Zero Dark Thirty

A couple weeks ago, Christopher and I watched the film Zero Dark Thirty. He had recorded it onto the DVR and we watched it one evening before he left for a business trip.  Though I read the description of the film I seriously had NO idea what I was getting in for.

The movie portrays the time between 9-11 and the killing of Osama Bin Laden (yeah, not a light topic for the day).  It shows the work of CIA operatives who were interrogating known accomplices of Bin Laden-- in pre no-torture days at that.  The opening scenes are some of the most repulsive scenes I have ever allowed myself to watch.  I felt nauseous, dizzy, and conflicted.

These operatives were doing their job, and doing it well.  They were in places such as Pakistan where they were hated on, threatened, shot at, and bombed in order to discover information that would lead to the eventual take down of Bin Laden.  That is medal-worthy work, people.  And thank GOD for the men and women (holla at you, kick ass girl in the movie)

But at the same time, their work was degraded, in-humane, and down right disgusting.  They were hitting, kicking, starving, depriving, water boarding and everything in between.  On top of that, they used tactics such as shaming, nudity, using dog collars and more to embarrras and strip away every last ounce of humanness from these individuals. 

Now, keep in mind, the individuals being tortured were likely terrorists. And I say likely because most of the people they are seen interrogating (torturing rather) were not necessarily terrorists but had been seen with a terrorist at one point or another.  A serious case of in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I was left with a deep sense of WHY? Why do we respond to hate (terrorism) with more hate (torture)? Why do we respond to cries for help (from those being tortured) with silence (or more pain infliction).  Why does it seem natural to inflict such pain, shame, and torture on any human being regardless of their crime?

Now I preface my reactions with the fact that I am not an eye for an eye type of person.  I believe in redemption and rehabilitation.  Would terrorists choose terrorism if they had other choices? I like to believe that they would NOT.  And I can appreciate that for the families who lost loved ones in any of the Al Queda terrorist attacks that it feels good knowing the men to blame were tortured, injured, shamed, and caused pain.  But I beg you to consider WHY that makes you feel better. Not because I judge you, not because it is wrong, but is that actually how you feel, and questioning your beliefs is never a bad thing.

Something that also struck me was that the movie critically proclaimed the "no-torture" rulings that Obama put in place.  It was so interesting for me (So so pro no-torture) to see this from the point of view of the people who had been doing the torturing. 

Lastly I will leave you with a link to an article about the movie that is much more eloquent than mine!

Sochi 2014

Is it just me or do these Olympics seem to have a different feel to them than years past? I don't feel the America loving vibe or the unity that the Olympics usually creates.  My coworkers and I have been talking about the Olympics all morning and Christopher and I have been watching them quite a bit.  That being said, I don't feel like I'm missing out when I don't catch something on TV. 

For one, it is hard to be on twitter during the olympics (something I remember from London 2012).  If you want to watch a race/competition and be surprised by who wins then DO NOT go on twitter during the day.  Every race I have watched so far, I have already known the outcome.  Not because I look it up but because my social media addiction makes it hard to not click on that little blue birdy.

Secondly, the scandals around Sochi are absolutely ridiculous.  From the man holes not being covered, the disgusting water, the hotels that are completely undone with wires hanging everywhere, and the list continues.  Just check this site.  It is pretty disgusting/scary.  I think when you see a country/city struggle so much to get things ready for the games it creates a sense of un-excitement.  How can you be pumped for the olympics when the olympics aren't ready for the games, athletes, and media? 

I also think that Russia in general has a lot to do with the lack of excitement for the Olympics.  One coworker was saying how bummed she would be as an athlete if that is where you were going to compete--now I personally wouldn't turn down a trip to anywhere on this Earth because I love to explore especially internationally, I do feel that Russia is not a top 10 destination on anyone's radar especially given the controversies in their nation.  Their anti-gay sentiments in particular leave me with a feeling of divided-ness, not unity, which is something I have always loved about the Olympics.  The fact that athletes have to "watch their backs" while their because of their sexual orientation makes me nauseous.  How on earth are we in 2014 and still do not love and accept all humans for their personhood?  It is mindboggling to me. 

Lastly, I think our world becomes more and more cynical and negative as time goes on rather than the other way around.  A lot of that likely has to do with how quickly news can spread and how much news is worth.  We can't find articles about the strides Sochi has made for the Olympics to take place because those don't exist.  It's not that they haven't made strides, but that negative news is more "exciting".

All of that being said- I love the Olympics and I love watching the competitions.  I still think the Summer games are much more exciting but watching people fly through the air on skis and snowboards is pretty fantastic.