"It's a matter of perspective," [Nermin] said.
"I don't want to kill people." (57)
When I read the above passage a few nights ago, I drew a big question mark in the bottom right-hand corner of the page and wrote "What's the difference [between a target and a person]?" I've been mulling it over and have come up with a few different ways of answering the question. These answers come from different perspectives. First, I answered it based on my life experience/what I know. My conclusion? Nothing. There is no difference between a target and a person; they're both humans who fear, hate, cry, breathe, and love. "Target" is just a label for a type of person, in the same way that the words techie, Asian, redhead, and nurse label people. Calling people "targets" classifies them; it doesn't change anything about them... Except from your point of view. So now that I'd come up with my morally sound, socially just answer, I stepped into Arrow's shoes. I pulled myself off my pillow-topped mattress in a comfortably heated room and into a decrepit, war-torn concrete building full of insects, bullet holes, and dust. I stripped off my plushy socks and bathrobe and donned heavy boots with the soles falling off and a faded jacket with ragged sleeves. I imagined myself chronically hungry and tired from years of fighting. My answer changed. It's not that my sense of right and wrong was suddenly mutilated; rather, I entered that moral gray zone that seems to be a common theme in this course. Such miserable conditions force people to compromise their values. If I were in Arrow's situation, I too would probably make excuses for myself when it comes to shooting people, just like I make excuses for not finishing my history reading or putting off piano practice. We all justify our wrongdoings even when we know we're not doing the right thing. And in Arrow's case, this self-deception and rationalization of her actions is probably the only way her conscience and her trigger finger can coexist without driving her mad.
I agree with you completely. The reason for distinguishing a target from a person is almost a self defense mechanism that Arrow developed. We do try to justify our actions, whether they be wrong or right. It's a matter of protecting our motives behind each actions, so that no one can question us. I think this is part of Arrow that makes her so complex to us. If Alisa did create Arrow to detach herself from murder, then why would Arrow even bother making a distinction between targets and people? Does this mean that even though Arrow was created for the job, she still doesn't possess the necessities of being a sniper? Perhaps Arrow was meant to be unaffected by her position; however, even a separate name doesn't make a difference. We humans can always look at ourselves in the eye and lie, yet we all secretly know we aren't machines; we are all subjects of exterior events and emotions.
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