I am really happy that Sam posted this letter. It was awesome to get the chance to read it and hear what he had to say. I thought it was very touching. Many people think that “lifers” are horrible people and that they do not have hearts at all. I often am guilty of thinking that myself. I started to realize that this was not true about a year ago when my brother started tutoring a boy that was in prison. My brother would come back and share stories about the time that they spent together. This boy showed so much remorse and knew that he had made a mistake. Once my brother was done tutoring him he continued to send letters to my brother and I would get the chance to read them. It really made an impact on me to be able to read them and see the relationship that my brother had made with him.
After reading this letter it really reiterated my feelings. Yes- there are crazy people in prison that deserve to be there forever and they are just horrible people, but as this man stated, not everyone is the same person that they were when they entered prison. I am all about giving people second chances so I do not know how much I agree with people being sentenced to life in prison with no option of parole. I feel like this guy who wrote this letter has really learned from his mistake and he should be given a chance to prove himself.
Here there were two convicts who didn’t like one another sharing this very human moment. One was in pain and the other wasn’t’ going to get anything in return for helping to alleviate his suffering. He was doing something that any thinking, feeling, caring man does for another.--- I really was impacted by this statement. I think this story really made an impact due to the fact that the 2 people did not like each other at all. Also it really proved that these guys do have feelings. We all think that they don’t since they have murdered someone, but these guys are humans too. They do have feelings. I do know that there are people in prison who do not care and they do not feel remorse for what they have done, but that is not true for everyone.
My uncle also works in a prison so I really enjoy hearing the stories he has to share about his inmates. He is a counselor for them so he has some good stories. He has told me that it is hard to tell which of the guys are actually remorseful from the guys who act like they are to get your sympathy. I think that the guy who wrote this letter truly is though. His words seemed like they were coming from his heart.

I would have to say that I totally agree with what was said in this video. However, I do not find it that simple at all. It should be, but society does not allow it. We live in a country that is highly influenced by society and the media, which I do not find to be a good thing. Girls have this pressure on them that they have to be a certain size and wear certain things and if not, then they are not beautiful.
I thought the discussion about who girls dress for was very interesting. It is interesting to hear the different sides-whether it is for girls or boys. I can see both sides of the argument for sure. When I really think about it I can’t really decide who I dress to impress.
Girls are constantly being judged by other girls and it is horrible. I can say that I am 100% guilty of doing this myself though. I try my hardest not to, but it is so hard. I do not think I go a day without hearing someone talking crap about someone else and what they are wearing or their size or something. I give total respect to the girls who can say screw that and they do not care what other people think of them.
I have had my own struggles due to the society and media and the way that it has conformed girls to be. I struggled with an eating disorder and use to think that people wouldn’t like me for my size and that my size was the reason I did not have a boyfriend. Now I would consider myself average size and I definitely should not be having thoughts like that. I would wake up every single morning and go straight to the scale to weigh myself, and then I would look in the mirror at where my spots of fat were and pinch them to see if it was getting any bigger or not… I am not in the process of recovering from that and accepting myself for who I am and not care what other people think. I think the only way to be happy is to believe that you are beautiful, but that is just so hard to do in this world.
I also think it’s so hard to find that spot where you won’t be criticized. I don’t know if that is possible, but I just feel like no matter what there is something that someone finds wrong.. People think girls are too fat, then girls go anorexic and then they are too skinny… this and that… there is just no happy median it seems like. And who is to decide what is the right size? There should not be a right size. Girls shouldn’t have to worry about getting criticized. What makes you happy is what beauty should be. All girls are beautiful.

I find this question to be very interesting. I have wondered that myself, and am surprised that someone had the guts to ask this. As a few other people have said, Sam said in the first class that he is not exactly trying to change our minds. He is just trying to get us to really think and see other sides of things. I think he has done exactly that. I grew up in a very small town with no diversity and in fact I never really talked about anything that had to do with what we talk about in class. I did not have a very open mind and I tend to be very opinionated so I had my thoughts and that was that. This class has really made me step back and think about many many issues that have never crossed my mind before. Also, he has got me thinking about some issues that I had strong opinions about that I have no realized may be wrong. I have no necessarily changed my mind, but I now and confused on how I feel. One example of this is with how I feel about gay people being able to adopt children. I use to strongly disagree with that and I did not support that at all. Now I am way more open to it and am starting to believe that it may not be so bad after all.
I do understand that Sam has turned a lot of people off by some comments that he has made, but I think people need to be able to look past that. Yeah he may have gone into a little too much detail with the period thing, but I think he on line with what he was saying.
I have really enjoyed having section and it has really opened me up to not only thinking about issues in another way, but now I am expressing them. Sam may be crazy in the way he thinks and teaches.. but look what it has done. People are talking about it and thinking about things in a different way. I think that is what he essentially wants. People to talk and think. I also think it is important to step back and look at the fact that he does not necessarily believe everything he says. He tries to throw both sides out to get us to think. I think some people take him a bit too seriously sometimes.
All in all this class has been pretty controversial, but I think in a good way. I will admit I had an issue with Sam at first because of Religion, but that has not gotten brought up much recently.

I thought this video was insane. I could not believe what I was watching. Before taking this class and even seeing this video I would have guessed that the majority of kids would pick the ones that looked most similarly to them. I was definitely wrong about that one. One thing that stood out to me about this video is how confident these kids were saying their answers. They didn’t seem to even really have to think about it much. These kids were way too young to be having those thoughts.
The one thing that seemed to stick out to me most was when the one kid said that the black one was the bad doll and the white one was the good one. What on earth has been said to them to think that? They are young enough where their thoughts are coming from somewhere.. they are not just thinking of these things on their own.
I think one reason that this happens is like most people are saying- media. Media has a huge impact on how people think. Media has made it seem as if light skin is beauty… but yet tan for white people is also beauty. Where is the line?
The day that this video was shown there was a question asked about why we think these kids feel this way. One of the answers really sticks out to me and it was given a couple of times. They said that the non white dolls were not as cute. They thought that the white dolls looked better so that was the one that they wanted. It really makes me wonder if the dolls truly are not as cute or if they just think that because that is the way that the media has portrayed it. Also—do they purposely make the colored dolls not as cute or it just a coincidence?
Oh and the other thing that totally surprised me was the story earlier in the video. A girl was talking about how they would bleach their skin. Now that is just insane! There is no way that that is safe or healthy for your skin. What has our society come to that people think it is necessary to bleach their skin! This just totally reiterates my.. and I’m sure many others… feelings that I cannot wait until the day where skin color does not matter one bit. Why can’t we live in a society that no one has to think about bleaching their skin or using a skin whitening cream. People should be able to be 100% comfortable in their own skin.
I really think that this video does a good job at raising awareness to people of the ongoing issue of race.

I have been hearing about this on the news and it blows my mind. I really thought that today’s world was over this. I mean really? I find quite a few things wrong with this. First of all, why punish the whole school? That just does not seem to make sense to me. If you have a problem with just one couple then just suspend them from going to the prom, not the whole school. The other students did nothing wrong. Another thing that I find wrong about this situation is that they would not let her wear a tux. Now someone please tell me what is wrong with wearing a tux. I mean yeah not many girls wear them, but I do not see one single problem with it. In my high school, which was very small, we had a girl wear a tux and there was n o issue what so ever. Her wearing a tux did no harm to anyone else.
The last major issue that I have with cancelling prom because of the lesbian couple is that since the whole school is being punished the students are going to be really upset with those two girls. I think that there will be more problems with prom being cancelled than there would be if they would just have let them go in the first place. There will be people that express hatred towards those girls and that is not good what so ever. I think it is pretty awesome that they feel comfortable enough to go to the prom together and stand up for what they believe. Now they are going to get punished for that by having the prom cancelled for the school and have all the other students be upset with them.
What harm is there in having a lesbian couple at the dance? I mean maybe if they were making out and dancing inappropriately the whole time then ok, maybe there would be an issue. But, if they go and act like any other normal couple would or maybe even less then I do not see a problem. I do not see why they could not just meet together and set the boundaries as to what is acceptable and not. I do not think they should have special rules set, but I find that better than cancelling the whole prom.
I find it sad that there are still people in today’s society that have such an issue with Gays and Lesbians. I really thought we were passed that and it is pathetic high school girls have to go through this. Like I said before, if they would have just dealt with this in a mature and civil way we would not even know about it and it would not be all over the news. Now this school is just making themselves look bad.

Well this is rather interesting. I had not heard about this before now. I would have to say that I do not agree with this at all. Yes I understand that the style of basketball has maybe changed, but I do not think only allowing whites to play to bring it back is the right answer. I think that it is quite interesting that he can sit there and say he is not racist. I am willing to bet that if someone were to come out with something similar to this and say that it is only for blacks that this guy would then call that person racist. Personally I do not think this is a good idea anyways. I am not too sure how many people would actually get into this. I think with the change we have gone through it may be considered boring to then go and watch a slower style.
I really like what the one guy said in the video and I also had been thinking it myself. He said that this is a step back in the wrong direction. I totally agree with that. In today’s world we are trying so hard to break this barrier between whites and blacks and are trying to get past all the issues there has been. We are trying to make a society where race does not matter. With making a league for all white people this is just discriminating and going back to how things use to be. I would personally be offended if I were a black person and someone said that I could not play because I was black and then apparently that means I can’t play that style of basketball. I think that blacks are just as capable of playing that style of basketball as white people are just as capable of playing the style that we have today.
I also do not really understand this guys whole point about how controversy is what he wants and that it will put people in the seats. I personally do not think people are going to just go because there is controversy..they will go because they interested in the event that is actually going on. Also, if it is controversial I also would not go support it if I didn’t agree with it.
I also thought it was quite ridiculous for him to make the remark about players carrying guns and attacking fans and so on. I find this to be the most racist part of the whole situation. He goes on to say that white people are going to restore the sanity of the game. Really? I think there are many white people that are just as likely to do that stuff as the blacks.

First of all I really dont know how I feel about gay marriage let alone them adopting children. I do not mind gay couples at all, but the marriage part is where I am indifferent. That comes from me being a very religious person. I understand both sides of the argument for the adopting part of it. I understand that they can love the child just as much as any other straight couple could, or even sometimes more. I am starting to believe that I am more okay with it now after the lecture that sam gave. The one thing that was holding me back with it is that it would then increase the chances of their child being gay, but Sam said that the statistics show that that is not the case. The one thing that is still holding me back from believing that it should be ok is that the kid could grow up with a lot of hard times with people making fun of them and giving them a really hard time about it. That should not be the case, but we all know there are people out there that would do that.

Now to go back to the original question that was asked, no I do not think there is a difference between it being males and females. I really dont think whether it is males or females makes a big difference at all. I mean If it were my kid I think I rather choose females, but that is just my own personal opinion. I don't think overall there is a big difference. There are some females that do the cooking, cleaning, and all of those typical motherly things, but I do know some females that cant do those things and the males can, so I don't feel like you can use that as an argument. I think all it really comes down to is how the couple is as a whole. When it comes to adopting a child we all know that the child needs extra love and care. It takes special people to go through the process of adopting. I would hope that if they are willing to go through that, that they would have that special heart to then take that child in as their own and give them all the love and support they need. In the end that is all that matters. I don't think it matters if you are male or female, they can equally love and support a child. Women don't love any better than males do.
I think after writing this I am kind of convincing myself that I do think they should be able to adopt. It really just comes down to how they are as parents.

WOW! I am not sure even what to say about this. This is wrong on so many levels I do not even know where to begin. I think it is ridiculous someone even thought to make such a thing. He must be one lonely man.
First thing I would have to say is who and the hell is going to pay 7,000 dollars for this? I think you could pay someone a lot less then this to have sex with you and I am sure it would be better since it is an actual human. This robot would lead to many more issues. The one major one that I can think of is that men would get use to having complete control over a person. When they would go to have sex with a real person they would be use to complete control and doing whatever they wanted. This could cause many issues with the woman.
I also think that this would ruin society and their outlook on sex. I already think it is an issue in today’s world due to the media and all of the crazy shows we have now, but I just think this would take things to a new level. Sex is already just thrown around like it is no big deal, but this would give guys the option to have it whenever they damn well please and make younger boys think sex is nothing special if you can just buy a robot for it.
I read an earlier comment that they mentioned that it may reduce rape, prostitution, etc. I at first could see where that point may be valid, but after thinking about it I happen to disagree. This will give men an opportunity to practice things on the women that they then could do to their victim. Also, most of the time the men that are doing the raping are not doing it just for the sex; it is more for the whole process of the raping and the thrill they get from it. They are obviously messed up in the head, so just having a robot to have sex with will not exactly help that.
I also think it is quite hilarious that this thing can carry on a conversation with you. I mean are people really that lonely? This just gives people an easy way out of coming out of their shell and finding someone. Also, it lets people settle for not wanting a commitment in life. Someone could easily just make this robot like their wife and not ever venture off and find a real woman. If this thing gets sold to the public I can see our society just going completely down the drain—well people first have to be able to afford it.

I think this topic is very interesting. I never really thought about it before, but it is very true that whenever race gets brought up it ends up being about blacks and whites. Whenever we did race relations or when I am in sections for class I find myself always thinking about blacks and whites. When I think of someone being racist, I immediately think of blacks and whites. That is kind of changing now that I am taking this class, but it is still the first thing I think of. I think for me part of the reason is that I have grown up with no much diversity what so ever. I have not encountered many people of another race, and usually when I do, they are black.
I think it is interesting to analyze the question as to why that is the case. I do have to agree that the main reason is because there is such a deep history between the two races. There has been an issue between the races going back a long ways and no one forgets that. There has not been an issue like the civil rights movement with any other race therefore I do not think overall that there is that much of a problem between us and another race. I think that some people have a hard time forgetting about slavery and they do not accept the fact that it happened a long time ago and we no longer have anything to do with it. People in today’s age should not be feeling guilty, or anger towards anyone because we did not live through that time period and we did not have those harsh feelings that they had.
I also think that a big part of why this is the case is because the civil rights movement was stressed greatly in middle school and high school curriculum, at least in my school, and so we are more knowledgeable about it. We know the struggles they went through to gain their rights and respect that they for the most part have now. Also, we have Martin Luther King day and also black history month. I just feel that with the emphasis our country has on blacks it just becomes nature for us to automatically think about that whenever race is brought up.
There are many whites that still feel the guilt from the things that happened with our ancestors and there are many blacks that still judge the whites for it. People are very sensitive to racism and accuse people of it all the time when it is not needed. I am always scared to offend the blacks and that they will think I am racist when that is indeed not the case. I just think that the way we have been brought up learning about it has made it so we naturally think of the black and white issue.

I found this article to be really interesting. My mom told me about this a while ago, but I did not really fully understand what exactly happened. I have not made my decision yet on how I really feel about the situation. Maybe I will figure that out while I am writing this, maybe not. In my section yesterday we discussed how America can be perceived as ignorant a lot and that “we” don’t bother to learn much about other countries. I find this to be true. I know there are exceptions, but overall I find that America is way less educated about other countries than the other countries are. I think it is really important that we know about other countries even if we are the hegemon or not. However--- I am not too certain if we were more educated about other countries and cultures that we would have known what was going on with this boy. There are Jewish people that I know that don’t even know what tefflin is. So, yes I agree that America needs to open their eyes to other countries and what is going on in the world; however I am not certain that would have effected this particular situation.
Now, what I am indifferent about is who I think is right in this case. I try to step back and think about what I would have done if I were on that plane or the flight attendant and I still do not know what I would have done. I can see where the flight attendant was coming from. In today’s world you never know what is going to happen. People never cease to amaze me. It is hard to just ignore something suspicious going on on the airplane with all that has happened lately. With that being said, I feel bad for the boy. He is only 17 and was just trying to practice his religion and keep himself occupied on the plane. I think that what should have been done is the flight attendant should not have been so quick to react. I understand she was probably scared, but I think she should have looked into the situation a little more. She said they looked like wires; well maybe she should have gone over and looked closer at it than to freak out and make accusations. The safe way to go in today’s world is to just not push the limits on a plan though. The boy could have prayed without the tefflin and saved that for a later time like the article said.
I do find it rather sad thought that our world has gotten to the point that something like that freaks everyone out. We shouldn’t have to freak out about someone praying. We shouldn’t have to be scared for our lives as soon as we enter a plane.