Sunday, May 17, 2015

Turning Life Around: A Reactionary Response to "I am a man with a heart"

Jonathan Reifman
ASA 2 Sec. 2
Week 8

     In Andrew Thi's journal, Thi details the events of his life and how his decisions led him to federal detainment and the potential of spending the rest of his life in jail. Thi tells about his family's struggle to escape Cambodia and the communist regime that persecuted his family. Once he arrived in America he began spending time with the wrong people, who introduced him to a life of thievery. Despite doing exceptionally in school, Thi claims his good grades were only a cover for his life of stealing cars. Thi eventually gets caught and faces life in prison, however, his family is able to keep him out of prison through bonds. Thi concludes by proclaiming how Jesus has changed his life and asserts that he is a changed man.
     I find Andrew Thi's story very conflicting. On one hand, I detest the person he used to be. I find it hard to find sympathy for what happened to him considering all the crimes he committed. He was clearly an intelligent person -- he had no one to blame but himself. However, I am glad for his one-hundred eighty degree turn. Overall, I think his story is revelant for everyone, in the sense that it offers a valuable lesson.

Question: Seeing that Thi was an exceptional student, one cannot point to ignorance as the cause of people turning to crime. Can one generalize people in a way that properly attributes the cause for such actions, or is everyone different?

Image: A Thai refugee camp that would be similar to the one Thi's family went through.

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