ARTICLE REFLECTION 3 - PAPA, THE PHILOSOPHER

      In the article "Papa, the Philosopher" the writer "Leo Buscagila" tells about his own experiences about being from a minority and being exposed to discrimination and undesirable attitudes by his friends at school. I found this article very educative and fluent at the same time. The author had written in such a manner that i felt like watching the cases which took place between Leo, his friends and father with my own eyes. I chose this article to write a reflection about because it tells about a very crucial point for most of the societies in which minorities live, and also it teaches the readers important lessons about how we should behave against people who are cruel and ill-mannered against different people. The father's attitude in the story suggests that we should be wise at all times and be insistent on behaving decently no matter what.

      This story is a good example for the people who are exposed to discrimination due to their cultures, nations and any other differences. What i liked most in the article is that it is clearly reflected no matter where ,why and how it occurs, different people are regarded as being negatively separate from the majority. We can witness the same situation in our country and era, as well. For instance, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals are the most distinct example of discrimination in Turkey and all around the world. Most people do not accept them as normal people and want them kept away from the public lest they should deteriorate the societal morals. Moreover, they mock with LGBT people's situations and swear at them.

     Another point that impressed me in the article is the immature child's being unaware of his own value as an Italian and wanting to be the same as the other children, namely American. In a Turkish movie titled "Hükümet Kadın", the motto of the main character was that : " The world is beautiful with the people who are not like you. It is beautiful with the knowledge, values and love that they give you. What would be the difference(in positive terms) of white if everyone was white? " This cue was repeated several times in the movie, and many people seemed to have been impressed by this point of view. Buscagila wanted to be the same as others in order not to be behaved cruelly by his friends when he was a child because he was not aware of the worth of being different at that young age.

     I liked the story as a whole, but there is a minor point which I think to be true but not applying to the daily life. This point is father's being too much passive and nonviolent. It is inarguable that not getting involved in a fight and acting maturely is a virtue. However, if you behave this way in everyday life, you are likely to be exposed to more unpleasant acts by the majority. In our era, people would think that you are weak and easily destroyable if you step back in the first attack. 

     All in all, I enjoyed reading the article and learning true stories from an interesting life. Although the story is too optimistic in some terms, it directs people to become wise and conscious individuals.