Challenge from bumblepuppies: Thinking of another object or event that project radically different meaning depending on the viewer or participant. Then write a true or fictional story that incorporates the differing perceptions people have of your chosen topic.
On Monday night TV, here in Australia on Q&A, we had the privilege of hearing a most impressive and compassionate man, Bryan Stevenson. Because there are two Australians on death row in Indonesia, the topic of the death sentence was uppermost. (We, fortunately, no longer have the death sentence in Australia). The two men who have been in jail for over nine years have positively changed their lives for the better. Is the death sentence going to change anything, apart from causing the families of these men enormous heart break? The drug trade will not stop because of these executions.
Bryan Stevenson was later interviewed this week on radio by Jon Faine, during which Bryan said words to the effect of: ‘Capital punishment is only carried out on those without capital, by those with all the capital.’
It was a delight to hear such an eloquent and able speaker, especially on this emotive topic. Another quote from Bryan Stevenson is:
‘If it is not right to rape a rapist, how can it be OK to kill a killer?’
This American works with people on death row, and describes in his book how difficult it is for those who are immediately affected. Bryan Stevenson’s book, ‘Just Mercy’, is one that I shall be looking out for.
https://blacklightcandelabra.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/divergent-meanings/
Barbara Pyett 