Is this topic too risky? Forum

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Anonymous User
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Is this topic too risky?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:45 am

For my PS I am considering writing about how I am half American and half German, and how each of my grandfathers fought on different sides in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world. Of course this means writing about how one fought for the US and the other was conscripted to fight for Nazi Germany. Would this be too controversial?

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:50 am

I think the risk is that it will really be about your grandfathers and not so much you.

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bmathers

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by bmathers » Tue Oct 18, 2016 11:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world
Is this true? How old were you during WW2?

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cavalier1138

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by cavalier1138 » Wed Oct 19, 2016 5:12 am

bmathers wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world
Is this true? How old were you during WW2?
I can see why you'd think the OP said that World War II shaped their understanding of the world, since you apparently only read a few words of one sentence in their initial post. But I promise that if you read the whole thing, it'll get a little clearer.

OP: Nony already told you the biggest risk. You need to make sure that the PS focuses on your relation to this information, not on your grandfathers' stories.

zeglo

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by zeglo » Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:12 am

.
Last edited by zeglo on Sun Jul 16, 2017 12:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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bmathers

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by bmathers » Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:23 am

cavalier1138 wrote:
bmathers wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world
Is this true? How old were you during WW2?
I can see why you'd think the OP said that World War II shaped their understanding of the world, since you apparently only read a few words of one sentence in their initial post. But I promise that if you read the whole thing, it'll get a little clearer.

OP: Nony already told you the biggest risk. You need to make sure that the PS focuses on your relation to this information, not on your grandfathers' stories.
I read the entire post. He said that them fighting shaped his worldview, I am just wondering if that is true

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cavalier1138

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by cavalier1138 » Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:04 am

bmathers wrote:
cavalier1138 wrote:
bmathers wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world
Is this true? How old were you during WW2?
I can see why you'd think the OP said that World War II shaped their understanding of the world, since you apparently only read a few words of one sentence in their initial post. But I promise that if you read the whole thing, it'll get a little clearer.

OP: Nony already told you the biggest risk. You need to make sure that the PS focuses on your relation to this information, not on your grandfathers' stories.
I read the entire post. He said that them fighting shaped his worldview, I am just wondering if that is true
He said the fact that they fought on different sides of the war shaped his worldview, not their literal act of fighting.

Reading comprehension, folks. It's a useful skill.

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bmathers

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by bmathers » Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:16 am

cavalier1138 wrote:
bmathers wrote:
cavalier1138 wrote:
bmathers wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world
Is this true? How old were you during WW2?
I can see why you'd think the OP said that World War II shaped their understanding of the world, since you apparently only read a few words of one sentence in their initial post. But I promise that if you read the whole thing, it'll get a little clearer.

OP: Nony already told you the biggest risk. You need to make sure that the PS focuses on your relation to this information, not on your grandfathers' stories.
I read the entire post. He said that them fighting shaped his worldview, I am just wondering if that is true
He said the fact that they fought on different sides of the war shaped his worldview, not their literal act of fighting.

Reading comprehension, folks. It's a useful skill.
I understand. And what I am asking is if that is true. How did it shape his worldview?

Ad hominem snippets at the end of your posts, lovely

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poptart123

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by poptart123 » Wed Oct 19, 2016 10:25 am

And here go my two grandfathers fighting in this thread..

Yeah, OP, just agreeing with others above about the topic. It sounds really interesting, but with the usual page limit I don't know how much you would be able to talk about this and yourself. I would try to find a story from your life that comes from a personal experience (as in you being present) or personal memories.

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sweets91

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by sweets91 » Wed Oct 19, 2016 10:31 am

bmathers wrote:
cavalier1138 wrote:
bmathers wrote:
cavalier1138 wrote:
bmathers wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:in ww2 shaped my understanding of the world
Is this true? How old were you during WW2?
I can see why you'd think the OP said that World War II shaped their understanding of the world, since you apparently only read a few words of one sentence in their initial post. But I promise that if you read the whole thing, it'll get a little clearer.

OP: Nony already told you the biggest risk. You need to make sure that the PS focuses on your relation to this information, not on your grandfathers' stories.
I read the entire post. He said that them fighting shaped his worldview, I am just wondering if that is true
He said the fact that they fought on different sides of the war shaped his worldview, not their literal act of fighting.

Reading comprehension, folks. It's a useful skill.
I understand. And what I am asking is if that is true. How did it shape his worldview?

Ad hominem snippets at the end of your posts, lovely
lol you're clearly back-tracking here from your initial post questioning OP how old he/she was during WW2.

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bmathers

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by bmathers » Wed Oct 19, 2016 10:46 am

That comment was tongue in cheek, it was basically me doubting the truth that them fighting formed his worldview, bc he was nowhere near being alive at the time

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bmathers

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by bmathers » Wed Oct 19, 2016 10:48 am

I just ain't see how that can form your worldview any different than works history in high school. I think that you just misunderstood my original intent with that line

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guynourmin

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by guynourmin » Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:52 am

bmathers wrote:I just ain't see how that can form your worldview any different than works history in high school. I think that you just misunderstood my original intent with that line
I see how it could inform one's worldview, fwiw. It would be different than a typical high school world history class because, if your high school was anything like mine, literally no one was actively engaged in class! If you think sitting around trying not to fall asleep while going over ww2 for 7-10 days every other year could have the same impact on someone as two of the most important people in their life literally on opposite sides of a great war like that, then I don't know what to tell you.

It probably shouldn't be OPs ps, though.

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Re: Is this topic too risky?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:37 pm

Thanks for the input guys. I can see how it could be too focused on my grandparents. I'm going to see if I can come up with a different topic. Thanks!

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