Listening to Mr Perera’s story was intriguing because it took a seemingly short and simple story and drew out the greater moral question behind it. Through explaining his experience with racism, particularly in that story, he demonstrated why it’s important to consider the consequences before doing something.
While it was important to avoid direct conflict knowing that the other party was stronger, it was equally important to deal with what is wrong and stand up for himself. He was able to successfully avoid a fight using humour and a little help from his friends.
However, what he said after his story stuck with me– that Hollywood glorifies violence. He described how he had an image in his mind of what ‘a man should be’ at that age, influenced by popular culture and media. Through different forms of media, we are exposed to a lot of ideas and what we see sticks with us. So, it seems reasonable that by watching movies where ‘violence is glorified’, we may start to believe that violence is the way to solve an issue.
What he said about conflict resolution was important– that it is okay to apologise to avoid conflict, even when you are not in the wrong.
