The Coward & The Brave

(In between a presentation about torture that some of the EWRT1A students did in class, I hid my face and imaginarily talked to Alice)

Me: Alice, I am in need to talk to you. I'm so afraid to look at those images and videos in the screen. I can't even stand hearing the voices from the videos. I need your help, Alice!

Alice: Monica, It's okay to be afraid. I did too before facing the Red Queen and the current Jabberwocky. I felt disgusted and frightened of the things they had done to Wonderland and every creatures in the land. I even think that I might die and I wouldn't be able to go back to my personal reality. But, once I realized that I have greater power than Wonderland and believe that those stupid red head's armies are just "a pack of cards", my courage seems to be enhanced, and I wasn't afraid anymore. 

Me: Woahh, I never realized you were this courageous Alice. I thought you're just the kindest and calmest girl I've ever encountered. But Alice, this time it's different. All of the images from the book Persepolis, the internet, and the videos seem so vividly alive and I felt that humans are treated unjustly like they are a piece of dirt that is worthless and ready to be thrown away. It seems so unfair and seeing them treated that way really startled me.

Alice: Look, like I said earlier, you and the others shouldn't be afraid. You gain nothing by fearing those images. Rather than being afraid, you should stand up for those people and make a change. Let the world know how cruel it is to treat a person, the so-called most priceless thing on Earth, the way they are treated in the past or currently in prisons. Be courageous and know that everything is possible if done together as a group of people. Expect the unexpected. Maybe in the future you can save many people from their sufferings and make their lives worthwhile. Like me, I never knew that a quirky and coward girl like me could one day overcome the Red Queen and slay the Jabberwocky. But in the end, I strengthened myself and believe that I can and I will. 

(Then I began to lift my head up and be brave)

...

MMS

Note: The Alice in this post is based on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010)