Reflection

    Through these last three blog posts, I have noticed the theme that cultural trauma creates mistrust towards the government and authority figures. Not only was this prevalent in my work, but it was a major takeaway from the course. Outside influences have formed cultural trauma and collective memory within a group or a community. In the cases I have studied, the government has consistently failed certain groups, and has caused irreparable damage. In my first and second blog posts, “Canadian Residential Schools and Cultural Trauma” and “The Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Collective Memory” I study how two separate governments exploited and abused two separate minority groups. Even though these two cases are incredibly different circumstances, two different countries, and different groups of people, the similarities of how they are treated, and how their governments have tried to make amends for their mistreatment are incredibly similar.

Trauma haunts generations, consciously or not. Regarding my third post “Marjory Stoneman Douglass Shooting Memorials: Acting out or Working Through'' the government has failed differently. Since 1999, when Columbine suffered the deadliest school shooting at the time, the government had every capability to ban guns and prevent any school shooting from happening again. This was not the case. The government's inability to protect the children of this country will leave scars on everyone affected. Subsequently, generations to come will suffer from generational trauma that could have been prevented. 

Throughout my blog posts, I have started thinking about how much trauma could have been avoided. Is every event that results in trauma not necessary? Is trauma inevitable? I know that trauma is something constructed. A traumatic event does not necessarily result in trauma. So, is there any way we can stop the formation of trauma altogether? Through my blog posts I have concluded that no, you cannot put a stop to trauma or traumatic events. That would require a perfect world where nothing ever bad happens. However, some measures can be taken to stop the repetition of certain traumas. School shootings are avoidable. There is a clear and concrete way to stop anyone from dying of guns. This is a current issue that can be solved right now. They are preventable in the future, but the trauma and the collective memory surrounding the trauma will still occur. The Canadian Residential schools and the Tuskegee Syphilis study are different situations. The trauma cannot be stopped because it already happened. However, generational trauma is still present. Both the Canadian and United States governments have made steps to reconcile their mistakes, but they are still a long way from healing the wounds they have caused. 

These blog posts have also made me think about how cultural trauma, generational trauma, and collective memory have affected my life. It is easy to look at your life and determine that you are not suffering from anything traumatic. But it isn’t that simple. Things you might not be aware of could have drastically changed the way you go about living your life. In turn, it might also affect your children and grandchildren. For instance, even though I have never experienced a school shooting, or ever had any interactions with guns, I still have an incredibly visceral fear of guns. I am part of a generation that has to have school shooting drills, and I was in elementary school when Sandy Hook happened. My age and location have placed me in a position where I share, to an extent, the same trauma that a victim or survivor of a school shooting would. For my first two posts, I don’t share the same connection. I am not a minority and therefore have never suffered at the hands of the government. My community or family does not have a collective memory that is passed down through generations. I cannot relate to my first two blog posts, but I can help other people understand how and why certain groups of people are distrusting and angry at authority.