Landan Rivers: Blog Option 3

           In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, a stoning is allowed to happen due to traditions taking priority over what one would normally consider “lawful.” Throughout the story, there is really no mention of law enforcement existing; if there is any form of one, they seem to have no problem with the idea of the lottery and the consequences of it.  In Nunam Iqua, Alaska, there is “no local law enforcement presence” (CNN.com).  Domestic violence in the 300-person village has a tendency to run rampant, with most victims have no option to call for help because help does not exist. This is very similar to the small village found in The Lottery, in which citizens seem to turn a blind eye on the violence by downplaying it’s severity.

            One of the main criticisms of The Lottery that we talked about in class was the idea of people questioning if something like the tradition of the lottery had the ability to take place today. While the situation in Alaska is not a planned yearly killing like the lottery, it’s one that is just as scary, if not more so. Situations such as these are alarming because as a society we are allowing them to happen. In The Lottery, Old Man Warner was a strong advocate of the lottery taking place every year, stating that, “There's always been a lottery” (Jackson), and committing himself to the tradition that he had taken part of for the last 77 years. For the people in Alaska, not having local law enforcement and women being victims are just the way things are. In fact, in Nunam Iqua, “….residents seem to tolerate the violence. No one likes it, of course. But, in the same way the resident of a war-torn country might say they've got no choice but to go on living, people here are trying to adapt to this normal” (CNN.com).  So like the residences in Nunam Iqua, maybe the characters in The Lottery don’t truly like the lottery situation, but rather see it as a “normal” phenomenon that they just have to learn to deal with.

            I think instances such are these are easy for the general population to separate themselves from – the “this can’t happen in my town” ideal.  Unfortunately, this does happen every single day. People are being sexually abused, some sort of violence is seen on the news every day, and law enforcement isn’t always capable of stopping what is happening. It then falls into the hands of society to stop what is happening and push for reforms and changing what is seen as “normal.” While change can be difficult, and often resisted like the case of Old Man Warner, sometimes taking an objective look at things shows that the normal we accept may need to be less acceptable.