This is the subject which has bothered me when i left the lecture room on Thursday afternoon. What bothered me is whether i should choose European Union Law class or Violence in Peace & War. European Union Law looks good on paper but i dislike the teaching style of the instructor which may flatten my motivation for the whole semester. On the other hand, the other class looks interesting but it’s the subject that i dislike.

In that class, we had to watch a film about the passion of killing in times of war. It was an interview of Vietnamese war veterans who are struggling with post-war trauma and seeks purpose in life by killing enemies. It was a gruesome storytelling about war veterans who cannot continue life like civilians because in times of war they found a life’s calling. It’s when a man finds himself only being protected by the law of the jungle and it ultimately comes down to survival of oneself. There was one veteran who collected his victim’s ears as a momento to keep track on how many people he killed: it was 36.

Then after the viewing, we met the director of the film. She was a former Israeli soldier who wanted to show perspective on what drives killers to kill. She also expressed empathy towards the veterans as she tried to express that killers can be victims as well. The war veterans were normal civilians and were brainwashed during training in perceiving that the enemies are not human and can be expendable. Many veterans cannot adjust to civilian life and wish they can continue their journey in another war.