Heather Mannarino's Blog

Hello, my name is Heather Mannarino and I am a student in Mr. Gallagher’s Facing History and Ourselves semester one class. This class is all about who you, and who you want to be. The focus is mainly on the Holocaust, because in my history book there are only three pages on it. We watched films on the technicalities of the Holocaust, how it began, what happened during, and how it ended. Then, we saw the emotional side of it, the perspective of the Jews. Seeing it the Holocaust through the eyes of those affected, changes you. It’s not only about the Holocaust either, but about bullying, and manners, racism, and watched empowerment films about people making a positive difference in the world. I chose this course because I wanted answers to why someone would kill another man because of race, religion, or gender. I have a curiosity for how biases start and racism and how it comes to be. I can’t imagine being completely rude to another person, let alone slaughtering thousands of people a day. I have seen humanity at their absolute worst in this class. From seeing people hurt and destroyed by the Nazis, and from seeing little kids walking to their death, I cannot stand by and watch anymore. This class will make you want to stand up to people, and make a difference. I have become a better person from this class. Tolerance is what I learned and that nobody is ever inferior to you. No one is beneath another person. The world just needs to be reminded of this.

What Facing History and Ourselves Meant to Me

In this course, I have learned more than I thought possibly. I took the class hoping for an explanation for why people are biased or racist towards groups of people, like the Jews and an explanation for why someone kill other human being because of it. I still have no answer for that, but you don’t need an answer to see how horrific the effects of are. This class has matured me, and I no longer can sit by and watch. As a student, I have learned more about the Holocaust than I thought I ever would.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was a film that made a big impact on me. Bruno of only eight years old killed because he didn’t understand. The numbers were a part of a game to him, and thought the camps were a great place from the video his father watched. Bruno only wanted to help his friend find his father and then saw the horrors of the camp and died along with the other Jews. If his father never brought him to the house by the “farm” then Bruno would never have died, or if his parents explained to him about the camps. His mother should have stood up to her husband sooner. Should have left sooner, and the father should have stopped the camps once he learned about what was taking place at them. This film made a huge impact on me. AS a person, it terrifies me seeing two little boys, killed, both innocent. This movie made me really think about what happens if you let something horrible continue. In this film, the father lost his only son. The pain the mother felt really hit me and it hurt to watch someone hurt like that. I would never wish that on anyone.

Another concept we discussed in class was social Darwinism, which also had a big effect on me. The idea that some people are just better than others based on race or gender is extremely unfair. That this was scientifically “proven” just shows how god awful some people can really be, to think yourself better than another. Then using that concept as an excuse to kill off an entire group of people like Hitler did. Innocent people who are being punished by their beliefs are treated like animals because he thinks they’re inferior. Reading about it and seeing it applied just disgusted me. One of the movies we watched in class, there was a part I’ll never forget where Hitler is reading a letter, and this man who wrote it is asking if it’s okay to kill his son because he had a mental retardation. That sickens me. As a student, if this was part of a science course I was taking, I wouldn’t believe. Just thinking about how they taught kids at a young age that if you are Aryan, you are better than everyone else, leaves me with a horrible feeling. I personally believe this sick theory should never, ever, be used at anytime, anywhere. Seeing and really understanding the entirety of the Holocaust and what went on has made me kick myself. I don’t say much, but ideas such as this make me want to scream. I don’t think I could really sit by and watch someone can bullied or pushed around because he is inferior.

Manners was a discussion we had at the very beginning of this course that started this idea of bullying and rude people I see on a daily basis. I never before realized the lack of “thank you” people give or the non-use of “please” every day. Out of habit, when I open a door I always look back to see if someone is behind me, and I would hold it if someone was. I never realized I almost never got a thank you from that even though I always say thank you without meaning to sometimes. My parents taught me at a very young age that if I was to ask for someone or was given someone, if I didn’t use manners, I didn’t deserve it. This discussion and reading then brought my attention to how many people never do use manners. When I used to cashier at Target, after that class, I started to count the number of people who never said thank you, or didn’t even look at me during the checkout. At school, some kids in my grade would slam doors in the face of teachers even and I felt compelled to say something to them. Even my friends use really rude terms to describe kids at school and I had to say something. I never noticed until this class and it has changed me because it helped me realize some people weren’t raised as I was and need a reminder to be polite to people, even if you don’t like that person very much.

The lessons that have made the most lasting impact on me is that you cannot stand by and watch it happen, and that even if you don’t like a person, that doesn’t mean you can treat them any less than a human being. I used to just watch kids being bullied and hoped to God I wouldn’t be next. Now, I can’t help but say something to those people. I can’t let someone be so horribly treated because if I don’t stop it then I feel terrible for not saying anything because that victim didn’t deserve it. Not a single person should ever experience what I saw in this class. The treatment of people who are by their standards “different” is nauseating. I could never even image killing someone, let alone being able to sleep after it. I could never put someone below me, because those are the some of the worse people in the world, those who have no humanity, no sense of guilt or conscience. This angers me to no end and I cannot stand by and watch those people at work. That is what Facing History and Ourselves has helped me, helped me become a better person, someone who wants to make a difference.

Heather Mannarino's Blog

Friday, January 13, 2012

Introduction

Thursday, January 12, 2012

What Facing History and Ourselves Meant to Me

Work Cited