expand their habitats to accommodate multiple inhabitants. They have started to include enrichment activities, “animal playgrounds”, and a lot of other entertaining activities that animals might find in similar habitats out in the wild. Although there are no official regulations for enrichment in animal habitats, many zoos include them. Regulations could also easily be passed, and many predict some regulations will soon go into effect.

There is also a countless number of species saved from extinction because of zoos. Zoos give struggling species a chance to survive and repopulate. For many species are living on the brink, the best immediate solution is to preserve the animals in captivity. “[Zoos] aren't just places to see wild animals in cages anymore. Zoos are working harder than ever to save endangered animals around the world,” says zoologist Amy Miller. Miller’s sentiment parallels the movement around the globe of revamping zoos in to “animal sanctuaries”. Although many will say that the early zoo was inhumane and ruthless when it came to animal treatment and rights, nobody in their rational mind can say that today’s zoos are unethical.  

Besides being a huge moneymaker, zoos educate the public about wild animals, provide a safe haven for endangered animals, and are completely ethical. For all of these reasons, zoos are an imperative asset for every city. Those who say that zoos are unethical and frivolous are clearly uninformed. Zoos have been around for a long time, and although they have had a marred reputation, today’s modern zoos are utopian animal sanctuaries.

Eric Epstein

Halter

6/22/15

Home Away from Home

It smelled like a combination of body odor and cheap fast food restaurants, like all airports. I looked up at the airport signs, trying to find any hint of where to go.

I had just landed in Tel Aviv national airport, the largest airport in Israel, and I was trying to find my way to the baggage claim. They had signs in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Mandarin, English, and a small picture symbol for the folks that didn’t speak any of those other languages.

I tried to get help from the English sign, but all it read was “Bathroom”. The small symbol, just a small airplane, also wasn’t much help. It was just there to clarify to the extremely unaware travelers that they were indeed in an airport. This left me with absolutely no clue where to go.

All the other busy travelers hustled past me, unaware of the confused American boy staring at the unclear guideposts. My legs felt enervated and numb from the long flight. I felt frustrated and impatient. I had never had any trouble navigating airports or similar places back at home.

I felt out of place in a foreign country, and I was lost from my family, as they all went ahead to the bathroom, and left me to find the baggage claims. I wondered where they were now, because at this point they could have been almost anywhere in the airport, getting food, or the could even be at the baggage claim already. I bet my sister led them on a big tangent.

My sister is the most curious person I know. She is always observing her surroundings, just taking everything in. Whenever she sees anything remotely peculiar or interesting, she has to go to and check it out. Because of this, she always seems just a little disconnected to the rest of the world. I sometimes feel jealous of her ability to sever herself from all the worries and pressure of life.

Anyway, I had to stay focused and aware if I wanted to find the baggage carousel soon.

Then the smell of home wafted up and hit my nostrils, filling them with the familiarity and comfort of my living room couch. I looked around to see where the smell could have possibly come from, and my eyes locked onto the esteemed and legendary golden double arches. I realized I had not eaten dinner yet, and the delicious smells of cooking meat and frying potatoes made my stomach growled with desire. I hurried over the McDonalds and got in line. I quickly decided what I wanted, and walked up to the cashier.

“Hey, I’ll have a Big Mac and a Pepsi,” I told the cashier, a friendly-looking young man with a scruffy beard and beat-up glasses.

“Of course. Will that be it?” He asked with no accent. It was nice to have somebody who actually spoke English serve me.

“Yeah, just those.” When my food came, he handed it to me

“Enjoy! Let me know if you need anything else.” He smiled.

“Thanks,” I responded. I almost walked away but I took a step back and approached the cashier again.

“Actually, do you know where the baggage claims are?”

“Yeah, just over there past that Subway to your left,” He said confidently.

“Alright. Thank you so much,” I said gratefully. I walked towards the baggage claim and took a bite out of my burger. I heard angels strumming harps in my head as the fake, greasy burger slid down my esophagus. It almost felt as though I was home.

I chose to post the kickball poem and the "This is Just to Say" poem because I really enjoy writing poems. When I wrote kickball, I felt like I was playing kickball, my favorite childhood game. I felt lots of nostalgia all whenever I was working on it. I also really enjoyed writing the "This is Just to Say". I was inspired by the ridiculous example poems that NPR read. I enjoyed the whole sorry/not sorry concept.

Kickball

I slide across home plate,

Carefree and escatic 

Not thinking or caring

About the ugly bruises and scrapes

That will follow next morning

My foot still stings

From the violent impact of the ball.

My teammates serenade me with cheer

And high-fives aplenty

But I ignore it all

And just wait for my next turn up to the plate.

Today, I never play kickball

But I am always playing it

I play it during summer

When I have no school, no worries

I play it when I swim,

Nothing but the taste of chlorine on my tongue

And the burn of my muscles

As I urge myself to go faster and faster

I play it whenever I am happy and carefree.

This Is Just To Say

This is just to say

I'm sorry I kidnapped

Your dog

I'm sure you loved

That pet

Forgive me

I thought he would

make an excellent rug-

And I was sure right