Damn, that hit hard. He seems like a wise man. I wasent surprised at the fact that he didnt graduate from high school, my dad is the same, very articulate and intellegent. What struck the most was the acts of kindness the man spoke about, just listening to someones day even though yours sucks the same, and then the thing about giving up your phone time to speak to your daughter on her birthday. What things we take for granted as people who can live freely, not having to worry about calling your mom for mothers day, or having alot of family birthdays in one month and not being able to call all of them because your talk time is restricted....wow.

I think that your right, of course in an ideal world people want to do things the right way and legally, but the hard truth is that thats not always possible. Another truth is that money is the reason for almost every problem in the world one way or the other. Of course people with a lot of money will be more privilaged, they can go to better schools, and obtain citizenship easier, and not have to worry about the nutritional hardships that come with poverty. So sometimes, in order to have a better life for yourself and your family (which everybody wants) people must do things against the rules, sometimes it is just and sometimes it isnt, but that is just the world that we live in.

I've seen the old episode of this show and I didnt really realize anything about it. I mean I was probably 15 or 16 years old. They completley blocked out the view of Mohammed and i didnt understand why. They tried to make the point at the end of the episode that he was displayed as "just a regular guy" with nothing offensive about it. Now i can take it into context. South Park is a ridiculously offensive show to the people its poking fun at, but funny as hell to us viewers. So if we view in the way Sam suggested, as Muslims looking at American culture, i can completley understand the reason for anger. Their laughing and making jokes about their god. Although South Park does make jokes all the time about Jesus, religious tolerance is different in other parts of the world and we need to realize that. Theres a huge difference between poking fun at Tiger Woods and poking fun at the god of another people. But it goes both ways. Every other race is made fun of in the show. Jews are CONSTANTLY bashed every episode, and Mohammed wasent spoke about a fraction as much. The point of the show is to bring up issues that have become taboo in todays society. They have made fun of OJ, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, even the president.. Perhaps the tolerance level needs to be raised. When I first viewed this the only thing that i could think of was the picture of the kids holding guns. Same stressed that this is what we see as Americans when really this is just a group of radicals, but since they are radical, they are showed more. So muslim groups get mad when this show is just, metaphorically of course, a group of radical kids. They do not reflect all of what America is, just let them be. I cant tell another group to accept the joke that is being made of their god because thats absurd. Im just 50-50 on the entire issue. I understand why Muslim groups would be upset, however, its not as if they are being disrespected in the way other groups are, or have been on the same show. But they cant see that, thers no way that every muslim has watched every episode of South Park to compare. Mulsims are not being specifically targeted, they are not the only ones who are joked about. The radical groups that are threatening to kill the writers, are very similar to the one kid in the group who cant take a joke. I am not trying to disrespect Muslims in any way, however, it sounds like high school issues making a return to the real world. Thats not funny so im gonna kill you for it is definatley not the way to go.

I think we all have ways of wanting to fit in. Sam was saying that everyone in the class in someway or another is not completley dressing in a way that they want without influence. I thought i didnt really care what anyone thought of what i wore, and i was right for the most part. But then i took into account the jewelery and the sneakers i was wearing. My dad had earrings so i wanted them when i was little, same thing with my braclet and my watch, ive just wanted to be like my father from a young age and that may have transitioned into my style and where i "fit in" looks wise.

I would avenge the death of my mother or sibling. Im not sure that i would go so far as to become a suicide bomber, but i would do it none the less. I want the peace of mind and i guess revenge iknowing that the person who did this to my family member was treated with Justice. Once again, this is another country in which they have a different norm. However no matter how different things are suicide bombing cannot be one of them. I never thought of the OTHER purposes of suicide bombing, and now, i definatley have switched lenses on the topic.

FIRST OFF. That video was amazing. Class was great today. Another productive day in the front row. Sam told us all that we were going to have another good class but i didnt even realize that it would be like this. There have been times in class where I hear Sam speak and then just block him out when I think hes full of it. Dont get me wrong, i was definately doing some of that today, however there was a lot of productive thought this time too. I feel like the class that Sam showed in the clip was a little more powerful then the one We were in, but it hit hard none the less. I cant put myself completley in the shoes of an Iraqi because, well, im not one. Im an American with a westernized view on many things. But, when Sam spoke about the way things look to us as we view Iraqi culture, and then flipping the entire picture, it kinda made sense. Of course there are radicals everywhere in the world. Its like having that stupid friend, you dont want them to speak up if your trying to make an impression and if they do thats a false representation of who you are. So If American soliders are trying to calm fighting and get troops out, but then one tortures an iraqi solider who killed a squadmate, the Iraqis will see this and think that all Americans are like the violence. The same is vice versa. Sam made the point when he said that we only see kids with guns because thats all we are shown. Thats how we have it burned in our minds that all Iraqi culture is just like that. The only times where i completely tune out Sam are when he goes into his "holier than thou" modes. I just dont like his constant assumption of our ignorance. I cant tell you how many times i counted today him saying " but most of you wouldnt know that" followed by "but i do because i have friends who blah blah blah" I just hate that in all classes. Some people do know what your talking about, not everyone here is white and racially brain dead. I saw a lot of Christians who were upset with todays class. I kind of understood, Sams class today, in a way, portrayed Christians as this evil thing. I mean i definatley am opened up to the other side of things, but in my religion i do believe that my god is the almighty, and that he is mightier than all other. Im not a radicalist, and i thought that the peoples words in the video were not completley translated correctly and i think that some things they said may have been taken out of context.

A lot of the things that Sam said in class dont really hit me that hard. I know alot of the facts from where i grew up. The school he showed in the video that was "poor" looked exactly like the high school i attended in Brooklyn. I spanish and white so i know about both worlds and cultures, and ive been around people of color my whole life. However, when Sam speaks on the studies that have been done, I am deeply moved. The study with the baby dolls is amazing. The chocolate lecture hit hard knowing all of the things that slave labor helps to produce. He definatley made me think, im not sure if my mind is changed so much. But i have 100% benefited and learned from this class.

I think that removing the welfare system would be both good and bad. On the positive note, it would eliminate the problem of people that abuse the system, thinking that having a kid is just one check per month and the more children then the more checks would come in. However there is another perspective. If you take away the welfare system the people that genuinley need it may fall off the map. Without some sort of income people will die. That would definaltey increase the problem we face as Americans, both looking at it from a moral standpoint, and an economic one.

Although strongly against these video games and their emergence into culture. I too am sadly not surprised. Along with violence fueling the game industry, sex does as well. In almost every successful video game, the heroine or damsel in distress is always wearing next to nothing with greatly exaggerated physical features. This sells games. Thats the reason it happens. Sex and violence sells. Thats why no one wants to buy educational games. It sounds horrible but its a real view. Every game of the year award winner has either been successful because of violence and sex appeal. God Of War is a game based around greek mythology where the main character is an edgy and vicious warrior who goes around killing gods and claiming naked women ( in game). This game has just released its 3rd version, so people must be buying it. I mean there are two ways to look at it. The first is to view it with our culture and denounce it completely, and the second is to actually wonder why this comes about. Japan was voted the most sexually driven culture in this past decade. The sexual norm and acceptances are way different from those in America. So yes, the point of these video games are horrible. However, it is more accepted in Japanese society to see these things. I just find it upsetting that we are not upset at all the other kinds of things that are found in these games. I myself love video games. They're my passion, but I know when a game goes to far. I dont play grand theft auto for those reasons. What satisfaction do you get from blowing up ambulances, picking up a hooker, having sex with her, and then killing her to get your money in the digital world even? People see video games as an escape. I feel the same way, i can relieve stress and have a fun time. Most of the time that involves shooting "bad guys" or playing my favorite song. I dont ever have the urge to go and rape someone, and i dont have the urge to kill a hooker. So why would i need to release that? People have different fantasies and perhaps in Japanese culture rape is one of them. Games that are directly imported from Japan are noticabley different than that of American made games. Games like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive are full of female characters with abnormally large breasts that feel the need to jump and fight and hop even when theyre standing still.But when you look at an American game you could see considerably more violence. Its a double edged sword, its not fair to try and judge which is sharper.

This is what i did my initial response on. However I think that usually when people are asked what they are, "the minority is the majority" Im half white and half puerto rican like the subject of the video. From what I have seen in the media, from celebrities and political figures, more often then not, you will be categorized into the minority. I wish i could find where this stemmed from so that i could learn if there was a history of hate involved. For example, in the holocaust people were considered Jews even if they were a little Jewish. So maybe these two have a connection?