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Good morning everyone. Welcome back to English

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Pottery at the Islamic University of Gaza occupied

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Palestine.

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Today we move from the Victorian Age to the early

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20th century pottery.

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Much of the poetry written in this, the first 20

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years, 30 years of the 20th century can be

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classified as war poetry or pre-war, post-war, et

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cetera. We have this poem today by an English

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-British poet, Robert Brooke. The name of the poem

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is The Soldier. Before I talk about that, before I

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talk about soldiers and war and dying for one's

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country, I want to ask you this question, this

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first question. I'll give you one minute to think

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about it and tell me what you think, what you have

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in mind. We're Palestinians, we've been under

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Israeli occupation for over seven decades. In the

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past 10 years alone, Israel has waged huge

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onslaughts, committed many massacres, three major

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wars against Palestinians in Gaza, killed at least

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5,000 Palestinians, including at least 2,000 kids,

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women and elderly. You yourselves, you were born

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in war, raised in war, and every couple of months

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you come under heavy Israeli bombardment. That's

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war, that's living war, under war, being occupied

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and oppressed. So what feelings do you have when

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Gaza comes under Israeli aggression or under

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Israeli war, personally? Can you tell? Think about

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it. Like honestly, how do you have a particular

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set of feelings? Do you feel this way? Do you have

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conflicted feelings? What does it mean to you to

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be living under war? Because this kind of poetry

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is very related to our lives.

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Yeah?

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Take a minute, think. How did you feel two weeks

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ago when Israel waged its latest attack?

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How did you feel when Palestinians'

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kids, whole families were bombarded, were killed

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as they slept? And also how... What do you feel or

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how do you feel usually when Palestinians respond

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to this kind of terror? When Palestinian

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resistance tries to deter Israeli aggression?

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Does it make a difference?

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Okay, I'm just giving you a moment to think. I'm

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sure you already have so many things to say Okay

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When when were most of you born? When? Nineteen

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nine. So you lived through the second intifada

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Still

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yeah, you were born during the intifada Okay

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Actually when we have Israeli escalation I feel

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like I don't want to live this again because in

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the last war in 2014 my home damaged partially and

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I remember that night how we escaped from our home

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Even without wearing

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the right clothes or like that. So this is

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personal. War is not some pie in the sky, some

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distant experience people talk about, you read

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about, you watch on TV and movies. It's something

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personal. What else? Thank you. Please. Sure, I

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feel very sorrow and sad and I search for the time

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to put the sense for all the senseless and

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restricted the word occupations in all

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dictionaries. So I think this is a chance for me

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to write more vertically to respect and erase all

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the senseless. So there's again the feeling of

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sadness, mainly sadness. Sadness, you're sad,

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you're like down.

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So you decide to do something about it? So what

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kind

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of feelings do you experience? What kind of

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feelings? Yes, I do feel sad for people, but I try

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as much as possible to not do this, and this is so

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bad. But I try to not let it affect my own spirit.

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So you feel detached? Yes. Okay, detached. Please.

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Maybe you, in the worst, especially you, you're

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afraid not to avoid yourself, but your kids, your

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friends, your dearest one, your grandma, your

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father. So feelings of fear. So you're waiting,

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you are waiting for

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You're anticipating, every moment you're

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anticipating the death of somebody you love around

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you. The feeling that death is hovering around,

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that at any time you can be just taken away

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prematurely and untimely. Please.

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So that's personal more than anything else. Does

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it get out of this? What if you're certain, nobody

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is certain here, anybody can die at any moment,

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and that's what being Palestinian is in the, not

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in the past decade, just the past seven decades.

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So is it, if you're certain that nobody you love

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is going to die, is that going to make a

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difference? The sad thing for me is that

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everything I wrote, a short story or a poem, is

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about wars and Palestinians. So this is, again,

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some kind of a reaction to war, but at the same

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time, how war is dominating us. Predominantly,

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Palestinian writings are war literature. I feel

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unjustified, unfair. You feel second? unjustified

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and unheard and I feel how life could be

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disordered as Israelis are asked, are questioned

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if they killed kids or not. And they are from the

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first place shouldn't be here. Okay, so the

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feelings of injustice, the feeling of being left

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alone, being left probably to die. There is a war

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outside and I have a war inside myself. I keep

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questioning how people can give up their humanity.

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Oh yeah, that's a very good feeling, yeah. So like

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you're like, how? Why? Why would you bomb us? Why

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would you in the first place occupy us? Why would

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you bombard like this heavily crowded area and

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kill people and kids and mothers and fathers as

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they slept. Not that any other kind of bombardment

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is justified. When you say this, we have to be

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careful when you're saying this. It shouldn't mean

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by any way that we justify or we understand the

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fact that Israel also kills resistance fighters.

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Still, this is an occupying power. Please. It

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feels like I'm stuck in a moment of time that

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isn't developed for me like I cancel all my plans

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obviously and I don't know when my life will be

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resumed I keep like scrolling down news and

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reading news and like whenever there is a bombing

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we just go inside the window and try to navigate

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where this is and hope our family or friends lives

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there and just keep checking calling them and like

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making sure that they're fine I also like wrote a

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story about about where the hospital was

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threatened to be bombed and my father father was

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there there was a bombing and we looked at it was

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like coming from that direction coming from that

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direction and we kept calling him but like he

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wasn't answering and people were calling us asking

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if we talked to him it just really been a moment

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of This moment of futility, if you want to say

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like meaninglessness, it's like what does it mean

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to be alive? It's life. That's why you stop

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everything. If you're watching a TV show, you

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stop. If you're reading a book, you stop. If

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you're doing like mostly, it doesn't mean you have

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to do this, but some people might Because they

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want to distract and detach themselves from the

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news, from the surroundings, they could do

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something like writing, like watching more TV,

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binging on some TV show you've missed, or reading

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a book or something, or at least, I don't know,

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lying there asleep. Not listening to the news.

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Besides feeling terrified and sad, I started

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feeling pity to ourselves as Gazans and myself

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personally because we have the minimum stage of

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living. On Mars we only want to not to die and

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this is like something taken for granted for other

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people just to be safe. So we didn't live

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anything, the only thing we want is just not to

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die and this is like we haven't experienced

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anything in life so far. So what is considered to

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be basic human rights? the right to live in peace,

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the right to decent human rights, not political

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rights, although political rights are basically

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human rights. Life here has become a privilege.

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Life has become a luxury we cannot afford. We

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don't afford. We're living under siege. We've been

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besieged for over 10 years, 12 years. Actually,

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we've been besieged over seven decades. The very

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existence of the Israeli occupation means that we

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are suffocating. We don't do what we want to do.

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We don't marry the people we want to marry. We

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don't build the house we want to build. We don't

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get the job. We don't travel when we want. We

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don't go to the country we want. Because there

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will always be Israeli restrictions imposed on us,

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controlling our every aspect. Sometimes you don't

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eat the food you like or the fruit you like. And

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sometimes it's not even political. And that's why

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you keep asking these questions. And many people

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asked these questions in their writings. Please

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read Mourid El Barghouti's fascinating

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autobiography, I Saw Ramallah, I Read Ramallah, in

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Arabic, but it's also superbly fascinating in

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English. Also read, what's her name? Suad Al

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Amiri, Suad Amiri's Sharona, My Mother and Love.

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It's very funny, very comic, very ironic book. In

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another Palestinian writer, sometimes Tamim's

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poetry does this, how they expose the fact that

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the occupation is arbitrary. Like sometimes we

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think, and I know many people who do this, like if

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Israel bombs some area here or there, you just ask

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the question, okay, there must be something that

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made Israel bomb this particular area or this

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particular house. But most often Israel will come

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out and like, oops, we made a mistake. Oops, we

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killed these 50 people by mistake. We didn't mean

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to kill these. We didn't know that Israel knows

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everything with technology and everything here.

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That could be something arbitrary in the sense

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that there could be no reason. Read this movement

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in Israel called Breaking the Silence. They had

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their soldiers, consisting of soldiers, Israeli

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soldiers, who participated, who killed people, who

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were part of the occupation, and horrifying

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testimonies. about how they would just for fun

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would kill this, kill that, would shoot somebody.

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One of the guys was like, we killed somebody

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because he was walking suspiciously. And for more

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than a year I was haunted by how I walked. Because

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what does it mean to walk suspiciously? Honestly,

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what does it mean? Sometimes they would be

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counting the cars, for example, okay, one car, two

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cars, you hit the third car. Sometimes they would

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be looking at a particular house and not like the

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paint job or not like something and they would

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bomb the hell out of it just because it's ugly.

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Yeah, let's do this. And we've seen videos leaked

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Cheering for soldiers, snipers, cheering for

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simply killing Palestinians or getting them

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somewhere. So why do Israelis do this occupation?

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And it's brutal thing. It dehumanizes people, but

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also it could be because they're lost. They lost

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some things. I'm sure an Israeli soldier, because

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you know, Messi last night won the Ballon d'Or,

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you know, the biggest individual prize for

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football. Maybe a Ronaldo fan, an Israeli Ronaldo

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fan would be angry this morning and turn a

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Palestinian's life into hell. Maybe they would be

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losing a match. Maybe they would be, somebody

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would be angry with his mother, or girlfriend, or

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kids, or boss. And this anger will be, you know,

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in a way, the Palestinians would be paying for,

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exactly like Palestinians have been paying for

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European sins, the Holocaust, for decades and

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decades. My question here, okay thank you very

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much for this, I'm sorry if I'm bringing these

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memories back, but remember it's always good to

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write, it's always good to talk, to release But

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again, sometimes Palestinian resistance, and

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that's like, no matter what happens, there's

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always those valiant Palestinian freedom fighters

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who are the hope, not only for Palestinians, but

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for all oppressed people around the world.

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Sometimes they manage to react, at least react to

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this kind of terror. How does that make you feel,

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honestly? If you don't want to say it's okay, it's

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up to you. Are you still angry? Do you want them

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to stop? Do you feel happy? Do you feel proud? Do

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you feel like at least there's somebody who's

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doing something about this? We know Israel is a

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million times more powerful than us.

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But resistance is in the nature of things. Look at

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the cat. What a cat does when somebody takes its

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kitten. Or even... Right? Please. I will keep

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feeling angry, of course, because of the feeling

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of inequality along the war. You know, let's think

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00:15:58,630 --> 00:16:01,490
about it. How many Israelis have been killed

253
00:16:01,490 --> 00:16:05,310
through the three wars? And we still, according to

254
00:16:05,310 --> 00:16:07,970
the whole world, we are still the terrorist party,

255
00:16:08,350 --> 00:16:10,730
and we are terrorists, and we should be killed.

256
00:16:11,110 --> 00:16:13,710
And they don't face the fact that we are the ones

257
00:16:13,710 --> 00:16:17,770
who are being killed, not them. And actually, they

258
00:16:17,770 --> 00:16:22,410
have many protection systems. So we're not equal

259
00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:25,430
at all. Even if the war is sent by us, nothing

260
00:16:25,430 --> 00:16:31,150
happens. We're still besieged. We still can't

261
00:16:31,150 --> 00:16:33,910
travel. We still can't speak freely. They are

262
00:16:33,910 --> 00:16:36,030
controlling not our lives only. They are

263
00:16:36,030 --> 00:16:38,830
controlling our death as well. Yeah, when we die.

264
00:16:38,990 --> 00:16:42,050
OK. I can go back to my question about Palestinian

265
00:16:42,050 --> 00:16:45,360
resistance reacting to Israeli terror. Okay, I

266
00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,180
think that it's all, it depends on the group

267
00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:48,680
you're in, but I just want to comment on something

268
00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,120
that's changed. Like, it's all about the media and

269
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,740
how to promote your own case, because looking back

270
00:16:55,740 --> 00:16:58,660
to like the last couple of days when we had

271
00:16:58,660 --> 00:17:04,360
Gallego from work, The word went crazy on a

272
00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:07,100
picture that they posted on a child who could not

273
00:17:07,100 --> 00:17:10,740
celebrate his birthday properly because he was so

274
00:17:10,740 --> 00:17:13,060
afraid because of the bomb. At the same time, we

275
00:17:13,060 --> 00:17:15,920
have the same story, but in a very more tragical

276
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,260
way, which a girl lost her two parents on her

277
00:17:19,260 --> 00:17:24,500
birthday. But they knew how to promote their case.

278
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,700
They knew how to publish this or how to make the

279
00:17:27,700 --> 00:17:27,860
whole

280
00:17:31,090 --> 00:17:33,050
Okay, thank you very much. That's a very good

281
00:17:33,050 --> 00:17:38,990
point. Yes, please. Anyone of you, yeah. I feel

282
00:17:38,990 --> 00:17:42,490
proud when we resist and we respond. Although,

283
00:17:42,590 --> 00:17:44,830
like, we all deep down know that we are not as

284
00:17:44,830 --> 00:17:47,190
strong as they are, but at least we are trying to

285
00:17:47,190 --> 00:17:50,990
defend ourselves. And in fact, I think this is

286
00:17:50,990 --> 00:17:52,790
shared by a lot of people because I see in social

287
00:17:52,790 --> 00:17:55,930
media whenever we respond, other people will be

288
00:17:55,930 --> 00:17:59,090
cheering up for the resistance. And I think, yeah,

289
00:17:59,370 --> 00:18:02,170
I'm definitely super proud. Okay, a feeling of

290
00:18:02,170 --> 00:18:04,150
pride, a feeling of

291
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,340
Again, some justice. There is some justice there.

292
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,200
There are people who, despite everything, who are

293
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,480
willing to do something about it. Despite the

294
00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,180
inequality, despite everything else, despite the,

295
00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:24,160
you know, we having nothing, no weapons, and

296
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,240
Israel having everything and support of the world.

297
00:18:26,830 --> 00:18:29,070
Because of our resistance, I feel proud to have

298
00:18:29,070 --> 00:18:33,450
this resistance. Because it's in my feeling that

299
00:18:33,450 --> 00:18:38,250
we keep defencing our land and our people. This is

300
00:18:38,250 --> 00:18:40,830
something. And there is something I want to

301
00:18:40,830 --> 00:18:44,880
mention. I agree with Noha. even if there is no

302
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:52,500
equal between something, they have panic attack,

303
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,180
people have,

304
00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,460
yeah, feeling panic attack, but here we have true

305
00:19:00,460 --> 00:19:04,500
injures and true murders here in Gaza. So where's

306
00:19:04,500 --> 00:19:08,020
the, there's no equal even in the injured side.

307
00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:11,120
And according to the story, they have maybe they

308
00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:17,980
have stronger media to marketing their Australian

309
00:19:17,980 --> 00:19:24,580
story. That's why it makes it more obligatory on

310
00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:27,780
you, especially you studying English, to get our

311
00:19:27,780 --> 00:19:31,860
message out there. First of all, just at least to

312
00:19:31,860 --> 00:19:35,260
speak. Because speaking and writing are an act of

313
00:19:35,260 --> 00:19:37,860
resistance. Living here is an act of resistance.

314
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:43,080
Sometimes eating in particular is an act of

315
00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,480
resistance. What I'm saying is that We need to do

316
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,920
something about it, to communicate with ourselves,

317
00:19:49,340 --> 00:19:51,660
to reconcile with ourselves and also to get our

318
00:19:51,660 --> 00:19:53,660
message out there to the world because this is our

319
00:19:53,660 --> 00:19:58,340
job, right? If the people and thanks to social

320
00:19:58,340 --> 00:19:59,960
media, some of you mentioned social media, thanks

321
00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:02,120
to social media we have more and more people

322
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,880
around the world supporting Palestinian cause

323
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,200
because many people have started to write back to

324
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,700
show, to expose Israeli war crimes and aggression

325
00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:15,940
against Palestinians. I'll go to the poem. I know,

326
00:20:16,780 --> 00:20:18,960
I want you to think of this when you go home.

327
00:20:19,060 --> 00:20:20,760
Probably you can write a poem or something about

328
00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:27,300
it. So the soldier, Robert Brooke, if I should

329
00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:35,490
die, think only this of me. that there's some

330
00:20:35,490 --> 00:20:39,950
corner of a foreign field that is forever England.

331
00:20:41,290 --> 00:20:44,790
There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust

332
00:20:44,790 --> 00:20:51,070
concealed, a dust whom England bore shaped. Made

333
00:20:51,070 --> 00:20:55,370
aware, gave once her flowers to love, her ways to

334
00:20:55,370 --> 00:21:00,550
roam Her body of England's breathing English air

335
00:21:00,550 --> 00:21:04,970
Washed by the rivers blessed by the sons of home

336
00:21:04,970 --> 00:21:13,080
And think This heart all evil shed away A pulse in

337
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,400
the eternal mind no less Gives somewhere back the

338
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,000
thoughts by England given Her sights and sounds,

339
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:27,060
dreams happy as her day And laughter learnt of

340
00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:30,860
friends and gentleness In the hearts at peace

341
00:21:30,860 --> 00:21:32,680
under an English heaven

342
00:21:35,860 --> 00:21:39,700
Do you think this man likes war? Is he pro-war or

343
00:21:39,700 --> 00:21:40,360
anti-war?

344
00:21:43,860 --> 00:21:48,120
Yeah? What do you think? Go to the poem in your

345
00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:49,420
book, what page is it?

346
00:21:53,420 --> 00:21:56,960
So is this man saying war is good, let's fight or

347
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,080
stop the war? It's horrible, it's grim. It's

348
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:01,400
tragic.

349
00:22:05,770 --> 00:22:08,870
Before going back to this question, how many times

350
00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:14,410
is England or is England like English mentioned

351
00:22:14,410 --> 00:22:16,330
here? Can you count?

352
00:22:20,490 --> 00:22:25,790
How many times do we have England English? One,

353
00:22:25,950 --> 00:22:31,730
two, three, four, five.

354
00:22:34,350 --> 00:22:37,770
That's a lot of England and English. England,

355
00:22:37,950 --> 00:22:40,810
English, England, English. What could that

356
00:22:40,810 --> 00:22:43,890
possibly indicate? What does it tell in the poem?

357
00:22:47,310 --> 00:22:47,910
Pride.

358
00:22:50,950 --> 00:22:56,890
Pride being English? England, English, England,

359
00:22:57,030 --> 00:22:59,110
English. Is it mentioned in positive or negative

360
00:22:59,110 --> 00:23:01,490
circumstances, situations, context?

361
00:23:06,130 --> 00:23:08,530
Where is negative? Where are the negative words?

362
00:23:10,150 --> 00:23:15,230
English heaven is it bad? Probably for some people

363
00:23:15,230 --> 00:23:18,550
even English heaven is still hell but here at

364
00:23:18,550 --> 00:23:22,050
least this is positive English heaven you know and

365
00:23:22,050 --> 00:23:25,410
I like how this is like English heaven remember

366
00:23:25,410 --> 00:23:29,470
this was written around 1914 English empire still

367
00:23:29,470 --> 00:23:32,710
people you know felt pride being English just

368
00:23:32,710 --> 00:23:34,950
being English merely being English

369
00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:41,620
Breathing English air.

370
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:54,600
Washed by the rivers. How does the poet deal with

371
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,320
England? What does he do to England in a poem?

372
00:23:58,340 --> 00:24:01,720
Thank you very much. Listen, if you talk about

373
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,620
your country, your car, your ship even, or your

374
00:24:05,620 --> 00:24:09,850
boat, you can still personify them, your cat, your

375
00:24:09,850 --> 00:24:13,190
dog, your parrot, your lion pet if you have one.

376
00:24:13,590 --> 00:24:17,850
You can still personify this thing. So we talk

377
00:24:17,850 --> 00:24:21,290
Palestine is proud of her children. You could say

378
00:24:21,290 --> 00:24:25,710
that. But here this is an act of, an extended act

379
00:24:25,710 --> 00:24:28,730
of personification. He's talking about England as,

380
00:24:29,390 --> 00:24:31,670
as what? As a human being? What kind of human

381
00:24:31,670 --> 00:24:33,050
being? Particularly, in particular.

382
00:24:36,170 --> 00:24:41,050
Yeah? Yeah? A man? Haram aliki.

383
00:24:45,390 --> 00:24:46,010
Yeah?

384
00:24:48,670 --> 00:24:53,190
Where does the poet personify England? And?

385
00:25:00,350 --> 00:25:05,130
And? And? Don't repeat the things you already

386
00:25:05,130 --> 00:25:06,710
said, so we can see other things.

387
00:25:11,270 --> 00:25:12,250
Okay,

388
00:25:15,550 --> 00:25:18,530
so what does that indicate? It's a woman.

389
00:25:21,470 --> 00:25:28,450
What kind of a woman? Mother. He's personifying

390
00:25:28,450 --> 00:25:30,730
England.

391
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,340
not only just as female. Female could mean just

392
00:25:36,340 --> 00:25:39,840
being female, physically female. You could use the

393
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,080
term female, by the way, for animals. That's why

394
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,220
some feminists don't like the word female. Like

395
00:25:45,220 --> 00:25:48,240
what female? I'm a cat? Am I a cat? So like a

396
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:51,400
woman, but this is no ordinary woman. This is a

397
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:56,080
mother, a grandmother. Because the fact that dust

398
00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:02,020
whom England bore, bores the past of Bear, we

399
00:26:02,020 --> 00:26:06,100
usually use the passive, born. I was born. My mom

400
00:26:06,100 --> 00:26:09,140
bore me. This is the physical bearing, you know,

401
00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,700
carrying, lifting. But also it could mean the fact

402
00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:15,380
that England here is the woman who in her belly

403
00:26:15,380 --> 00:26:20,660
carried this for nine months and then. And look at

404
00:26:20,660 --> 00:26:23,100
hair, hair, hair. Remember, I told you all the

405
00:26:23,100 --> 00:26:24,820
time, if there are pronouns in the text, you need

406
00:26:24,820 --> 00:26:27,460
to trace them to what they refer to. It's

407
00:26:27,460 --> 00:26:31,700
significant to understand. So there's this many

408
00:26:31,700 --> 00:26:36,000
repetitions of England and there are these

409
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,780
positive references of England. England breathing

410
00:26:39,780 --> 00:26:43,360
England's air, right? English air. And also

411
00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:49,880
England's heaven. And how England here? Flowers.

412
00:26:50,460 --> 00:26:53,080
Yeah. Are these negative or positive words?

413
00:26:53,180 --> 00:26:57,310
Positive. If you want to take thus, this, only

414
00:26:57,310 --> 00:26:59,830
this, if I die, I as the negative word, the poem

415
00:26:59,830 --> 00:27:07,630
is predominantly positive and celebratory

416
00:27:07,630 --> 00:27:15,190
even. There is a festive mood here. If, look at

417
00:27:15,190 --> 00:27:18,810
this if, not when, not if I die or when I die

418
00:27:18,810 --> 00:27:22,050
even, there's when I die certain, like when

419
00:27:22,050 --> 00:27:24,490
Shakespeare said, when in my eternal lines, right?

420
00:27:25,850 --> 00:27:31,470
If I die, if I should die, if you should see Ali,

421
00:27:31,630 --> 00:27:35,180
this is more polite but also If I should die,

422
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,400
probably he's distancing himself from death here.

423
00:27:37,980 --> 00:27:41,420
The poem truly begins with I. We think this is a

424
00:27:41,420 --> 00:27:43,400
personal poem about a personal experience like you

425
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,260
just mentioned here. But as we go into the poem,

426
00:27:46,540 --> 00:27:49,080
this turns into an impersonal poem where the poet

427
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,460
is distancing himself from the act of dying. Not

428
00:27:52,460 --> 00:27:55,240
imagining it, like just imagining of something. If

429
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,340
I should die, think only this of me. And the

430
00:27:58,340 --> 00:28:01,100
evidence here is in the fact that we don't have

431
00:28:01,100 --> 00:28:05,920
any I or me in the rest of the poem. So because

432
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,000
he, it's all about England, it's all about

433
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:13,520
boasting and bragging about that there is some

434
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:18,800
corner of a foreign field that is forever England.

435
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:24,240
For how? You know, colonial mentality? Yeah. But

436
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:27,180
if I die somewhere, there is actually a symmetry,

437
00:28:27,380 --> 00:28:30,320
I guess one or two for the English soldiers who

438
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,380
died during the First World War, the Great War.

439
00:28:33,110 --> 00:28:36,550
One, not two? So there's one huge cemetery in Gaza

440
00:28:36,550 --> 00:28:39,590
for English soldiers who were killed in occupied

441
00:28:39,590 --> 00:28:46,010
Palestine. So this foreign field becomes what?

442
00:28:46,730 --> 00:28:53,850
Forever England. Because this area, this plot of

443
00:28:53,850 --> 00:29:00,250
earth contains the remains of an Englishman. Does

444
00:29:00,250 --> 00:29:04,530
that make him sad? Does that mean he is telling

445
00:29:04,530 --> 00:29:06,490
people, don't go to die because if you die, you're

446
00:29:06,490 --> 00:29:07,790
going to die alone,

447
00:29:10,110 --> 00:29:15,150
probably hungry, angry, sad, isolated, detached,

448
00:29:15,790 --> 00:29:19,110
or is he saying something else? That is forever

449
00:29:19,110 --> 00:29:23,790
England. There, this corner of a foreign field,

450
00:29:24,450 --> 00:29:27,790
there shall be in that rich earth, it's rich

451
00:29:27,790 --> 00:29:31,990
because this person died there. But it's going to

452
00:29:31,990 --> 00:29:35,370
get richer because of the body again. So this

453
00:29:35,370 --> 00:29:41,510
foreign field, this foreign piece of land that

454
00:29:41,510 --> 00:29:45,110
witnessed the death of those British or English

455
00:29:45,110 --> 00:29:50,890
soldiers, it's rich. This earth is rich. What

456
00:29:50,890 --> 00:29:57,100
makes it richer? The bodies, the remains. And

457
00:29:57,100 --> 00:30:00,780
that's again adding to this pride here. We make a

458
00:30:00,780 --> 00:30:02,600
difference. English people, British people, they

459
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,440
make a difference. Wherever they go, they bring

460
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:10,400
richness there. A richer dust concealed. Dust,

461
00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:16,060
it's the body. But because originally. Now a dust,

462
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,000
what is the dust here? What does it refer to? The

463
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:27,700
soldiers. Okay. Whom England bore. Shaped, made

464
00:30:27,700 --> 00:30:31,040
aware. Look at England being the mother, being the

465
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,420
educator, being the teacher, being the school,

466
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:38,620
being the university. Gave her flowers to love.

467
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,380
Gave once her flowers everything your country gave

468
00:30:42,380 --> 00:30:44,820
you. Everything you have your country gave you.

469
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:49,160
Also her ways to roam, to move freely when you

470
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:55,960
were young or a kid. Body of England's. Breathing

471
00:30:55,960 --> 00:31:00,360
English air Everybody is the embodiment of England

472
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:08,020
herself or itself Breathing English air Washed

473
00:31:08,020 --> 00:31:13,120
by the rivers Blessed by the suns of home

474
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:18,940
Everything you have, your country gave you This is

475
00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:22,940
more or less a beautiful image in Ahmed's talking

476
00:31:22,940 --> 00:31:26,320
about war and dying Everything you have is not

477
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,380
yours. It's your country. You don't belong to you.

478
00:31:31,260 --> 00:31:35,520
The suns that warmed you, English suns, the air

479
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:42,100
you breathe, English air, the ways you roam were

480
00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:48,520
given to you by your country. And then, and think,

481
00:31:48,700 --> 00:31:50,520
this is again the poet, if I should die, think

482
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:56,020
only this of me. And think this heart all evil hid

483
00:31:56,020 --> 00:31:59,520
away. That's where again, interesting. I'll ask

484
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,260
you this question to think of when you go home.

485
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,420
Because as Palestinians, we've been paying the

486
00:32:04,420 --> 00:32:09,040
heavy, probably some of the heaviest price due to

487
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:15,370
English horrible, horrible powerful declaration

488
00:32:15,370 --> 00:32:20,990
that gave Palestine to Zionists, right? So this

489
00:32:20,990 --> 00:32:23,010
English heart, the English people, the English

490
00:32:23,010 --> 00:32:27,070
soldiers have no evil at all in this. Like, you

491
00:32:27,070 --> 00:32:31,030
know, a snake sheds its skin every, but this is

492
00:32:31,030 --> 00:32:35,650
like more, this is spiritual. So all the evils,

493
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,960
have been shed away. There is no evil, more or

494
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,600
less. Tell that to Palestinians. A pulse in the

495
00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:50,400
eternal mind, no less, gives somewhere back the

496
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:55,360
thoughts by England given. Here again, continuing

497
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:57,760
to personify England, this beautiful image. Here

498
00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:03,900
sights and sounds. Dreams happy as her day. So

499
00:33:03,900 --> 00:33:10,470
this death is Not a nightmare, it's a dream. An

500
00:33:10,470 --> 00:33:13,190
ordinary dream, it's a happy dream. A dream of

501
00:33:13,190 --> 00:33:16,750
England probably dominating again, winning the

502
00:33:16,750 --> 00:33:21,070
war, being victorious. And also bringing happiness

503
00:33:21,070 --> 00:33:24,010
and laughter to this poem. For many it could

504
00:33:24,010 --> 00:33:26,530
sound, nobody said, when there is war, I'm

505
00:33:26,530 --> 00:33:29,390
laughing, yeah? Probably you said, I'm proud

506
00:33:29,390 --> 00:33:32,210
because there's this Palestinian reaction to

507
00:33:32,210 --> 00:33:37,890
resistance, right? But being happy, yes. It's war,

508
00:33:38,030 --> 00:33:44,730
yes. That's the moment I've been waiting for. And

509
00:33:44,730 --> 00:33:49,510
laughter, learnt of friends and gentleness, in

510
00:33:49,510 --> 00:33:55,150
hearts at peace. I'll be in hearts at peace, but

511
00:33:55,150 --> 00:34:00,950
most significantly under an English heaven. That's

512
00:34:00,950 --> 00:34:05,460
a hardcore pro-war poem here. This man is saying,

513
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,220
let's go die for our country. This man is saying,

514
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:15,480
we don't own ourselves. This man is saying, if the

515
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,480
country calls, we should be in the front. And

516
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:24,900
indeed, this man joined the British army. He was

517
00:34:24,900 --> 00:34:29,320
in the navy. We'll see what difference that makes.

518
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,080
He wasn't in the war itself, in the fighting,

519
00:34:32,340 --> 00:34:34,280
shooting. He was in the Navy. In the Navy, you're

520
00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:38,160
safe somewhere, relatively safe at sea somewhere.

521
00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:43,460
And he wrote this poem in the beginning months of

522
00:34:43,460 --> 00:34:49,220
the Great War, 1914. So some people think that

523
00:34:49,220 --> 00:34:51,820
because he was far away from the grim reality of

524
00:34:51,820 --> 00:34:55,530
war, the horrible, horrible, scenes and realities

525
00:34:55,530 --> 00:35:00,150
of the war. He was kind of romanticizing war, you

526
00:35:00,150 --> 00:35:02,730
know, romanticizing war. Let's go, let's die for

527
00:35:02,730 --> 00:35:06,870
our country. It is like Horace said, it is sweet

528
00:35:06,870 --> 00:35:08,970
and proper to die for one's country.

529
00:35:13,550 --> 00:35:17,870
And I want to notice two things here. Number one,

530
00:35:18,310 --> 00:35:22,330
the traditional imagery he uses. In many ways,

531
00:35:22,410 --> 00:35:25,770
you'll find this connected to that poetry of

532
00:35:25,770 --> 00:35:28,830
probably, I don't know, Homer or Beowulf or other

533
00:35:28,830 --> 00:35:32,570
English heroic poetry, poetry of battles and wars,

534
00:35:32,690 --> 00:35:35,350
how the fighters are heroes. They're defending

535
00:35:35,350 --> 00:35:38,010
their honor, their country. They're paying back

536
00:35:38,010 --> 00:35:41,790
the debt. But also notice also, so there's this

537
00:35:41,790 --> 00:35:44,050
traditional thing, traditional imagery of, you

538
00:35:44,050 --> 00:35:48,870
know, the sun and the, you know, things from

539
00:35:48,870 --> 00:35:52,270
England, the river, the image there, these

540
00:35:52,270 --> 00:35:56,850
beautiful images of nature, beauty. But I like,

541
00:35:57,050 --> 00:36:00,610
you know, this under an English heaven could just

542
00:36:00,610 --> 00:36:04,230
be like under heaven physically being somewhere.

543
00:36:05,830 --> 00:36:10,910
But heaven could also mean paradise. This could be

544
00:36:10,910 --> 00:36:14,170
a religious image here, a religious tomb,

545
00:36:15,190 --> 00:36:17,950
religious language. So don't worry if you die for

546
00:36:17,950 --> 00:36:21,590
your country going straight to heaven. You are a

547
00:36:21,590 --> 00:36:27,630
martyr. You don't die any death, any ordinary

548
00:36:27,630 --> 00:36:32,560
death. you are a hero and your country is proud of

549
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,340
you and we are going to celebrate you and indeed

550
00:36:35,340 --> 00:36:38,220
this poem has become a very famous it's if you go

551
00:36:38,220 --> 00:36:41,900
to youtube many people sing this poem and England

552
00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:45,920
has used this poem all the time to again to incite

553
00:36:47,210 --> 00:36:52,170
to incite soldiers, people to join the army to

554
00:36:52,170 --> 00:36:56,270
fight evil terror around the world, to defend the

555
00:36:56,270 --> 00:36:58,890
crown, to defend the queen, to defend the king.

556
00:37:00,310 --> 00:37:04,110
And I read somewhere that this man was, he was in

557
00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:07,490
the army, but because he wrote many poems that are

558
00:37:07,490 --> 00:37:14,150
pro-war, he was, I don't know what the term is, he

559
00:37:14,150 --> 00:37:18,310
was called from wherever he was and he didn't want

560
00:37:18,310 --> 00:37:20,810
to go back. He wanted to join the army. He wanted

561
00:37:20,810 --> 00:37:24,330
to fight. But the country wanted him back home

562
00:37:24,330 --> 00:37:27,930
safe and sound so he could write more poetry and

563
00:37:27,930 --> 00:37:32,910
promote this. And again, this shows indicates how

564
00:37:32,910 --> 00:37:37,310
significant poets and poetry are. The country

565
00:37:37,310 --> 00:37:40,630
needs soldiers, right? But also the country needs

566
00:37:40,630 --> 00:37:44,710
poets to tell the people that, hey, don't worry.

567
00:37:46,030 --> 00:37:49,690
You're going to die a hero. And that's why we're

568
00:37:49,690 --> 00:37:52,830
going to compare this next class with a poem by

569
00:37:52,830 --> 00:37:59,430
Wilfred Owen, a man who really was at the front,

570
00:38:00,550 --> 00:38:01,530
who saw people die.

571
00:38:04,870 --> 00:38:07,290
Before we finish, I want to go through these

572
00:38:07,290 --> 00:38:11,050
questions, and I probably can talk about some of

573
00:38:11,050 --> 00:38:17,100
them in brief. So again, is this a pro or anti-war

574
00:38:17,100 --> 00:38:20,180
poem? Does it call for war? Does it say war is

575
00:38:20,180 --> 00:38:23,800
horrible? Pro war.

576
00:38:26,980 --> 00:38:29,740
Unless you take this as a very very silly argument

577
00:38:29,740 --> 00:38:33,120
and you think it does the opposite. I don't want

578
00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:39,640
to die just to be under English heaven. But yeah,

579
00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:43,160
this man is known, Robert Brooke, as a pro-war

580
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:46,600
poet. What do you think of the poem as a

581
00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,860
Palestinian? What do you think of this? Because

582
00:38:49,860 --> 00:38:54,540
listen, this is the war that again, it happened

583
00:38:54,540 --> 00:38:58,220
mainly in Europe and somewhere in colonized areas,

584
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:00,720
but as Palestinians, we still pay the price for

585
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:05,500
this. And don't forget that, again, the English

586
00:39:05,500 --> 00:39:08,260
cemetery of British soldiers, an area that

587
00:39:08,260 --> 00:39:11,960
Palestinians have been taken good care of,

588
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,020
respecting and protecting, which is really good.

589
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,800
Because these are young people who were sent,

590
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,000
probably some of them unwillingly to war. But as a

591
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:25,980
Palestinian, what do you make of this, Paul?

592
00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:30,330
Please. First of all, I believe that he actually

593
00:39:30,330 --> 00:39:32,750
doesn't reflect at all the real meaning of war.

594
00:39:32,910 --> 00:39:36,320
War is savage, it's cruel, and he isn't... He even

595
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:39,360
didn't mention the word word. He gave the image

596
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:42,420
and actually he gave a great image. So they can,

597
00:39:42,740 --> 00:39:45,580
he can like wash the minds of the soldiers. So

598
00:39:45,580 --> 00:39:47,740
they can. So, so you're taking this as kind of

599
00:39:47,740 --> 00:39:50,480
brainwashing, you know, indoctrination. The

600
00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:54,200
reference to war is, is just here. The soldier, if

601
00:39:54,200 --> 00:39:55,980
the title of the poet, the sonnet, this is the

602
00:39:55,980 --> 00:40:01,320
sonnet by the way. Look at the sonnet. It's A B A

603
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,500
right? C D

604
00:40:11,690 --> 00:40:25,170
A, B, A, B, C, D, and then aware, air, yes C, D.

605
00:40:25,850 --> 00:40:27,770
Is that Shakespeare or Petrarch?

606
00:40:31,970 --> 00:40:35,650
It's never Petrarch. Petrarch is A B B A A B B A.

607
00:40:35,690 --> 00:40:39,830
Shakespeare is A B A B C D C D. He doesn't do

608
00:40:39,830 --> 00:40:43,850
this. But because if you think this is one unit

609
00:40:43,850 --> 00:40:49,570
here and an octave. Probably closer, the fact that

610
00:40:49,570 --> 00:40:52,110
he alternates between the rhymes makes it closer

611
00:40:52,110 --> 00:40:54,610
Shakespeare, but then the fact that this is an

612
00:40:54,610 --> 00:40:57,650
octave and then followed by assisted means that

613
00:40:57,650 --> 00:41:01,330
this is basically probably not Shakespeare, not

614
00:41:01,330 --> 00:41:04,910
Petrarch. A combination of both, but also at the

615
00:41:04,910 --> 00:41:07,950
same time, he's changing the rhyme scheme. And I

616
00:41:07,950 --> 00:41:09,410
don't think there is a twist here, there's an

617
00:41:09,410 --> 00:41:11,310
argument. He doesn't argue, he doesn't say, some

618
00:41:11,310 --> 00:41:14,770
people say, dying is bad, is horrible, war is bad,

619
00:41:14,910 --> 00:41:18,200
however, It's all about how beautiful it is, how

620
00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:20,460
sweet and proper it is to die for one's country.

621
00:41:21,180 --> 00:41:26,800
So A, B, A, B, C, D, C, D and then? Yeah?

622
00:41:30,340 --> 00:41:38,740
E, F, G, very strange. E, F, G.

623
00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:49,860
He's using all Shakespeare's letters, right? But

624
00:41:49,860 --> 00:41:55,540
there is, we don't have a couplet here. This is a

625
00:41:55,540 --> 00:42:02,960
system. Okay. Same question? Maybe this statue

626
00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:06,560
belongs to the prince. He is mixed between the war

627
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,140
and peace. Not talking exactly about the war. And

628
00:42:09,140 --> 00:42:11,540
he's raised also mixed between Shakespeare and the

629
00:42:11,540 --> 00:42:14,840
prince. Possible. Okay, I like your thinking,

630
00:42:14,980 --> 00:42:18,440
connecting the form to the meaning here. How is

631
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:19,820
England represented in the poem?

632
00:42:24,140 --> 00:42:27,820
Here England represented as a mother and I want to

633
00:42:27,820 --> 00:42:30,380
say something, there's no comparison between our

634
00:42:30,380 --> 00:42:35,660
people as a Christian and their people. They don't

635
00:42:35,660 --> 00:42:40,020
defend their country against invaders from outside

636
00:42:40,020 --> 00:42:43,120
to their country, no. They go to their countries

637
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:46,850
and invade, actually they invade them. They were

638
00:42:46,850 --> 00:42:50,950
invading other countries and also expanding or

639
00:42:50,950 --> 00:42:56,940
defending the British Empire. Thank you. Actually,

640
00:42:57,180 --> 00:42:59,140
we've tried something similar to this, because

641
00:42:59,140 --> 00:43:03,540
Palestinians, when they go and do freedom marches,

642
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:05,980
we call them freedom marches, because they see

643
00:43:05,980 --> 00:43:10,240
their land as London flowers and everything that

644
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:12,880
belongs to them. But I don't think that an Israeli

645
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:15,800
soldier would think the same, except if he is

646
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,300
really in the same place as you mentioned. But I

647
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:22,980
don't think that they have That's why it's really

648
00:43:22,980 --> 00:43:25,520
always fascinating to compare, to do comparison

649
00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,520
studies. Palestinian poetry has always been

650
00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:31,980
compared to Irish poetry because there was this

651
00:43:31,980 --> 00:43:34,560
resistance thing. And if you listen to Irish

652
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:37,120
songs, you'll be amazed how similar, sometimes

653
00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:40,300
they think of how against Wheaton properties would

654
00:43:40,300 --> 00:43:44,760
I for your country. Okay, I'm raising these points

655
00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:49,400
now. What does under an English heaven indicate? I

656
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:53,140
just partly mentioned this, that England is

657
00:43:53,140 --> 00:43:56,020
heaven, but also that this is a religious thing,

658
00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:59,060
that how the poet is using traditional imagery

659
00:43:59,060 --> 00:44:05,900
from traditional ways of writing poetry, of

660
00:44:05,900 --> 00:44:10,980
fighting, of heroism, the battles, the sun, the

661
00:44:10,980 --> 00:44:15,150
heaven, the river, the happiness. But also using

662
00:44:15,150 --> 00:44:19,090
religious, so is it again part of how he's trying

663
00:44:19,090 --> 00:44:21,910
to convince these soldiers to talk, to address, to

664
00:44:21,910 --> 00:44:27,850
invoke their religious mentality here that God is

665
00:44:27,850 --> 00:44:34,160
with you, God is with us, the English people? I

666
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:36,580
don't know if this is related, but maybe it can be

667
00:44:36,580 --> 00:44:40,420
related to the English, the white man's duty of

668
00:44:40,420 --> 00:44:44,020
like enlightening other people in civilized

669
00:44:44,020 --> 00:44:47,500
countries. Because as you said before, they go to

670
00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:50,840
countries and they invade them, so maybe he wants

671
00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:53,620
to know that this is the English habit that you

672
00:44:53,620 --> 00:44:57,000
will be having in your country when you come and

673
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,660
invade them. So rather we are turning, okay you

674
00:44:59,660 --> 00:45:04,050
are suggesting that this is Again, the white man's

675
00:45:04,050 --> 00:45:06,570
obligation to go and civilize other people and

676
00:45:06,570 --> 00:45:12,030
turn hell into heaven. on earth into heaven.

677
00:45:12,750 --> 00:45:14,490
Possibly, but I take it as more of a religious

678
00:45:14,490 --> 00:45:18,490
indication here. More of a religious term to

679
00:45:18,490 --> 00:45:24,290
convince people more that death is going to be

680
00:45:24,290 --> 00:45:28,150
followed by heaven. For me, I believe that this

681
00:45:28,150 --> 00:45:32,690
person totally has a colonizing mental. Actually,

682
00:45:32,830 --> 00:45:35,510
look at how many times he mentioned England. He

683
00:45:35,510 --> 00:45:38,330
was promising that England is going to dominate

684
00:45:38,330 --> 00:45:45,770
the universe. I don't think there is an indication

685
00:45:45,770 --> 00:45:48,170
that England will dominate, but possibly the fact

686
00:45:48,170 --> 00:45:52,750
that he keeps repeating, becoming England, okay.

687
00:45:53,290 --> 00:45:57,010
So wherever we go, whatever we touch, everything,

688
00:45:59,670 --> 00:46:02,490
there's this book, Everything Trump Touches Dies,

689
00:46:03,170 --> 00:46:06,450
and there is this Greek mythology, what's his

690
00:46:06,450 --> 00:46:11,280
name, The Guy, Everything he touches turns into

691
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:14,000
gold. That's very famous in English, in mythology.

692
00:46:14,140 --> 00:46:17,720
Who's Greek corner here doing? Who's doing Greek

693
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:20,620
corner? What's the name of the guy that touches

694
00:46:20,620 --> 00:46:25,640
the, whatever he touches turns into gold? Nope.

695
00:46:27,540 --> 00:46:30,940
Medias, something like this. Like closer to

696
00:46:30,940 --> 00:46:31,640
Mediosa.

697
00:46:36,910 --> 00:46:41,610
Okay, so everything English, everything England

698
00:46:41,610 --> 00:46:47,950
touches turns English, typical. Now, Brooks' poem,

699
00:46:48,050 --> 00:46:52,910
The Soldier, is an example of dangers, of the

700
00:46:52,910 --> 00:46:56,150
dangers of romanticizing war, telling the young

701
00:46:56,150 --> 00:47:00,650
people war is fun, it's just go kill people, you

702
00:47:00,650 --> 00:47:06,470
know? by comforting the survivors, telling the

703
00:47:06,470 --> 00:47:08,630
mothers, the parents, and this is probably a poem

704
00:47:08,630 --> 00:47:10,790
written not for the soldiers, about the soldiers,

705
00:47:11,010 --> 00:47:14,850
for the parents just to comfort them, to tell them

706
00:47:14,850 --> 00:47:17,810
that your kids are in heaven. And that's probably

707
00:47:17,810 --> 00:47:20,890
why he's bringing heaven here as a religious term,

708
00:47:21,010 --> 00:47:23,030
because older people tend to be more religious.

709
00:47:24,310 --> 00:47:27,370
They seek solace, they seek peace in the fact that

710
00:47:27,370 --> 00:47:32,210
at least the kids died a happy death, died doing

711
00:47:32,210 --> 00:47:34,570
something they wanted to do and also defending

712
00:47:34,570 --> 00:47:36,710
their country and also died happy and laughing.

713
00:47:38,250 --> 00:47:41,870
And that's

714
00:47:41,870 --> 00:47:44,690
why I can hear the reference to an English heaven.

715
00:47:46,670 --> 00:47:49,170
And he's also accused of downplaying the grim

716
00:47:49,170 --> 00:47:51,710
reality of war. I'm using this as a quote. Listen,

717
00:47:51,790 --> 00:47:54,440
look at this. If you're doing research, Look at

718
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:59,300
these brackets here, square brackets. I am adding,

719
00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:01,560
if you're quoting something and you're adding to

720
00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:03,460
the text things that don't change the meaning,

721
00:48:03,780 --> 00:48:08,520
just sometimes even capital or small letter, by, I

722
00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:13,320
added by, I added and, I added of war. So to tell

723
00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:15,200
the reader that this is not something that the

724
00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:18,870
original author said, It's something I am adding

725
00:48:18,870 --> 00:48:21,650
to make it clearer in the context I'm using. You

726
00:48:21,650 --> 00:48:25,510
use this thing. So think about this. How is this

727
00:48:25,510 --> 00:48:29,090
romanticizing? How is he telling people to do

728
00:48:29,090 --> 00:48:35,030
this? Now, finally, again another quote, for a

729
00:48:35,030 --> 00:48:38,250
nation desperate to turn the senseless loss of its

730
00:48:38,250 --> 00:48:41,690
soldiers into something that could be coped with,

731
00:48:42,030 --> 00:48:45,930
something you could adapt to, even celebrated.

732
00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:51,080
Like he's celebrating war here. Poetry, like

733
00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:55,480
Brooke's poem, became a cornerstone of the

734
00:48:55,480 --> 00:49:00,430
remembrance process. how countries again use such

735
00:49:00,430 --> 00:49:03,170
kind of literature consider like consider this

736
00:49:03,170 --> 00:49:07,210
poetry this literature as significant because it

737
00:49:07,210 --> 00:49:10,890
serves the purpose they have the purpose of you

738
00:49:10,890 --> 00:49:14,390
know how and if you watch American movies it's

739
00:49:14,390 --> 00:49:17,730
always there there's always this huge respect for

740
00:49:17,730 --> 00:49:20,910
for previous soldiers for veterans they give them

741
00:49:20,910 --> 00:49:22,910
discounts they respect them they give them

742
00:49:22,910 --> 00:49:27,020
priority they like Give them loans, they, like,

743
00:49:27,500 --> 00:49:30,320
you just, if you are, if you turn into a soldier

744
00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:32,800
in America, you're the best. Everyone is, almost

745
00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:34,440
everyone is going to respect you. There's the

746
00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:37,720
famous poster, like, America wants you, this

747
00:49:37,720 --> 00:49:40,420
thing. And we've seen how, we always see how

748
00:49:40,420 --> 00:49:43,460
American movies and Hollywood, how they glorify

749
00:49:43,460 --> 00:49:47,200
soldiers. And at the same time, how they demonize

750
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:52,440
and dehumanize the others. There's this movie, one

751
00:49:52,440 --> 00:49:55,640
of the worst movies ever, The Sniper, a man who

752
00:49:55,640 --> 00:49:59,240
killed about 150 Iraqis.

753
00:50:01,100 --> 00:50:04,360
And how you're made still to feel sorry for this

754
00:50:04,360 --> 00:50:08,700
bloodthirsty murderer. Terrorist, he should be

755
00:50:08,700 --> 00:50:13,800
called. But what is killing 150 Iraqis? Nothing.

756
00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:21,600
And Trump is now pardoning war criminals, soldiers

757
00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:24,240
who committed hideous crimes in Iraq and

758
00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:27,500
Afghanistan. What message is he sending to young

759
00:50:27,500 --> 00:50:31,620
Americans, to soldiers? Just kill. Don't worry.

760
00:50:32,500 --> 00:50:36,000
I'll protect you. I'm sending you there because

761
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:38,400
there's this idea, like the argument, I'm sending

762
00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:39,700
you there, there's a possibility that you're going

763
00:50:39,700 --> 00:50:43,900
to die at any moment. You're going to die at any

764
00:50:43,900 --> 00:50:44,120
moment.

765
00:50:47,320 --> 00:50:51,580
I'll have you back if you do anything, anything,

766
00:50:51,740 --> 00:50:55,140
even killing hundreds of people. Even there's this

767
00:50:55,140 --> 00:50:59,040
horrible, horrible massacre in Iraq where they,

768
00:50:59,460 --> 00:51:01,720
the soldiers raped a 10-year-old. They killed her,

769
00:51:01,820 --> 00:51:03,760
killed her parents and family and brothers and

770
00:51:03,760 --> 00:51:07,440
sisters. And the man, the same soldier was like

771
00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:09,600
saying, we didn't treat Iraq, we didn't consider

772
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:13,960
Iraqis human beings. That's demonization and

773
00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:19,400
dehumanization. War is bad, war never ends. But

774
00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:22,760
yet, some people will find it proper to celebrate,

775
00:51:23,860 --> 00:51:26,040
to glorify,

776
00:51:27,220 --> 00:51:29,740
et cetera. So think about these things, and I'll

777
00:51:29,740 --> 00:51:34,380
stop here. Next class, we're doing another war

778
00:51:34,380 --> 00:51:40,180
poem by Wilfred Owen, Futility. Thank you very

779
00:51:40,180 --> 00:51:41,260
much, good luck.