en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1125285 Comments by AttemptedLife00 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295184 Second of all for that matter, I don’t think it has to do with just being black! White’s “cry” reverse-discrimination quite often in hopes of obtaining money from their employer, although they’re usually not as successful. Regardless, in my opinion the people who so openly speak out against affirmative action need to get some of their facts straight. The law exists and developed for a reason, one that not every Chuck, Larry, and Tom is capable of ascertaining the reasoning behind. Maybe at some point in the future they will. Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:56:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295184 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295165 Every day I take for granted my birth status. The fact that I am a white male born to an upper-middleclass family means that I have far more capability from the get-go relative to a vast majority of other people. Frankly I think in order for people to justifiably bash Affirmative Action, they should at the very least be capable of reflecting on their lack of “need” over something like affirmative action in our society. I’m not sure how many whites I’ve heard, Democrat and Republican alike speak with open vulgarity over the concept of Affirmative Action. The general consensus seems to be that blacks utilize the opportunity to “cry” racism in the work-place, and reap the rewards otherwise. To these white people I have two things to say. First of all, I get the impression that many white individuals in present day America are not very familiar with history. Sure they’ve read the textbooks and watch the history channel, but I feel that it’s very hard for most Americans to visualize the hundreds of years of racism that led up to justifying something like Affirmative Action. Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:55:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295165 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295155 Only after this lecture did I realize the crazy extent to which Nepotism plays a role in our lives. These several friends of my dad’s who I now know in the legal department of his company will very likely prove advantageous to me in the work force sometime in the future. Even so, I find it fascinating how I did not work for a legal company (although I suppose all companies are legal to some extent) I still managed to network in hopes of benefiting my future legal career. Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:55:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295155 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295135 When I was sixteen, I took a summer away from the camp I had grown up with to intern with my dad’s contracting firm. The work was relatively easy (using a couple of easily explained programs) and the pay was fantastic (12 dollars an hour). In addition to the extensive amount of bank I established over the course of that summer, I met several of my dad’s friends in the legal department of his company, several of which I continue to talk to on a friendly basis. Wed, 7 Jul 2010 11:55:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85295135 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84801555 Personally I feel that your comment "if you don't belong in this country, you don't belong" is nothing if not ignorant. I don't advocate for illegal immigration, as it is illegal. If the federal government deems one illegal activity to no longer be an issue, than there is nothing stopping the other laws from being justifiably breeched as well. However, in recognizing the "wrongness" so to speak of illegal immigration, we must also recognize the reasoning behind which these people are coming to our country. I think a statement regarding "who belongs" in this country is borderline racist in that no one "belongs" or "doesn't belong" short of their legal status here. In my opinion, your statement gives off the impression that you are a spoiled American without the capability to acknowledge the lives that these people are leading prior to their immigration. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:31:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84801555 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800704 When we see a Hispanic individual walking down the street, too often is the association made to an illegal immigrant. This country is widely renowned for being a melting pot, a place where many different cultures and peoples are citizens together. Yet despite this fact, racist associations and generalizations dominate our daily thinking. We must recognize our racism for what it is, and do our best to cease from instantly categorizing people from their external features. It’s immature, undeveloped, and will lead us absolutely nowhere as a society. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:22:53 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800704 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800689 Like Sam said in lecture, when most people think of immigration problems, they think of Mexicans. Immediately Mexicans are labeled as coming into our country unjustifiably and are attacked as a group for negatively affecting our lives as Americans. I feel that before we can fault Mexicans for what they have done to this country, we must observe several facts. First of all, recognize that North America houses the only border in the world of a Developed and Developing Country (First and Third World). There are worse places to live in this world than Mexico, but by no means does that mean the majority of the country EVEN pales in comparison to what the average American enjoys the luxury of. In recognizing this, I feel as though we move away from blaming the immigration issue on the Mexican people, and addressing the issue as a more generalized problem that cannot be directed to any one thing. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:22:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800689 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800674 One must consider the ramifications for no longer holding illegal immigration to be a matter of illegality. What differentiates one law in this country from another? In my opinion, the only enforcement tool the federal government has of ensuring that its laws are followed is the precedent set by the other laws which are a part of its legal system. I feel that disrupting this balance would be fatal. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:22:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800674 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800660 Immigration is undoubtedly an issue. I think one of the largest issues with this issue is that it is too often overlooked as an issue in the first place. When we acknowledge that something needs to be done about it, we are being proactive. Actually doing something is another issue entirely. It is a lot easier to identify what is not a potential solution than to identify what is. For example, I do not feel that condoning any form of illegal immigration is in any way even remotely a solution. Either some sort of legal ramification needs to take place upon illegal immigration being found, or what is currently illegal immigration must no longer be considered to be illegal. When the federal government begins overlooking any “law,” it completely defeats the abstract value of our legal system. Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:22:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-13-immigration__trashed/#IDComment84800660 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83634727 I find it interesting that you say "I don't think it is normal" in regards to "gays." What is normal? My understanding is that normalcy is a relative concept. Something else that I find intersting is that you proceed to say "who am I to judge" immediately after you verbalize homosexuality's supposed lack of "normalcy." This bothers me. If homosexuality is not something that is normal, then clearly it is something abnormal. I think that if you had pointed out how homosexuality was less common than, say, heterosexuality: and as a result of its uncommonness was abnormal: it would be something different. Yet "our physical make up is that way for a reason." I implore you to emphasize on this point. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 02:59:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83634727 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632335 I thoroughly agree with Sam when he says that if a person is gay, he or she is born that way. It is not a conscious decision that an individual makes; one that would cause them to lead a life infinitely more difficult than would be the case under more “normal” circumstances. That being said, I also find it intriguing that we are looking at homosexuality after talking about the concept of racism for so long. I group the two together in that racism is just a specific form of discrimination. I think the reason that people are so adamantly against homosexuality is a combination of their lack of understanding, as well as their inherit tendencies to follow tradition. Tradition, which as I stated earlier, developed in a world where homosexuality still existed, but was not as widely recognized as it is today. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 02:51:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632335 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632310 Let’s try to build off of this point. Many argue that homosexuality is a choice. If this was the case, clearly those who are gay made the wrong decision by deviating from the norms which have become popularized in our culture. But if we back up for a second, if gay tendencies exist within other species as well, this would mean that in order for homosexuality to be a choice we would need to recognize the capability of these other species to likewise make such a choice. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 02:51:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632310 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632172 So let’s back up for a second. I don’t believe true neutrality can actually exist in regard to the gay issues we face today, for if an individual has the guts to get his or her hands dirty and explore the issue in depth, I feel as though it is impossible to not come out in one of the two ends of the spectrum. I don’t mean to criticize anyone’s particular view-points, for as Sam has emphasized numerous times, the entire purpose of this class is to share differing opinions. Despite this, I’m truly amazed at how some people can choose to disassociate the word “normal” with homosexuality. Going back to the lecture Sam gave, homosexual tendency is not something that is unique to the human race. I can pretty much guarantee that at one point or another each of the people in this class have witnessed a male dog humping another male dog. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 02:50:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632172 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632144 One of the common misconceptions about homosexuality is that it has only become pervasive within our society over the past several decades. However, despite this belief, homosexuality has existed on a global scale for thousands of years. Ancient Mesopotamian/Greek paintings and literature illustrate how this is nothing new. Yet as a result of the media and the surge of members of the gay community coming “out of the closet” over the past several decades, the issue of homosexuality has begun to be more commonly addressed. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 02:50:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83632144 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81840550 Like you, I was deeply affected by the “girl like me” video. I feel as though these children choosing white dolls is not such a big deal, but like you said the reasons they give is the issue. If children already have such negative images of their skin color at these incredibly young ages, I feel as though it foreshadows amplified negative feelings when they are older. Our society begins to play a major role in these children’s lives at a very young age. As Sam said, while white children can stay in the pre-awakening stage for a long period of time, it’s not surprising that black children are thrown into the awakening stage whether they want to or not. BLOG RESPONSE FOR WEEK 6 LESSON 10 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:07:37 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81840550 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839486 Let’s be hypothetical for a moment. What if this woman had an open house for the apartment she was renting? During this open house, all of the people on the phone came through including the white man at the end of the commercial. If one of the minorities made an offer on the apartment higher than the white man, she would be forced to take it unless she wanted to face the ramifications for openly breaking the fair housing law. I wonder what she would do at that point. Maybe seeing these people face to face would make her less prone to worry about their race? At the same time, I wonder if she would still grant the apartment to the white man if he was very rude to her as opposed to any member of the minority who was more civil. I guess the purpose of these questions I pose to no one in particular is to ponder how far racism resides within people. I’m not sure there is really any way to test this though… so I’ll have to keep wondering. BLOG ENTRY FOR WEEK 6 LESSON 10 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:02:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839486 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839347 Even if such a woman had a traumatic experience with… say a black man when she was younger, it would not give her just cause to discriminate against ALL the minorities that phoned her. I recognize that this was just a commercial, and was most likely staged for the purposes of advertisement, but that is not to say that situations such as this do not occur every day. I cannot imagine living in this country as a minority. To say the least it would be a completely different experience than to live as a white. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:02:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839347 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839289 In the second video, where the man changed his voice repeatedly and was told the apartment he was requesting to rent was taken, I wonder what associations the woman on the other end of the phone must be making. Not only did she deny the apartment to an individual who sounded black, but a woman simply because she was a mother, a handicapped person, and several others. I wish that I could read this woman’s mind as she denied these people. What could she possibly be thinking that would set her so adamantly against renting an apartment to someone?? It’s not like anyone was asking her to make friends with these people. She would only need have very limited contact with them! I’m truly just not capable of fathoming what would drive anyone to be so completely racist. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:02:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839289 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839178 The two videos in the first lecture on the Fair Housing Act both affected me greatly. Never before have I even taken the time to consider the degree to which minorities face discrimination is ALL aspects of their lives. To think, in the world we live in today, which is so commonly praised for its unrivaled tolerance (at least comparatively with other times in history) it is still common for individuals to be denied shelter on the basis of their ancestry. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:01:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81839178 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81163559 How scary is it that people so consciously ignorant exist? The very concept of white supremacy is so blatantly racist that I can’t believe people still support it today. It makes me wonder if such an idea would still exist if the world was forced to sit through Sam’s 119 class. But seriously. Denouncing the validity of the holocaust on national television? That’s a bit over the top in my opinion. This type of thing is a clear indicator of how vulnerable children are to parroting their parents’ views. The danger of racist individuals manifests in their ability to produce more racist individuals. Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:20:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81163559