en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/758224 Comments by LambdaLady2BL https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69962314 I must say that this has opened my eyes in a way that i didnt think possible. I dislike men/women in prison. The crimes that they have committed have put their victims in suffering. Suffering that has changed their life completely. They may have lost a brother sister daughter, or they may have taken away the innocence of a daughter sister niece. All these things bring back the deepened hatred in some sort that i have for those in prison. I have a prejudice outlook on men in prison, since i have had many of my family members ( partiuluarly the men) and they have been nothing but the stereotypical drug dealing low life, waste. But when i think of "lifers" which is a whole other level of being is quite unreal. i have always put into perspective that those who killed were animals, were mentally incapable of thinking "normally" let alone for them to have compassion. Yet i sit here stunned that this eloquent letter has come from a prisoner who is a "lifer." Someone who has killed another person, who has made the victims family completely different. He has caused unneccesary pain and suffering, because his selfish act of MURDER. Yet here he is, not even a high school graduate, writing a letter to us, about compassion. Compassion a feeling that i would have never thought a murder could have. How could they have compassion when compassion wasnt there at the time that their hands were taking away someone elses life. Its beyond me. though here i am, actually realizing that it may be possible. I am also thinking about how brilliant this guy might actually be? If given the chance would he go backwards or would he impact ouro i am world postively? Who knows? In some ways im conflicted. Hate for me is too strong of a word to say, but i have to say that I HATE murders and those who conflict pain on others in such a horrible way. Yet when i sit here and im putting myself in his shoes, to know that because of his selfish act he will never know what it is to live in this world with freedom, they may miss out on their daughters entire life. So here i am conflicted because although a murders act is compeltely against my personal belief of the value of life, here i am having compassion for this murder. Compassion that i never though possible. in one way i can say that this prisoner, has had a lot of time on his hands. he has really been reflecting on things that he may have never reflected on before. So this compassion i am feeling is something that i cant explain. yet when i think about their selfish act of murder, i become enraged. How can someone do this? Someone who can say that they have compassion or experience it when they have killed? I dont think i can ever understand it. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:12:21 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69962314 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65639383 it is very interesting to sit here and read everyone's post about the way they feel towards situations. I grew up in Philadelphia my entire life. I never questioned race. Especially since, i went to school with a pretty "diverse" class. Yet that ended in the 2nd grade when i moved from Northeast of philly to North. My mom still has videos of my kindergarten graduation ( please dont ask me why) and when i watch them i can see that it was truly diverse. When my mother and i moved to north philly, not only was the living conditions different so was the level of diversity. it completely changed. my mother and i moved into the predominantly "latino" neighborhood. Everyone around me was latino, with occasional black people. So because of my transition was so early on, i learned to adjust. when i ask my mom about my childhood, Since for some reason i cant remember a damn thing ( and apparently everyone else can) she always says the same thing, "you never worried about skin color mija." My mother made it a priority of me knowing that i was Puertorican and to be proud of it. Throughout highschool i guess "immersion" was the stage i was in along with my fellow classmates. My highschool predominantly puertorican participated in the annual puerto rican parade, and always had the flag near us. Whether i was at my families party or at a friends party, everything was similar. our culture is vibrant around this neighborhood. Here at pennstate, its lack of diversity is ridiculous, yet i knew this before even applying to this university. my first semester here, i felt alone because i could not find the piece of "home" (my culture) resound in this place. yet i have found that. to reply about the disney comment, i must say that i am a huge disney fan, and watch the disney channel literally all the time. "im a kid at heart" and might i say that people are just too damn touchy about this race issue. Now dont get me wrong it is a shame and disturbing to know that most of the disney princesses are white and just a few months ago disney released its latest disney princess who so happened to be black from New Orleans. but i must say that people read in to too much abut what race they portray. Disney is a place where children have their "childhood" to hold onto. and unfortunately our youth is growing up a bit faster than before. I look back on the classic disney movies that i love, and the first thing that goes through my mind is how happy i remember feeling when i watched these movies. not, "Oh damn cinderella is white, how racist is that? comeon seriously. it's for children! And for what i can remember i never ever thought of race in anything. The lion king? seriously? wow.. i have to chuckle on that one. I just dont think that it was their intention to even demoralize or demean anyone by making a movie about africa refer to lions. i dont personally know what "disney's" true intention was, but for what i see i dont feel that in any sense. and all this complaining but i havent seen no damn LATINA princess either. But noone worries about that.? honestly its ridiculous to even think that disney is corrupt, for anything i feel that it is literally one of the only things that help keep children's childhood innocent as much as they can. Fri, 2 Apr 2010 22:41:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment65639383 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64236082 I would have to say that the only reason people were in such shock was because of the word "bleeding" For some that word comes along a picture and that picture isnt really good. I know for one i dont like when people know when i am on my menstrual just because it is my body. i dont need everyone to know my business. I feel that sam using that word just because of the shock value it would have brought and it sure did deliver. I didnt see the big deal..yet there are some people who just cant seem to "mature" enough to handle this kind of topic. I know in class it definitely caught me by surprise but when sam escalated to saying that he wants to actual "see" it, thats where i drew the line. i feel for me personally i really didnt want to know what he and his wife do on that subject or for any subject for that matter, yet people dont flinch when someone talks about sex. what is the difference? is there a difference? menstruation is a beautiful thing, for me in a way. now the effects that go along with it arent as pleasant but the thought that i can bring a child into this world is definitely something that i think about. Yet bringing a child into this world is painful and a very difficult task. period, flow, elmo whatever it is that you (women) call it, its still the same thing. i am a woman. i embrace that and all of its "curses" as many say that comes along with it. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:16:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64236082 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62986533 Hmm.. might i say that this definitely doesnt surprise me at all. There are still many many people in our "progressive" society who still do not accept LGBT relationships. Which to me is honestly bogus. It is utterly ridiculous. yet i have to say that i do understand what might be going through the mind of this school district and this school that they would cancel an entire prom. Prom which is something that every high school senior looks forward to. It is a monumental stepping stone in the reward of enduring 12 or so years of education. i absolutely loved my prom and would have been devastated if it would have been cancelled for any reason and would have been angered if it was for this reason. But as i said before i understand in a way. It wasnt until Sams class a few weeks ago, when he talked about following your "religious" beliefs and the difference between following them completely and being a Hypocrite. it is this class that i realized that i was a hypocrite. Because i had no problem with LGBT relationships, yet still found it morally wrong and did not accept it being called a "marriage." i owe most of these feelings to the customs, traditions and religion that i was brought up with. It was after this class that i dug deep inside and tried my hardest to stop being a hypocrite. it is with this that i say how ridiculous and disappointing it is to hear that this type of things are still occuring. In my school, which was in philly, there are a lot of LGBT couples. Most of them my friends who i still keep in contact with. and i remember during my prom my friends who were LGBT came in with who they wanted and how they wanted to dress. Which to me, i had no problem with it. it is a shame that this school has resulted to this "decision" now McMillen has to go on until graduation with most of the school pointing to her, " Thats the girl whos the cause of us not having a prom" how big of a burden is that? they want the private citizens to hold an event> way to go.. way to wipe your hands clean and look like the innocent. The comment that the teacher actually said the McMillen, "look at where your at" really shows that there are naive and ignorant people who do not understand that we are in the year 2010. they are holding on to a tradition that has ultimately given HELL to the LGBT community. they have discriminated against and have been deprived of the simple basic right of marrying someone. now that im engaged i would never have to worry about my marriage not being accepted. i am more worried about the planning than anything else. But for LGBT couples the struggle to be a "marriage" still goes on. I hope that something in turn changes so that McMillen can still enjoy a "prom" and hope that this media attention shows this school and the officials that this is a rude awakening and hope that something actually happens from all this attention. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:55:20 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment62986533 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59801816 This has to be a very random but great question that was posed. When i was younger i must admit that i was definitely into watching this show. Yet ironically never really payed mind to the "race" of the contestants. it never really crossed my mind. After watching the question and reading the title of this blog i was a bit taken back. "White people the only ones to humiliate themselves?" yet on the contrary, white people arent the only ones that go out and humiliate themselves. Shows on VH1 ( which is sad that i actually know this) for example, the love of Ray J, Flava of Love, and "charm school" which definitely has to top off the list... but this list can go on and on. These shows which have a predominantly have minorities as the cast. Might i add that much of the behavior that is projected from these "participants" are not on the classy side. yet now that i am actually taking the time to analyze this whole situation, i see something a bit disturbing. On the Bachelor/ Bachelorette the ultimate goal for the "main character" is to find someone that they will be engaged to and "hope" to marry. yet with the shows i previously mentioned which air on the VH1 channel, most of the goals is just to find someone... without a specific goal of even marriage. That is an interesting question. Why is it that the "majority" show is focused on serious relationship that ends in an engagement, while the other shows are just for the enjoyment of being with someone, with no real commitment at all; defining what reality television is all about. in response to one of the comments on this blog - it is quite eye opening to see that someone's perspective says that one of the reasons why the show that is aired on ABC has a majority of white people on it because viewers or the audience may tend to lean towards being against bi-racial marriages. [ I never quite saw it like this but it actually makes me question this, if this is the reason, that is not only pathetic but ridiculous. And the answer is not to stop watching the show, although it would be the answer to having it put off the air. Yet the meaning behind it is much deeper. Why would that even be a reason? although it is not sure if that is a right or accurate reason. but back to the point i was making is that white people are not the only ones that humiliate themselves on television. it is just ironic that we put attention to the majority of white people being the dominant ones on this show, but we do not focus on the complete differences that this show has with those who do have minorities that are the "main characters" and why they are much more vulgar and indecent (my opinion) Thu, 4 Mar 2010 22:50:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59801816 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/another-reason-why-gay-marriage-matters__trashed/#IDComment57719191 This topic is not only interesting but also it needs to be explored much more then it actually is... After watching this video and after tuesday's class i realized that you cant pick and choose what you feel is right or wrong. Which is something that i never realized until now. To be as honest as i can, i supported gay relationships and unions but something inside me always twitched when it was talked about as gay marriage. It must have been because of my religious beliefs, yet to steer away from being a hypocrite, i cannot say that i follow " the full religious life style" which means that i shouldnt pick and choose what is "good or bad" Now that i have analyzed the situation and dug deep in my feelings i realize that i was always wrong. I completely support gay marriage, and the full rights that go along with marriage. After watching this video, the struggles and obstacles that gay marriage families deal with is enormous and they shoudnt have to deal with issues that "straight marriages" have to deal with. this situation that this family had to deal with is ridiculous. seeing it from the eyes of the children, having to see their mother being deported was an event that could have been avoided, yet because of the couple not having the full rights of a "straight marriage" deportation was inevitable. Yet honestly that shouldnt happen. No matter what can peoples lives shouldnt be shot down becuase of not having rights... They were together for 23 years... 23 YEARS and all of a sudden, one day your mate the one you love is being locked up and deported. This is just down right wrong... Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:16:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/another-reason-why-gay-marriage-matters__trashed/#IDComment57719191 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56445118 I was actually waiting for someone to actually bring this topic up. As a Latina. i see myself asking this question time and time again. In all honesty i have found myself saying to myself when conversations always end up in "black and white" "um, hellooo Latino's have struggled as well?" Yet i never really voiced my opinion. i kind of think that the reason why is because we always end up generalizing the conversations to black and white because the struggle between both races have been so prominent and well known. In American History classes, and even in the one i am currently taking now the conversation is consistently about the constant struggle of blacks for their freedom and their rights and the horrific treatment that took place. We never really learn about different history from different cultures. We are taught in school much about the black history here in the united states yet no one speaks about the troubles latinos have faced, for instance the Young Lords movement that happened primarily in New York, many do not even know what that is. And honestly it is a shame that we as americans do not know other history that lies within our country, since we are a country of immigrants but honestly being a minority i feel that blacks here in america have so much history that it is inevitable that we end up talking about blacks and whites. Yet me personally as i have sat down and thought about it, actually do not mind when the conversation ends up with "black hardships" because of their hardships, i as a puerto rican woman can attend college and actually do a lot of the things that wouldnt be possible if it wasnt for the civil rights movement and the black communities push for equality. So although it always boils down to the conversation of "black and white" i feel that is just because we speak about the past.. if we were to focus on the present we can see that there are a lot of inequalities and events that other races deal with. with every conversation that i have ever encountered we always end up talking about the discrimination minorities as a whole face. I personally can say that i can relate to the black community because of the hardships that they still face today. We share the same commonalities of being "colored" and our cultures are similar in ways. So i have no problem talking about the white black problems or the history behind it. But there are times when i think that instead of it being only geared towards blacks it can be referred to as a "minority" issue. Granted that depending on the subject it directly effects the black community, but there are times when we can focus on minorities as whole. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:11:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56445118 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55431978 After reading Sam Richards post and reading a few of the comments that were left i had no idea how i would even go about answering or even responding to this blog. I decided to wait til now and im glad i did because i got a chance to look at Sam Richards' video post and got to understand a bit more of what actually Brooks was saying. I should start by saying that I have not watched the movie Avatar. Shocking, i know. =D but honestly i had seen the previews and although so many were giving it good critic, i still had no willpower to actually go out and watch the movie. I may actually want to now since its starting to spark so much conversation. When we look at movies we already have a prejudice towards them. We go into the movies expecting something, and maybe leaving with something else. but we always start with an opinion. In this case, speaking not from experience but of thought, i would think that people who have had the chance to watch this movie have gone into it thinking of what to expect as in the storyline, or the graphics, etc. But i highly doubt that anyone who did see the movie went in with the prejudice of, "oh this is just another movie highlighting the white man's guilt and how they are the heroes in each case." i highly doubt that would be with the thought. So for someone to actually take the time out and actually view this in such a different way allows us to see things in different "sides of the boat" and make up our own opinion. I never really took into consideration that most movies have had this racial connotation that "white people" are always the one's who save the "black and brown people." Yet is it really just innocent coincidence or is it the white man's "guilt" of all of the negative previous history their seems to be a pattern of things in this case a movie that shows that not all white people are bad, and they want to be seen as heros? Its a good question to pose, but i honestly think that this is overanalyzing... As a "brown person" haha.. as a puerto rican i can honestly say that i dont go into movies thinking that and hope that people dont go into movies thinking like that, unless that is the purpose of the film!? Then we have a whole other discussion on our hands. Fri, 5 Feb 2010 03:08:11 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55431978 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54726724 First off i would definitely have to say that this video was appalling! Although it may have been four years ago.. like Sam Richards not much has changed! I must say that i am shocked that this is even going on. Yet it shines light as to how uninformed i was as to the situation in europe. This has got to be completely the most disgusted i have felt in a very long time. The racial slurs of the fans has me a bit confused as to how they can degrade their own team players. Because of the color of their skin? Are you freaking kidding me!? just the mere thought of the comments and slurs that may be said during these games has me really shaken. Here in america we see racism in a totally different way. I feel that we have a sense of boundary that obviously Europeans do not have! They are definitely more vocal as to how they feel! yes it is true many people can argue freedom of speech, yet their not in america! Not even us Americans speak that freely now in 2010! What has me a bit uneasy has to be what Sam Richards posted on the blog, that this is their response to the (white) people afraid of losing their culture? EXCUSE ME!? Afraid of what!? This has to be the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard. becuase you are afraid of losing your culture, although you are the majority of the population because of a few darker skinned people your afraid that they are going to take your culuture? PLEASE... that makes no sense. and it saddens me to know that people even across the world still have this view of what someone should be known as becuase of the color of their skin? these racial slurs, with monkeys and show him your better than he is? What is this!? A coach getting a player pumped up by putting the players own teammate down with that!? this goes to show you that although we as americans are making progress not everyone else is! i truly feel sad for those players who have to endure this type of discrimination. I couldnt even imagine the anger and frustration i would feel if i were to be in that situation. these actions can NOT be justified. although we all know that even racism exists in our own country the level that it is portrayed in this video is frustrating and sickening!!! It relieves me to know that these players also are taking a stand on this situation. and for those who say that they shouldnt be in that situation and should leave! NO! that is their job their passion! NOONE should have to stop doing something they love because of the color of their skin! Put yourself in those shoes and have someone tell you to back down becuase you are not the right "color of skin" to pull off whatever it is you are attempting to do! We can only hope that this level of racism dies out! Yet that may be asking to much.. i do hope that there will be continuous action against this repulsive action from the fans! Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:17:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54726724 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment54720014 I would have to say that this blog has definitely caught my attention. After seeing things in others perspectives i can actually allow myself to challenge what i believe in currently. Growing up in the Philly, i realized that my family struggled. day in and day out my mother struggled from pay check to pay check, and currently still does. Through all these times, my mother always prayed. She always told me that she relied on her faith to get her through these hard times. My mother was catholic, but never pressured me to "follow" her footsteps. She gave me the freedom to explore and see what exactly i felt would be the biggest impact on my life. going from pentecostal to lutheran to even a mormon, my entire life i struggled with what "religion" i could affiliate myself with. It wasnt until graduating high school and coming here to penn state that i came to the grips that i was a non-denominational christian. I do not refer to any specific religion. i can kind of say that i take a bit of every other religion and try to apply it to what i feel is right. The story of Jesus has been taught to me in many different ways yet all entailed the same ending. Jesus died for our sins! After reading Sam Richards post i find myself not questioning but actually trying to understand the concept of this story. one man enduring the weight of sin and pain of the world on his shoulders, sacrifices himself for our salvation. What has happened in Haiti is a complete disaster, and has definitely awakened a lot of issues that otherwise we would completely ignore. As a young child my mom always explained to me the hardships that she had to endure. She always said that she never wanted me to struggle in life. Yet she always said, though we have it bad, there is always someone out there who doesnt have even the basic necessities of life, that we take for granted. there is always someone somewhere who has it worse off then you. to say that recognizing real suffering may steer you away from your own sins is to an extent true. You never know how rough something can be until yourself or a person close to you has had to endure it! Everyone has their own opinion of what the story of jesus meant or what it's purpose was. it is just our responsibility to take it which ever way we feel benefits. Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:49:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment54720014 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-a-e-g-brian-anderson__trashed/#IDComment53884320 Follow me Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:45:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-a-e-g-brian-anderson__trashed/#IDComment53884320