Journal #3 --- Silko “In the Combat Zone”
Donna Marshall
I want to start by saying that I really enjoyed her essay on the violence women have to deal
with. The information about violence on women and her opinions were laid out in a way that was both
informative and entertaining. She cited examples of different rapists throughout the 1980’s and even
one from 1970. She also gave 3 personal examples of violence, or attempted violence, one of her
mother and grandmother almost being ran off he road driving from Albuquerque to Laguna, one where
she was being followed closely by some guy in a truck for 10 miles and one where 2 guys threatened to
shoot her off her horse she was riding through the national park. But the way she laid everything out it
was more like a story rather than an essay arguing women need to be more concerned about protecting
themselves because you can’t rely on others (men or authorities) to protect you. I used to run a
telemarketing office for 5 years and saw so many different girls/women come in and out that were in
slight to extreme abusive relationships and it always frustrated me to see how they would ALWAYS
justify the actions of the person abusing them, either verbally or physically or justify why they were
staying in the relationship. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed reading this because she is saying that the
power has and will always be in our own hands to stop or prevent violence, whether it be domestic or
from strangers.
I’ve been thinking more about my essay and I think I would like to write about the fact that
obesity is rising in America and that even though there is more awareness about the fact that it is a
major issue, people for the most part still aren’t taking it serious or really doing anything about it. I
settled on this topic because about a year ago I went to the doctor who nicely told me that I was obese.
I haven’t always been overweight, this is something that has developed over the last 5 years but I
didn’t know that technically I was considered obese, plus my Wii-Fit character is plump and the game
also told me that I was obese. After being told this I noticed that the majority of people around me are
as big if not bigger than me. In talking to others people say that they want to work out and eat right but
never really do or they do eat right but don’t work out or just aren’t making it a lifestyle change. I
have to admit that I am one of those people, but it’s not drilled in me that I have to do this, it’s more
like something that I could change if I want to. However, over the last 6 months to year I have read
more and more articles and seen more shows on Discovery Channel and Discover Health Channel that
show that you will most likely die of some kind of terrible disease if you don’t change. This has
inspired me to really want to change the way I eat and make exercise a daily routine. (which is still a
work in progress) I know a girl who is extremely overweight and she swears that she doesn’t need to
work out to lose weight and get in shape, she just needs to live on the Atkins diet. She literally eats
fried chicken everyday, she picks off the skin that has the ‘carbs’ in it and eats the chicken and mashed
potatoes and gravy. She daily drives to Popeye’s or KFC and buys her meals there. She really doesn’t
realize how unhealthy that seems to everyone else. But that is just one example, most people are either
misinformed or see things how they want to, that they really aren’t that overweight or they really will
start exercising next month and when the next month rolls around they say they will start the following
month because this month isn’t a good time and pretty soon we are all going to be overweight with
major health issues and will die at age 45 on average. All because we are lazy and don’t realize how
serious the situation is. I know I need to fine tune the direction of this and find some articles to support
my ideas, but this is the broad version of the topic I will write about.
Donna,
You have such a keen eye for examining the essays we read. I really enjoy how you engage with
the topics and here with Silko and her experience. As you state here and (said in class) he idea is
to make women responsible for their safety, and not to depend on others just as one cannot
depend on others to be responsible for us. NOW, for the topic! Yay, great! You have settled on
one among the many ideas you had swirling before. Lots of rich experience and observation can
play in your argument. Have you looked at any sources yet? I will be curious to see what exactly
you advocate for as far as the final focus of your argument. (20/20pts)
On a side note, this Kush guy is pretty phenomenal – went to a gallery of his just by accident and
was totally amazed! Thanks for reminding me of that experience.