Blog Entry 2.2 Altruist

The Altruist

The "Altruist" is a person that is selfless. This type of person will put someone else's needs before their own. According to Carol Pearson's "The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By" I fall into this category. To find out what type of archetype you are you must answer a series of questions. There are two types of "quizzes" you can take to find out your archetype, and I took the 6 question "quiz". Pearson also has another one that consists of twelve questions ( six just seems easier right?) After taking the "quiz" I received the news that I am a Altruist and Innocent. The reason I got two archetypes is because their is a positive and a negative. The Altruist is the positive and the Innocent is the negative. I will be speaking about the Altruist in this blog because why dwell in negativity? For those who don't know or want to know more about what a Altruist is ( don't be embarrassed if you don't know, I had the same problem before looking it up here) in depth, its an unselfish concern for the welfare of others. According to a article that I stumbled upon here states "The Altruist symbolises giving and abundance, but only that type of giving which you are passionate about, not what you think the world expects of you."

"Flower Power" Bernie Boston, Pentagon, Anti-War rally '67
You can get the link here

I chose the photo entitled "Flower Power" by Bernie Boston, because I believe that it shows a amazing form of a true altruist. You may think how on earth is that photo showing a guy putting a flower in a rifle of a clearly agitated soldier relevant to a altruist? Well best believe that it surely demonstrates selflessness. The soldier can easily shoot the young man in the face and kill him. The young man is clearly aware of that but that doesn't stop him at all. He doesn't care. The young man still puts the flower in the rifle because the issue is beyond him. He is being selfless because he is in a dangerous environment trying to prove a point and trying to protect those that are not able to be there due to fear, shame, or irrelevance. The young man is stating I don't care if you kill me, just stop killing others.

Their is a great amount of symbolism in this photo. For example the flower represents earth, which represents us. A flower is something fragile, sweet, a nice gesture. So by putting something as endearing as a flower in a machine that is used to kill people symbolizes peace. It means why shoot bullets? Lets shoot flowers, lets make peace! This photo is iconic. It was in the running for a Pulitzer prize. ( I believe it should have won, but what do I know) This was a very popular photo that shocked many people because it brought awareness, which was the whole entire point of it. This photo was taken in a anti-war march at the Pentagon in 1967 due to the Vietnam War. This was when they were drafting many young men to join the war. This was also the beginning of the psychedelic era, and soon after "Flower Power" became the main symbol of the whole anti-war psychedelic era. ( not bad for a fellow altruist)

Being a true altruist doesn't mean that you have to be naked and hungry because you gave away all your clothing and food to the people that are less fortunate. Being a real altruist is being active in the sense of trying to make a difference in some one else's life because their needs seem more important than your own. This can be as small as cancelling a date because your little sister needs your help with her homework or something huge like standing up for what you believe in and being in a photo that documents a iconic event in American history. Its all about actually caring and communicating your feelings to try to get a positive result so someone else will achieve something and that is pure satisfaction for a altruist.