We attempt to explain to others the pain that we are experiencing and doctors attempt to relieve us of this pain. Our bodies however are extremely tricky and for some the pain is "all in their head." Psychological disorders such as somatization disorder and pain disorder, where there is no medical explanation behind the pain an individual is experiencing, affects a small percentage of people. These people are not malingering (faking or pretending), the pain they are experiencing is real. But what happens when you explain a 'false' sensation to a doctor? Since it is so difficult for us to describe our pain to others in the first place the fact that nothing is causing the pain seems to make it harder to describe since there is not a place that can truly be pinpointed as to the origin of the sensation.
When having difficulty locating where the source of the pain is, be it real or 'imagined', many tests must be administered in order to (hopefully) find the location of origin. Maybe if we can formulate a better method of explaining our pain those with psychological disorders can better be helped while those with true pain may be treated faster.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
China Rights Activist Beaten at Cemetery
Sun Wenguang, a retired Chinese professor, was beaten last Saturday because of his plan to commemorate the death of Zhao Zijang. After writing online that he would be visiting this pro-democracy activist's tomb, he was attacked by a group of men claiming affiliation with the Chinese government.
Some Chinese citizens are claiming that their government is waging a "campaign of terror" in order to suppress any pro-democracy celebrations. The attack of Sun Wenguang is reminiscent of the government's attack of student protestors at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The alleged "campaign of terror" is a technique used to enforce public cooperation and to inspire fear of dissenting opinions. Agents of the Chinese government use bodily violence to influence the minds of the public. By creating an environment of fear and physical violence, the government ensures the continuance of its communist policies. Additionally, by eliminating or weakening the bodies of advocates of democracy (such as Sun Wenguang), the government attempts to silence their differing opinions. However, if events like this attack continue to be reported in democratic countries, the Chinese government's actions become counter-productive by inspiring sympathy for and giving a voice to Chinese rights activists.
Some Chinese citizens are claiming that their government is waging a "campaign of terror" in order to suppress any pro-democracy celebrations. The attack of Sun Wenguang is reminiscent of the government's attack of student protestors at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The alleged "campaign of terror" is a technique used to enforce public cooperation and to inspire fear of dissenting opinions. Agents of the Chinese government use bodily violence to influence the minds of the public. By creating an environment of fear and physical violence, the government ensures the continuance of its communist policies. Additionally, by eliminating or weakening the bodies of advocates of democracy (such as Sun Wenguang), the government attempts to silence their differing opinions. However, if events like this attack continue to be reported in democratic countries, the Chinese government's actions become counter-productive by inspiring sympathy for and giving a voice to Chinese rights activists.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International urges individuals to get involved in letter-writing campaigns through its publication of "Urgent Actions." These Urgent Actions provide details on what rights are being violated, whose rights are being violated, and where to send letters to ask that these rights violations be stopped. What is so interesting about the linguistic style of these Urgent Actions is that they read like an uninterested, unbiased news report. They are devoid of emotion and descriptions of pain; they exist solely to inform the reader of the events taking place.
The purpose of writing in this style may be explained by Elaine Scarry's ideas about the perceptual complications of pain. She argues that because pain cannot be adequately expressed through language, the media must rely on visual images of pain rather than first-hand accounts of the effects of torture1. As a result, acts of violence that are more visible physically will receive more attention than verbal descriptions of pain.
By using a straightforward writing style devoid of language regarding pain, Amnesty International may hope to avoid this inequality of representation. Some victims of torture may be better able to express their pain verbally, while others are at a loss to explain how they feel. Additionally, some detainees may be unable to be reached for comment, and some of their proof may be more visual compelling than the documentation of other victim's. Therefore, in order to assure that each of its Urgent Actions receives equal attention, language expressing pain or emotional involvement must be omitted from the reports.
1. Scarry, Elaine. The Body in Pain: the Making and Unmaking of the World. Oxford University Press, 1985, p. 12.
The purpose of writing in this style may be explained by Elaine Scarry's ideas about the perceptual complications of pain. She argues that because pain cannot be adequately expressed through language, the media must rely on visual images of pain rather than first-hand accounts of the effects of torture1. As a result, acts of violence that are more visible physically will receive more attention than verbal descriptions of pain.
By using a straightforward writing style devoid of language regarding pain, Amnesty International may hope to avoid this inequality of representation. Some victims of torture may be better able to express their pain verbally, while others are at a loss to explain how they feel. Additionally, some detainees may be unable to be reached for comment, and some of their proof may be more visual compelling than the documentation of other victim's. Therefore, in order to assure that each of its Urgent Actions receives equal attention, language expressing pain or emotional involvement must be omitted from the reports.
1. Scarry, Elaine. The Body in Pain: the Making and Unmaking of the World. Oxford University Press, 1985, p. 12.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Dance Marathon
This may be a little far-fetched, but I think it works.
This weekend was the Rutgers University Dance Marathon, which raises money and awareness for the Embrace Kids foundation. The Embrace Kids foundation supports kids and families of kids with cancer, sickle cell, and other blood disorders. The foundation is local, and the money goes straight to the families who are in serious need of financial support due to the extreme cost of their medical bills. At Dance Marathon, the dancers pledge at least $320 to stand on their feet and dance for 32 hours straight for the kids, with no sleep or sitting breaks. If you are caught doing either, you are yelled at by a security guard to get up and star dancing for the kids.
This event is wonderful, and we raised over $323K this year. However, the amount of work and stress your body must go through for 32 hours is, according to my friends and I who participated, torture. By hour 15, your feet became swollen and itchy, and relief was a far 17 hours away. Some of us became delusional, creating dramatic scenarios that ended in tears because we did not know how to deal with the pain we were feeling. We weren't just cranky from being tired, but we were hurting for the serious need to sit down and relieve ourselves. A trip to the EMT didn't even help my friend when she felt as if she was going to pass out from the lack of food the even provided, especially at 4 AM, when you couldn't even persuade one of your friends to drop off a bagel or crackers for you.
I guess the Marathon is supposed to symbolize the amount of physical pain and stress these children and their families have to go through as they battle cancer. Their bodies literally must fight to survive, and their families try to do everything to save them. Unfortunately, two of the children and their families in Embrace kids lost the battle against cancer this year. The amount of pain that our bodies felt for a short 32 hours was well worth fighting to keep the children in Embrace Kids alive, and at the end of the Marathon, we were all in tears. We had done something bigger than our bodies, bigger than ourselves. Our minds fought the will to sit down and to sleep and we won. It was all "FTK!" (For the Kids)
This weekend was the Rutgers University Dance Marathon, which raises money and awareness for the Embrace Kids foundation. The Embrace Kids foundation supports kids and families of kids with cancer, sickle cell, and other blood disorders. The foundation is local, and the money goes straight to the families who are in serious need of financial support due to the extreme cost of their medical bills. At Dance Marathon, the dancers pledge at least $320 to stand on their feet and dance for 32 hours straight for the kids, with no sleep or sitting breaks. If you are caught doing either, you are yelled at by a security guard to get up and star dancing for the kids.
This event is wonderful, and we raised over $323K this year. However, the amount of work and stress your body must go through for 32 hours is, according to my friends and I who participated, torture. By hour 15, your feet became swollen and itchy, and relief was a far 17 hours away. Some of us became delusional, creating dramatic scenarios that ended in tears because we did not know how to deal with the pain we were feeling. We weren't just cranky from being tired, but we were hurting for the serious need to sit down and relieve ourselves. A trip to the EMT didn't even help my friend when she felt as if she was going to pass out from the lack of food the even provided, especially at 4 AM, when you couldn't even persuade one of your friends to drop off a bagel or crackers for you.
I guess the Marathon is supposed to symbolize the amount of physical pain and stress these children and their families have to go through as they battle cancer. Their bodies literally must fight to survive, and their families try to do everything to save them. Unfortunately, two of the children and their families in Embrace kids lost the battle against cancer this year. The amount of pain that our bodies felt for a short 32 hours was well worth fighting to keep the children in Embrace Kids alive, and at the end of the Marathon, we were all in tears. We had done something bigger than our bodies, bigger than ourselves. Our minds fought the will to sit down and to sleep and we won. It was all "FTK!" (For the Kids)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Body in Pain
While reading The Body in Pain, there were certain aspects of the part of Pain and Interrogation, that struck me as interesting.
When Elaine Scarry wrote about Sartre's story "the wall" about the prisoner in Spain that had the death sentence. He was then given the option to live, if and only if, he rats out his friend. Now he gives a false location, but they get his friend anyway and he is not sentenced to death. This Scarry is the "mock execution",a "process of dying". It strikes me as very interesting because it is a clever way to get the information that you want. Its a psychological cleverness that makes the person so desperate that he would do anything to just get out of being executed. This is back to my other blog post where i talked about the torture of Abu Ghrabi, that physical torture didn't quite work with getting answers, that psychological torture was the best way to get accurate answers. Granted i am not saying any type of torture is good, but the way to play with a person psyche to get answers is better then pulling out teeth, or breaking bones.
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