After reading this post and letter, all I can say is wow. Before reading this, I would never put prisoners, especially lifers convicted of murder, in the same sentence with compassion. The perception that society has about prison and prisoners is that they are all evil people that deserve to be where they are. Nobody thinks of prisoners, especially murderers, as compassionate people because they all have done something bad to get to where they are. But after reading this letter my perception of prisoners and the prison system itself has changed. I realize now that prisoners are just like every other person and have the same feelings and emotions as everyone else, except they just made major mistakes that they are paying for now. Now I'm not saying that every prisoner is a good person because there are some people in the world who are just plain evil and don't have these common emotions, but I'm sure a majority of the prisoners are like every other person. The first thing that I thought was remarkable from this letter is how the man was showing compassion and comfort to the other man, even though they hated each other. I know that people hating each other in jail is a lot more severe than someone hating someone outside of jail because the jail life is a lot tougher and survival based. So for a man to put his hatred aside in jail is exceptional to me because it makes me realize that these people aren't evil animals, but instead are just like every other person that feels sorrow and compassion. The second thing that I thought was remarkable from this letter is how well the man was able to write. I know Sam stated in the post that he didn't graduate from high school, so for him to be able to write this well is very impressive to me. This again shows that these prisoners are animals but instead are very sophisticated people who can think and write well. This also gives me confidence that the prison system is working and is doing its job to rehabilitate criminals instead of just punishing them. I'm sure the man who wrote this letter is a completely different man now than the man he was when he was put into prison. I'm sure he developed as a person in every way imaginable and I think some of this is thanks to the prison system working. I think it's offering good resources for the prisoners to acknowledge what they did and help them develop. The final thing that I thought was amazing was how the prisoners try to reach out and help when our country and other people go through troubles. I never really thought of prisoners as helping people who want to reach out and help others but when this man described how prisoners donate blood, fill out forms to donate money, and write letters to help people I realized these men are like every other person in the world.

After watching this video, I personally don't think that we can coexist. Like you said, this world is a "dog eat dog" world. Everyone strives and competes to be the best at whatever they do. Everyone wants to possess as much as they can and have more than everyone. I don't think it will be possible for our countries to coexist. We have too many differences and views on topics and we will never come to terms with each other. Our country is too greedy and too egotistic. Other countries may be able to coexist with us but I don't think we can coexist with another country because greed, pride, and power are all too strong of things for our country to give up.

I think this post relates to the "Christian Invaders" video. I've always thought the people that do things like this are crazy and just want to cause pain and suffering to others. I thought they had no other motive than to kill people and follow the orders they were given. After reading this article and watching the video, I now understand why these people do what they do. Now not all of them are avenging a family members murder like this woman, but the ones who are doing it for this purpose I can agree with. As awful as this sounds, if someone were to kill one of my family members I would absolutely do anything in my power, including giving my life, to ensure that the people who were responsible suffer.

After watching this video, I feel more sympathetic towards the insurgents and I understand why they do what they do. However, I can't agree with Sam's idea that the Christians are "trying to take over the world." It's pretty well known that Christianity is one of the most practiced religions in the world. With Christianity's large numbers, there will most likely be more than one Christian in positions of power. So when these people make big decisions, like going to war, they aren't doing this so Christianity can become the only religion in the world. They don't want to wipe out all the other people who practice a different religion. There are so many different forms of Christianity and to say that all these people get together and plan to take over the world and wipe out every other religion is absurd. Being a Christian, I do understand that a lot of Christians think they are the best but this doesn't mean that they are trying to take over the world. This may not be relevant, but I feel like Christians are more willing to marry and interact with other religions as opposed to other religions who want you to only socialize with your religion. I just feel like this example shows that Christians are more accepting of other religions as opposed to the others.
As for the other part of this video about understanding insurgents, before I saw it I never understood why they did what they did in regards to suicide bombing and such. Before I saw this video, my opinion about the war was I didn't really care how many people they killed. I know this sounds awful but think about what they did to our innocent citizens on September 11th. I honestly didn't care if our soldiers killed innocent people because all I can remember is the first time I saw the two planes going into the buildings. I don't agree with the war because I do truly believe that it is all about oil and oil isn't worth this. But I do agree with us seeking revenge for September 11th. On September 11th every person that was killed was innocent. They didn't do anything to the terrorists. And I also remember seeing on TV people from those countries burning and stepping on our flag after the events happened. So if our soldiers are over there killing the people who were responsible for this and the people who supported it then I am okay with it. But now my view is differently and I understand why the people fight back and injure our soldiers. If some other country were to come into our country and kill my family members I would absolutely react violently towards them.

I do agree with your idea to stop buying clothes, but I feel like eventually that would fall through because you will have to buy new clothes eventually. You can't wear the same clothes your whole life. However, it is very impressive that you are actually taking action against this horrific scenario and doing what you can to help. I just feel like it would be so hard to get everyone along with your idea of not buying clothes. There are too many materialistic people in the world who only care about themselves and will never stop buying the designer clothes and such. Also, all the big companies like Nike and all use sweat shops and slavery and it's going to be almost impossible to get people to stop buying Nike products. My solution would be to just search and find clothing companies that guarantee that they don't use sweat shops so you can still buy new clothing but you don't have to worry about people being mistreated to make your clothes.

After this class and seeing the video, I can't help but admit that it does make me question my God. If he created all of us alike and loves all of us, then why would he put certain people through such pain and agony. If he truly does exist and truly does love us then I just can't comprehend why he would make people go through such terrible things. I understand that going through tough times makes you a stronger and more mature person, but what these slaves go through is horrifying. However, I do believe that God does everything for a reason and there is a reason why these people have to go through these things.

I leave class almost everyday wondering this same question. Now in the beginning of the semester, Sam said he wasn't here for us to change our opinions to mimic his but just to inform us about the race topic and allow us to form our own opinions using this information. I personally don't think Sam is teaching this class to change our opinions so that they resemble his, but he is trying to give us information about race and inequality so we are well informed and educated and are able to make an intelligent opinion about race and inequality. Having said that, I don't think anything Sam has taught us this semester has change my opinions about race and inequality. I personally have a closed mind when it comes to this topic and it takes a lot to change my opinions. However, I do listen to everything Sam says in his lectures and I do take into account all this information, but the information isn't enough to change my opinions. I think my opinions are so hard to change because I've had them my whole life, developing them when I was little from my parents' beliefs. As I got older I developed my opinions based on my experiences and what I was taught, but the basis was from my parents and my upbringing. It's hard for me to change my opinions because I've had these opinions my whole life and it's how I was brought up my whole life and it's hard to change something you've believed in your whole life during a one semester course. But Sam isn't teaching this class to change our opinions, he's teaching it to get us to think. He wants to bring up controversial topics and topics that people have strong opinions about so he can get the whole class thinking. He wants us to develop our brains and get them thinking and have them open to new information and ideas. This is exactly what he did when he brought up the "bleeding" subject. I'm sure almost everyone in the lecture hall was surprised and shocked when he brought up the topic because it's not something people talk about daily, especially in public. This is what Sam wanted though. He wanted this reaction. He wanted to get us thinking outside the box, and he did that by bringing up such an awkward topic. Also, I always find myself talking about this class to other people and my roommates, which I believe Sam wants. I always find myself thinking about the topics in class outside of class. Overall, this class gets me thinking, a lot. Like I mentioned in the beginning, it's hard for something to change my opinions because I've developed my opinions from my upbringing and family that I've been around my whole life. So even though this class doesn't change my opinions, it still always has me thinking, inside and outside of class.

I agree with you Sam and I try to question things everyday like you, even though I know I don't do a perfect job. I try not to get offended by anything and try to talk about all topics and voice my opinion no matter what the situation is. When the topic of periods was brought up in class and many people were shook, I feel as if I was perfectly content and it didn't bother me. However, Sam using the term bleeding seemed to shake me up a bit because it kind of puts the image in your head. I feel like things are pushed aside and not talked about because that's how our society is and how it is ran. Our society is dominated by the males so it's understandable why a women's bodily function isn't acceptable to talk about, even though this bodily function is needed to create new life.

First, I agree with you about the fact that the term "bleeding" is kind of disrespectful and Sam could have used better wording like menstruation or period. I think this is a big reason why a lot of people felt awkward and why a lot of people left the class. Hearing the word "bleeding" makes me cringe and just makes you actually think of what is going on during a girl's period, but if Sam were to say period I think a lot more people would have felt comfortable because that term is accepted a lot more than bleeding. I personally have no problem talking about this topic, especially because I have a girlfriend and talk to her about it, but when Sam said bleeding I even got weirded and grossed out. Talking about the topic and all doesn't bother me one bit but saying bleeding just puts the image in your head and I know that's not an image a lot of people want to have in their head.

In regards to your second question about if men had periods then would tampons be free, I highly doubt that would happen. That's like saying everything both men and women use today should be free. Both men and women use toilet paper, eat food, drink water, need clothing, etc. so should all of those things be free? I don't think all the major manufacturers and companies would like this and it would probably hurt our economy tremendously. I know you may have just asked this question at the ending as a joke but I figured I should at least touch on it a little.

Now for your first question asking why it isn't acceptable to talk about the menstrual cycle and why men aren't educated about it, I think it comes down to our education growing up and society. The education we all received throughout our lives about this topic we all know was terrible, unless our parents or someone else actually talked about it with us. In grade school the boys and girls are both separated into different rooms and we each learn about our own bodies, not learning anything about the other sex's body. Then when we get into our later years and high school, most of our classes regarding sex and the body just talked about abstinence, safety, STD's and such and only touched on the menstrual cycle. It becomes a thing men never really learn about and then therefore don't really talk about it because they don't know what it's like. I also think it's how our society is and what is believed to be acceptable. I understand that men always talk about their bodily functions with each other and that is perceived to be okay and I'm sure women talk about their bodily functions with each other, but when it comes to the two sexes talking to each other about bodily functions then it isn't okay. First, our society, whether we like it or not, is dominated by the male gender. So I personally feel like if it's dominated by the men then it wouldn't be okay to talk about a women's bodily function, especially her period. Second, I just feel like women aren't usually acceptable to talking about bodily functions in general so why should we talk about the menstrual cycle. If a guy were to tell a girl about his past bathroom experience or something, she would be grossed out and very uncomfortable most likely, even though both men and women do the same things in the bathroom. So if women aren't okay with men talking about bodily functions, especially bodily functions that we BOTH do, then why would it be okay for us to talk about a bodily function that women do.