Harrison Bergeron

[lukejoo1092]

Yes, I believe you're right. Trying to achieve equality by just attaching handicaps to people with better aspects is wrong. It's pointless too. This can change how the person may appear but it ultimately doesn't change what that person is. You can't change the fact that that person is not equal to you. Also, even in the story they didn't tackle every aspect of equality. It only considered intelligence, beauty, and strength. These aren't the only possible aspects that we find inequal but probably are the most significant to us. In order to make everyone equal according to the story, then we'd need to make people taller through higher heels heavier by forcing them to eat more or be bald and have no hair at all, etc. It just can't be done. So rather that stressing people out to be the same, it would be rather wise to just let them be. Be different from everyone else. A society developes becuase people interact with eachother, each contributing their skills to collectively create a better society. It is your specialties that fill in the weaknesses of others and the same way around. I believe that when everyone fills something in for someone else, then can this be called equality, a society where everyone lacks nothing.

[junilee26]

I strongly agree with Ruchira. Dictionary meaning of the word equality is justice, fairness. The story of Harrison Bergeron does not represent equality instead it shows total opposite of equality. People should be treated equally for who they are. People should definitely have liberty, the right to do anything they want to do and especially they shouldn't be forced. Also, I strongly disagree with the fact that they should hide their superior. People should always be confident at one thing and confident with their strengths.

[jisu25]

I also agree in the thought that in the story equality doesn't seem to exist at all. Everyone in the world is different in looks. strength, intelligience, etc., it is impossible to a way how people are able be all the same while actual everyone is all different. If everyone were to be the same than we cannot call ourselves humans, but robots. Robots only have to follow the command of an master, but I think that people are allowed to be act freely as anybody would.

[gb1708]

I think the equality in this story is so ridiculous,preposterous that is people who have higher intelligent, strength, beauty,etc... than other people is forced to wear handicap. About strength(example of Harrison Bergeron ) he is seven feet tall but carry three hundred pound and i think the weight of handicap is more heavy than his weight. How can he be quicker and stronger than any body else ? How can he be more handsome than another with red rubber ball in his nose ?

[irin]

think it is hard to say everbody treating equally because everbody has different talent so they can has people smart than others and it is not good they don't want to have smart people so they are treating bad way to smart people. And it is not good they are judging how they look I think it is more important to see inside. I think government doesn't make good choices. Eventhough everbody treating equally they has people doesn't treating every person equally.

[munisa]

Yes I strongly agree with Ruchira. I don't think that it is quite possible to achieve equality. What I mean is there are so many types of people in the world, each unique with their own gifts. If people want to make everyone equal then they would have to take away their uniqueness. If they take away their uniqueness by making them wear handicaps then their idea of equality isn't equality at all. Its like the idea of equality that they mention in the text book is unequality.

[james]

You are absolutely right, equality in this story should be something like treating people in same way. However, this story is forcing only people who are better than others to wear some kind of stupid and ridiculous handicaps to ware. That is just not equal for them. I mean, if the only people who are better than others are being treated like that, would it be fair for them? The law is a rule that citizens of a country make together, they should agree on that law and etc. However, in this story, to me, it seems like only politicians' decision to rather pass this law or not. And the thing I hate about the handicap law in this story is that people don't choose to be born better than others.

[JustinK.]

I agree with Luke's idea. Even though putting on these handicaps limited people's abilities and advantages, it doesn't change who that person is. A good looking person won't become ugly just because of the mask. In fact, other people will know that the uglier the mask is, the prettier the person under the mask looks like. Luke also mentioned about differences among people, which is also agree to. No one is the same in modern times, which causes competition, and competition is the key to the improvement of the society. Without competition, the society can't grow but stays the same.

[yeajinchoi]

I agree with Ruchira. I think of equality as an emotion rather than something that must be seen to be proved. If the handicaps were all gone from the society we read about, I think the citizens will start thinking that equality is gone. But actually,the true meaning of equality will be existing because the citizens would respect each other and accept each other whether they are smarter or dumber, or prettier or uglier. That should be the meaning of equality that I believe should be reflected in this story.

[bilal15]

I also agree with ruchira. They made the better people to do the work, like what ruchira said "they make beautiful people wear masks to make them the same as the "average" people", this is totally a strange thing to do making the better people to change themselves and not making the people who are ugly or not intelligent to change, what kind of equality is this?.

[mirim002]

I totally agree with ruchira...everyone should be equal. Nobody should be wearing masks no matter how beautiful they are. If the "beautiful" people wear masks than how would the people who don't wear masks feel? They shouldn't judge people by their looks, brains, or anything.

[jooyoungpark]

I agree with ruchira, the definition of equality differs from people to people. Being equal in a racism point of view it is all about treating others the same. And being equal in a point of view of Harrison Bergeron is having "average" talents and specialties. However i believe treating others equally, is truly the definition of equality, because if everyone's talents are reduced to an "average" the world would be too boring, the world needs some uniqueness, without unique people, there will be no world with uniqueness.

[ExtremelyExtremeExtremist]

Aug 30, 2012 2:35:17 GMT -5 KevinW said:

Aug 28, 2012 9:56:20 GMT -5 ExtremelyExtremeExtremist said:

The ludicrous society of United States stroke to me immediately after reading. I am speechless that the government and Handicapper General accomplished a nearly-impossible mission to make completely equal.

To me, making everyone equal by forcing them [1]to put on handicaps is like sending everyone to labor camp and torturing them brutally for a lifetime. Everyone is struggling physically and mentally, but the government doesn't know what they are doing wrong.

Aditionally, I would like to say that the government is made for torturing purpose. They forced everyone to wear handicaps, punished them if they didn't put it on, and [2] killed a "normal person" who did a right thing for the future.

[1] Is it torture if you aren't aware of it? If you can't feel pain, don't feel resentment, don't think badly of it, is it still evil? If you believe it is the right thing to do, would it still be torture?

[2] ....you mean the fifteen-year old kid who just declared himself emperor of the world?
...doesn't seem like much of an improvement. I can see him quickly falling into another regime...time and time again we've seen this in our world.

u wot m8