Your comment post should be at least 300 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).
"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Elie Wiesel
-What do you think this quote means? How can it be related to our society and everyday things people do?
- What does this quote mean to you? Give an example from your life, Film or Literature where you have seen this idea apply. Explain using specific examples.
Elie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” I think this quote means that you can’t be grey, you’re either black or white. What I mean by that is you either choose to live your life the bad way or good. Your actions have a big affect on others is what this quote is saying even when you’re silent, it can be a good or bad. It can be related to our society and everyday things people do because we all make choices, good or bad on how we treat people. Everyday we’re either at home, work, school, pretty much anywhere. At school, you can witness people calling someone names right to the person’s face. That person who is being mocked is the victim and the bully is the oppressor. The victim may be struggling to stick up for themselves but if someone else near by is witnessing this and is quiet about it then they’re being neutral. By being quiet, they’re helping the one who’s bullying because the bully is not being stopped. The victim is left helplessly fighting alone and the bully continues attacking and having an opportunity to continue. This is a way of using silence in a bad way. Bullying in any kind of way is something that goes in society a lot and relates to this quote. This is what the quote means and how it relates to society.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means to me that in the world we’re going to have to choose the bad or good in any and every kind of situation we see happening in our lives or others. We need to choose how we’re going to treat others. Are we going to care to help someone in need or are we going to sit back and watch the person suffer whether it’s physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually? If we’re silent in certain times when we need to speak up for someone who’s being oppressed then we are just allowing the enemy attack. For example, in history when the Holocaust was going on during the World War 2, America knew what was happening in Germany. They knew that there was concentration camps put up specifically to torture and kill the Jews and even non-Jews. The German people who weren’t put in concentration camps, were silent about it too. They knew that the German dictator, Hitler, was doing all this with the Nazis. They let it happen when they could’ve went against Hitler in action and taken away his dictatorship. He was the one who said he would bring Germany back to its original glory but instead he turned against them and caused the World War 2.They allowed Hitler to continue with his concentration camps. America and other countries who knew about it were silent in their actions and did not do anything about it. Just one person, Hitler, started this mess when there was an opportunity for the Germans and other countries to unite together and take him out of his position. Another example is when I was in elementary school and my friend was made front of all the time by the whole class. I used to make front of her too but I stopped and when I did, I never stuck up for her. The class would continue doing this and I just sat there in my seat and watched it happen. I was being neutral and that was not good because I let people attack her. This is what I think of this quote and these are examples that apply to this quote.
I totally agree with Julia. She explained this very well. You can't be grey, your either black or white. The way she connected it with the Holocaust and the Jews and how we were silent about it at first was a great connection. Good job.
DeleteI agree with Julia also. I think she did a good job explaining the quote and what it meant. I liked how she gave personal examples and examples from history. I also liked when she said your actions have a big affect on others. So overall I thought she did a good job with this quote!
DeleteI agree with Julia. She did a good job with her examples. I did the same thing in school. Never stood up for my friend. Until i got loud and stood up for him. I was also being neutral because i didnt do anything to help him.
DeleteI completely agree with what Julia says here. Yes, this quote does relate to society because of the way people treat each other. I like how she relates this to Germany during the Holocaust along with World War 2. I also like how she related the quote to her real life experiences.
Deletegood job
DeleteElie Wiesel once said “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, not the tormented.” What I think this means is that in every situation we must pick a side. We shouldn’t sit on the fence or not say/do anything at all about the situation. “Silence encourages the tormentor, not the tormented.” This line in his quote means that if you’re gonna be silent for the situation, you’re not gonna help the tormented. For example, if someone is getting bullied and you’re being “silent” about it, you’re not gonna help the tormented, you’re gonna encourage the tormentor to do more and more of the bullying. That’s why it is good to pick sides and defend someone instead of sitting back and watching it all happen. You would be able to stop the tormentor and help the tormented. That’s basically what Elie is saying when he says that. Just choose a side and whatever side you choose, your either helping the tormentor or helping the tormented. Never stay neutral because you’re basically doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteElie was once a Holocaust survivor and at first he couldn’t speak about it because it was beyond words how horrible the whole massacre was. Goes to show how horrible one event can be. But the Holocaust is an example of this quote. We, the US, never knew that this was happening because we were going to the Great Depression at the time and we didn’t nor had the time to even involve ourselves in a war. But when we did we found out this was happening. What did we do? We helped the Jews and saved many of them before they became wiped out. We didn’t just involve ourselves, we helped the tormented. In this case the tormented are the Jews. We helped a lot and honestly I think we did a pretty good job doing so and thanks to us, Jews are alive and their race isn’t extinct. Amazing just how as a country, we can stop such a crisis that no one knew was happening at that time.
I agree with what nick said here. He says you always must pick a side to things and I agree with that. You can never really not have an opinion on something. You always have to choose a side
Delete"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented," was a quote by Elie Wiesel. I think this quote means that we must take a stand instead of staying quiet we should take action. This quote can be related to our society and everyday things people do in many different ways. For example, if someone is being bullied there are some people who will just ignore it and act like nothing is even happening. The people who do that and don’t say anything are just hurting the person being bullied even more because they could have stopped it, but by them keeping quiet the bullying will keep going on. So we need more people who will tell someone about the bullying so they can put a stop to it, and stand up for the person who is being bullied. Another example from history is in the holocaust. A lot of people acted like nothing was going on and many people didn't do anything about it when they knew what was happening. The reason it went on for so long is because no one was doing anything about it. It could have gone on forever if no one did anything to stop it. Luckily, when the United states did find out we did take action and helped put an end to Hitler and what he was doing. If the U.S. didn't do anything about it, the whole situation could have been even worse and more devastating than it already was. What Hitler did to Jews and even non-Jews was horrible and to think a good part of the time no one did anything to prevent it is even more sad. So I think what this quote is trying to say relates to what happened in the holocaust very well.
ReplyDelete Elie Wiesel once said, "we must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." I think that this quote says that you shouldn't go towards the people that are wrong, to not be a follower and be a leader. This is definitely related to our society in many ways. For example, a lot of peer pressure goes on in school with kids going towards others that think they're cool to make friends, when those people really aren't cool and are not your really friends. Also, racism is and even bigger example, which still occurs in places around the world. Years ago, we basically had two sides, black and white. The majority of whites straight up hated the blacks, but that was changed when some special people came into the world and put a stop to racism. This helped more people realize that its wrong to choose sides and persecute others because of their skin color. This also happened to many of the Jews in Germany back when World War 2 was going on. No one believed in the Jews because of Hitler's great power and respect that was given to him by others. After a few years pass by, people start to realize that this is going way to far, but by this time it's too late because of Hitler's great power as the president. After the Holocaust ends, never were the Jews persecuted again. An example of this could come from To Kill a Mockingbird, when Tom Robinson was persecuted in court for being black, and because of the book taking place in the 30s, no one would believe his side of the story, except for Atticus. He stands up for Tom in court because he's not racist and is willing to help get him through everything, but in the end he is found guilty and is shot and killed in prison. Overall, this is a great quote to go by, and others shouldn't go against people just because they're not like them.
ReplyDeleteElie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” After reading this quote, it made it clear that you can't be neutral in any situation. You have to be one or the other. In most cases, when someone claims that they are going to “neutral”, they never stay completely neutral. The most obvious reason at why it can easily be applied to our everyday lives, is everyone has problems with another person. Whether it’s at work, school, your house, etc. When a problem is started there is most of the time, someone whos stuck in the middle looking for a way out. They’re “way”of trying to find a way out, is to say they're going to stay “neutral”. But does being neutral mean you’re actually neutral? Not most of the time. Referring back to the wise words Wiesel said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” The way Wiesel stated that, no one could have stated it any better. When someone says that they are going to be “neutral”, they end up going over to the other person’s side(oppressor). The person stuck in the middle never goes to the victim’s side, because most of the time the victim, is too scared to speak up for themselves. Which brings us to the last sentence in Wiesel’s great quote. “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” When the victim is silent, nothing gets done about the problem. This sentence in the quote automatically makes me think of the period of time that in which the Holocaust occurred. When the Holocaust was taking place, none of the Jewish people wanted to say anything about it. They kept silent, and kept to themselves about the whole matter. Some can argue that it was the right thing to do because of the position they were in, and what the threat of speaking up could have been. On the other hand, if they would have spoken up, or at least one or two of them had spoken up, maybe the tormenting would have slowed down a little, and not as many people would have been viciously murdered. We can’t spend our whole lives thinking that if the Jewish people would have spoken up, the penalties at the Concentration camps wouldn't have been as harsh and painful as we all heard about. Going back to the quote, when the person being tormented is quiet, it continues to go on because the one who is doing all of the tormenting, feels as if they are getting to you. They don’t expect you to speak up, and stand up for yourself, because most of the time the people who are being tormented or bullied, are to scared to speak up. This is why Wiesel’s quote has such an important meaning behind the 17 words that were included.
ReplyDeleteElie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” I think this means a lot. Everyone picks a side in a situation. If you stay neutral it helps encourage the oppressor to bring the other person down. This will make them feel low. A bystander may have an impact on the by staying neutral and not picking a side.If you choose a side but stay silent, this encourages the tormentor. This is because there is no one to stand up for the one being tormented. If you see a fight occurring and you don't stick up for the tormented it will lead on the tormentor. This will make the tormentor torment the other person even more. The only way one could stop this is to speak up for the one being tormented. At school, we sometimes encounter these types of situations. WE may see someone getting bullied or picked on. I personally do want to get involved so i will try to stop it. This does not happen often but when it does the only people trying to stop it are the friends of the victim. If both the oppressor and the victim are one’s friend they with stay neutral and not pick a side. This can cause more conflict because they will both want their friend to pick a side. This can end a friendship.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this is from World War 2. This is called the holocaust. The Jews never stood up for themselves. No one actually stood up for them. This made Hitler even more powerful. If someone spoke up and they weren't as scared maybe it couldve ended earlier. Even though they knew they couldn't win, maybe some other country would have helped earlier if the word got out.
Elie Wiesel once said, “ We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor. Never the tormented.” What this quote means to me is that you can never be in between on the way you live your life. You can either be good or bad thats just the way it is. You should always try to pick the right thing to do no matter what it is. It is usually easier to go along with the crowed and do the wrong thing but you should always try to be the better person and do the right thing. Sometimes if takes a lot of courage to stand up for someone and do the right thing but it is always worth it to help someone who really needs help. A big example of this today is bullying in school most kids just ignore it and stay silent which is the wrong thing to do. You should try to step in and help or at least tell someone who can help. Seeing someone being bullied and not doing anything is almost as bad as doing the bullying yourself. You should never just ignore it and pretend it didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteAnother example is that Elie Wiesel was a holocaust surviver and a lot of the Germans knew what was going on and chose not to speak out against it. Then had full knowledge that the Jews were being killed and chose to pretend it wasn't happening. What most of the German people did was wrong. If they had banded together to get rid of Hitler the holocaust may have never happened. Instead they chose to be silent and over 11 million people died because of it. All they had to do was band together and speak out against Hitler.
I agree with Brendan's brief but well explained explanation! I like how you said that it's easier to go along with the crowd and pretty much be neutral about the horrific things being done to people. You used the holocaust as one of your examples which is a good choice. You said that the German people could've banded together and got rid of Hitler but I think that it's not that the German people were being neutral, it's that they were brainwashed. Concentration camps were hidden so the people didn't know everything that Hitler was doing and they were controlled by the Nazis. In my opinion, it would've been better if they secretly united with another country and plotted to overthrow Hitler and the Nazis. Overall, I like what you wrote.
DeleteWhat this quote means to me is that sometimes any choice you make want always make everyone happy. This shows that noone is perfect and that some people are never satisfied. Most people only want it to be their way if it isnt their way its noones way. A lot of people in todays society know what happens in the world. For example ,they know that people in africa fight for their food and yet they still complain. In this world we live in everyone wants everything right that second, most people cant stand wsiting for something whne they "think" they should get it right away. This is a shameful way of living but this is the generation we are growing up in, i even admitt to wanting things on the spot. We pout and moan and groan until we get our way. This affects society because it makes the poeple in this world brats and freeloaders. It seems like people only want stuff handed to them no one wants to work for things anymore. But they depend on mommy and daddy to be there whenever they need. Or even some girls think that the man they marry are going to take care of them and do whatever they say. Some people are just plain stubborn, there are few people in this world who are good at anything they do and they take it for granite and dont work hard at it to improve. Those people never listen and just let other people do things for them. All in all no one is perfect but some people are just way far off from slightly descent ,but people can improve
ReplyDeleteElie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” This quote makes a lot of sense and I've never thought of things in this way. When you are neutral in situations, it means that you are on both sides, including the person that is wrong. All it does is help them by knowing that they have someone there for them and that supports them, even if youre neutral. Also, not speaking up about situations, encourages the tormentor because it makes them feel like what they are doing, isnt wrong. All it does is hurt the tormented because it doesnt help them or make the situation stop at all. Throughout all of my childhood, believe it or not I was bullied. When I lived in Toms River, I never stood up for myself, and the only person that did was my sister. Which is one of the major reasons why my sister and I are as close as we are. Even though I had her, we clearly arent in the same grade, so she couldnt be there all the time to protect me. Not to mention, that when she did it made it worse because everyone thought I was weak and continued to do what they did. Having no one standing up for me and helping the situation, it made it a lot worse for me and made others think that it was okay. When I moved to Bayville, I stood up for myself and others, which is something no one ever did for me. But the one thing I will never do, is let someone go through what I went through. Elie Wiesel once said, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” And this quote should apply to everyone's life
ReplyDeleteA survivor of the holocaust, Elie Wiesel, once said "We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.". What I think this means is that the person being hurt must stand up to the person, not just let it happen. If the person doesn't stand up to the oppressor then the oppressor will win. Also that if the person who is oppressing the other person stays quiet about everything then no one will know about what the tormentor is doing to the tormented. For example if someone is getting bullied in school. The person getting bullied shouldn't just sit there and let it happen. Another thing is the person getting bullied should just let the bully get away with it. He should stand up for himself and say something.
ReplyDeleteThis quote means to me if that you are being oppressed or tormented by someone you shouldn't just be quiet about it and you shouldn't just let it happen. You should stand up for yourself and tell someone. An example of this is from World War 2 and the holocaust. How the Allied forces just sat back and let the holocaust happen and Germany built up a military. We should of told Germany to stop their military and stop the holocaust. We figured that everything would sort itself out. But, Germany ended up almost taking over all of Europe. So you should stand out and not keep quiet about things and people bothering you. Finally if you don't take action things could get out of hand and things could get real bad for other people around you.