en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/765421 Comments by Kyle_Rosenthal https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69785513 I completely agree with everything that you said. People only care about things generally if it directly affects him or her. Its not just selfish people, it is pretty much everybody. People do care obviously its just not on the same level as they would for something else. Money being raised for Haiti is a perfect example. We all as a class donated money and I am sure other people did additional things individually, but none of us completely stopped our lives to grieve or stopped going to class or stopped going to work. We just keep moving on with our lives and though the people are in our thoughts and prayers we aren't going to stop what were doing. As long as the world is still turning people aren't going to stop their lives unless it directly effects them. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:30:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69785513 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69516428 This does seem like an idea that is a little bit racist. Its true you are kind of making yourself out to be a more valuable asset and person then people in these under developed countries. Yet I personally don’t think that just makes you out to be a racist person. What it actually is, is you recognizing the advantages you have been given by your upbringing, education, and financial stability. There are probably many people in those countries who are far more intelligent or capable than you or I its just they weren’t given the same opportunities in life that we were. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:24:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69516428 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69513590 This is something that touches a chord in me that I am not used to feeling. It is very rare that any one could feel a deep sense of compassion or such heart felt sympathy for somebody who committed such a terrible crime or whatever it is that somebody did to obtain a life sentence in a maximum security prison without the possibility of parole. Its just strange, because you feel such a sense of anger towards these people. If I was a person who was affected by one of the murders they committed I don’t think I could ever look them in the eye or even feel some sort of compassion for them, but since I am not I look at these people the way that they should be looked at by everybody else in the world. Regardless of their pasts and their previous actions, they are still human beings. You never think of prison inmates as compassionate caring human beings, especially those who have committed such terrible heinous crimes. But not all of these men are psychopaths who don’t feel feelings like the rest of us. Granted I am sure that there are many men who are not normal and don’t care about human beings the way that most of us do but we shouldn’t just assume that all criminal of this magnitude are terrible people. Being isolated in prison like that allows a person a lot of time to reflect on themselves and to grow as a human being and realize new and different things that will change you forever. It is completely obvious through this letter that this man is one of those people. Also something that really stuck out is the hand he and his friend put on the grieving mans shoulder. So much meaning can be translated through the smallest of gestures even by men who one would assume don’t really care about others the way normal people would. Obviously that isn’t the case, especially with this man. Something else that means a lot also is this man even taking his time to write this letter for us. Yes he is in prison and probably isn’t too busy with all that many things but still, I cant imagine how difficult it is fro someone in his position to just open up like this to a class of over 700 strangers. I don’t know if I would be able to do something like that. Being able to see into the mind of somebody like this is a gift to us and almost even something extremely eye opening because it shows us that these men are still human, regardless of their wrongs. They are human beings with feelings and families and real life problems even inside of their jail. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:14:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69513590 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68412321 I think that is really the overall problem with religion. It was something created in part out of fear and in part looking for answers. It is good that people can find something to believe in that comforts them and at least kind of gives them a set of rules I guess you could call them to live by. The problem is when people have major differences in these religious beliefs the disagreements can be very dangerous. People don't want to hear that something they basically live by is wrong or in a way not real. Especially when this is something so important to them. I wouldn't want to hear that one of the most important aspects of my life is a joke. I would take serious offense to that and would probably fight whoever said that. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:00:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68412321 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68411124 I understand what you are saying and it is truly terrible for people to just automatically associate Osama Bin Laden and his actions with the muslim faith, especially since there are so many different types of muslim faiths and so many different people who follow the muslim religion. Yet it is the same with this as it is with just about everything else. People always associate stereotypes of groups with everybody in that group whether it applies to them or not and it is quite a shame that that happens but there isn't really much we can do. People just have to be open minded and accepting of others and not just immediately judge them when they first see them. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:51:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/the-tyranny-of-radical-muslims__trashed/#IDComment68411124 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68407067 This is a very tough subject to weigh in on. There are so many different factors that contribute to what people think and how they act especially in situations as radical as these. For a person to be in the mind state that blowing themselves up is a worthy sacrifice for what they want or for what cause they believe in, they have to be either very mentally unstable or they have to be very passionate about it. In the case of this woman avenging her husband’s death I understand where she is coming from. Though I obviously do not agree with her methods at all because I don’t think that suicide bombing really achieves anything. She is no longer living and for all I know she may not have even killed the guards or soldiers responsible for the death of her husband. The men that she killed may have been completely innocent and might not have had anything to do with what happened. They could have families now left behind without a father and husband. So now what happens, does their family avenge the death of their now deceased father and whom could they even get revenge on. The lady responsible for their deaths killed herself in the process. With all of that being said I think what you have to do is put yourself in her shoes, or at least in a situation very similar to what happened to her. Say somebody extremely close to you was unjustly murdered by a group of people or soldiers or whatever. What would your reaction be if the justice system in place there weren’t going to do anything to make that person or group of people pay for their actions? Generally in America the justice system handles that for us. Yet obviously in her country, especially when the actions are committed by militants or soldiers the government didn’t do its job in punishing them and helping her, at least not up to her standards. I think if something like this were to happen to me and the justice system wasn’t any help I would take matters into my own hands. I would not be a suicide bomber because like I said earlier I really don’t think that would solve anything. But I would probably figure out a way to get my hands on some type of firearm and come after whoever was responsible for my loss and my pain. Granted this is a very serious situation and there isn’t much that would really get a person other than killing those responsible. I am not a murderer and I would have to be in a very extreme situation to actually kill someone, I think that this situation is one where murderous revenge may be acceptable. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:20:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68407067 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66623560 Look personally if you’re opinion on anything Sam has said the entire semester hasn’t changed then you obviously haven’t been listening to what he has been saying too well. The entire class is based on opening up people’s eyes to the wrongs done to others and to the problems and biases that go unnoticed in our society. Not just in race relations, but in almost every aspect of society that pertains to people and the differences between them. Unless you are the most intelligent person in the world and already knew pretty much everything about everything then you probably should have learned something or changed your mind about a few things at this point. Look personally I am a very open minded person and going into this course there wasn’t very much that Sam has said less far that I haven’t already agreed with before hearing it. The course is mainly directed toward people who are close-minded and don’t really want to change but through listening to the facts and things he is saying are kind of forced to take a different outlook on things and finally get some other perspective. Obviously there are some things that Sam has said that I don’t completely agree with and also there are some things that he has said that I find pretty weird and far-fetched such as the being with a man after his wife dies. That’s something that I could never do let alone be completely confident of this far in advance. But there are facts that he has brought to our attention that as a class we cant just ignore. For somebody to not have changed their mind on anything that has been said so far or to at least have learned something is either really stubborn or just isn’t paying attention at all. Yes Sam does have a tendency to make some points that are either completely obvious to us, or that are kind of weird and possibly wrong, but all in all he has made a lot of valuable points about society and its ills. Especially some of the percentage facts that he puts up that one, there is no way you could have known those numbers prior to this class and two there isn’t any way you can argue with them because they are facts and are based off of surveys taken for these type of categories. Look the bottom line is this; what you learn in this class is all up to you. If you already agree with pretty much everything Sam says, then you probably aren’t going to learn too much. Yet if you take a second to listen and actually think about the things that he tells our class then you might actually learn a thing or two. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 17:50:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66623560 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65570655 It is funny that this is how you handled the experience of many cultural groups moving into your neighborhood. I agree with the way you handled it but I have seen a very different situation. My friend grew up in Kensington, Philadelphia and as African American people started moving into his neighborhood the Irish people (including his family) moved out of the neighborhood until almost all of the neighborhood is black besides a small group. Because of this my friend is pretty racist because he chose to handle the situation differently than you did. Its a shame and he and I have gotten into many arguments over race but I just find it interesting how two people can handle a situation so completely differently. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 16:12:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65570655 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65570157 I have been hearing about this for some time and to be honest it really isn't that great a concern of mine. One it isn't that white people are the minority, there will just be less white people than the other ethnicities combined. It isn't like every other ethnicity individually will be larger than the white population so really this is being made into the white people versus everybody else which in my opinion is completely the wrong thing to do. Everyone wants people to stop looking at race and stop letting us affect our decisions and the way we live our life yet people are pinning all white people against every other race. That is just furthering the problem for everyone and not solving anything. Really smart. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 16:07:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/the-white-minorities__trashed/#IDComment65570157 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65569385 As somebody who is also of Hispanic (Puerto Rican) decent on my mothers side of the family and whose dad’s side of the family is entirely white I can completely relate to this problem and face many of the same questions that you do. I have spent a majority of my life trying to figure out which group I identify more with and what I would consider myself when asked. Usually I go into an explanation and tell people everything that I am so that they can decide for themselves cause I try not to let it bother me. What race I identify with isn’t the most pressing issue in my life. Yet my situation was actually a little different than the one that you grew up with. When I was growing up neither side of my family was really around a lot. Not that they abandoned us or anything, but almost all of my moms family lived in either New York City or further north in upstate New York. Her parents lived out in California so I just didn’t see them very often. My dad’s side of the family doesn’t live very close either. His family all lived in either New York or Florida. So there wasn’t any influence really on me. My influence came more or less from the community that I live in back home. When I was growing up my main influence was probably from the kids I grew up with and all of my close friends. A majority of my best friends were white kids. I grew up in a suburban town about fifteen minutes outside of Philly. There were plenty of black and brown kids, but that wasn’t really the group of people I hung around with. I do have many friends who are black or brown and actually most of them are split in half like I am. But I think because of where I grew up and because a majority of my influences were white friends of mine, I think growing up I was pushed more towards identifying with the white team. Yet the more I learned about my ethnicity the more I began identifying with being Puerto Rican over white. People still called me white and told me that I was more white than Puerto Rican but the truth is Puerto Rican is my majority ethnicity while my dads side of the family is split up into two different backgrounds (Russian and Polish). I started educating myself on my Hispanic heritage and took two trips to Puerto Rico during the summers in high school. I found out that I really love my heritage and in a lot of cases identify more with my Hispanic side. Yet growing up in white suburbia I also heavily identify with the white team. So at this point I am still pretty undecided on what team I identify with. Like I said I have other problems to worry about and to me this isn’t that big a deal. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 16:01:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65569385 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64231304 I agree with you completely on your husband being supportive about your periods and all of that. It becomes almost as much a part of his life as it is yours once the two of you become married and it is something that he is going to have to learn to accept and deal with for a long time. The problem about talking to your guy friends about it is, they probably dont really feel an obligation to listen to you or help you. I have said on a previous blog I have no problem talking to my girlfriend about it, but if one of my other friends that is a girl came to me and tried talking to me about it, no offense but I don't I would really want to spend time talking to her about it. It's nothing personal I just don't feel the obligation I do with my girlfriend. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:36:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64231304 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64230238 I kind of tend to disagree with everybody who says, 'well all white people can be categorized into one group as a whole of white people.' A majority of my friends are white. I do have some black and asian friends but mostly they are white. My white friends and I are all very proud of the ethnicities we belong too and think of ourselves as such. I could tell you the ethnicity of every single one of my close friends because thats what we identify with. We don't sit around and call ourselves the white kids and everybody else is their ethnicity. We each have our own historical differences too and we are proud of them. Nobody has a problem with the other its just the way we are. Everybody has their differences not just white and black but white people too, we shouldn't all just be lumped together as one. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:26:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64230238 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64119493 I understand how a lot of women started taking offense to Sam’s comments about bleeding and talking about women’s menstruation. It is something that he doesn’t go through the way they do and I probably wouldn’t get too happy if somebody was spouting off about something that I have to deal with in my life and its something that they don’t have to go through. That would really piss me off cause they don’t feel the pain that I do. I also understand how a lot of guys are grossed out by it, because it is something that they don’t understand and don’t have to deal with so it is foreign and strange to them. Yet when it all comes down to it, I think that both of these groups are being too sensitive and need to take a second and really listen to what Sam is saying. I personally don’t have any problem with women’s period or them bleeding and the cramps that they go through. It doesn’t gross me out; it’s a natural process. I’m not about to compare to eating, and in no way do I have any desire to examine a tampon floating in the toilet of my frat house bathroom Saturday morning when I wake, but I do not mind women when they are on their periods. It happens and if anything I just feel bad that they have to go through that and deal with having a period and having to deal with it on a monthly basis. I have a girlfriend and she too gets her period on a normal basis. When she brings it up I don’t shy away from it I listen and try and make her feel better cause from what I have heard, having your period sucks. As far as what the speaker in the video said about men talking about periods or shying away from talking about them more specifically, it isn’t our place to bring up. I think more men would be comfortable talking about women with there periods if women tried talking to them about it. I am not going to walk up to a girl and say hey are you currently on your period and if so, how is it going. That would be weird and there is a decent chance I will probably get slapped across the face afterwards. If my girlfriend needs somebody to talk to though, I have no problem sitting down and talking to her about it. I think people are being too critical of Sam, because though I don’t really have an interest in his wife’s period, I do understand that people are a little freaked out about it and he is trying to help make things a little more normal for people who feel uncomfortable about it. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:24:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64119493 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63006540 It is funny that you say that. I am in the exact same situation, my mother is full blooded puerto rican while my dad's family comes from the Russia area(percentages are all screwed up from the Soviet Union). When I was sitting there at first I wasn't really sure which group I should correspond with. I think that it all kind of depends on your social background, as in which group do you really identify with. I ended up texting for the white group one, because I am half white and they asked white people, and two because I didn't know that the same question was going to be offered to students of color. What I wonder is, even if I had known, would I still have answered with the white group or would I have waited and answered the second time around? Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:33:00 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-happens-to-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment63006540 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63005907 See I think that this is another generalization that is really just adding to the problem. People keep using stereotypes about groups of people instead of getting to know the individuals on a personal level. People are entitled to believe whatever you want but I don't think that this should be made about the races as a whole. I don't think one race is more mature than the other, I just think that some people get more angry about ignorant or derogatory statements than other groups. I personally don't really let it affect me cause I don't really give a crap. People can say or think whatever they want. That doesn't make it right and that doesn't make it true, its just their misguided opinion. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:27:51 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63005907 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63004737 First off let me start by saying that I love the in class texting that shows up on the big screens. I think it is a great way to get the entire class involved and a way to get peoples true opinions out there without anybody getting hurt personally. I think that it keeps the class’s head in it and the students actually paying attention to what is going on in the class. It is hard to keep your head on straight when it’s beautiful outside. At time I do wish that the texts weren’t anonymous, because I think that it allows some people to be ass holes that are normally much to afraid to say some of the things they said. All of that is neither here nor there. The problem is a double standard that lies between the texting of white students and the texting of students of color. Yes when the white students were asked what they thought it meant to be white there were some very hurtful things said that in my opinion were completely and totally unnecessary. There is no need to say something racist, because that has nothing to do with being white. What other people are has nothing to do with being white and you don’t need to go out of your way to point out something irrelevant to the question being asked. Yet many of the white students answered the question truthfully and in no way were their responses racist. Yet something that I feel was overlooked, was when they students of color (black and brown) were asked what they thought it meant to be white, there were many things said that would be deemed hurtful by most people and yet went largely unnoticed or at the very least unrecognized by the class. Almost every other text that appeared on the screen that I saw was the word ignorant. Not just once or twice but literally every other text that showed up. Now yes, I realize that many white people are ignorant to many forms of racism that take place in the world, because they are not personally exposed to it or affected by it. Yet that does not make them ignorant as an individual person. Ignorant means to be unknowing. Every person on the planet is ignorant to at least one subject of life, and because certain white people are ignorant to certain aspects of racism, that does not make them an ignorant person altogether. I am not a racist person and am very open-minded. I am usually not very politically correct because I don’t expect people to pretend to be somebody they’re not around me. I would prefer everyone just be honest about his or her opinions. That doesn’t mean people need to make an ignorant generalization about white people when it isn’t always true. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:18:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63004737 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58894930 I always wonder things like that. Like you see somebody in a store and you automatically generate an opinion of this person whether you wanted to or not. It is just a normal human reaction to stimulate thought when you see other people. I don't exactly know how I would have reacted because I have never really been in that situation. It just makes you wonder what you would do if you ever really were in a situation similar to that. And not just that but like how the people in the experiment would have acted had it not just been an experiment and it had actually been a real life situation. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:27:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58894930 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58894482 I don't necessarily agree with everything that the girl had said, but at the same time I don't think she should be forced to take on the burden or feel bad about something that she doesn't now. You shouldn't make her feel a certain way about something. It's her life and she's allowed to feel a certain way about something or care strongly for something if she wants to. You can't make her feel bad. And although she isn't doing anything to help out or prevent it from happening, she doesn't have to do anything either. She never willingly took on that responsibility. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:23:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/when-do-we-do-or-say-something__trashed/#IDComment58894482 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment58893967 I think that it is all relevant. People of color are probably given the same set of instructions that are given to all of the white people who are performing the same process. I don't know exactly what percentages these people are supposed to be trying to obtain as far as the people that they select, but I can't imagine they openly or at least purposely select a certain number of people from each ethnic group. I think that the idea of ethnicity and in many cases sex should not be included in the selection process. At all. If certain groups of people have larger numbers being accepted then regardless it can have absolutely nothing to do with that persons race. Then there isn't even an argument that can be made. If people are chosen strictly on the basis of numbers or facts or merits or whatever it is that people are being selected by then there is no controversy because only the best candidates are being chosen for these positions. With all of that being said, it is very unlikely that this will ever happen. Since race issues are ever so present in society and in our every day lives the percentages of people of a certain race holding a position compared to other ethnicities will always be an issue. People will never stop separating everyone and because of that things like this will always be a problem. I think that the only logical thing that can be done is to try and never make it apparent to the person running the selection process how many of each ethnicity you want and that way it will be left up to the selector to make the right decisions. Because of that I think that people of color probably don't pick very differently from the white people who also make the selections. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:17:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/question-on-discrimination__trashed/#IDComment58893967 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57698367 I don't think either group is more or less accepting than the other. You can't really categorize groups of people that large as accepting or not accepting. People have their own personal views on different topics and some people are more free thinking and accepting than others. I don't think it has any correlation to what their sexual orientation is or whether or not they're a man or woman. Everybody is different and everybody has their own views. They shouldn't feel obligated to think one way because people who are similar to them think that way. Therefore I don't really think in any sense that certain groups are more accepting than other unless it is something specific that coordinates with their religion or family views. Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:39:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57698367