en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2437422 Comments by Csears175 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment143261625 Reading this article about the transgender employee who was fired from his job because he was not a man really makes me angry at people and the lengths they go to sue people these days. The person who is suing was born a woman and no matter if she had surgery or took male hormones, she is still a woman. The job she got can only be done by a man therefore she had every right to be fired. It makes me mad when people like this come back and sue thinking the world will end now that they were fired from a job. Just go and try to find another one that can be done by anyone and not just a man. I also find it interesting that this person loved their job of watching people urinate in a cup so much. Most people would not want this job in the first place and suing because she acted like a man her whole life is really stupid to me. People need to just deal with it that the world is not always air and that not everyone can be a urine test watcher. Sorry ladies out there but you will never be allowed to watch recovering drug attics pee into cups, I know the world is so unfair but no one should be allowed to sue over such a dumb issue. Just because you climb trees and play football does not make you a man. If I play with dolls and go shopping can I claim to be a woman and go into womens bathrooms? I do not think so. This is just another person who wants attention and will do anything to get an article written about them and to stir up trouble that does not need to happen. A lot of people these days just do dumb things to get attention and always claim that their rights are being violated. When in reality like this person they try and bend the rules just for them when really no one has done anything wrong to them. You are either born a man or a woman and as much as you may try to change that, you still are what you are. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:38:45 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment143261625 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/4827/#IDComment140783747 As previously mentioned in class, almost every form of politics or government today is always tied to money and who has contributed the most to have their best interests satisfied. The industry that comes to mind that has the most political influence and the best reason to be involved is the oil industry. The oil industry makes billions of dollars each year in profits and yet continues to receive large tax breaks and subsidies from the government. The top five companies - BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxonmobile, and Shell made a total profit of 1 trillion dollars over the past ten years. These companies say they need to the extra tax breaks in order to continue to “explore” alternate energy options and new methods for harnessing these natural resources. I feel that oil companies make enough money in profits and have enough incentives with oil being so expensive, to use their own funds in order to “explore” for these natural resource pockets or develop new methods of extraction. I like many believe like many others that we should take away these tax breaks and subsidies for the oil companies but unfortunately the way the political system is set up today, this will never come to pass. President Obama has already tried to solicit congress to do away with the 4 billion dollars a year of tax breaks to the oil companies but even his closest allies and staff members do not think that he has a chance of beating the companies in congress and changing the way the taxes are for them. The reason for this is because the large oil companies spend millions of dollars each year for lobbyists in congress to ensure that their best interests are looked out for and that these tax breaks and subsidies continue to roll in for them. So as long as our political system continues to run like a legalized bribery system, our country will continue to waste billions of dollars going to the already supper rich big oil companies. The energy expert at the Center for American Progress sums it up best when he said, “Ultimately, what would really make a difference would be long-term campaign finance reform, because if you remove Big Oil's money from the electoral system, then you've reduced one of their major pressure points.” Thu, 7 Apr 2011 17:33:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/4827/#IDComment140783747 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139193935 The way the world works right now in order to make a lot of money you need to already have a lot of money. People make a lot of money by investing a lot in the stock market and by buying up all those foreclosed homes out there and then selling them 10 years later when the housing market comes back. While there are a lot of crooked business people and high profile politicians with their own agendas; the majority of the super rich have worked very hard for their money and have taken a lot of risks to get there. While most of them were given a head start by being born into power and money, they still worked hard to continue growing their fortunes. I feel that anyone who works hard enough and is dedicated enough at something can be anything that they want in this world. If you are born in a middle class or lower class family then you are going to have to work really hard and maybe not be super rich someday but with a lot of hard work and a little luck anything can happen. I think that everyone wants the world to be completely fair and everyone to have an equal opportunity to achieve all their goals. While this is a great thought, I think it is impossible to believe this because the world is not fair and in reality a lot of people live in horrible family lives and are really put into tough situations money wise. People can continue to be lazy and whine about why is it happening to them, or they can go out and do something about it. Another reason I believe why poor people stay poor is because they are afraid to take risks. You cannot have the reward without the risk and I think most people want wealth and power to come easy. If money came easy them everyone would be rich and we would have fewer problems, but it does not come easy. One of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates, took a huge risk by dropping out of college and starting his own company. This worked out very well for him but that is not always the case. Sometimes people need to fail multiple times to be able to succeed and just keep working hard and taking risks to achieve your goals. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 20:44:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139193935 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/b-s-response/#IDComment137628272 In response to this inmate’s letter, I agree with some of the things he has to say and at the same time I disagree with them. When he says he should not be a “lifer” because he did not kill someone is something I disagree with. PA law says that if you are a part of a felony where someone is killed you are just as guilty as the person who killed them. While this may be a little harsh it is Pennsylvania law and it is what it is. I personally do not agree that someone should get as harsh as a penalty as the actual person who murders someone but the law is what it is and makes no exceptions to anyone. The inmate also talks about how free he is in jail. He speaks of his rough childhood growing up in a bad part of town in an abusive house. This led to drug use and getting involved with the wrong crowd. I am sure that many “lifers” have similar stories and this all goes back to the invisible strings that we learn about in sociology. He talks about how he feels blessed that he can paint and play the guitar. He says that he is thankful for having hands and being able to walk. I think this is the only way to go about serving a life sentence is admitting your guilt and being happy for what you have. Even though you made a big mistake you should at least try and live your life to the fullest even if it is behind bars. I think this is the main reason inmates find God or become skilled at a certain craft. They need something to do while in jail and religion or learning to do something like painting is a great way to heal your inner demons and become an active member of society again. I also like when he talks about suicide being murder. I believe suicide is the easy way out and everyone should serve the time for their crime. He says that he is not a murderer, so he would not commit suicide. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:45:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/b-s-response/#IDComment137628272 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/m-s-story/#IDComment135925923 In response to this inmate, I think it is hard not to feel some sort of pity on him but also at the same time it is good to hear someone admit what they have done and really feel bad about it. While it is easy to say yea he should have alerted the police, run away, or try and stop those other people from killing the man, he was only 14 years old and I am sure that many other people would have reacted the same way when they were that young. I would not have even really know the severity of the situation and when you are really scared at a young age the easiest thing to do is just freeze and go along with what others are telling you. I think it is hard to put this man in prison for the rest of his life when he physically did not commit the crime. Even though he knew it was going on, he was only fourteen at the time and did not kill anyone himself. I still think his transgressions were wrong but I don’t believe murder is the correct verdict in this situation. I think he should absolutely spend time in jail for what he did, but not an entire life sentence. I feel a life sentence should be reserved for the person who actually killed the man not the people who stood around and did not stop them for any reason at all. Especially in this situation where a fourteen year old kid, who has no family, is running around with these guys and they tell him to stand upstairs and look out. You feel bad for people who do not have a family to take care of them and I imagine that I would make the same decisions as this man did if I was in his situation. Luckily for me and others we have loving families who provide for us and tell us what is right and wrong. Many people do not have this luxury and it is a real shame. I feel like there is not much worse in this world then when a parent neglects their children or who just abandons them. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:43:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/m-s-story/#IDComment135925923 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment133435796 I have always been very intrigued by the lottery and what happens to people when they win. I love watching shows like “The Curse of the Lottery” and similar shows which show the bad side and all the people who have actually ruined their lives after winning the lottery. After watching these shows I always think about what I would do with the money, and how I would be so happy with millions and millions of dollars. I’m sure most people feel the same way that money would bring you material possessions, make you more popular, and would overall make your life great. After really thinking about the things that make me happy: spending time with family, having relationships, and living a carefree lifestyle, I changed my view. I realized that having a lot more money would really make it harder to truly be happy. Your family would always be asking you for money and it would make relationships with them very tense and nervous. You would absolutely meet more potential mates but most of them would only be after your money and not care at all about you. As far as living in peace and having a carefree lifestyle, you would constantly have people asking for money and be almost always worried for your well being from people who may want to harm you for your money. All these things add up to a lot of loneliness and stress which is really the opposite of what people would think that winning a lot of money does to you. That I why I think there is the major misconception that winning the lottery cures all your problems. All money really does is just magnify your faults that much greater and can lead to bad things. Now not all lottery winners turn out like the ones on those shows and some have a plan a live a very healthy lifestyle after winning. I think a big problem is because a lot of the people that win these lotteries are not always the most educated people and can be easily manipulated by family members and so called friends. People should live comfortably off the money and invest the rest of it so that they can continue living comfortably and also leave a great life for their children and grandchildren. Tue, 8 Mar 2011 20:43:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/28/the-lottery-as-a-blessing-or-a-curse/#IDComment133435796 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130727462 Ever since I was young I always remember my parents also told me to never talk to strangers. They did not let me walk anywhere alone until I was like thirteen and always kept an eye on me in public places like the mall or movies. I always grew up thinking that every stranger that I saw on a given day could potentially kidnap me. It was always an image and thought that really scared me. I always pictured myself in tied up in the back of a van crossing the Mexican border. While these fears could be a little dramatic, I am sure that most young kids have the same fears. If your parents are that afraid of something, then you know as a young child that it is a very serious issue. Especially for young children, I am sure that having their kids abducted has to be one of the biggest fears for parents. They spend so much time worrying and educating their kids that they live in this false fear that is almost the same odds as winning the lottery. Little do parents know that driving their kid to school is so much more dangerous and worrisome then someone abducting their kids. I think the biggest reason why this happens is not because of the parents but because of the media. It seems like all the time you see on TV a breaking news story where an 8 year old girl was abducted and it shows the crying parents pleading for their daughter to be returned. This is the image that parents see on TV and they know that they never want to be put in that situation. They immediately think wow; if it happened on TV then it can easily happen to my child. While this is true there is a 99.9% that it will not happen. There are so many more things to be worried about and I am sure that most parents have no idea that he best thing a lost child can do is seek help from a stranger. So if parents really want to look after their kids maybe they should start telling them to talk to strangers. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:20:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130727462 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/15/social-structure-shapes-free-will/#IDComment129000915 I imagine that many people have the same reaction when watching this video. It was very shocking for me to see a woman with multiple husbands. In our culture, when we hear the word polygamy we think of multiple wives; not multiple husbands. I have never even really considered that a woman would have more than one husband. I guess it just goes to show that even in a time where women are fully equal to men we still have stereotypes about women. In this particular case the women had multiple husbands out of necessity, not for pleasure. This is very interesting because I never thought of a marriage relationship to be more like a working relationship rather than a loving bond between two people. Marriage in these countries mostly happen because the family does not want to split their land between a set of brothers and they all end up splitting the land and being with one woman. It would feel more like a family arrangement rather than a marriage and I would imagine that jealousy would happen very easily. I mean how could you have more than one husband? You cannot expect the wife to give equal attention to each husband but from the video it sounds like their marriage was going along well. I feel that in our culture this would never go that smoothly. People in our culture would not just let themselves be placed into an arranged marriage. I know I would never let my parents tell me who to marry and certainly would never be married to someone who already had multiple husbands. Thankfully our culture is not like theirs and we are free to marry who we want. I just think that the amount of strictness of their culture and how impoverished they are makes it much easier to go along with something like this if you lived there. I mean if everything you knew was having your marriage arranged and people having multiple spouses, you would know nothing different. Also, if you needed multiple spouses in order to survive you would suck it up because you have to. Seeing videos like these make me happy to live in a country like America where we can choose who we want to spend the rest of our lives with. Sat, 19 Feb 2011 02:42:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/15/social-structure-shapes-free-will/#IDComment129000915 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment127257191 I think this article raises a great point about Americans and their travel habits. It is crazy how we are one of the richest countries in the world and only 30% of our citizens have passports. I recently just acquired my first passport last year. My sister graduated high school last year and my grandparents decided to surprise her by taking us all on a trip to the Bahamas. The passport process was very easy and they arrived in the mail in a couple of months. I feel that there really is not an excuse for at least 75% of Americans to have passports. Even if you are not planning a trip, I am sure most people will leave the country someday and will eventually need them. Experiencing a different country was such a refreshing experience and it was truly nothing like America. The culture was very different and experiencing how other people live and other environments is crucial to people becoming more educated about the world. The experience really made me want to travel to other parts of the world and experience more cultures and places. Unfortunately, money is a huge barrier standing in my way of traveling to other parts of the world. As a college student I am already in debt and I do not have the kind of money to travel to Europe as much as I want to. I am very content with being able to go to the Bahamas and I am sure that most people who do not travel abroad cannot because of money issues. It is not that Americans don’t wasn’t to experience other cultures and places, I believe there is not much travel abroad due to the cost of it. It is very expensive to fly to another country; in the article it said on average people spent $2,700 per person when traveling abroad. With the economy the way it is most families can barely save enough money for their child’s college let alone travel half way around the world on a vacation. Traveling abroad is a privilege that fewer and fewer people these days are about to express. So I urge anyone with the chance to travel abroad or visit someplace new to make sure you take that opportunity because you never know if you will ever get the chance again. Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:09:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/04/the-not-so-invisible-structure-that-shapes-us/#IDComment127257191 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/the-other-side-of-life/#IDComment125710194 I often think about growing up and about how fortunate I am to go to college and have the ability to live the life I choose. I wonder how one mistake can ruin everything and change our lives forever. In the case for this “lifer” his mistake was made at age 15 and now he has to pay for the rest of his life. I could not imagine losing out on so much of life. The age of 15 is just when you are starting to discover who you are as a person and make a name for yourself. Things like getting your drivers license, having your first job, attending high school prom, and getting into college are all experiences that shape you as a young adult and help you mature as you grow up. I think one of the hardest parts about being in prison for that long is just the amount of time you have on your hands. I know I hate being bored or unproductive just for a few hours but I could not imagine the amount of downtime you have in prison. I wonder how many times the inmate just replays over and over that nightmare of what got them into prison in the first place. It must be absolutely maddening to have to constantly relive that daily. I know that when I make a mistake the first thing I want to do is either redo it or to make it right by apologizing or doing what I have to do. As a prisoner with life in prison not all of them have the opportunity to apologize for their actions or get the closure that I am sure many of them long for. So if that opportunity arises, I’m sure like in this inmate’s case, he will take the opportunity to face his crime and the victim’s family. It must be one of the most stressful days not only for the family members but also for the inmate. Facing each other and pouring out all that emotion that has been held in for so long. The best part about an interaction like that is the closure that comes with it. The family can finally move forward a little bit and the inmate also can feel a little bit of relief of finally apologizing to the people he selfishly changed their lives forever. Thu, 3 Feb 2011 16:00:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/the-other-side-of-life/#IDComment125710194 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/americans-gone-wild/#IDComment124453308 Unfortunately, in the age we live in violence and guns are a part of our culture. Every time you turn on the T.V. you will undoubtedly see violence just by flipping through a few channels. Violence is ingrained into our culture and people love seeing firefights and battles coming alive on the screen before them. For the audience that these shows are intended for this violence can be entertaining and can be handled because they are mature enough to understand that it is not real and fictional. For a young child flipping through the channels this can be very dangerous. Young children are so exposed to sex and violence these days from T.V. it is unbelievable. Kids at a young age do not know what is real and what is fiction and these high violence programs could influence these kids to perform violent acts if given the opportunity. In this sad news story a five year old kid was suspended from school for accidentally bringing a handgun into school. Somehow the child picked up the gun while he was riding in the backseat of his stepfather’s car. Now as bad as this situation was it could have been much worse if the child would have accidentally fired the gun. If this child had been watching some of the violent programs on T.V. today he may have thought it was OK to fire a gun at someone if you had a problem with them. At five years old I can only imagine about if the child would shot someone and not know the consequences that come with such an action. Equally appalling in this situation is how the child was suspended from school. How could a five year old kid be held accountable for his actions? Now I am sure that the police will interview the father and hopefully hold him accountable instead. It just goes to show how irresponsible parents are these days when raising their kids. It is common sense not to leave a loaded firearm in the hands of a five year old boy but not all parents monitor what their kids watch on T.V. and they should. If the young boy in this story had watched a violent T.V. show earlier that day, who knows we may have been talking about a homicide rather than just a five year old boy bringing a gun to school. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 01:59:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/americans-gone-wild/#IDComment124453308 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/#IDComment122652272 What does it mean to be free? This question can mean many different things to different people. Take for example this inmate who speaks of all the freedoms he wishes he could still exercise. Things like taking a shower when he wants, checking the fridge, and kissing your spouse or kids are all freedoms that many of us enjoy and unfortunately take for granted. For this inmate he still has many freedoms he can utilize even though he may be in prison for the rest of his life and feel like all his freedoms are taken away. Freedoms like when to go to the bathroom, or how much food to eat, and what to do with his free time. While some of these choices may be limited in reality he still has some freedom in making choices. That is the beauty of being a human being and being able to make decisions, until death you always have some sort of freedoms and decisions in which you can make. Another example of freedom could be a college student like ourselves. Throughout high school we were always begging for freedom and now in college so many new freedoms are available to us. We can go to bed when we want, do our homework or not, and party if we want. So for the college student or the inmate in jail for life we both are constantly making decisions and using freedoms in different ways. Freedom comes at a price and unfortunately not everyone has the same freedoms but we should all be very content with what we have and the freedoms that are currently available to us because we do not know how long we will have them. That is why everyone should never take things like brushing your teeth, walking your dog, or drinking a glass of water for granted. While these activities may seem trivial they are freedoms that we have and not everyone has these freedoms like we do. While inmates who get life in prison are there for a reason it still could happen to any one of us and we need to be aware of that when making any different number of decisions. In reality any decision could be our last one and any decision could lead to loss of freedoms. So we all need to be aware of what we have and be grateful. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:55:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/15/what-does-it-mean-to-be-free/#IDComment122652272 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122169813 Soc 001 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:12:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment122169813