A Complicated Man

In “Code-Breaker,” Jim Holt reveals Alan Turing, a highly intelligent individual but someone who also possesses both personal and military secrets that make him a very unique person to study.  Although Turing is credited with being the major contributor to breaking the Nazi’s Enigma Code and creating a blueprint for the modern computer, his life and death remain somewhat of a mystery (Holt, 2008, p. 337). Holt writes an intriguing but complicated essay on this man.

The purpose of Holt’s essay is to examine the outstanding accomplishments achieved by Turing during his life time, as well as the circumstances surrounding his death. Throughout Holt’s essay, he goes into great detail in describing some of Turing’s machines or the way they worked, culminating in some very complicated reading. “For instance, there could be no Turing machine that, when fed with the program number of another machine, would decide whether that machine would eventually come to a halt in its computation or would grind on forever” (Holt, 2008, pg. 340).  He also analyzes David Leavitt’s biography of Alan Turing, criticizing many of the statements made by Leavitt. His criticism does not add value to his essay. On the other hand, Holt’s portrayal of Turing is fascinating.  Holt paints a picture of a very complicated individual; beginning with his childhood when his parents leave him with an army couple in England before they return to India.  With all of his achievements, in many ways Turing’s led a solitary life and was convicted of “gross indecency for having a homosexual affair” two years before his death (Holt, 2008, p. 337).  

The breaking of the German Enigma Code, which “helped save Britain from defeat in the dark days of 1941 is one of Turing’s most outstanding contributions (Holt, 2008, p.337).  For this achievement alone, Turing would have been hailed a hero of his time. According to Holt, Turing’s role in World War II was considered top secret, and even after the war had ended, information about the deciphering of the Enigma was not released. The Enigma, considered by all except Turing to be unbreakable, was very complex and was used for the Nazi’s communication in the attacks on their enemies. Unfortunately, some of Turing’s outstanding contributions were not recognized until years later after his death.

 Holt’s description of Turing’s shows a man who had a deep love for science, mathematics, problem solving, and logic. While his life is marred with some tragic events, Holt gives full credit to Turing for his decoding of the German Enigma and the countless lives that were saved as a result of his work. While Turing’s death remains a mystery, Holt believes that Turing would never have committed suicide. As Holt states “we’re prepared for a life story that, though steeped in logic and mathematics, is part mystery, part parable of sexual politics, part fairy tale" (Holt, 2003, p.339).

Why do you think Turing’s work during World War II was kept in secrecy for so many years?

The Silent Victims of War

In “Women Confronting War,” Jennifer Turpin reveals many unique and disturbing facts about the effects that war and military behaviour have on women because of their gender. Turpin weaves her essay into titled components that meticulously explain the violence that women experience during wartime and the attitudes that prevail as a result of gender inequality.  These components include, the impact of war on women, women as casualties and refugees of war, and the sexual violence endured by women during wartime, including domestic violence. Each portion presents powerful information on how the effects of war go beyond the casualties of the soldier and gunfire of two opposing countries.

The purpose of Turpin’s essay is to examine “the many faces” of suffering that women endure during war; a topic not readily discussed in the media during times of war.  War does impact women in many different ways, including torture, death, sexual abuse, and loss of family, home and country.  History continues to show that during wartime, women, as civilians are most likely to die than those serving in the military. In fact, most people who are killed during war are women, children and the elderly. As technology has advanced, the number of casualties continues to rise during wartime and the majority of these casualties occur in the civilian population. “While 50 percent of World War II’s casualties were civilians, in the 1980s this figure rose to 80 percent, and by 1990 it was a staggering 90 percent.”

Turpin achieves her purpose by presenting empirical evidence showing women are harmed the most during war. The most powerful example that Turpin uses is the relationship between war and huge increases in the amount of sexual abuse on women. The evidence is staggering. Documentation from the United Nations cites sexual attacks on very young girls and women by camp guards, as well as other cases where UN peacekeepers have committed sexual offences against women. Prostitution is also a problem that has to be faced by women at wartime. Countries often promote and enforce prostitution during wartime to ensure that women are available to soldiers. “During World War II the Japanese military set up brothels in eastern and southern Asia, forcing between 100,000 and 200,000 women into prostitution”. Unbelievably, mass rapes have been used “as a weapon for ethnic cleansing” and women who become pregnant are then “shunned and ostracized” from their families and communities because they carry the enemy’s child.  Studies also show that domestic violence also increases during wartime.

When there is a discussion involving victims or the impact of war, rarely has the focus been around the effects of war on women. Women do not have input into military policy-making and violence against women in wartime is the result of gender inequality, cultural acceptance of violence, and attitudes that prevail in the military that often supports the sexual violence perpetrated against women.  Turpin has written a powerful article that examines this casualty of war.

Since U.N. Peacekeepers are there for the protection of vulnerable people, should they be held more accountable if they commit sexual violence against women?

The Aftermath of Reaction to the Mass Murders in Littleton

In “There Are No Lessons to Be Learned from Littleton”, Gary Kleck examines the mass shootings in several schools in America, but questions the diagnoses and solutions provided by the journalists and other experts immediately followed the tragedy. While he acknowledges that some of the causes associated with youth violence and crime may be contributing factors, such as guns, bullying, uninvolved parents, lack of religion, and violence in movies, Kleck makes the distinction between “ordinary acts of violence” among youth and violent events involving many victims.     

Kleck’s purpose in writing this essay is to caution society about analyzing the causes of violence and crime, and trying to identify effective ways of reducing violence and crime immediately after a violent event has occurred. He believes that these diagnoses are often counter productive in the aftermath.  After watching media coverage of the tragic event at the high school in Littleton, Colorado, Kleck believes the public generally may believe that youth are growing more violent, that violence in schools and gun violence is increasing, and that violence in general is increasing.  These types of events are always heavily covered by the media, but they are not the norm and are “unrepresentative of broader categories of crime and violence.” He refers to these mass school shootings as “freakish events” and thinks that these events are misdiagnosed because statistics show there has been a decline in school, gun, and youth violence.

According to Kleck, the action taken should have long term preventive effects; “yet, the more bizarre an event, the less likely it is to be repeated.”  He makes the point, that events like the massive shootings at Littleton are not likely to be repeated in the same way again and a preventive measure made to ensure that an event like this will not happen is unlikely to succeed, because it is “tailored to the specifics of such events.” Kleck also acknowledges that the government’s response to school violence is ineffective and irrelevant.  Members of Congress presented a bill that would “crack down on firearm dealers who sell firearms to children,” when clearly none of the massive schools shooting has been linked to the sale of firearms from any dealers.

Although there is an immediate human need to diagnose and find effective solutions, Kleck presents a valid argument as to why there should not be a judgment when analyzing mass murders among youth. With these types of crimes there may be a combination of plausible solutions, but there may also never be an effective solution to these extra ordinary events.

Do you think the media does more harm than good when they respond to these “freakish events” by presenting irrational solutions?

A Combination of Factors to Violent Crime

As I read Sissela Bok’s “Aggression: The Impact of Media Violence” I found myself wondering what evidence was presented in her article that clearly showed the correlation between media violence, increased aggressive behaviour and violent crime in America. Bok tried to link the impact of media violence to an increase in violent crime but did not include any discussion regarding other factors linked to violent behaviour, including mental illness, poverty, addictions, access to guns and other important factors that needed to be included.

Bok’s purpose is to show the link between an increase in aggression, violent crime and media violence because it “directly injures others and represents a more clear-cut violation of standards of behaviour.”  She states that violent crime peaked in the early 1990s and even though overall crime rates declined in 1992, violent crime did not. Although she states that media coverage of violence continued to escalate at this time, she does not provide further statistical information that violent crime also escalated during the same time period. 

Bok is unsure why America has a higher rate of violent crime than other industrialized countries stating that “we need to ask questions of why our rate of violent crime is higher.”  Canada is mentioned as one of these countries but clearly our media is inundated with the same US programs depicting violence but our violent crime rates continue to be substantially lower than the US. Bok acknowledges that many professionals argue that it is difficult to establish that the media is a major cause of increased aggression, and other factors must be looked at when determining the cause of societal crime. These include drug abuse, poverty, alcoholism, population changes, and even firearm possession. All these factors are contributors to societal violence and should be examined as a combination of cause for violent crimes. Bok states “that the media accounts for between 5 and 15 percent of societal violence.” The margin of this statistic is too large and does not clearly show what percentage of violent crimes can be linked to the media.  There is no evidence of the media being a major contributor to violent crimes, or that the media is the main link to societal violence. Bok even indicates that more research would be needed to determine what violent images are responsible for sparking aggression.

Although Bok’s introduces some evidence about the correlation between violent crimes and media coverage; she does not present hard evidence that proves the media is a major cause of an increase in violent crimes. The media coverage of violent crimes may be one of the many contributors that increase societal crimes. Bok needs to evaluate some of the other factors that our linked to an increase in aggression and violent crime.

Do you think that the media in Canada presents the coverage of violent crime differently than the US media?