gdp's Comments

Race Relations Project : South Park...off the hook?

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:34:55 +0000

Really, I think the creators of south park handled themselves very well regarding that episode. The whole point of it was to show just how ridiculous things have become regarding the treatment of islam. It’s almost gotten to a point where the extremists have made it such that you can’t criticize the culture at all. And that sort of double standard is where inequality comes from. And it’s not like South Park plays favorites. Look what they’ve done with Christianity, from the pedophiliac priests to god being an…orangutan looking thing. So it’s ridiculous to bar them from being able to do the same to other faiths.

Race Relations Project : 300,000! What's it mean to me...to us?

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:20:36 +0000

I think you summed up the problem yourself in the question, it happened somewhere else and it doesn’t directly affect us. I know that sounds callous, but that’s the honest to god truth. As we were shown in class, all the horrible images we might see on TV and on the news don’t compare to the reality of the situation, so it’s very hard for us here to truly appreciate what’s occurring. It really makes sense when you think about it. I mean, any given day of the year if you were to watch any news station long enough you are guaranteed to hear about a murder that happened somewhere in the US. The disaster in Haiti seems to be a similar situation on a much grander scale. Though a simplification certainly I think this metaphor works. In both cases we of course sympathize with the party being affected, and at times we wish to ourselves that there would be something we could do to help, but in the end we still go on with our daily routine. It’s because deep down we’re aware of the fact that we can’t allow ourselves to put our lives on hold every time a tragedy occurs somewhere in the world. That sounds bad, but I believe it’s just being realistic. The world we live in is constantly facing a new disaster or or slaughter each and every day. Throughout Africa for instance there have been a number of organized programs focused on the extermination of various ethnic groups. This has been going on since, what, we were in high school? I can’t imagine trying to refocus my life on helping groups out every time I heard of a new tragedy. Certainly some can and do, and I really respect that, but I have to be honest that I just can’t, nor do I think that most can. Sometimes we have to simply take reality in strides and accept that we live in an imperfect world and try to not let such tragedies ruin our lives. With all that in mind, I can accept that this attitude can lead to a problem of apathy. And maybe that’s what was meant in the video to begin with. I don’t believe that there’s anything wrong with going with trying to go about your life amid foreign disasters, but I do see a problem with complete apathy. Basically after having seen so much wrong in the world it’s easy to start believing that nothing can be done, so it’s not even worth the effort of trying. This I believe is a major problem, as it’s that kind of attitude more than anything that keeps things from happening.

Race Relations Project : How am I not a racist?

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:57:59 +0000

Honestly after having listened to this, I personally think that maybe you’re worrying just a tad too much about what you thought. Firstly I’m going to say that I honestly agree with your first impulse. But I truly don’t think there’s anything racist about it, it’s really a pretty honest reading on the reality of the situation. When push comes to shove you, most likely, you’ve had a better education than most from any 3rd world nation; you likely have some money to spare, not to mention simple having the ability to easily move between countries. So to say that you think you have a better shot at making a difference isn’t a stretch at all. What’s important to recognize is that a lot of those benefits are a product of the country you live in and not an immutable characteristic.

Race Relations Project : The tyranny of radical Muslims...

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:41:55 +0000

I can only sympathize with what this woman’s husband must feel, to have your religion associated with men of such violence. It’s not fair in any sense of the word. I mean, it’s nothing new for perfectly peaceful religions to be poorly represented. Look at Pat Robertson, if I were on the outside looking in and thought Pat Robertson was typical of Christians I’d think they were all crazy too. It’s especially sad to see the support some of these men have. Certainly the more mundane crazies like Robertson are a more successful at amassing a following, but radical muslims aren’t without support themselves. Honestly I can’t levy the responsibility on the followers to do anything, any muslim in their right mind probably already distances themselves. Really I think the problem lies in the media who seems fit to throw these extremists in our faces 24/7.

Race Relations Project : Creating Terrorists

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:30:31 +0000

It’s interesting now that I think about how vigilantism is romanticized in the United States, but I think it’s done in the same way that say, Piracy is. Its something cool to think about but we all as a society understand why it’s illegal. As far as these suicide bombers are concerned, I think we’ll all agree that there’s always a lot of context needed to fully understand why someone does something like that. Whether the bombing is done avenging a loved one or for a religious crusade can make a big difference. Also, when we think about suicide bombers, the first that comes to my mind at least are those crazies that find themselves a busy street corner and detonate there. Trying to strike back at an occupying force is one thing, maximizing civilian casualties is another.

Race Relations Project : Christian Invaders - the turnaround

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:18:36 +0000

Well, I’ll start by saying that I disagree with a lot of what you said. To begin with, as far as the way the class is taught you can hardly fault Sam for any of that. Seriously, what more can the man do to try and keep people attention? He tries to keep it lighthearted, he does his best to create a dialogue between students even in such a big class, and uses videos and movies to reinforce points. The papers, ipods, etc aren’t his failing, it’s just a symptom of being such a large class and honestly, a certain lack of respect for what’s going on (though I will be the first to admit that I too indulge in the use of my touch, so it’s not a judgment call on others). Now, as far as Sam ragging on America again, I disagree. Honestly I’ve never really felt that he took a very anti-american slant in any of his lectures so far. I understand how it can seem that way at times, but you have to keep in mind that this is a class taught in America primarily to American students. Therefore it’s only natural that the class be framed in such a way that it’s relevant to Americans. What do you gain from learning about race relations in China? Or how Britain spent years exploiting the indigenous people? It may make you feel better about your history but it won’t help you to learn more about your present. Even so, Sam hasn’t really taken a hard line stance against America. The closest he’s come is in his discussion about the Native Americans and how it would kill the American Spirit (or something like that). But that’s just reality, he at no point flubbed the data or tried to pin it on us in any way, he just wanted us to be aware of the fact that, like it or not, our country is built on the lives of the natives. This particular lecture I thought was actually tamer in comparison. You seem to be under the impression that he was trying to make you take a particular stance on the war which I don’t believe was the point at all. In fact, we spent very little time at all discussing the causes for our entry into the war. This lecture was about understanding those we recognize as our enemy. Hell, it wasn’t even about learning to like them, or trying to get you to agree with them, it was about just understanding why, just maybe, some people in Iraq might not be happy about us being there and that it was hardly unreasonable for some to turn to violence. I really don’t see where you’re getting that he doesn’t support the troops. Yes he highlighted bad examples today, but that was to make a point about what people over in Iraq see. Look at the reverse. How often do you see pictures of Iraq like the ones Sam’s student took? With people smiling and with a modernized city, even pre war photo’s were bleak. It’s the same way us, they don’t see soldiers helping people, they see the worst which reinforces their preconceived notions about us. As for things not being able to change, no offense, but it’s that kind of attitude that keeps things from ever changing. History is full of people standing up for a cause and making a real difference. Look at the history of civil rights in our own history if you want an apt example of individuals making a real difference. You may not believe it, but us citizens still hold the power in this country, that we choose not to exercise it is a shame but make no mistake, if this country truly wanted something to happen we can do it, we are America after all.

Race Relations Project : Isn't a person's qualifications an issue?

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 04:32:02 +0000

I don’t think things are nearly as dramatic as we sometimes think it is as far as affirmative action is concerned. Now I should start by saying that I’m honestly ignorant of a lot of the issues regarding affirmative action, namely who benefits and how. But as far as getting into schools or hospitals, those that are clearly the superior candidates will get in regardless of Affirmative Action. No hospital in their right mind is going to turn down ANYONE coming from Johns Hopkins for instance. The kind of people that we often hear about getting rejected when it comes to Affirmative Action are those that were only barley qualified or average. Likewise even with Affirmative Action someone that isn’t qualified isn’t going to get in, it’s not like hospitals and colleges are scooping up the first black or brown person they see.

Race Relations Project : This is totally off the hook

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 04:20:09 +0000

What’s really shocking about all this I find, is that this sort of thing is news to people. This whole aspect of Japanese culture has been a running joke between me and my friends for some time now. Believe me, this isn’t really anything new. Course just being established certainly does not make this sort of thing any less difficult to stomach. Really I have no idea how this sort of thing flies over there. The problem I have is that I feel bad saying that. Long before I took soc 119 I knew better than to hop on my high horse and talk about how much better American society is than everywhere else in the world, and Japan does have a notoriously low crime rate. Yet, stuff like this is just fine with everyone. It’s just hard for me to get over.

Race Relations Project : The White Minorities

Fri, 2 Apr 2010 08:01:08 +0000

I haven’t really thought about suddenly becoming a minority. It’s hard to imagine a situation that is such a stark contrast from what I’ve grown up in my entire life, from what’s been the norm since long before I was born. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t at least a little apprehensive at the idea. It’s not scary of course. After all, by the time we become a minority, race relations will have (presumably) advanced beyond what they are even now. So it’s not as though the “white minority” will have to face any of the hardships that other groups have had to go through.

Race Relations Project : What About Multiracial People?

Fri, 2 Apr 2010 07:29:24 +0000

When we’re talking about the “teams” in class, it’s obviously meant as a pretty sweeping generalization. After all, Sam himself has stated on a number of occasions that he couldn’t even being to classify all the different racial combinations there are in the world. As for this particular situation, I suppose we could look at it in how you’ve been treated by others, if you think you’ve benefited from the white privilege that we’ve discussed in class, you could certainly then consider yourself to be a member of the “white team.” Of course the truth of your genealogy kind of just goes to show how ridiculous it is to vest so much in ones race.

Race Relations Project : Revisioning the Revisioning Stage

Fri, 2 Apr 2010 07:18:26 +0000

I have to wonder, if you grow up somewhere where you, as a white person, are a definite minority, do you still use the same steps or is it perhaps reversed? Either way, I would have to say that I both did and did not have an experience like this girl’s. I actually spent my youngest years growing up in London. There I remember there being a number of Indian families living not far from where I lived, inevitably I ended up playing with the few kids my age. So in that sense I was able to at a young age experience interaction with a group of people whose race differed from my own and that of my parents. However, still quite young, my family moved back to the states. Back here in PA things were, quite different to say the least. Honestly, I don’t think I met a black person my age till my junior year of high school. That would mean I went near a decade surrounded by nothing by other white people. For them of course the story was not much different. We all group up with the same people in the same isolated part of Amish country. Growing up I remember that the use of derogatory racial slurs and racist jokes were hardly uncommon among my friends. Personally I never really did anything like that myself, but less out of respect and more out of a neurotic fear of being caught. At the time we didn’t think anything of it, none of us considered ourselves to be racist, we were just making jokes. Obviously this wasn’t done out of any particular spite towards a particular racial group, but it was out of sheer ignorance. None of us really knew anyone who could be considered a minority, so we never felt the need to take their feelings into account. It’s a shame it had to be that way, but it was unavoidable. For this person, I wonder if things were that much different. The reason I was so ignorant was because I only ever really had the views of my fellow whites to learn from and observe. But I can’t imagine that the polar opposite would be any kind of improvement. It seems to me, based on what we’ve been learning that race relations is like a giant puzzle. And that no one group has all the pieces. So I wonder if growing up as a white person in say, an all black neighborhood, would really make one more prepared to handle race related issues. Certainly I can see benefits in terms of understanding the thoughts and feelings of the other groups, as well as being able to avoid jumping to conclusions about these other groups. However I wonder if growing up in a black neighborhood would have a major impact on the whole white guilt aspect. Though I’m the neighborhood would ever go out of their way to make a person feel guilty, just by way of growing up surrounded by a group your race historically exploited would certainly make me feel worse.

Race Relations Project : Those Dolls Say Alot About Who We Are

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:59:56 +0000

I have to agree. Even as a white guy it was a seriously disturbing video. I can’t imagine what it would be like for a person of color. Of course you bring up a pretty interesting question. When you think about what causes kids to think this way, we go back to the media and how beauty is generally associated with lighter skin. So what would be the solution to this? The obvious answer is just to remind people that everyone is beautiful in their own way, and not to allow themselves to be influenced by what they see on TV. But this is something that’s a lot easier to say than to actually follow through on. It must be difficult to keep telling yourself that you’re beautiful while society instead venerates your physical opposite.

Race Relations Project : In Her Own Words

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:54:17 +0000

I guess to be perfectly honest I never really thought much about how adding so much stigma to the topic of women’s periods would in effect force them to fully deny a whole aspect of themselves. I mean, as we’ve discussed, it’s not as if it’s something that women can control, it’s simply a natural bodily function. Course at the same time there are things that guys certainly don’t talk about. I mean, I suppose the male equivalent would be guys and their spontaneous erections. I mean, as with women it’s not something that can necessarily be controlled but it’s something that guys just don’t talk about, even with each other. Thought to be perfectly fair, erections are by no means the problem or inconvenience that a woman’s period is. God love em for dealing with that.

Race Relations Project : Is this just a few bad apples?

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:57:11 +0000

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/36031_FBI... When the tea party groups first emerged I wasn’t particularly worried about them. Perhaps that’s the wrong word; more or less I was indifferent. When I heard people getting all worried about them I was confused, after all had we not had a similarly huge protest during Bush’s presidency? I remember it well on cspan. The streets of DC were filled with people, many armed with signs that derided the president and his policies. So when a conservative equivalent came out I thought that some (on the liberal side of things) were being a little unfair. After all, isn’t social protest the hallmark of American Democracy? Shouldn’t we enjoy the fact that there are still those in the country that care enough about the democratic process to get up and do stuff like this? I will admit though, I was wrong. Looking back, the protests of the Bush era were infinitely more restrained. Certainly it had more than its fair share of crazies. People coming in with signs decorated with Nazi paraphernalia, even a few with calling for out and out violence. But let it be said that these were most certainly in the minority. Now we look at the more recent Tea Party activists. Let’s get one huge difference out of the way. The Tea party groups are without a doubt not motivated primarily by politics as the Bush protestors were. Rather, race seems to be the driving issue behind the actions of the Tea Party. This is supported by the clear and unabashed racism that can be seen at almost every rally. There are stories coming out all the time about what the people at these rallies are shouting, and it most certainly is not pretty. Course the race factor is only the beginning of the problems. The other issue is the insane level of militancy coming out of this group. The link I have at the top is about the FBI investigating an incident in Virginia. Apparently the gas line leading to the home of a brother to a senator who had supported the health care reform bill had been cut. If that wasn’t scary enough, to get his address all one would have to do is go to the Tea Party website where his, and other addresses, had been posted. Now obviously nothing has been confirmed but as of yet, but the simple posting of the addresses is scary enough. As far as this situation is concerned, this is nothing short of domestic terrorism (ironic considering that Obama was criticized multiple times over his association with Bill Ayers). It’s clear based on this that the tea party group has moved far beyond being just a politically active group. They have become a dangerous mob. Of course, I have no idea what should be done. It’s clear that for all the craziness its still a minority of people. So for the most part people are simply expressing their first amendment rights.

Race Relations Project : This Is Getting to Be Too Much

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:06:21 +0000

I’ll start by saying that the situation that started this whole mess is nothing short of ridiculous. I mean, everyone should be comfortable with a little satire from time to time, even at the expense of your culture or race, but there is a line between well meaning humor and complete disrespect. That being said, I doubt that many of the kids that were involved in this were truly racist. Rather, they’re just stupid. Mostly it comes down to ignorance. Not necessarily as to what occurred, but what it means. After all, how can a white person every truly appreciate what it means to be black? To have that kind of history. Most can’t, and this is the result. Hopefully people will keep this in mind before doing something so freaking stupid in the future.

Race Relations Project : Prom or No Prom: Just Don't Let the Queer Students Dance Together

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:01:41 +0000

I remember reading about this story over break and it was pretty hard to stomach then. Simply having to hear about such bigotry is enough to make me feel uncomfortable, but hearing what people have to say about it is just downright disturbing. The website where I read the article originally had a list of comments that people had made and the one I saw most often was people accusing the girl of being “selfish” because she was ruining the prom for everyone else. I really couldn’t believe what I had just read. How can someone accuse the girl of being selfish for simply being herself and insisting that she be allowed to do so? Forgetting all that it’s just plain sad that it had to come to actual litigation, the school really showed it’s true colors here.

Race Relations Project : What to do about "white guilt"

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:50:54 +0000

White guilt has always been a difficult topic for me to fully grasp. There are generally two extremes to it, on one had you have the people that are don’t’ feel any guilt what so ever, often saying that as they weren’t personally responsible they have no reason to feel anything. On the other hand we find those that take an almost completely opposite stance, and take on a lot of personal responsibility for the actions of their ancestors. Personally I see and understand the merits of both sides, that being said I probably tend to lean toward the former. I never understood why feeling guilty about those actions of the past could ever be constructive since guilt has a detrimental effect on your decision making process. Course, this in no way means that I don’t acknowledge what happened. I feel that those without personal guilt have a tendency to complete dismiss the idea mostly because they don’t really know much about the history of civil rights in the country and how it affects the present. For instance there are reparations. Reparations are often universally frowned upon by most. They are often derided for punishing whites for crimes they didn’t commit. I find this to be a rather narrow view of what reparations are, as well they completely ignore the modern effects of slavery. The effects of slavery as an institution didn’t end with the signing of the emancipation proclamation; it lasted well into the next century. It hasn’t really been until very recently that blacks really have gotten an opportunity to compete with whites on equal terms. And even now there are many in rotten economic conditions that could likely be traced back to their poor economic upbringing, and the poor economic upbringing of their parents, and so on and so forth. Furthermore, we have to think of all the money that many slaves would have earned had they been paid fairly. After all for years slave labor completely powered the southern economy. Of course it’s about more than just repaying old economic losses, the symbolism of such an act is important as well. If the government were to come forward and simply admit that a great injustice was done to these people and make some sort of attempts at repaying some of the debt owed, I think it would go a long way for race relations, after all how can we truly move past an event if we refuse to ever acknowledge it in its entirety. Again, it’s not that you should really feel guilty about what happened in the past, you’ve never owned slaves so you shouldn’t, but one should at least be willing to acknowledge that our country certainly has a black mark in its history that needs to be addressed.

Race Relations Project : A Long, Long Way Indeed

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 05:32:43 +0000

It's actually pretty funny to think about what a slave owner would think if they saw modern day America. Just seeing a black man or woman walking down the street with everyone as equals would probably be a shock alone. Hearing about the successful athletes probably would not be too much of a stretch for them, but the popularity and the devoted fans probably would. And of course what a shell shock it would be to find out that there are incredibly wealthy African Americans in the country as well. It's really impossible to fathom. I mean, one might as well try to picture our society in a hundred or so years. Who knows how things will have changed. perhaps by then Caucasians will be the minority in the United States or the geography of the country itself will have changed.

Race Relations Project : Why Is This Racist? Really...

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 04:59:51 +0000

It's kinda sad that despite all the progress we've made in the way of Race Relations that someone can still spout this sort of stuff with a straight face. I mean, there's absolutely no coming back from those kinds of statements. Obviously I'm well aware that racism hasn't gone anywhere just yet, but it's a shame to see it so publicly flaunted. On the bright side, after this has been released, it's hard to imagine he'll have very many viewers. I can't imagine that many people are going to be interested in advertising with a racially exclusive sports league. Which begs the question, where exactly was he hoping this would go?

Race Relations Project : Are Whites the Only People Willing to Humiliate Themselves?

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 04:40:25 +0000

Personally, I've never really been a fan of the reality TV show scene. That being said, I know the territory. After having watched this video, I found myself having to agree with the young lady, the racial makeup of these shows is in no way representative of the population as a whole. that being said, I don't think there's anything shady going on at the casting studio. It's like Mike said, demographics are key in all this, which plays into the fact that TV execs don't care for much beyond the bottom line. After all, that's what's allowed the whole reality tv show craze to grow the way it has in the first place. Their popularity combined with the relatively low production costs make them a safe, profitable investment for television networks. When it comes to the casting done for the shows, clearly the thing that's most important to the producers and such is "what are people going to watch." If the viewer-ship is predominately white, than we can expect to see the cast to reflect this. And I imagine this isn't a statistic that a producer just pulled out of thin air, much as we may criticize their choices from time to time (I still haven't forgiven fox for cancelling Firefly), the TV networks hire some of the best and brightest in terms of marketing and research. Chances are that they know exactly what their doing when they decide who get's on the show. And, again much like Mike pointed out, there are reality shows that are marketed towards colored people that feature casts that reflect this for the very same reasons. It's more than just reality shows of course, most sitcoms feature similarly casted groups. Just thinking of one off the top of my head, think about That 70's show. Almost any of those characters could have been played by a black or latino actor and it would not have really made any difference. On the other side of the spectrum you have sitcoms specifically targeting minority groups like the Tyler Perry series'. Of course there are far more of the former than the latter. Not only do whites make up the majority in the country, they probably make up the majority of TV viewers by an even greater margin. So I guess the question is, are the people hiring these casts discriminating? Certainly on one hand, if a two men go in, and each give great performances, but one is dropped because the numbers show that the audience would be more comfortable with a white guy, than he just lost the job on the basis of his race. Course at the same time, because they're primarily concerned with what the people want, they seem like nothing more than a reflection of the public wants.