I thought this letter from the “lifer” was very moving and really showed that not everyone in jail is a beast like he said. It defiantly hit home for me because I have made some visits to prisons back home and knows that not everyone in there is out for blood; many times people truly make mistakes and unfortunately do not ever have a chance to correct them. In high school, one of my good buddies from the football team got wrapped up in the drug game and got himself into some real legal troubles. One night him and 2 other kids thought it would be a good idea to rob this house and whatever they found would be used to buy more drugs. Needless to say after completely the robbery and getting the drugs and thinking they were home free, the following week the police called him. There was a witness that saw the robbery go down and knew who the kids were involved. My buddy was arrested for robbery and was put in jail for 4 months due to one wrong move. He was also fined 5,000 dollars and forced to do 3 months of work release. I would take him to work and back to jail since it was a county jail there was not serious rules behind how you got to and from work. Talking to him on these days he would tell me some of the stories from inside the jail. He said it was nothing as he ever thought it would be. It helped that there were a few other people we knew inside so he knew some people but for the people he didn’t know he said it was quite easy to make friends. He said people on the inside, at least there, were more interested in making friends and making the time go faster rather than trying to be the typical gang banger that people usually hear about. He said being in jail made him think about life and what he wants to do with himself when he would get out, and once he did he was on the right path. Started a new job, stopped hanging out with people that would get him in trouble and really tried to give him a fresh start. But unfortunately, once you have a criminal record for that, especially something like robbery, it is hard for job opportunities to arise because not many people are “ok” with hiring prior convicts. People make mistakes in life and yes some cannot be fixed by any means, but that does not mean that people do not value life any less on the inside, these are still people and still deserve to be recognized.

I agree with this comment above. Everyone ate the 1st piece so how can you stomach the fact that you ate someone’s “flesh” with the 1st piece but couldn’t eat the 2nd? I did eat the 2nd one just because I was not going to waste it and throw it away just like I am sure several other people did as well. I look at this topic from a wider stand point. Every thing from clothes, cars, hats, shoes, are all mostly made in foreign country that most likely practices these same kinds of working atmospheres, so should we not wear clothes or drive ? There is no way that is going to happen. Yes I think its very sad that these kids are working against their wills and are not paid, its most defiantly a shame, but people in the united states are not going to not use these things because of it. We as American citizens are very lucky that we have the kinds of lifestyles we do and do not have to live like that and I really think most of us take it for granted. As far as would someone eat the chocolate in front of the person, no probably not but does this idea mean no one should ever eat it again or wear clothes from other countries it is just not going to happen. How could you sit there and throw that chocolate away knowing that some little boy busted his ass so you could eat it and the just throw it away. We have one of the most powerful countries in the US and we still have issues here that we need to take care of and I know this sounds mean but in the end we need to fix our problems before we start trying to fix other countries. It is a sad topic to discuss but what can we really do about these situations in other countries. The only way we can try and curve this issue is by people trying to adopt these children at a younger age before they start working for these people and not getting paid. Even then Americans can adopt every single boy over there just to resolve this issue and then there are still going to be children working in these types of environments. These countries need to get a grab on what is happening and begin to resolve it we as a country cannot go into every country and try to fix these issues. The countries governments and police need to realize the problem with these kids and begin to take care of it. it’s a very sad topic and hopefully one day it can be resolved.

I agree with what is said on this question, it did seem like white people were being reprimanded for saying things that were not called for. But I also thought that people of color were being equally rude or even worse and they weren’t told about it at all. People see an opportunity to anonymously post something and try to make people laugh but I guarantee those things would not have been said face to face. Some of it has to do with the reaction from the students when they saw what was posted many laughed or were waiting for someone of color to flip out. If we cannot take care of a racial issue like this in a racial relations class then how is society ever going to overcome it? Also I think a lot of those rude posts were just students being immature and taking advantage of a good thing. If these posts either had phone numbers or names to go along with it I highly doubt we would have had these rude comments posted because these students would have used their heads a little bit. I also think that if black people would have gone first we would have had the same type of thing going on and white people probably would have retaliated even worse. But if the white students are going to get yelled at for being immature then the black people should have been dealt the same treatment. Both the black and the white sides said some rude things that are the main reason why we are still dealing with race issues. If we can’t do simple activities like that in a classroom how are we ever going to be able to overcome this situation throughout our lifetimes? I think if this activity was used properly and we got some really good points made that would be a spark for conversations not only in lecture but also in our smaller discussion groups. I know sometimes in my discussions we kind of sit there and try to think of things we want to talk about, if we had legit posts to go off of we could use those to talk about later. The whole white guilt thing is defiantly an issue just be going on what has happened in the past that all of the white students in class had nothing to do with. I don’t understand why younger generations of white people are still paying for things that SOME of our ancestors did years ago. I am not saying that in any way what happened will ever be justifiable in any way, but at some point the white people cannot keep being guilty for things we had no control over.

First off I want to start this blog by saying that I think this woman has done wonderful things and deserves every chance to coach these high school players. Being that I played sports since I was 4 years including soccer, football, basketball, and tennis and personally I have never been coached by a female in anything. Not that I think this is a bad decision to name her the head coach but what I would question is the respect level those players are going to have to being coached by a female. I know that is sexist and isn’t fair to women but its reality, men have issues being told what to do by a female. Personally I know I wouldn’t have the same respect for a female coach as I would for a male, I have had female referees in my past and even that bugged me. Having a female out there in charge and telling me what to do just annoy me and it is unfair but I am being honest. Especially when it comes to football, it is mainly a male sport that involves violence to some extent that I don’t know if most women would be able to go through. I only played football for 3 years and had 2 concussions that had me sidelined for a game each; some women would have been seriously injured if they were hit like that. Getting back to the coaching aspect I feel like males respond better to male coaches as do females for female coaches. Football is a sport that involves high energy levels, determination, and physical strength and in order for a team to get pumped up for and during a game I believe males will respond to a man yelling at him and getting the spirits up for the game. I know if I had a women yelling at me to get hyped for a game it would not work in the same manner if it was a male saying it. The fact that she has been giving the opportunity to coach a male football team is amazing and I recognize all her hard work getting her to this spot in her life but I know if I was one of those players it would be difficult to take orders from a female coach and give the same kind of effort during games and practice. Maybe that is just my look on things but I know if I talked to some of my teammates from high school most of them would agree that especially in a game like football, we all probably would vote to have a male coach over a female just because guys react better to males and vice versa for females.

I don’t really agree with what is said in this comment. He said people find themselves in a hole and can’t get out of it which is wrong. There are defiantly ways to clean yourself up and get out of whatever drug habit or criminal activity you get caught up in. He refers to black people being in a hole but if you look at the stats white people get in trouble for using drugs just as much as blacks. It is not an issue of having the ability of getting out of that slump it’s a matter of whether you really want to or not. Being that I have been in a slump like that I know that if you really want to change you can it’s a matter of will power. I played sports all my life and my senior year of the most important basketball season of my life I broke my hand and had to sit out the remainder of the season. When that reality set in that I was never going to play organized ball again I went off the deep end and turned to alcohol and drugs for comfort. I did that because I did not know how else to cope with that issue. I continued that kind of lifestyle for a the next year and a half or so, it got to the point where as soon as I woke up in the morning I started looking for something to give me my fix and that was the point in my life where I told myself I need to change if I wanted to make something out of my life. Now don’t get me wrong the drug life was fun as hell and I have a ton of memories from them but in the end it wasn’t worth the chance of a lifelong addiction. The chance of my family finding out and knowing what I was up to and how much I would hurt them if they found out how deep I was in that mess was too much for me to deal with and I knew I needed a change. I have friends right now who have been in and out of rehab 3 or 4 times and keep relapsing and I go home and see them and I thank god every day that I had the will power to overcome that shit. Being a drug addict is realizing you have a problem and having the power to overcome it because YOU want too. If you really don’t want to overcome it then you are never going too and you are going to live your life like that forever, life is all about the choices you make.

I believe that lesbians are much more accepted in society because its more natural then it is for men to be gay. If I were to be walking to class and see two girls holding hands I wouldn’t think too much of it but if I see two guys holding hands I would notice that. Even If I saw two girls holding hands I could either be thinking that they are just good friends or there gay but if I saw 2 guys doing that I would automatically think they are gay just on the fact that it isn’t as natural for men to do that. I am not way shape or form homophobic in anyway, I have a good friend of mine who is bi-sexual and I still consider him a friend no matter what his sexual preference is. We live in the United States and have all these rights to freedom and to do as we please, just because you choose to be gay or straight do not make you any less of a person. I also think that in the eyes of a straight man, seeing two girls making out is cool and guys get turned on by that. Most guys have fantasies of getting a chance to have a three some with two girls and that’s why I think they are more accepted in society. Not too many females out there would be interested in having a threesome with 2 gay guys but that is just my opinion. Also girls are more comfortable with making out with each other just due to the fact that the guys think it is cool but no straight guy is obviously going to think that two guys kissing is cool by any means. Males in general more worried about being masculine and especially if there are females around then that is the top priority because no guy wants a good looking girl to get the wrong impression. Guys are always worried about what the opposite sex is going to think of them and that is just how it is and if girls are around its going to be 10x’s worse. It sucks that gay guys can not be as accepted as lesbians are but in all reality that is how it is and I really do not seeing that changing any time soon. Also girls just do not care what other people think and guys are the complete opposite whether they want to admit it or not. In the end it is very unfortunate that this is how things are let’s just face it that this is how things are going to be and its going to be a long time before anything changes.

In the grand scheme of things people sometimes say things before completely thinking about. Granted that what this man said about welfare people being animals was completely wrong and out of line but everyone makes mistakes some are just more visible than others. Yes he is a political figure and needs to completely think through comments before he says them but has anyone actually seen a welfare line waiting for their checks? I previously worked for the city of Allentown and would drive past the huge welfare lines waiting for their checks to come on a Friday afternoon. Now I am not saying by any means that these people are animals but just by me witnessing these people, as soon as they get their money, a lot of them run right to their drug dealers to get their fix. Now not all these people do this, some of them do try to use that money to provide for their families and all but the majority of those people are going right to get high. I really think welfare people should have to pass drug tests in order to obtain their money. Why should the tax payers have to foot the bill for these people to get high? No doubt that these people who need welfare are less fortunate and don’t have all the opportunities that you and I have had but I am not ok with paying for these people to get their drugs. These people are not “animals” by any means but their actions sometimes say different. If you that unfortunate and do not have money for your family then do not be that irresponsible and waste the few hundred dollars on drugs instead of what is important. Getting back to the statement of calling these welfare people animals, haven’t you ever said something and as soon as it leaves your mouth you are like, “I didn’t meant that” or said it without thinking at all. I know I have done that plenty of times, I say something to someone and I think to myself, I didn’t mean it like that, but I don’t get ridiculed like this man is. A good portion that’s on welfare I am sure do not always put the money to good use and I think those are the people he is mainly referring to not the ones that use it legitimately. The main reason that this is such a big topic is because this man is a legit figure in society and “should” know better but in the end of all this that man and us aren’t any different with the exception of power and sometimes I don’t think people realize that at all.

This was a very interesting article to read about since race seems to be such a big deal these days. Scientists are doing studies like these and draw more attention to the color of what people are instead of who the person it. I have white, black, Asian friends and I don’t look at them as a race I look at them as my friend. The way they look or where they’re from doesn’t determine if I am friends with them or not. We fought the civil war for a reason, it was to end slavery and be done with the whole race thing but surveys are just bring the argument back into effect. To me it doesn’t matter if the person is black, white, purple in the end its who the person is not what their appearance is. If race and color wouldn’t be brought up in instances like these studies I don’t think it would be as difficult a topic to overcome. I think studies like these are actually doing more harm then they are doing good for society. These studies are breaking people of different races apart, if we would just leave these surveys and studies alone I think the country as a whole could start becoming more united. Race shows your ethnic backgrounds not the kind of person you are on the inside. Some people out there are just ignorant and will never overcome the fact that people are different and will always be different. It’s not like someday you going to wake up and the only race on earth it’s going to white people or just black people. Everyone is different and that aspect of life is never going to change so ultimately people just need to put the differences aside and get with reality. Society as a whole these days has too many stereotypes of people and I think that is why these race issues are still around. Finally put the differences aside and see people for who they really are no matter what color they are or where they are from because in the end artificial things do not matter. Just because someone is different looking doesn’t mean they would be any less or any more of a friend to you. Over coming these issues is something that the United States as a whole need to overcomes or these issues will never go away. I just don’t understand how people can be so ignorant to others just based on the way they look or where they came from. I strongly believe that if surveys like these were to not be around that it would make our country become stronger and more civil, it is just a matter if people can take a step back and but whatever differences they may have aside.

i can see why someone on a airplane would be frightened about an incident like this. Yes, it is stereotypical but after the events of 9/11 it’s hard to blame anyone in doing so. The first time I was on a plane after 9/11 there was a Muslim man sitting a few rows ahead of me and I was at the edge of my seat the entire flight. I know that not every Muslim person is a terrorist and has plans to hurt Americans but it’s a reasonable reaction. I currently have a roommate that is Muslim and he is a cool kid, I would never stereotype him in with the events of 9/11 but at first it was a bit different and I needed to get used to it. I am not racist by any means I have friends of all backgrounds and that was just the way I was raised. Skin color and appearances aren’t what make people who they are. Any time I am on a plane though and I see someone from a different part of the world I do get a bit uneasy and I think a lot of people would tend to agree on that subject. Its nothing against the person or anything like that it’s just a common reaction. Sometimes I think people take these incidents too personal and need to realize that we are just looking out for ourselves, something like those attacks could happen again, but now we are a bit more prepared. Flying is scary to me as it is just like it is for most people I believe when you put the events of 9/11 and foreigner it makes you think that it could happen to you as well. Americans are just taking precautions for their own safety and it’s very unfortunate that incidents like this occur but after that day everything changed in the eyes of Americans. It’s a shame that people have to pay for the events of 9/11 but let’s be real here its going to happen no matter what. Yeah the kid was only praying what it’s the big deal in that? There isn’t much of a problem with that but the kids got to realize that people may be a little uncomfortable with that going on while there on a flight. Like I said its sad that people have to go through these kinds of things but Americans need to look out for themselves cause If they don’t then who is going on. And did that kid really need to do it on the plane why couldn’t he wait until he was at home or at least off the plane then there wouldn’t be an issue at all.

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