en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758948 Comments by JulietaVenegas https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66930720 I have to say that I agree with this rather strongly. After Thursday's class, it's quite obvious that even after reading Disposable People from cover to cover, slavery is something that is far more widespread than we thought. I mean, this is chocolate that we're talking about. Just like beer is to St. Patrick's Day or Christmas Trees are to Christmas, chocolate is to holidays like Easter and Halloween. Kids will agree to eat all of their vegetables at dinner just to get a piece of it, and yet we know so little of where it comes from. And I'm not talking about the trip to Hersey Chocolate World that many of us who are from PA take at least once. I don't know how many of us have actually stopped to think of exactly where it is that companies like Hershey and MARS get the chocolate, but I'm guessing it's close to none- myself included. But now that we have this knowledge, although it's disturbing, it's definitely eye opening. When going to grab some dessert this evening, I couldn't help but to intentionally ignore the chocolate chip cookies simply because of what I had learned just yesterday. Although Sam said that we should all go ahead and "eat the second piece of chocolate because it's the only reasonable thing to do," I can't help but to become blank. It just doesn't seem fair that there can't be a 2nd step... I mean, I definitely understand that my decision to never eat non-fair trade chocolate would be about as effective as trying to reverse the direction of the wind just by sticking my tongue out at it, but I can't help the feeling inside of me that keeps saying that there IS something more that can be done by all of us. I hate the fact that it seems so impossible simply because that discourages others from getting involved and doing something, The same goes for the similar issue of the amount of slave labor that contributes to the other everyday things that we buy. Can we just stop consuming and using these things in a snap? Can we get others to see the same way that we now see? And if so, will they help to put make a dent in this horrible situation? I guess I'm just left wondering if I can do that very thing. I'm not positive that I know the final answer to that yet, but I do know that I can at least try it. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:21:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-might-be-the-second-step__trashed/#IDComment66930720 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64292086 I feel bad about this subject because as a woman, I can understand both sides of Sam's argument. I agree with him in that yes, this is definitely a male dominated world and that there is definitely some silencing going on thanks to that. But on the other side, I can definitely see how this could be gross. I mean, I have to deal with it and I think it's gross sometimes. Blood is blood whether it's in person on your underwear, dripping in the sink from a paper cut, bleeding out of a body on the nightly news, or shown somewhere on a Discovery Health TV show, and I think it's gross regardless of where it is. I have a girl friend who faints at the sight of it (yes, even the tiniest drop), so to me the "gross" factor comes from the fact that it's blood, not in that it's a thing that only women get. I do think that guys should know more about it though... I mean, Sam's right in that it's just a part of life, so why not just learn about it? I mean, it's not like we're asking you to watch or anything. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:49:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64292086 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64290707 While I definitely agree that we should never stop questioning, I think something has to come even before that: we have to get people to *care* about somthing--- anything!-- first. I was a junior in high school when the elections of 2004 took place. To refresh everyone's memory, that was of course the GWBush vs. Kerry campaign. I can say that an overwhelming majority of my friends came from Republican families, and only a handful of us could be considered Democrats. Being the minority among people that I cared for greatly at the time made me really want to push the political envelope with them. Except, there was a problem. Hardly any of them actually cared about what was going on. I can admit that I wouldn't expect them to care much about the 2000 elections because we were younger and rather naive, but I couldn't believe that someone holding a drivers license could just refuse to have an opinion about something as serious and consequential as the Presidential elections. So did they question anything that was going on? Of course not! They didn't care! And I feel like that's such a widespread problem in our country because 1) people don't believe that it can actually directly affect them and 2) they don't think that their vote/opinion matters or that they can change something if they are unhappy with it. So what are we to do with a bunch of apathetic people who have no opinions about anything? It's frustrating to me because people die every day for this thing that we call freedom, and yet so many just let it slip by not questioning anything. Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:33:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/flip-the-script-for-a-moment__trashed/#IDComment64290707 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64289431 I have to admit that I was basically speechless after watching this clip in class. I had heard of this experiment when I took a Soc class back in High School, but I know that I had not seen the video (if it was even made back then). In any case, I am left feeling a variety of emotions... shock, disbelief, and guilt are a few that come to mind, but overall I can't put words to what I feel here. I guess that's because I feel a mixture of pain for different reasons. I am a 22 year old white female with naturally blonde hair that grew up loving Disney and Barbie dolls. I have to admit that even though I did have the Black Barbie, I didn't like playing with her as much as the Blonde Barbie. That being said, I also didn't like playing with the red or brown haired ones either. For me personally, I think this is just because I liked the dolls that looked like more like me. Additionally, my mother has fair skin and blonde hair, so maybe I was drawn to the dolls that looked like her because she was my Mommy. Along the same lines, my favorite Disney princess was Sleeping Beauty because, again, she had long blonde hair like I/my mom did. But does this mean that what I was "picking" was what I thought was beautiful--- even back then?? But I simply can't get over what that video revealed. I am left with a sense of guilt because of the fact that my hair and skin are represented by those dolls that the children kept picking... and for that all I could think to myself was "No, don't pick the one like me... pick the one like you!" White guilt? Not sure. I just know that I had such a horrible feeling in my gut after watching those videos and that I was basically mortified. Then, after watching the video, somebody brought up the fact that Disney is one of the biggest influences in what children thing is "beautiful." While I totally agree with this statement, I have to admit that I really think that they are trying to change things. This is most recently seen by their new animated film "The Princess and the Frog." I have not seen it myself, but I have heard that it was really good and very entertaining for both children and adults... but that has been from white people, so I'm definitely curious as to what the black community thinks about it. Are her features really white features that were simply colored brown (as Sam put it)? Was it really an effort to diversify the pool of Disney's Princesses or was it just a PC thing that they had to do? Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:18:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64289431 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment63092180 I agree with this 100%. I mean, if you were to hide her identity completely from others, throw pads and a helmet on her, and send her out onto the field with a bunch of guys, I highly doubt that anyone would be able to tell that she's a female. It comes down to who is the best for the job, and his woman is the clear choice. Unfortunately, since football is definitely a male dominated sport, she's going to have some difficulties overcoming certain prejudices that are being cast upon her, but there's no denying the fact that the girl can play some football. The same prejudices occur in other male dominated fields such as engineering, math, science... the list goes on. But females are just as smart, talented, and capable of doing a man's job and are in fact rising to the top faster than ever seen before in history. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:56:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/women-and-sports__trashed/#IDComment63092180 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63090178 When I first heard about this story on the television, I thought that was a joke. I couldn't believe that this had *actually* happened and it really thew me back a couple of steps. Additionally, the school's "reason" to cancel the prom ("distractions to the educational process") was simply infuriating to me. Since when has the high school prom been part of the educational process?!? I mean, sure, we've all heard the story of that friend of a friend who ran off after prom and had sex in their car or hotel room or something. And from that you can argue that that's simply a lesson about the birds and the bees but I highly doubt that that Mississippi was counting this as the prom's contribution to the educational process. I'm so glad that the family is taking this seriously and are taking legal actions because this is something that simply should not have happened. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:49:30 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment63090178 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment63089306 I too have to admit that I've never noticed the overwhelming whiteness of The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I never really watched the show until this past summer, but even from that one season that I followed it was indeed filled with a bunch of white guys and a white girl. Based on that fact, I'll take the word of the girl in the video post in that the number of white people can be counted on your hands. My first thought to this observation is along the lines of the fact that the main character in the shows has been white. So the pool of possible fiancees was probably chosen in a way that limits the racial diversity within the group. I don't know how the network or show producers chooses that group of individuals, so I can't speak for them.... but my guess would be that the main character has some say in who's in in the mix because *they* are the one who is going to be snuggling up to one of the group members in the end. If the network were smart, they'd pull in some people of color in order to appeal to a larger target audience. But like I said, I don't really know how the whole selection process really works. Now, getting back to the question of whether or not whites are the only ones willing to embarrass themselves on national television. I too agree in that you have to look at other networks and their respective reality TV shows because there is clearly some diversity there. Take The Biggest Loser, for example. Again, I haven't watched it a whole lot so I can't really speak from the perspective of someone who really knows what goes on that show, but I do have a general idea of who has been on the show thanks to commercials for the show, magazine covers, and E! News, and it seems to me that there's a fair amount of diversity within that show. Again, I don't know how that casting process works nor do I know which network hosts Biggest Loser, so I can only speculate... but all of this leads me to think that the situation with the Bachelor/ette show is simply that the group of participants is chosen based on what the main Bachelor/ette wants. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:41:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment63089306 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/who-could-compete-with-this-woman-on-a-level-playing-field__trashed/#IDComment58925699 I too am amazed at that tiny thought of "what it?" What if she had been born in the United States or any other modernized country for that matter? I don't think it's hard to see that her determination, work ethic, and aptitude would allow her to go places in life. But again we're brought back to the point that Sam keeps making in class-- Is life what is is because of what you do or because of the roadblocks in your path? Yvrose's situation saddens me because clearly, like everyone else in Haiti, there's a huge roadblock that has been thrown into her path. She'd be perfectly fine and not in trouble with her bank if it weren't for that fateful day that brought a devastating earthquake rumbling through Port au Prince. For those out there that consider yourself to be a true believer in the "Life is what YOU make of it" viewpoint and not the "Some people have more roadblocks in their way than others," I would like to urge you to really think about Yvrose's position and how her life would be different if it weren't for the earthquake. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:51:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/who-could-compete-with-this-woman-on-a-level-playing-field__trashed/#IDComment58925699 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58924198 I have to agree 100 percent with you when you say "money plays the biggest role." Just look at Hollywood: how many of your favorite movie stars and pop rockers have gotten in trouble for one thing or another and got away with it when everyone knows that your typical American citizen would have been thrown behind bars for the same crime? It comes down to the fact that money can pretty much buy you out of anything (with the exception of Bernie Madoff who clearly despite the fact that he embezzled more money than any one person should be allowed to have, can't buy his way out of being convicted) why you have it/ are famous. When it comes down to things (and as shown graphically by Sam during class), minorities generally tend to have lower household incomes when compared to those of White people. Not saying that people with money don’t do drugs, but the people who do drugs and get caught tend to be in the lower-class housing developments like the projects or ghettos. And since police know that illegal activity is happening in those areas, of course they’re going to pay more attention to tip offs and are going to be patrolling the streets and sending out undercover officers more than they would be in say Beverly Hills. Now... the question becomes why is this even allowed in the first place? Clearly it's not difficult to figure out who is accepting bribes (Hey there Your Honor- nice new BMW you have there...), but why isn't anybody doing anything about it? I think that fact is just as disturbing as the fact that more Black people are in jail than White. We all know that life isn’t fair and that the average person typically doesn’t get what they deserve, but is it too much to ask for some decency in the system that is supposedly what sets us apart from third world countries? Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:33:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58924198 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58921846 I would have to agree with you here. I wouldn't think "he's a gangster" or anything based on his appearance. I have black friends who are much more ghetto-like in appearance, style, and language, and yet they're some of the kindest people I know... so I think the question needs to be separated into two parts: 1) How does he appear to the eye on first glance and 2) What kind of a person do I think he is. Just because someone looks like 50 Cent doesn't mean that they're going to mug you. I have to admit that my kind-hearted and ghetto-fabulous black friends were intimidating at first simply because I didn't actually *know* them, so that's definitely testament to the fact that you need to get to know people before you can judge them. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:09:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58921846 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/the-xxx-bible-who-wouldve-thought__trashed/#IDComment57150714 I too found this rather interesting to read, but I was aware of such innuendos beforehand. My ex-boyfriend was studying to be a Rabbi while he was at Penn State, so naturally he had to take every Biblical Hebrew class offered here. I can remember him coming back from class and telling me about how his assignments involved doing translations directly from the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) from Biblical Hebrew to English and how the "actual" translations are sometimes rather different than what most people learn. Although I can't remember any specific examples that he gave, I'm just glad to see that something like this is being brought to light for others to realize. Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:42:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/the-xxx-bible-who-wouldve-thought__trashed/#IDComment57150714 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57148069 I think you have a great point that I didn't think of before-- how the younger generation may perceive sex after learning that you can just go to a robot to get your kicks. Personally, I think that our society has enough one night stands as it is, and something like this will only de-value the idea of sex in the minds of kids, and that may only lead to more careless sex and "mistake" babies. Additionally, the fact that you have complete control over the robot definitely has potential to translate to real sex, and like you said can cause issues with woman... to go a step further it could even lead to rape, which this world doesn't need any more of. I guess it's just unfortunate in the first place that people even need something like this to begin with. Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:15:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57148069 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57146997 This article absolutely amazes me and I can’t decide whether I’m angry and speechless or just need to laugh about it. The reason why I’m torn is because on one hand it’s gross, unfortunate, and definitely a sign of how people are beginning to rely too much on “technology” to live their life. Nobody talks to each other anymore—everything is internet or text message based. And now here’s a toy that eliminates the need for another human in order to have sex. I’m not saying that this is the first object to get rid of this component—obviously other sex toys have been around for quite a while before this one. However on the other hand, I’m an engineering student, so I can’t deny the hard work and creativity that went into the successful development of this product. I mean, maybe having tubes that run heated air throughout the body to warm the “skin” up would seem like a no brainer to someone who was in the market for a sex doll, but I’ve never had one so reading about that particular feature made me think to myself, “wow, now that is some high quality product development right there.” With that being said, I don’t think anyone can honestly say that the doll’s talking feature isn’t impressive either. The fact that you can 1) choose it’s “personality” and 2) talk to it (regardless of what it is you may be *ahem* saying to it) and that the doll will respond almost immediately just boggles my mind. I mean, what other consumer product have we seen that has the same capabilities? So it is for these reasons that I can appreciate the engineering that went into the designing and producing this doll. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I truly do appreciate the time that this man put into creating this doll/robot and that I kind of hope he is successful with it because his brains led him to come up with an innovative product in a market that definitely has a wide variety of toys to begin with, so he deserves it. However I can’t deny the fact that it’s terribly sad that something like this is “needed” simply because our society becomes more and more dependent on things that eliminate the need for direct human-to-human contact… and now it’s like nobody really knows how to talk or act with each other unless if they’re typing it in a text message or on someone’s Facebook wall. Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:05:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57146997 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment57143015 Although I have not traveled to Europe (yet), I am a huge soccer fan and was aware of such extreme cases of “freedom of speech.” That being said, I hate the fact that it continues on even today and that the force that regulates European soccer has chosen to not do anything about it. Due to the fact that I have never been to Europe, I can’t say that it’s stuck in the “old world” or that it’s too unruly, for it’s own good, but I can say that watching this video made me really angry and the barbaric words and actions of the fans. Whether it’s because of the European culture, media, or the love of soccer, I simply cannot think of a reason that would make these actions excusable… but I can think of a reason that would allow these actions to be considered “normal” to Europeans: Political Correctness. The US culture emphasizes the idea of being politically correct and to not offend anybody or hurt their feelings. Even though some TV shows may use satire to poke fun at being politically correct, the fact that my generation is being brought up on the idea of not offending others cannot be denied. Europeans, on the other hand, may not be fed this idea on a daily basis like we are in the United States. This doesn’t imply that their actions are acceptable, but rather that there may be a reason behind this thing that seems so foul. Nobody can deny that soccer fans are notoriously more expressive of all emotions than football fans—all you have to do is listen to a soccer game to hear it. I’m not talking about the racial slurs that are yelled from all directions, but rather the continuous chanting that can be heard even from live broadcasts on the FOX Soccer channel. Fans of the home team sing, belt, and scream the same chants/cheers in unison for the entire duration of the game. Even something like that would be a hard feat for the fans in Beaver Stadium. I mean, sure we can yell/sing the melody to Zombie Nation for a solid 60 seconds or so, but imagine not just the student section but the entire stadium doing that for the entire 90 minutes of a soccer game. Not likely to happen. My point is simply that Europeans love their soccer like nothing else, and they’re bound to say and do inappropriate things when it comes to an emotional subject for them like soccer. It is then that the game officials and the soccer leagues need to step in and speak out against actions that are so blatantly racist. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:31:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment57143015 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment57142946 I am a believer in the saying that people are afraid of what they don’t know, and I think that this story is a perfect example. Someone, a stranger to those on the plane, began doing things that they were unfamiliar with. And ever since 9/11, Americans have been told over and over again to report activity that seems suspicious. And what could possibly seem more suspicious than a man (wearing what looks like electrical tape at first glance) praying (possibly in Hebrew?) on an airplane. The fact is that since so many of us are unknowledgeable about things beyond our own personal little bubble, chances are high that nobody knew what he was doing, and they were therefore afraid of it. So they reported it out of fear of something “worse” happening. I can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same, so it’s difficult for me to judge these people, but I definitely think that it would be good for all of us to learn about things that have nothing to do with ourselves. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:30:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment57142946 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment57142903 In my opinion, the French government is way out of line here. The choices of those Muslim women may not as fashionable as what the typical French citizen may wear, but that is no reason to condemn them to having to wear what everyone else wears. While I believe that it is not the government’s place to tell someone what they may or may not wear, and this to me would be a clear violation of human rights held by French citizens. I do not know the laws of France though, so I can’t say that for sure… but I can say that I think it’s ridiculous to propose such a law and even more ridiculous to try to enforce it. The women aren’t hurting anyone or anything by wearing their all-body-covering dressings, so there’s no reason to force them to stop. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:30:03 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/the-enlightened-west-knows-best__trashed/#IDComment57142903 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment57142854 I agree with you in that the story line would not have changed whatsoever if the hero of the movie would have been something other than White. But I do think that the choice made by the writers and casting directors for the main character was based on a couple of different things. As I mentioned in a different post, it is my opinion that the main message here is more along the lines of “whites will destroy anything and everything as long as they experience gain from it” and not so much of “the white man saves everyone and everything.” That being said, if that really were what the writers were going for, then of course the main character would have to be white because it was in fact the main character that was so critical in obtaining information critical to destroying the native’s “Home Tree.” Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:29:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment57142854 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment57142705 I too am one of those people who had absolutely no interest in seeing Avatar when I first saw the previews/trailers. I thought it looked incredibly stupid and I couldn’t stand to think the calamity that was bound to happen as a result of trying to put an animated “thing” right next real live actors. When it finally came out, I had many friends who went to see it (and are still seeing it), and it’s become apparent to me that there will probably be people still seeing it with the same excitement 3 weeks from now. I ended up giving in and going to see it two days ago because there hasn’t been a non-Harry-Potter-Lord-of-the-Rings movie with this much attention in a long time. I was completely blown away—and not by the visual effects. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was remarkably gorgeous visually, but what really got me was the profound message hiding under the glowing trees and blue people. Not only did I find the theme of “white man will save everyone else,” but more surprisingly I couldn’t help but to think the real message was more along the lines of “white man will destroy all.” Apparently I wasn’t the only one to pick up on this because the day after the movie was released, it seemed like that was the only thing that the TV news networks could talk about. In any case, I thought that this subliminal message was profound and though provoking to those who caught it. I mean, clearly the writers meant something when they decided to name the thing that the humans were after “Unobtanium.” So what is interesting to me is that some people are putting the focus on how the hero of the story was white and how he managed to save everything that was left. To me, the funny thing is that he was the one to deliver the information that was so crippling to the native’s society, so in a way it was his fault that such mass destruction happened in the first place. And why did he deliver such sensitive information? Because his personal gain from doing so outweighed the loss that would be incurred by the natives. Of course that was all before he fell in love with one of the natives, and it was this love for her and her people that gave him a change in heart, which then lead to his “heroic” acts. I can see how people might think that this movie is all about the white man saving the natives, but from my perspective it has more to do with the “get what we want no matter what it may cost the natives” mentality of the white people. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:28:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment57142705 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/voters-and-their-senseless-stories__trashed/#IDComment57142595 To go one step further beyond your comment, “most people dislike things that they don't understand,” I think that most people fear the things that they don’t understand. And from fear comes things like hate and dislike and a whole bunch of emotions that are considered negative. I think the fact that things aren’t explained very well is only part of the problem. The other part is simply that people are too lazy to educate themselves about the topics that they don’t understand. They would rather just form an opinion based on nothing and be afraid of things like change and or reform. This isn’t to say that all changes are good, but rather that our society needs to do something to better educate ourselves on the things that we don’t understand. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:27:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/voters-and-their-senseless-stories__trashed/#IDComment57142595 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/all-that-is-solid-melts-into-air-including-our-words__trashed/#IDComment57142104 This is not the first time that I have thought about this topic. Back when I was in middle school, I had to do a report on a country of my choice. Due to some family ties, I chose to do Ireland. I became fascinated with the Gaelic language because it is so old and so beautiful. A couple of years later I even went as far as trying to find out if it would be possible to take Gaelic as a class at Penn State or to possibly learn it from a private tutor. I soon discovered that it is really difficult to do either of those simply because it’s considered to be a “dying language.” This of course saddened me but made me realize that it couldn’t possibly be the only language that was considered to be dying. Language fascinates me and I really wish that I were one of “those people” who can pick up a foreign language with ease simply so that I could learn a dying language. It seems so strange that something like a language could die out, but at the same time it’s also a clear indication of progression. From a overall corporate standpoint, I can see the advantage of having fewer languages because then your product or services can then be marketed and sold to a greater number of people using the same language. But at the same time, the diversity of languages is one of the things that make the human race so beautiful. I mean, even if you don’t understand a language, you can still appreciate the complexity and beauty of it. And for something like that to just be…. gone…. I simply can’t imagine it. When you think about it, language is one of the things that preserves us when we die. The words on our tombstone, the words that our friends and family members use to tell stories about us… and if that language were to ever die, so would the concrete meaning behind them. Of course there’s always translation, but that’s never the same. Just ask someone who has read the same book in two different languages. Often times the main points are the same, but because sometimes there aren’t direct and exact translations for every single word, the meaning behind everything changes slightly. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:22:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/all-that-is-solid-melts-into-air-including-our-words__trashed/#IDComment57142104