roman atrocities

[A_Volpe]

There are times where I really question what I'm doing as a "Roman Reenactor", when i reflect on the Roman additudes of warfare and life and purpose, and how they went about doing it.

There are times too where I question myself as having such an interest and fascination in Military history - Is it really "good" or "healthy" to "promote" violence and warfare?...Or is it the insipid PC-World we now live in that is invading my sense of values and morals?

I certainly don't wish to promote violence or the use of violence unto others...I certainly don't like it when someone hits me, so I wish not to impart that onto someone else, esspecially a child.

So there are many times when I wonder if what I'm doing is really worthwhile, or am I just continuing a bad habit?

I think part of what makes me continue to do this and to enjoy it is a sense of detachement, escape, from the world...I get to pretend to be a Legionary for a weekend, and noone will get hurt or killed. So does this make me an actor? does it make me fake? At the end of the day I don't feel as guilty, seeing the way children can figure out that I'm not a *real* Roman, and to see how much they enjoy "playing soldier", and perhaps that's where the answer lies: Playing.

It's similar to Halloween here in the US - for one day a year, you can pretend to be anything/anyone you want, and able to do anything you want (up to a degree) - So I hope both the general public and thier children will figure out when they come to an event or a program, they realize it's an interpretation of what it might have been like, and to have "fun" to escape the world outside for a moment and just take it as it is at face value.

I don't like this idea of being "shallow", or being "fake", that's both a personal moral stance as well as a reenacting credo, I want people to realize that I'm trying to take the actual historical evidence and fact and present it to them as best as we can, and that they take away at least a snippet of that information and truth, and do whichever they want with that information, like it or not. It is what it is, so deal with it. I am NOT going to butter up and sugarcoat history or humanity for you. Do that yourself on your own time and as far away from me as possible.

Perhaps at the end of the day, the "display" of violence and war DOES have a purpose - Perhaps by showing people just how ugly, brutal, and horrific people were then and are now, perhaps kids as well as adults can take those lessons to heart and say "I won't be like this" - maybe we're saving them the experience, maybe we're doing the hard work for them.
(as with above, I'm not going to water it down, or talk down to you, or hold your hand and say it's all right or protect you/shelter you from the truth. The truth hurts. Truth is stranger than fiction. Deal.)

- "Man, those Romans had to carry 80 pounds of [crap] nearly 20 miles?! I can't possibly imagine doing that, and for what? To build a lowsy camp, and then go off an kill someone? What kind of crappy life is that?! And why do you do this on the weekend? Why do you put yourself through this?!"
~ "To experience History first-person...And it's fun!"
- "You're %^#$ Crazy, Dude!"

When I'm in a program and I explain the "blood and guts" of being a Roman and being in war, and seeing people turn green with disgust, maybe I really am educating them in how horrible humans can be....So maybe I'm...Dare I say...Killing 2 birds with one stone here? This is what people had to do all day long back then...I suffer for your education/enjoyment. Thankyou and goodnight. Will they walk away with something new and intriguing? I hope so....And I think this is what keeps me going when I'm thinking too much about the moral implications of war reenacting....That and being able to do something SO unique as to wear armor and pretend to be a soldier for the weekend and noone gets killed.

I am hopeful that most [children] who see my program and learn about warfare, don't nessesarily go home hell-bent on killing or glorifying war...I am hopeful that for the most part they had a great time getting to talk to a "Real Roman" and seeing his really awesome cool shiny armor and sharp pointy sword....In the end, how long does a child "play" war...Until he/she gets tired of it and finds something else, correct? I think we give people less credit to distern what is proper than we should.

I find it such an incredible contrast with my personality and interests. I LOVE being a history and miliary geek, but I really truly hate war and extreme violence. I find it pointless and horrific...But then we ARE humans, and perhaps we are the most horrific creatures on the planet, yet we are still PART of it all. In the greater scheme of things, we are just another kind of animal trying to survive day to day. That perhaps is so more raw and nessesary for ancient peoples....And...Where would we be in terms of cultures, education, technology and civilization - for better or for worse - without war? Even the Romans as an example - thier influence is still felt today. Very interesting parallels, and incredible technology for so-called "primitive" people...Romans, like everyone else, has different answers to the same problems.

Compared to our modern era, I would have to say Romans were not nessesarily going to war and killing people because their gods or leaders demanded it, or that it was a test of thier faith...Away from the 'politics' - They praised to thier gods to help ensure they survived and were successful in that bloody task...I think more times than not you'll find evidence of soldiers praying that the war ends quickly, with little bloodshed and that they get back home to thier families ASAP....I don't recall finding evidence of soldiers who beg/enjoy to slaughter people, who praise for bloodlust...Perhaps only as stated above to just get the "job" done as quickly as possible....The adage that "Noone Knows Peace Like A Soldier", I believe has always rang true for any culture in history...I don't think all Roman soldiers were in the army so they could go kill people (and like it). It was a job, they were getting paid, and they developed a sense of purpose. If they did really well, they go to make good money and eventually retired with a really nice pension (and never had to fight again). In the meantime they could scrounge up money and send it to family to get them through. How much time do Legionaries spend actually fighting in battle compared to twiddling thier thumbs all day?

Compare this to Hitler - "You must kill off these people I don't like because I don't like them, and because I said so, Because I'm so Awesome and Pure and so much better than you"....How about Stalin? "I don't Like You. You go to Siberia and Die"....How about Mao? "Too many people...People are annoying...People want my power. Killing people gets rid of people."

All this being said, when we look back at the atrocities, say such as with Hitler...Do we take those lessons and try not to repeat them? Or do we ignore them? Or do we secretly hide them and allow them to come back in a different form?
I think the key here is to take the lessons of the past and apply them to the present, so that the future, we hope, won't repeat that past....So yes, the Romans could be a horrific, violent, opressive people, but they also gave us technologies and culture we continue to use and be amazed at today....I guess it all depends on What you portray, how much you emphasize, and extrapilate the real lessons of it all. Yes, the Romans could really be disgusting, but it wasn't disgusting for them, it was Life. It was being a Roman....What do you take away from it? What do you learn from it....Maybe that's what we have to let everybody else figure out for themselves.

One more thing: After a swordplay demonstration, a little boy came up and was asking about the swords we were using. He wanted to know why the sword was made of metal? And why we were using swords to begin with - why were we trying to hurt each other? It was a profound moment, and even more difficult to explain, to a child who had little comprehension of violence....very profound.