en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/763046 Comments by Colleen525 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69580097 Reading this article was something very new to me. I have luckily never been directly related to any close friends or family going to prison so I have never really given much thought to people who are put behind bars. I believe I have been caught up in watching television and movies and thinking that they are all one hundred percent horrible people who deserve to be there. Me, like many others, do not really give much thought to these people because why should I, they’re in jail right? This letter made me feel a little twinge of guilt for not giving this matter the time of day. With that being said, I want it to be clear in saying that I do not think that prison should be a beautiful place with different luxuries. I am a full believer that if you do wrong and go against the law, you should be punished. I grew up with my father, a detective, who was constantly preaching to my brothers and sisters and I to always do the right thing, especially when it came to obeying the law. So as stated before, if you are a criminal who has somehow or someway gone against the court of law, I believe there should be maximum consequences. But another thing I do understand is that not everyone is perfect and that everyone makes mistakes. Although when I mention mistakes, I mean it in a light sense. If you went to jail because of murder or kidnap or rape, I don’t believe in any second that would be considered a mistake. When it comes to this article, I don’t mean that he should be freed and let go, I mean that maybe he should be given a second thought just to have people come and listen to him. It seems that he has spent more than enough time in jail to think about life as a whole. This man has evolved greatly from the man he started out has. I think that giving him an opportunity to have more people come and listen to him can benefit other kids who were in his shoes greatly. Reading this article helped me realize that just because people are sent to jail does not mean that they are not people anymore. It did surprise me a little to know that there are many random acts of kindness behind bars because living in the outside world, I barely see them myself on a daily basis. So from on instead of automatically assuming that these men behind those gates are complete animals, I may stop and think about the kind of person they may have been if they were not initially there. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:40:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69580097 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68422208 I do believe that Hollywood has become more diverse in the sense of portraying different types of women but I’m not exactly sure if I would go all the way to say they portray every type of woman. The thing about Hollywood is that whenever these women are put on the spotlight, they go through hours of hair and make up so what we see is not exactly the same as what they are really like. I do agree that the media is to blame for all of these ridiculous stereotypes that women face on a daily basis. The play was a great eye-opening movement that showed not only how stupid it is for girls to try to live up to these standards, but guys as well. I think it’s nearly impossible to escape these standards though. I know after the play was over there were a lot of girls who were speaking up about just not caring about what other people say and to love you for who you are, but is it really that easy? Is it really easy to just gain some weight because you don’t have time to exercise and walk around with people constantly ridiculing you? I have done many papers and put a lot of time into this issue and have yet to find an answer as how to fix this. Being a young woman I constantly face the pressure to be beautiful on a daily basis and I must admit, it’s awful. It’s awful to have that feeling as if I’m not good enough, but to be honest I can’t help it. Who doesn’t want to feel beautiful or content with themselves? I’m willing to bet a small portion if not any women. Aside from the outrageous stereotypes we’re faced with, I believe there’s definitely a lot more about being a woman than just the outside. It’s just the same as anyone else in our society, being a woman is having the chance to succeed all of your goals. It is being empowered and taking advantage of all opportunities placed in front of you. It is to contribute to the society in a positive and productive manner. It’s about somehow overcoming these extreme stereotypes and being happy with whom you are. I also think it’s also about knowing where we all came from to where we are now is something that ties all different types of women together. Being a woman is about But aside from these things, it is given the unique experience to one day have children. We are given this chance to bring new life into the world and to raise them to also be good people. It’s not about what you look like or how you dress, it’s about learning to become your own person and being happy with who that person is. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:19:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68422208 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66636866 I believe that this student posed a good question. The topic of affirmative action is definitely one with many gray areas in our society today. When it comes to addressing quality in thee schools I think that it is a slight possibility that it could affect the quality of workers. Truly understand the concept of affirmative action is to try and help diversify our society and is there to help people who need it. But I believe that there could be better ways of doing that. I have always believed that if someone is qualified enough whether it was to get into a college or get the job position they desired, they should get it. I am a firm believe that if you work hard and are qualified then you should get that spot. When my sister was applying to colleges, she learned that she did not get accepted to her dream school, Notre Dame. Later on she found out that a friend of a friend, who was African American, got accepted but had a lower GPA, lower SAT scores and was not involved in as many clubs. It was really frustrating to learn that someone who had not excelled as well as my sister got into the school based upon their color. I truly do understand that colleges such as Notre Dame or even Penn State need to try to make the campus more diverse but I’m not sure if this is the right way about doing it. When it comes to medical school, like the question asked in the video, I do not think it will affect quality that much. Medical schools have minimum requirements and if one does not reach those qualities then they will not receive a chance in that area. Medical schools are not going to take people in just because they are of a different race. They are going to make sure that the people they take are qualified and good enough to excel in that area. On the other hand, it can possibly hurt the quality because they might be taking one individual over another who had better attributes. When it comes down to it I honestly believe it is best to give these spots or positions to the person with the best resume whether they are white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or any other race out there. It becomes unfair to the people who are trying their hardest and working hard to achieve their own goals. I know I have stated this before, but I don’t think that affirmative action is the right way to go about helping diversify our society. I don’t have an alternate plan or suggestion but either way I think that everyone should be given a fair chance at pursuing any opportunity they wanted. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 19:28:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66636866 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment64248204 When I was in class the other day, I thought the exact same thing. I think that having the board where people can text their feelings anonymously is great but at the same time it can be awful. I know that being in a class of 700 it’s hard to get my opinion out there so having this is one way of me being able to voice what I have to say. But f sitting there and reading through some of the comments I found myself more angry than anything else. Some people wrote some obscene things on this board, both black and white. The thing that makes me most angry is that these people would never have the nerve to say these types of things out loud and in front of the whole classroom. They would not say these things because they know that they are rude. But when it came to the reaction between the white responses and the lack responses it was totally different. Both sides had equally rude and disrespectful things to say but for some reason it was worse when the white people did it. I find that totally wrong. Being a white person, I was totally offended by some of the comments saying that I‘m rich and privileged for no reason because I’m not. Everything I have and where I stand today, I’ve worked hard for on my own. To sit there and take these comments in was hard and a little bit upsetting because there was not the same reaction as when white people were sending the texts. I feel like there are so many incidences nowadays that happen where people bring it back to race. Such as if they didn’t help pick up my books it was because I was white or if they didn’t hold the door open for me it’s because I’m black. I think that collectively this type of behavior should be blamed more on that type of person. I think that the reaction in class should have been the same for either black or white because when it comes down to it, what is rude is rude, period. I’ve grown up being taught to mind my manners and what the difference between what is right and wrong and in society today there’s a general consensus of what that is. If any of those texts sent were condescending or hurtful to other people, they should have received the same reaction no matter who sent them. I do understand that racism is still prevalent in the US today but I think at some point we need to focus on situations as a whole and not separate them into subjects of race. All in all I think that the way that a lot of the people in the class acted was embarrassing. We’re college students who couldn’t even handle a simple task. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:53:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment64248204 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62480659 I think that this was just one of the most ridiculous cases I have ever heard. I recently traveled out of the country and was able to witness how corrupt and far behind they are from the US. There are so many countries around the world that do not even let women show their faces and to see that and come back, it makes me feel very proud to be a part of a country like ours. But after hearing this story, I am a little discouraged with our progress. We pride ourselves in the fact that we have the right to do what we want not only because of our race and gender but also because of our sexual orientation. This is not promoting that same idea. These girls should be allowed to dress how they want and go to the prom with whoever they want. There are so many other places around the world that don’t even give girls the opportunity to go to school let alone go to a prom. These places look up to the US to see that we have these types of opportunities and look up to us, but now to see this goes back on every ideal our country stands on. I understand that it can be offensive to some people because of their religion or also because it is something that their not used to, but if this makes them that uncomfortable then they don’t need to be around it. This school needs to understand that just because they want to go together doesn’t mean that any other schools are going to look at them different. I grew up in an area where girls and boys had just become comfortable enough to come out and finally be happy. To see what they had to go though and to see how happy they were after they were able to be with their partners, its hard for me to understand why this school would not allow these girls to go together. My senior year two of my best friends went together and one of them was wearing a tuxedo. Everyone thought that it was great and didn’t see it as a problem whatsoever. If anything I think that people were impressed with the fact that they didn’t care and went out together anyway. This school is so worried about two girls going together that they need to realize that there are many other problems they need to worry about. They should worry about the types of dresses girls may be wearing or the way the kids are dancing once they are there. Some girls wear dresses that are totally inappropriate which I think should be more of a concern. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:02:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62480659 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment59478490 After this class I am still myself having a hard time accepting the blame even though I am of white heritage. I know that my family only cam here a few years ago as well so it’s hard for me to sit here and say that my people are the reason that they were driven off their lands. It was all of the power and land hungry European men who came over here without a thought to the people who were already here. I believe that even people from their descent should not necessarily take the blame. My thought of that is everyone should recognize the harm that was done and should definitely help take steps in helping them today, but I do not agree with taking the blame. The people that should take the blame should be the people who were actually a part of it. I realize now that it is still their land so instead of taking the blame I think we should focus more on helping them come out of poverty and back in to their own land instead. I understand that it sounds harsh by not wanting to take the blame but I do because I know that if this was my way this would have never happened in the first place. I know Sam said that we can take the blame by acknowledging that it is still happening today but I feel as if it almost a catch twenty two because then if we give it back to them then we have nowhere to go. So it’s so hard to say what the best decision is. I understand that ultimately this is their land but if we were to give it back to them then what would be the options for everyone else? We cannot all just go back to where our ancestors are from because there would not be enough room and we can’t just forget about this country that we have built up. So how are we now supposed to fix this situation? So my opinion on this matter is that I feel it is hard to place the blame on anyone particular on this day and age because none of us specifically drove these people off their land but I do think it is all of our responsibilities to educate ourselves on the matter. Whether you have recently come to the country or not I believe that because you’re here now you need to realize what had happened and try your best to help fix what has been done. These poor Native Americans have every right to try to fight back for their land and it is about we start to listen to them whether we have been here for twelve years of one hundred. Wed, 3 Mar 2010 03:58:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment59478490 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/another-reason-why-gay-marriage-matters__trashed/#IDComment58578572 Growing up in a very diverse down, I have luckily been around many gay and lesbian people from a young age. During high school I found out that some of my best friends were lesbian and watching them go through what they had was really hard. I saw the evil side of this country and how people, including their own families, could be so harsh and un-accepting. But as we went through high school, two of my closest girl friends started dating. At first people were really weary and not too used to it but after awhile it became more normal. These girls have currently been dating a little over 3 years, which is longer than any other relationship, I or anyone else I’ve known has had. These girls honestly and truly care for each other and in my eyes make a great couple. They are always happy, they always compliment each other and all around are just good people. So why should it be that they are not allowed to get married when other less-deserving people are? Through these three years I have witnessed many unhealthy heterosexual relationships. They have been abusive either emotionally or physically between the two partners. So what society is saying is that these people are allowed to get married even though they are harming to each other but my two friends who are a wonderful couple aren’t. I think it is totally ridiculous and needs to change. After watching this video I can only sympathize with this family. I can only imagine what it would be like to have one of my parents stripped away from me because her marriage was not “legal” in the eyes of society. It truly is not fair that the union between these two women cannot be considered legal. They can love each other and raise a family just as good if not better than other heterosexual couples around the world. I do understand that the whole “marriage” idea stems from religion, and being homosexual is a sin but at the same time I think it is complete crap. Just because you care about someone of the same sex does not make you bad person in any sense of the word. It just means that you were born differently and you have different interests than other people. I think people need to realize that we are in a new era and things are changing and that not everything is going to remain the same. We need to learn to accept people for who they are and if they want to get married than they should be allowed. They are the same as everyone else but just have different interests. Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:40:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/another-reason-why-gay-marriage-matters__trashed/#IDComment58578572 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57117141 When I first heard about this new robot, for the first time in my entire life I was speechless. I understand that we live in the age where innovation and technology are increasing by the minute but I think that this is just outrageous. A robot that can “talk back to you” while you have sex with her does not seem remotely attractive to me at all. I am a female so naturally this kind of thing would not appeal to me but I know that if the same kind of thing was to come out in “male” form, I would be just as appalled. How can anyone think that buying a robot could even come close to interaction with a real person? I know that she processes everything that you say to her, but there has to be some sort of delay before she answers, and your conversation can only last for 3 hours unless your near an outlet. She also only takes on the positions that you put her into yourself. What kind of human acts like that? None. Aside from the conversation, I find it virtually impossible that having sex with a robot is any substitute for having sex with a real person. Even now I’m not even sure what to say about that, but how can the two even compare? It almost makes me uncomfortable to know that the mean who invented this is a “happily married” man. I feel that if I was his wife I would almost be insulted. Even being a woman I feel like this could sort of be demeaning. It’s putting this idea that having sex with women is almost like not good enough. That only a robot is good enough for what men are looking for, and I to some point find that insulting. I understand that it was made for shy and intimidated men but I think it can be seen either way. When it comes down to certain men being extremely shy or timid, I think that this invention, for lack of a better word, is pathetic. For people who have trouble meeting other partners there are many other ways of meeting people such as online dating websites. These websites allow you to meet someone without having to have the courage to approach them and face the possibility of rejection. If I ever started dating a guy in the future and found out that he had spent seven thousand dollars for this type of thing that would be an automatic deal breaker for me. Is it really worth spending that type of money for? There are so many other things in this world worth spending this type of money for and this surely is not one of them. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:33:38 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57117141 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/swinging-past-the-other-end-of-the-ideological-spectrum-on-the-way-to-the-intellectual-gray__trashed/#IDComment56291077 Tuesday’s lecture was so far my favorite class I have been to. Sam did a really great job presenting both the freedom and determinism views which I know got everyone to actually think. I think that I myself have always looked in the middle of both. I come from a working class family so I understand both sides. I have the luxury of attending Penn State but at the same time I am also in the hole because I am paying for my own tuition. But the fact of the matter is that growing up my parents have pushed me to study hard and work hard so that I could grow up to have the best life I possibly can. They encouraged me to do well in school and go to college unlike them and because of that I am here furthering my education to hopefully get a good job and become as successful. So I understand that if you work hard enough for what you have you can get it. At the same time, not everyone who is in my shoes is as lucky as me. My parents were able to encourage and help me get here which is not the same as everyone else. I know that a lot of my friends parents did not take the same interest as mine and so without their help and support, they are not attending college. I think that the fact of the matter is that many people overlook the fact that other people who aren’t as successful as them for a reason. Everyone has their own story and own history, and some are not as lucky as others. I completely understand that people have their own issues and a lot of people who are unsuccessful tend to have many more. It was shown in class that most of the poorer racial classes stay in that same slump because a lot of them grow up in poor education schools. What people should realize is that this is a huge issue that is not that easy to overcome. Even besides growing up poor, there are many others factors such as losing a loved one or personal issues that can easily get in the way of someone’s strive to become successful. When there are a lot of issues in someone’s life it becomes really hard to focus on the things that need to get done. At the same time I am also a firm believer in the fact that no matter what situation your in, anyone can become successful. We hear stories all the time of people who have came from nothing to becoming happy multi-millionaires and although these stories are rare, they do happen. If someone has enough motivation and determination, nothing can stop them from doing what they want to do. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:04:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/swinging-past-the-other-end-of-the-ideological-spectrum-on-the-way-to-the-intellectual-gray__trashed/#IDComment56291077 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment55520983 After reading this article and watching the video, it gave me a whole new perspective on women who wear the burqas. At first I agreed with the French. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous that these women were forced by men to cover themselves up and should be banned from wearing them. Now I have the complete opposite view. These women wear these garments because of their religion. Forcing these women not to wear this is like telling people who are Catholic that they can’t wear crosses or that people who follow the Sikh religion that they can’t wear turbans. I believe that everyone is entitled to do whatever they choose. For the women who are forced by men to wear the burqa should absolutely allowed to take it off and wear whatever they want. The inequality gap between both men and women is closing and I think that forcing them to wear these heavy garments everyday against their own will is outrageous at this day and age. As for the women who still want to wear the burqas, I believe they have every right to continue to wear them. Whether it is their religion or those not minding the garments, there should be no penalty for them to choose to wear it. The two women in the video made it clear that it is their choice because they want to show their religion which is their prerogative. For the French to step in and try to tell them that they are not allowed is ridiculous. To even think about taking a step so soon as to start fining these women is even more ridiculous. Then they go on to say that some other punishments may be to deny these women of simple everyday things. If that was to happen, what are the women supposed to do? Drop everything they know and just go out and buy new clothes as if it not a big deal? I think it a complete waste of time and energy to even contemplate banning these garments. In my opinion I think it is just a bunch of ignorant politics sticking their nose in other people’s business. These garments have not affected the government in any way. They are not harming or threatening anyone or anything. So why waste time to try and get rid of them? One thing that the government has not taken into consideration is that taking away these garments might be harder for these women than just allowing them to continue wearing them. These women have grown up knowing only this, so having a sudden change may be more harmful than helpful for them. Plain and simple, these women should have the choice, aside from men, aside from the government, whether they want to continue wearing burqas or not. Fri, 5 Feb 2010 20:18:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment55520983 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54425879 Living in America, I feel that we have made great strides to overcome racism. I have a zero tolerance attitude when it comes to racism. I feel like it is a horrible, ignorant way of life that we luckily have been trying to overcome in the U.S. I never realized that other countries are still stuck in a place where racism is still a major issue. After watching the video I couldn’t help but feel so much anger towards those fans. Just because of the color of the players skin should not make a difference in any way. they work just as hard, if not harder and should be congratulated for their effort and talent just like everyone else on the team. I don’t know where this idea that just because you have a darker skin tone makes you inferior stemmed from but I think that this day and age it is something that should not exist anywhere in the world. What many of these ignorant fans don’t realize is how hard these men work just to get criticized from their own country. To become a professional athlete in any sport takes so much time, dedication and hard work. That is what these players should be judged upon. I also thought that the coach on the video was totally inappropriate. I played sports for fifteen years of my life and was lucky enough to be on many different hard-working winning teams so I understand that each coach has their own tactic on motivating their players. This coach’s approach was despicable. If I heard my coach ever say anything of that nature about me to anyone else, I would not be able to play for him anymore. The coaches are there to make sure that the team is actually a team and not just 11 individuals playing soccer. On a lighter note, I commend every single one of the players who in spite of all of the hate and disrespect they face keep pursuing their passion. It takes a lot of self-control to be able to stay out on the field with all of the discrimination surrounding them. That to me is a true judgment of character. It shows that they are talented people with a passion who will stop at nothing to do what they love. I don’t think that I would be able to endure an entire stadium filled with people of my own country cheering against me. I hope that these countries will soon come to realize that the color of someone’s skin has no significance to what kind of person they are. Every single person is different in their own way and should only be judged by their character and not what they look like. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:14:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54425879 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-k__trashed/#IDComment54018993 hey Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:20:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-k__trashed/#IDComment54018993 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/clubbing-the-bejesus-out-of-rationality__trashed/#IDComment53080327 After watching all of the horrible and heart wrenching videos on the news, I find it hard to believe that this man, Pat Robertson, could come to the conclusion that this happened because they mad a “pact with the devil”. The ignorance behind this statement is unlike any other, but the problem is that he believes that what he says is the truth. It is hard for me to imagine a person with such a strong religious background could believe this way. I consider myself somewhat of a religious person. My parents are both religious and raised me to believe in God and to keep high morals. I try to go to church every so often, but I also know that I am not the most religious person out there. But I do know an important part of religion is to help others whether it is in a time of need or spirituality or any other circumstance. This statement shows that this man does not portray this belief in any way. I am a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I fully understand that everyone has their own outlook on the world. Bur for this man to come out and say something like this in front of millions of people is just astonishing and disgusting. It is clear that he has his own, different way of thinking but to come out and tell everyone that it is because Haiti made a pact with the devil is outrageous. I believe that he should not be allowed on television any longer. CBN should disband him from the network so that America does not have to listen to the senseless nonsense that comes out of this mans mouth. There have been other incidences such as when hurricane Katrina hit, where he believed that it was god’s punishment to legalizing abortion in the United States. It seems that as time passes, the more offensive things come out of this mans mouth. He should no longer be in a powerful position in the media that many other people listen to. When it came to Olbermann’s response, it seemed pretty harsh but at the same time was well deserved. I am really glad that someone publicly fired back at him so he can see first handedly what people’s reactions were. I’m positive that this is not going to change Robertson’s view on what he said but I am hoping that maybe it will get him to think about some of the things he says before he does. Like I said before everyone is entitled to his or her own belief, but in hot topics like these it is just best for people like Robertson with strong viewpoints to keep their opinions to themselves. Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:36:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/clubbing-the-bejesus-out-of-rationality__trashed/#IDComment53080327