Bad Man's World

Howdy,

I have done math for several hows today, so my brain is a little warped. Please pardon me if this post doesn't make much sense or if I am putting in ridiculous words, like factorial or integer.

I will go through the article piece bye piece.

First off, the title: India's Honor Killings: A Modern Killing Spree. Meh, I am not a huge fan of this, since killing "spree" implies to me people running around helter skelter, killing whomever they please. But this is hardly the case. But once again, western media tends to increase hype.

But the first sentence makes up for the alarming title: "A rash of honor killings in India has left Westerners to condemn the act as a brutal relic."

-I like what the author is implying here. First of all, she admits that westerners take on a note of superiority when dealing with this problem. The word "condemn" clearly displays this. Also, a "brutal act" reveals that westerners tend to view honor killings as a barbarous act, dating back to dinosaurs, or something. Because certainly, certainly, we don't live by any codes established a long time ago...which are antiquated....you can work this one out yourselves.

But there seems to be a twist. Instead of being an old relic of the past, the author proposes that the recent surge in honour killings is a result in a surge of modernization. Ergo, from an influence of westernization.

She begins by describing how arranged marriage surrounded her as a youngin' in India. However, honour killings were "not the norm." Instead, they have resulted from a culture clash, leading to deviance. This deviant behaviour includes marrying someone outside the caste, leading to the dishonouring or tainting of the family name. This leads to the need to eliminate the defiant family member. This used to be illegal (marrying outside the caste), but now it is perf. legal.

She describes it as the older generations being trapped in a time of "caste and creed," with the younger generation trying to break free from this model. Now, the more modernized members of urban society and media are trying to modernize these village councils. They want the practice to be eradicated. But with the increase interference of what is considered "western" thinking comes an increase in violence. This villages enjoyed considerable self-governance under colonial England. Therefore, they did not experience a substantial assault on cultural norms, like marrying outside the caste. England did not want to have to rule each village, for this cost time and money. By not bringing a communal sense of governance, England's colonial legacy has led to a power struggle between "new" and "old" India.

New India needs the cooperation of Old India, because they form a healthy majority of the population. Without their votes, many politicians would be out of luck. Unfortunately, it takes time to pass laws that can attack this crime.

This is another example of how western interference, such as colonization, has increased the occurrence of such "barbaric" practices such as honour killings. The "west" has a role of responsibility-one they need to seize.

Best,
Liz