Fall

Fall

Falling out

Of the heavens, a broken angel joining us humans, the forever unfaithful

This illusion of perfection shattered by betrayal.

Falling out

Of the hands, unspoken diamonds, jewels sparkling in the untested silence

This chimerical ship of a beautiful tyrant.

Falling out

Of the heights, a forgotten girl just a stranger in this God damned rotten world

A jumper who leaves her parachute furled.

She was an angel in my life, a figure from fables, playful, able to see all angles, gauche yet graceful

Our relationship unlabeled

A sisterhood with insecurities promised to be overcome.

We couldn’t.

And

She fell.

She seemed infallible.

Yet she faltered.

Accidentally, but unregretfully

Her illusion of perfection shattered.

She unwittingly abandoned me again and again

This angel of amity now a demon of pain.

I know now there are no such things

As angels.

And if there are such creatures, they’re no strangers to the devil.

They’re jokes, circus animals

Scorned, forced to join the forever unfaithful in this cold world ever fatal.

And she.

The beautiful tyrant.

A liar and a charmer.

I see past her armor and deep down there is nothing left in her

But the shriveled skeleton of a used to be dreamer.

She rules relationships like a slave owner, abusing her lovers who see only the good in her

She is a sweet facade coated in sugar.

So

I held those diamonds in my mouth

Though they clawed my throat

Though they cut my tongue.

Those sharp words that could bring down the giant.

When I finally spit them and tested the silence

They were covered in blood and unconstructively quiet.

And so she remains the fantastical queen

Of chimerical ships, reigning supreme

A hypocrite with no life but fears and no lust but tears,

A used to be dreamer, a charmer, a liar

A sweet facade coated in sugar.

They left me.

Alone on the ledge

No one to hold.

No one to help.

They left me.

My two best friends

The broken angel

The beautiful tyrant.

On a misunderstanding turned suicidal stranding.

They left me.

A forgotten girl in a sea of people.

A God forsaking stranger in God forsaken danger

Alone on the ledge

In the sky.

I fell out.

Evil Actions not Evil People

This image represents Khaled Hosseini's major theme in the Kite Runner that there are not simply evil people, but instead evil actions that people commit. The sunlight represents the good things or people which ease a person's journey through life and nourishes his character. Without this light, life would be a constant struggle for happiness, growth, and prosperity. Baba allows Amir to grow without struggling for wealth, so Baba represents the light. In this instance, the sun is mostly blocked off from the flower by the shade which represents the person who is not meaning to do evil, but is badly affecting others. In the example the shutter has good intentions, simply wanting the sunlight for itself, but this cuts off the light from others. In the Kite Runner, this shade is Amir wishing for Baba, the sunlight and unintentionally warding off Baba's love from Hassan, the flower. Hassan is getting little love, the flower receiving little light. Amir is not an evil person but just wishes to make his life easier and stand up for himself, therefore possibly causing others strife and hardship.

Inequality Before the Law

Inequality Before the Law

Chapter two of the South African Bill of Rights states, “Everyone is equal before the law.” No matter what race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnicity, social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language, or birth, you are to be treated as an equal before the law, the state, the community, and no one may compromise this right. Yet the unemployment rate for Africans is fifty percent while that of whites is ten percent. In each ethnicity unemployment in women is approximately twelve percent higher than men, and younger applicants are less likely to be accepted for a job position than those older. (Bhorat). So what is keeping South Africa from truly achieving equal opportunity for all? The answer, it turns out, is far more complicated than unemployment rates.

It began the moment the whites colonized South Africa and took advantage of the natives. With the apartheid laws, discrimination inflated drastically and any trace of hope for equality was dashed for decades. Then Nelson Mandela came and stole the hearts of the South Africans and the government enforced racism was eventually abolished. However, despite the anti-apartheid movement and the destruction of those entirely unfair regulations, the remnants of inequity are still plaguing South Africa with tampered unemployment rates and leftover discrimination. The apartheid passed but as the intolerance of race fell away into rigid social rank, it was replaced with prejudice against the lower classes (Heintz). According to the African News Service, affirmative action laws are not permitted by the South African constitution. However, multiple corporations use it in order to combat the educational and unemployment problems in the country. Organizations are forced to contest inequality in the country with unconstitutional solutions. With these policies, the people can battle unwitting discrimination and give minorities equal opportunities to those of the majority (Service).

In spite of these apparent actions, majority of people are reluctant to even attempt to fix the problems because one, it does not directly affect them, two, the law has supposedly already addressed it, and three, for those who do realize it they cannot do anything to resolve it. The white majority are not affected by discrimination, and therefore they cannot empathize with the struggles of those whose rights are being infringed upon, so they do not feel compelled to act. Others cite the equality clause that condemns racism and verifies the government’s support of equal opportunity (Service). Furthermore, inequality is such an amplified problem that those who feel the compassion toward the victims of it are afraid that they can do little to solve the fact and are unwilling to put effort into such a bottomless problem. Inequality begets inequality.

South Africa is plagued by discrimination despite the law that prohibits it and the apparent lack of tangible segregation. The residual effects of the apartheid laws in South Africa are causing extensive discrimination between social communities. Because some are apathetic, and the problem is so enormous, few are willing to even attempt to tackle the problem, thus inequality continues to grow and deepen, until there is nothing but the high and privileged, and the low and poor.

Works Cited

Bhorat, Haroon. "Unemployment in South Africa Descriptors and Determinants." South Africa. 4 Mar. 2016.

Heintz, James. "GIC | Article." Jeremy Seekings and Nicoli Nattrass (2006) Class, Race, and Inequality in South Africa. Transformation 64 (2007). Web. 7 Mar. 2016.

Service, Africa News. "Can the Constitution Respond to the Challenge of Addressing South Africa's Inequality? [interview] - Student Resources in Context." Gale Student Resources in Context. Gale Group, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

The Power of the Clock

The Phoenix Alarm Clock

Quotes:
1. "The alarm clock] became an object of veneration, almost. Everyone came to consult the clock, as though our house on stilts were a temple" (14).
2. "One morning when we woke, the thought of the back-buckets awaiting us was so disquieting that we could bring ourselves to get up...[so Luo] slid the hands of the clock back by one hour" (15).

Explanation: Because of their experiences in the city, their insight from the outside world helps them take full advantage of the villagers lack of experience with everything involved in it. As time passed and the two boys grew more aware of the world around them, they realized that they could control those who were less educated than them by turning the hands of the clock. This gave them power over the other workers and even the headman.

Tao and Man

I am Tao

The beginning and ending

Of the universe

I am the balance of light

And dark

I am the flow of good

And evil

I am the stability of yin

And yang

You are Man

You will see the age of

Only yourself.

You shall let the world be

And run its course

You shall follow the teachings

And learn the Way

You shall connect with nature

And find harmony

Holes of the Memory