en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/757449 Comments by Mads11 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66937791 I think this a good question because I sometimes feel the same way too... However the more i think about this question the more I know the answer to it. I think that I think more about what Sam dicusses in class than what I am really aware of. There are times when I catch myself thinking about race and inequality and other issues that are prevalent in my every day life. I honestly don't understand how a person couldn't think one thought about the past 3 months. There are some pretty deep messages rooted in Sams lectures... Maybe the reason why this guy is having so much difficulty changing or challenging his opinions is because he is either having side conversations, texting on his phone, or sleeping. There are things that Sam says that I disagree with and agree with - changing my opinion is difficult sometimes, however I think that a change of opinions could also be seeing someone else side and opening up your own point of view to be able to see others... Sometimes people are too concerned about themsleves to even consider what the other person thinks when they are having a discussion. I feel like all to often people hear one thing that they dont believe in and then freak out of that specific person but just say everything that they themselves believe in, and neglect to hear the other persons point of view. Like the person who doesn't want to hear anything after another says something they don't like will scream out their beliefs and ideas and forget that there is someone else in the conversation. Anyway going back to this kids question. I wouldn't necessarily say that my opinions have changed as much as my mind has been opened up. I never thought some of the things existed that we have learned about in this class. I also never knew to the extent of how mistreated other people in the world are being treated. I think that this weeks talk about the chocoloate was an instance of how my mind was opened up. I knew that there was slavery in the world, I just never knew it existed and how bad it was in reality. I think demonstrations that take place in class are proof that someone has to feel a certain way about what is being said and shown in the lecture. Although I will admit that some days it is really boring and really hard to follow the lectures, a lot of other days I find it easy to pay attention and really get something out of the hour and fifteen minutes I have this class, twice a week. Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:35:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66937791 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64127388 Wow - I really enjoyed reading the response that I am replying to... And although I know that guys like vaginas I've never heard them referred to as the "holiest of all holy places." I as the person below this post, thought that it was extremely ironic that Laurie was doing a piece about "bleeding" later on that night. I also want to point out that maybe if it is awkward for a guy to hear about a girls cycle, I think it's hard for girls to speak about their cycle to guys too. And I think this is due to what Sam was saying earlier today. This world is driven by men. What is acceptable and what people need to live up to is controlled by men. Even if women write a criteria, they are making it for women and men but it has to be approved by men in a certain sense. I also agree with the guy above me when he says that guys aren't really hung up on girls menstruating... I actually believe that unless a guy is dating a girl, studying the human body or something else that would pertain to menstruating, that their mind is really far from the issue. Like I've never heard a guy bring up a girls menstrual cycle in any conversation I have ever had. I know that there have been times when I have been with both genders and it's come up, and typically the dudes try to dismiss it because they don't want to talk about it at all. Which I am fine with, however sometimes the other girls I'm with get offended. I was talking to a girl after Tuesdays class and she was telling me that she was really offended with Sam's discussion. She said that she wouldn't mind if her husband told his class about her sweating problem or some other kind of natural bodily function, but that she would be upset if he told the class she was bleeding. I see her point, but I also see Sam's. I don't believe women should have to be ashamed of menstruating at all. I know I'm not. But I do know that when girls are out of their apartment/house/dorm and they are bleeding and they forget something like a tampon they will most likely ask their friends quietly, or text. or whisper and ask their friends if they have an extra one. It's like we're ashamed of ourselves so we have to be really secretive about the whole thing. Even though I find it an annoyance every month, it goes away and I can get to living my life, pain free. But I think the girls who want to talk about bleeding just want guys to understand what they are going through, even if a guy cannot understand. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 01:39:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64127388 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59683086 I would definitely agree with the girl who posted her question on this blog. I can seriously only count the number of minority women and men on my fingers who have been on these shows. I feel as though the comments made previous to mine are also true too. Not only exclusively to the shower the Bachelor on ABC, but to many other shows on this network too. Take Grey's Anatomy for example. This show is almost ALL white people as doctors in the United States. I think that there used to be three black characters and now there are only 2 black characters and then only 2 more minorities within the show that are main characters too... I keep thinking about all of the shows on ABC, but shows on VH1 and MTV seem to be a little bit of the same kind of racial actors/cast members, however I feel like these network stations are more likely to show more vulgarity and more liberalistic ideas rather than ABC. However these networks cater to the younger generations, who are more likely than not, accepting of other peoples backgrounds. Like the girl said above, ABC has been around for over half a century, and maybe they aren't ready to take the next step in mixing in the races. Do I believe that's right, no, but what can I personally do about it? I guess I could boycott the Bachelor, but I don't watch it anyway. I believe that shows like the Bachelor should have more diversity in them. Who is to say that there can't be a minority Bachelor or Bachelorette ?? I think that it's crazy we haven't had one already. This post has really opened up my eyes at the kind of differences even our media goes through. While I know that there are many black news representatives, when I turn on Fox, or CNN, or any news channel, I feel like I am always greeted by a white person talking about American issues. While I think that is alright, I don't know exactly why a black or brown person couldn't be doing that job either. Maybe people are just lazy and don't want to change their ways about how television should be in the 21st century. Or maybe producers believe that their viewers wont be as high if they integrate more diversity into their shows and movies. I can even see this segregation almost in movies too. Recently the movie Valentines Day came out and there was NO diversity in that movie. All of the main characters were white - all of them! With that being said I believe there should be diversity, however I don't know if much is going to change over the next couple of years, just because our society is changing, just slowly. Thu, 4 Mar 2010 04:34:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59683086 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment56854250 Yikes! this is really scary to me. Not only are divorce rates increasing, but now we have toys for men to distract them from having human connections with actual emotions attached. Its crazy that a sex toy could cost SO much money, and the fact that men are supposedly buying these toys. Going back to the one part of the article where it was said that men and women have different sexual needs. I would totally agree with that. And I guess I don't understand if this is a "sexual need" that men have. I mean I find it totally disgusting that men have to drop their standards as low as to buy a very expensive talking robot, that isn't a human. Next thing we will find it studies of all the men who bought Roxxxy and developed serious mental health problems because they are in love with a robot, and not a person. Like the author said in the article that the men who are purchasing these dolls are shy, awkward men, or older men. Most of them I feel like may already have some kind of issue already. Don't you think this doll will increase the probability that their emotional feelings will be towards an object? Maybe I just see it as a way for men to just give up on finding someone that they can truly connect with, or a way to never need to connect with a person. It's just disappointing to see technological advances in sex toys and not in something that will really better the world like environmental technology advances, or advances in medicine. And I'm not saying that advances haven't been made in these areas, but Roxxxy has attracted more popularity than other issues(and I know, SEX SELLS!) I also believe that if the sex toy Rocky is made, it wont be as popular because typically women are less sex driven than men tend to be. So I almost think it's a waste of money and resources to make a doll for women that wont make money for the company. I just want to conclude saying that even though I'm making this out to be a massive issue, It probably wont be as bad as I think. As long as the person I am with doesn't need a sex doll to keep them happy, I think that I will be fine. I'm just concerned for the men who develop deep connections with objects and not humans. I think the doll is really going to make it easier for these men to not have true connections. Even though this doll talk and acts like it's interested in a person, would you rather have sex with a real living woman, or a toy? Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:43:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment56854250 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56844791 I definitely agree with what you are talking about. I believe that people in the United States, Black and White people know that slavery has been an issue, and after hearing Sam's lecture last week about African Americans being behind from the beginning, I think it's safe to say that we always come back to what we know, or saw from our learning. We were taught more about American history than any other history in the world. I wonder if it would be different if we had learned as much information about different countries history as we did American history, if it would have mattered. Take Germany for example when Hitler was around. Do you think that we would have been educated in Germany that we would have referred to one another as "Christians" and "Jews" because that was so heavily emphasized in those classes in Germany. And along with that, would we have been desensitized to color because we didn't really see it as a huge issue, because we only learned about the Holocaust instead of the Civil War in America? I also think that the reason we always talk about Black and White people is because that is where the racism kicks in. The generations before us, who didn't have enough time in between the abolition of slavery and when they were growing up became "racist" towards each other. Often times I forget the fact that I am lucky to have my freedoms, and lucky that I grew up in an age where things are much better between race than they used to be. I also believe that there is also some kind of unspoken misunderstanding about these two races. We are both somewhat afraid of each other. I know personally that I don't want to say something to someone that is of a different race than I am because I don't want to offend them. I also think that even though time is sometimes said to alleviate issues. maybe we haven't made the kind of progress that everyone thinks we have. There is still clearly discrimination and the playing field is not level in our country. It's just sad to see that something like color, which a person cannot control, can determine what you are going to be when you "grow up." When kids are young, they don't see the differences between white, black, brown, or any color of person. They see their peers as who they are. What I don't understand is how parents can raise their children to have such hatred towards another group, or bad views, etc. For example in the Middle East, when a child is raised in the Taliban, they are raised to hate Americans before they can form their own opinions. But why? A person is a person, is a person. Why can't we all be equal? And I don't mean with socioeconomic status, I just mean equal, not seeing color or religion as a reason why we can't love everyone. Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:10:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56844791 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55505284 After reading this article I don't really know what to think. I never actually connected white people as the know-it-alls and the non-whites to be people who needed white people to help them out. When I was younger and watching Pocohontas I never thought that John Smith was the White Messiah for the native american tribes. I was more concerned about the story. I understand where this guy is coming from with the underlying white messiah kind of plot, however, the idea never spoke to me more than it does now. Over the past century the U.S, has had the best economy and the best of everything really. But when I think of the U.S. got to where it is today, I don't think that only while people helped us to get where we are. There are millions of people that live in the United States and millions of brilliant minds. Although maybe white people have found a majority of all the discoveries in the world, it's only because white people made sure that others who weren't like them couldn't have a fair shot at discovering something too. I don't believe that after slavery was abolished that black people were doing science experiments to better the world. They didn't have the resources and education to even begin to create something that white people had dominated for so long. However look at all of the people in the United States now. I think that white people should be taking a look at the minorities in our country. At one point, some of the families here had nothing, and now a lot of people have climbed from rock bottom, and made something of themselves. That's hard to find these days, too. I don't believe we could have a White Messiah today. I believe that an accumulation of people could help to adjust the problems going on around our globe, but ultimately, color just isn't a factor today in how our world functions. Getting back to this movie, I haven't seen it yet, but I'm curious to watch it keeping in mind what this article has spoken about. I just feel like people are always trying to judge everything that happens in our world, country, state or city. When I watch these movies, I think about the main ideas, but I don't try to infer something that maybe isn't actually happening. I can see just from the previews that what this man is talking about in his articles is true, but when I watched Tarzan I didn't think that Jane was just helping Tarzan because he was illiterate and different. I think that she cared about him and wanted him to be the best he could be, not because she was his "White Messiah." Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:55:13 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55505284 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54313201 After reading this article and watching the video posted, I am not surprised at all with how our world is today about race. Although it is disturbing to actually see that it exists in the worst kinds of ways, I am not shocked to see something like this. I think though that its highly inappropriate to be a fan of these teams and treat the people who are representing your country like a piece of crap. I also think that these people don't realize at the time that they are doing these violent and cruel things that they are also representing their country. Whether you are representing your country, your state, your town, your school, or your team, you are sending out a message about the thing that you are involved with. It just disgusts me when I have to hear more and more talk about people who can't love one another. I am not a tree hugger, but I don't think that people should hate. I believe that people are born equally, and that nobody is better than anybody else. And to respect yourself, you have to respect other people too. I think that in this case if people were acting like this at another sporting event that they should be kicked out and banned from coming back in. There are plenty of people who would gladly purchase the mischievous fans tickets to go and watch a game. And although these new fans might be feeling emotions towards a particular person on their team, I think that these people will know what is at stake. I know from experience when I used to play rugby that there weren't many black girls that played rugby in New England and I know that we only had one black girl on our team. The other teams that we would play would scope her out and call her the crazy African which would intern make her play harder. But these girls on the other team would really be nasty to her. And I always thought that if I were in her position that I would be brought down. However Semi was more motivated to show these other girls that she was more than capable and better at playing this sport than the name callers. For those who think it's okay to say mean things, or to act out on them are just ridiculous especially in the 21st century. Its times like these when I question having mediation groups in school, or learning more about diversity in school and I think about 50 years ago and how its still all the same, just relative to the age we are in now. Hopefully someday people will realize that what they do really can affect a lot of people, and not just them. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:23:26 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54313201 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-b__trashed/#IDComment53975212 mads11 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:34:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-b__trashed/#IDComment53975212 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment53381245 The one topic that really stands out to me the most about Laurie's article is "What would Haiti do?" and the words "caring and community". I had the opportunity to experience Haitian life in the Fall of 2007. I was lucky enough to go on a mission trip with my church down to L'Acul and Leogane where we did much of our work. These towns were 30 miles outside of Port au Prince, and I just want to share that while I was in Port au Prince I was shocked at the amount of people walking through the streets and inside of buildings. Although in some parts of the capital there is electricity, other parts lack both electricity and water. It was quite disturbing to me when I was in Haiti to see such a lack of government and resources. And to fathom the devastating earthquakes that have hit this country deeply depresses me. I remember the first day I got of the plane at the capital and while I was inside of the rather small air port, I was greeted by live music and a greeter. When I walked outside, I was amazed at how the cultural climate had changed. Hundreds of people were standing outside trying to grab my bags to carry them to my vehicle whiles creaming at me in Creole. I was scared out of my mind. There aren't enough jobs there already to support a family or even just one person. There aren't enough resources in Haiti to feed everyone, even when people live in the mountains; and yet tourist STILL come through Haiti all the time to vacation, and stay on resorts. Yet, in my opinion, these tourist lack a good conscious. And I wonder what they think when they get to Haiti and are greeted outside by desperate men and women trying to feed their families, because clearly these tourist have enough money to feed, and spoil their families. I wonder also, if in their minds they go so far as to think "out of sight, out of mind." What I mean by that is that when these people leave Haiti, they will know what exists there. However when they get back to their "normal routines" will the just put everything they saw out of their minds? Lets think about that for a moment. And go as far to talk about the Nazi's in Germany. Did these men who killed millions of innocent people for not good reason, come home and think "out of sight, out of mind,"? I wonder if they could just come home to their families at night and not think about the starving people dying with out food, being shot, and killed in ways unimaginable. I know I wouldn't be able to. You see, if our society keeps walking down the path that we are going, most of us are going to loose their good conscious and literally keep things out of their minds and pretend like they don't exist. I can tell you from experience that its disappointing to me to have such a tragic disaster like this, have people finally opening their eyes to this beautiful country and the beautiful people who are much more satisfied with where they are with nothing, than people in the United States who have everything they could ever possibly want, and STILL be miserable. Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:31:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment53381245