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Opinion & Editorial
Wednesday May 6, 2015
Los Angeles Collegian
City Views Compiled By Ambar Quintanilla and Carlos Martinez Photos By Carlos Martinez
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT OCCURRED?
MERI GHAZARYAN Major: Health Administration
AVETIS BOYADZHYAN Major: Physiology
SABRINA OLMEDO Major: Psychology
SYDNEY SPARKES Major: Human Services
“The fact that [Turkey] is denying what they did to Armenians is very upsetting. In the Armenian genocide, more than 1.5 million people were not just killed, but tortured to death. They were trying to destroy the Armenians, and for them not to recognize that, it is upsetting.”
“If you compare any type of genocide, it is a disgrace to humanity. For them to deny it, it not only affects the Armenians, but the whole world. It’s like pretending the Holocaust never happened.”
“Genocide, in general, is always terrible and tragic. A lot of people lost their lives, and even though we don’t really know who they are, I think it’s important to remember, and acknowledge that it happened.”
“What it’s all about is empathy. Having empathy for people. It is hard to experience what people have gone through in a genocide. But, you can be empathetic without belittling their feelings on what happened. That’s the best you can do. You don’t want to feel sorry for people because that doesn’t help.”
‘Too Pale’ for My Mother termined by the way that others perceive you, and not by actual ethnicity, There were many mothers at my grade school that refused to talk to my mom. Her natural tan was no darker than the tans that they purchased by the week. So, maybe it was the accent. My mom was well informed about America, Catholicould not relate. By Melissa Breccia The sight of my mother pushing me in a red-and-white striped stroller as a baby sometimes inspired the question, “Are you the nanny?” Next to her in-laws, and even her own child, my mom always stood out to strangers. phia, Pennsylvania after marrying the only minority in the neighborhood and constantly heard a series of “go back to your country!” insults.
the fast food and sweatpants, or to visit Disney and leave. She came to America for her future children. Comments like that were not enough to dissuade her. My mom rarely gets offended, and to the assumption that she could not possibly be the mother to a child with pale skin, she responded with a yes. Yes, she was the nanny. Although we had different skin tones, my Asian bowl cut, black hair and dark eyes could have hinted at something. These experiences lead me to conclude that race is only de-
ny wasn’t applicable to my age, but my mom still did not translate as my biological mother. “How long have you had her?” asked my doctor at an annual check-up. “Since she was in my stomach,” said my mom confused by the quesmy daughter, my husband is white.” Considering that Philadelphia is a people of different races interact regularly. However, my neighborhood was, and still is, purposely segregat-
foreigners, but pronounced water as ever, her refusal to acknowledge the remarks was connected to her past of acknowledging too many remarks in her hometown. “The kids used to tease me,” she
had parties, my pretty cousins were singing and entertaining the guests. aunt would tell me to go back to the promised myself that my kids will never feel that, they will never be like a maid.” My mom always knew that she wanted her future child to be mixed understood that there were opportunities she missed growing up because of her looks. many of the prominent actors are mixed. Advertisements for skin whit-
what it meant. “So you’re Chinese?” asked the girl sitting next to me in eighth grade.
Although this was not my mom’s only concern, she wanted to know that her struggles were not passed on to me. My mom is not hurt when people
Chinese. What are you if you’re not Chinese? You don’t have Asian eyes though.” The comments were strange, but
or question the authenticity of her brain, and that is what counts.
trist once checked off Caucasian in my paperwork and then asked if that was okay.
act, yet question what our relationship is to each other because we have different complexions. There are more characteristics to consider than
ing in a neighborhood that mocked
ily and identity.
Illustration by Jose Tobar
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word By Ande Richards
We are taught at a very young age to say we are sorry when we have offended someone. We say don me if we bump into someone other social faux pas’ and minor incidents. Yet, we are more rigid when it comes to crimes of a larger scale. We will not admit to texting while driving as we plow into the car in insurance will have to pay out. Although we know we are in the wrong, we are reticent to be acAs the wrongdoing grows in scale, so does the unwillingness to take ownership of the deed and what we have done is too much to bear. We take a defensive stance. The Turkish government has a crime against an entire community. They are being asked to take
evils suffered by the Armenian people 100 years ago in what is now called a genocide. Comprised of the words “geno,”
year of denial.
“tribe,” and “cide” or “cidere,” the Latin word meaning “to kill,” genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin to refer to the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.
mass atrocity of the 20th century.” The use of the word genocide is
ripped from their homes in a relocation process and on the way out they were robbed, raped, tortured, starved to death and ultimately, murdered en masse. The genocide of the Armenian people could not have been perpetrated without popular support. paign of destruction that was statesanctioned and reinforced with the ing that period. this year, to mark the 100-year anniversary, and the requests made to what happened, it was another
Music Pirating MegaUpload in 2012, and even The
and use of the word “genocide,”
declared that pirating music costs the United States’ economy $12.5 billion, not to mention the loss of more
cisely describes what happened to the Armenians in 1915. Armenian people are left with an incomplete mourning, and they cannot fully complete that mourning process until the descendants of the people who excavated their way
By Jimmy Martinez
converting a YouTube video, or even as ancient as burning a cd for a friend.
workers’ wages. However, music revenue in the U.S. has steadily been increasing. This is all thanks to music streaming websites, such as Spotify, Pandora and Soundcloud.
There is that lingering need for the Turks to admit what they have
of people have broken copyright law
sales actually made less than stream-
that Record Labels are not a big fan, as there have been multiple cases of them suing individuals for thousands of dollars. Record Labels are also partially responsible for taking down wellknown moneyed websites, such as
making up for 27% of all music revenue. And although Taylor Swift may believe that artists do not receive a fair amount of compensation for their art (as her 2014 album “1989” as well as her whole discography was taken
nature for the Armenians to want this, and it can be a tool for healing for both the victim and the transgressor. come infected. They can poison a system. Denial keeps the wound open and stagnates the healing progress. The government of Turkey should take responsibility for the crimes against the Armenian people. They must say they are sorry.
Anyone who has ever owned a computer, has pirated music: whether
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down from streaming sites), other artists such as J Cole, Drake and Kendrick Lamar have all broken Spotify streaming records and have made great earnings. made about $1 million merely within Within a year, the music streaming market grew by 29%, and was in fact the only music market to grow in 2014. As more and more people start streaming music and taking adtify’s reduced subscription fee for students), it thwarts music pirating by redirecting consumers. With this trend continuing, it will only be a matter of time before the impact of music pirating on the economy is reduced to a blemish rather than the gap there is today.
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