Thursday19thApril07

While speaking to some friends today in class, I couldn't help but notice their distance from the conversation. They seemed somewhat preoccupied. Something was bothering them, and it wasn't our sociology class (which is generally pretty interesting.) It wasn't what I had expected. 'Did you hear?' they asked. I was a little confused and wondered what I'd missed. Turned out they were referring to the shooting in America. They seemed really upset about it, I mean I wasn't exactly happy about it, but they seemed to be taking it personally. The word the used to describe how they felt about the event was 'dishonour.' They felt ashamed at what the guy had done, and afraid of the potential affect on the world view of Koreans. I have to say, we might have a differences sometimes but they seriously are some of the kindest most genuine people I've ever met, so I hadn't even thought about that. How could anyone paint them with the same brush? I couldn't believe the effect the actions of this one guy was having no people who weren't even remotely connected to them other than by country.

Coincidentally, this was the same day I had just listened to a podcast about peaceful protesting, and people who, when faced with two options: fight or surrender, found a third option.

Sometimes people forget that there is always another option. Even the option to find the good in a situation where all you can see is bad. I don't know how, and it tends to require a great deal of creativity and effort, but I know there's always a choice.