Johnny Mad Dog

I had mixed emotions about Johnny Mad Dog...although I found the book entertaining I never once stopped thinking that this kind of stuff happens all the time in Africa which made it frustrating and difficult to read at times. I was watching Tropic Thunder not too long ago and in the movie, the characters have a run in with a group of drug smugglers and the leader of them all is a homocidal child...although the movie mocks the idea of "child soldiers" or more specifically drug lords and poverty, I couldn't help but be reminded of the harsh reality of this lifestyle that was more truthfully depicted in Mad Dog. In a way it almost seems comical reflecting back on it now, because the whole idea seems completely absurd, however for the children in Johnny Mad Dog this way of life is very real (and very, very gruesome) and what these children fail to realize is that they are really nothing more than just brain washed little machines that have been programmed to lie, cheat, steal and kill. One aspect of the book that I did appreciate was Laokole's character, she seemed to provide some kind of humanity and relateable quality that made me realize the realness and effect of all of the destruction caused by Mad Dog and the other soldiers in the text. While the young boys glorify and glamorize killing (through strange yet eerie Western pop culture nicknames and clothing) and the power that coincides with it, she seemed to represent the real life consequences of all of this needless death and destruction. One part that really made me realize the stark contrast between Laokole and Mad dog's lives was when the book describes Laokole pushing her father on a wheelbarrow and trying to find her brother...I cannot imagine the immense frustration and hopelessness of her situation, and to make matters worse it seems like all of the child soldiers (the same age as her) have been completely transformed into killing machines. Whats even worse is that these kids justify their actions by mistaking their heartless savagery with the lifestyle of "real soldiers", their minds have been so distorted that they cant even distinguish wrong and right because all of their horrible behavior has been associated with masculinity and adulthood...things that any child naturally aspires for.