en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2397329 Comments by Maryzbinden http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment144551618 It is mind blowing! We think that these things are things of the past, but they are not. It is crazy. However, I don’t think it is our society today. It is society of all time. Society is always going to have a crack government, always have kids who disrespect adults, always have a shit economy, always have prejudices, and always be effed up. It is only when we are old and have grandkids that we think that in our day society were perfect. That’s why we always forget that this sort of sad news is a sad but true reality. I have to mention that I am so glad that this is my last blog woohoo! Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:58:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment144551618 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment144551593 Well, what the hell are they going to do when the get into the real world and they realize that the white man rules it and they don’t know how to act around them. In addition all us white people don’t get a cushy special environment freshman year. It is segregation and just because administrators have an excuse or reason, does not make it ok. Back to the original question, what does it say about our society that schools are more segregated today than in the 1970s? Well it reflects how are society is pretending to be what it is not. We are pretending to be welcoming colorblind people, who are progressing. When in reality we are taking steps back according to this fact, we are digressing. I feel like there are a lot of facts like this that when people hear they are surprised by the realities of present. For example earlier this year when we learned that there is more slavery in the world today then there were back during the time of the civil war. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:58:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment144551593 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment144551542 It makes me sad to think that schools are more segregated now than before. It is hard because I really don’t think people realize this sad fact and if they do they figure there is nothing they can do about it. I guess the problem stems from the fact that “racism” is supposedly finished and taken care of on paper. On paper is the key part, society and in action is a different story. Our excuses for segregation now are sub conscious racism. For example think about the penny packer building in east halls. Majority of the students who live in penny packer are of African American decent, what the hell is with that? Are you trying to tell me that was done on accident? This is where the segregation comes into play; people say that penny packer is like this because it provides a more welcoming environment for minorities who are not used to a lack of diversity. Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:58:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-does-it-say-about-our-society-if-schools-are-more-segregated-now-than-in-the-1970s-119-blog/#IDComment144551542 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142849886 It definitely is bias and not based on qualifications but then again what are more important qualifications or connections? It is not like it is a big secret, everyone tells you: connection are key, it is all about the people you know. If you don’t know anyone use your qualifications to get as far as you can to get to know people. I think it is more logical to rely on your connections to get you places then it is to rely on your race, gender, or disability. There really is no way to make the world a fair place and playing field of opportunities. Competition prevents it. I challenge anyone to think of a better solution to leveling the playing field then affirmative action and nepotism. Although they are different neither of them are wrong. I personally just think that nepotism is more useful. Therefore, to all you affirmative action haters, get educated and learn what affirmative action is, because then you will realize that it is the only solution to a hopeless issue. If they disagree, they should come up with a better solution themselves. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:38:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142849886 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142849867 I don’t think anyone really does. My understanding of it is this: because of your race gender or disability, you are more encouraged to apply to certain things or are considered in a running because of your race. There is no personal connection to the “action” it is all merely based on appearance. I am not saying that affirmative action or nepotism is necessarily a good or bad thing I am just pointing out the differences. Nepotism you have that personal connection, your mom’s boss, your uncles friend, you grandfathers business, someone knows you somehow and is helping you out because of it. Affirmative action no one knows anyone. It is all based on race, gender, and disabilities, people are not helping people out because they have a personal connection, they are helping them out to give everyone a fair opportunity. That is what nepotism doesn’t provide. It doesn’t give everyone a fair opportunity. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:38:32 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142849867 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142849783 I think nepotism is a tough subject and I would typically say that it is a great and useful concept. It is especially interesting, however, to look at nepotism in the affirmative action angle. I would and do jump at any chance to use my network of people to my advantage and I honestly think that most people would feel the same way. I am a communications arts and sciences major and am therefore fascinated by personal connections and relationships. I would therefore see nepotism as a slightly different concept from affirmative action. However I can honestly admit I don’t know much about the logistics of affirmative action. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:38:09 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142849783 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140916569 I really liked the christian invaders class. I definitely came into class very skeptically. As a christian I was a little scared about what Sam was going to talk about. However, I was totally taken aback by what the lecture was actually about. I usually consider myself a relatively open minded person and I tend to (most often obviously wrongly) think i have a pretty good perspective of different worldly views. I was taken aback by this new perspective, I never really thought about muslims that way. I had a similar experience as this when I was younger and I attended german (language) immersion camp. They created a situation that really opened you mind to a new perspective of WWII, I really go to learn how the Germans felt during WWII. I really like this lecture and to answer the original question I do have a new perspective on terrorism. Not that I agree with any form of violence but I definitely see their point of view. If I was living in the middle east I would most likely hate america. This makes me angry at the US government because I know that I haven’t done anything to be hated by these people. I feel like i sub consciously think I have this prejudice towards middle easterns but this lecture changed my view. I now have an understanding of how we view them is very skewed but also how they view us is very skewed. It makes me wonder if the problem of oil is so clear to us why isn’t it clear to politicians who do things like this for a living. Essentially it is a politicians job to protect america, so why put our life in jeopardy by using controversial oil. The one thing that confused me about this lecture is why muslims hate christians. Because from my understanding of islam they accept Christians and jews. The most important aspect of islam is the five pillars, and the most important pillar is to love and proclaim publicly your love for allah aka god. They accept christians and jews because they worship the same god. therefore by attacking Christians they are attacking their own brothers and sisters. The koran even address and excepts christians and jews so technically they are going against their religion by declaring jihad on Christians. Another one of my classes suggested that religion is only a problem because of globalization. If you think about it, that makes sense. Globalization makes people realize they are poor, makes people want and need oil, and ruins a once peaceful and prosperous economy. This movie is called the Economics of Happiness and I highly suggest it to everyone to watch, it is very interesting. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 04:59:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/after-this-class-do-you-still-blame-terrorism-119-blog/#IDComment140916569 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/has-the-class-on-the-needy-penis-made-you-uncomfortable-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment138985391 Honestly this class did make me slightly uncomfortable. I consider myself to be an open person when it comes to topics of discussion so I was taken a back by my own uncomfortableness. Upon reflection there are several possibilities to why I might have felt uncomfortable. First of all I am a freshman. I am still getting used to the fact that teachers can say fuck and shit in class and get away with it. I feel like for debatable reasoning topics of sex and gender roles are a taboo topic in society, and especially high schools schools. I feel like how I was raised in school made me very uncomfortable with the blunt and forwardness of Sam today. I was pretty comfortable with the entire talk until he got to the part where he reenacted the intro to a porn scene ( for all you who weren’t there: no sex part). I was very uncomfortable when he brought the facilitator, Santana, into the mix. I feel like it was just awkward. I wouldn’t say I was necessarily offended but it was definitely awkward. The second reason I felt a tiny bit uncomfortable is because I am a christian and we are all about modesty,virginity, and all that jazz. Therefore I felt a little out of place. Right after class I actually went to a bible study and I was talking about the lecture with one of my friends and she asked me what the main point about the class was. It made me realize while initially I came out of the class impressed and happy with the lecture, that I really wasn’t sure what the entire message was. I feel like the humor of the lecture distracted both me and Sam from actually getting a point across. I feel like there was so much that wanted to be said that it was hard for Sam and Laurie to say everything they wanted. This class definitely didn’t leave a lasting impact like Sam and Laurie claimed it would. I was reading the tweets on twitter about the class and I got the vibe that I was not the only one who felt this way. When summarizing what exactly we learned in class today it was difficult for me to say. I feel like for future reference when doing this lecture in later years, I would recommend having one person talk. I feel like Sam and Laurie over lapped and were not exactly on the same page the whole time. While it was nice to have both points of view it made it hard to follow two peoples trains of thought. I would not stop doing this lecture I would just organize it better next time. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:46:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/has-the-class-on-the-needy-penis-made-you-uncomfortable-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment138985391 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137401254 Would I ever date a black guy? Well not to be shallow but it really depends on whether or not I find him attractive. Therefore I think the proper question is whether or not i find black men attractive. I often find certain black men attractive however I find that I am definitely more critical of their attractiveness when they are black. However, like any man if I find out something about their personality that I like I find them substantially more attractive. For example in choir there was a man named Charlie when I initially met him, his presence didn’t cross my radar. However, the moment he started to sing I found him a hundred percent more attractive. Regardless of his color his singing made me woozy. I think every girl has the possibility of liking a black man. Like Will Smith says in the movie Hitch (in a matter of words) “every man has a chance with a women its just a matter of sweeping her off her feet.” The one thing black men have to look out for is that sometimes I can be creeped out by the straight forwardness of a black mans advances. I think that the more willing society is to accept an interracial couple the more frequently you will find that white women will openly like black men. I would be interested to see how interracial couples are respected in other countries. I wonder if america is more advanced or if countries in europe and such are more accepting. I wonder if dating a black man is one of those things that is easy to say on paper but difficult to put to action. it is easy to say “I will do it” but when approached with the actual situation you freeze. I think an opportunity like that would really open my eyes to the true racism that I probably have. I am definitely in denial of some of my racism but I feel like racism is in everyone. I think it is inevitable and that denying it is a straight out lie. Think about it people judge others regardless of race. Therefore denying that your racist is essentially denying that you do not judge people. I don’t think there is a single girl in the world who hasn’t compared them self to another person. I think that is our natural way of deciding who we like. That could possibly be why racism exists. I really think the question of whether or not I would date a black man is not a question of race, but a question of my judgements. I am not a shallow person by no means I am just honest with myself. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:19:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137401254 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134358259 Another idea to help preserve scarce resources is by educating people, especially the poor, about birth control. The more knowledge people have about birth control and the more readily provided it is, the less birth rates will rise. I think that if people are made aware of how more children bring more consequences there will be less of a need and want for them to have children. I think after they have this knowledge that a easily accessible abundance of birth control should be available. Subsequently, the less births the smaller population will grow and therefore there will be less resources need for a influx of people. Like I said before, all of these ideas are easy to write on paper, but the application of them is more difficult. However, I think the knowledge of possible solutions is the first building block to helping make these ideas become a reality. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:14:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134358259 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134358231 I guess it is all about trusting the processes, but besides that the answers are still unclear. The only possibilities that I can think of are, biking, car pooling, water saving, electricity conservation, birth control education, solar power, and other naturally powered energy sources. Biking is just a great alternative for transportation in local areas. Very often after work people don’t leave their homes very much but to go to local places, saving gas by using a bike is one way to help save resources. For going to work people can car pool and save gas by doing that also. Electricity can be conserved in many ways also. First by adopting a more wide use of wind and solar energy, not only does it help preserve resources but it also helps save money for individuals, business, and government. Another way to save resources is a small but possibly extremely helpful idea. What if elevators were only available for handicapped people. The extra electricity used for non-necessary use of the elevator would save money and help make obese America get a little more of a workout, which could possibly help people go to the gym less, using less electric work out equipment. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:14:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134358231 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134358056 How can we save scarce resources? This is a question with a variety of answers that can be deemed acceptable, however, there only a few answers that people can feel like that are actually doing something. For example it is easy to say save our resources by using less oil, driving our car less, using less products made with preservatives. But what, what, what, can we do as individuals to help save resources? Is recycling all we can do? Even recycling can be debatably trust worthy. How can we be sure that what we recycle is actually being recycled? Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:12:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/how-can-we-save-our-scarce-resources-119-blog/#IDComment134358056 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/why-are-black-and-brown-people-more-expressive-of-their-problems-than-white-people-119-blog/#IDComment130473298 This is definitely and interesting question and is an idea that I had never thought of before. I would be really interested in hearing what a colored persons response would be to this question/ comment. I think the answer is a variety of reasons, but mostly because white people are embarrassed. Poor black people are proud and smart. I am not saying that all black people or or that white people are not proud or smart. Think about it poor black people live in a close nit community usually in cities, where they are forced to be together all the time. Therefore they have the opportunity to really talk and relate and complain about there poverty. Where as poor white people usually live in rural areas where they are far from there fellow poor white people. They don’t have the opportunity to bond and complain about their poorness. In addition it is exactly as Sam Richards put it, poor white people have no excuse. They can’t blame it on anyone but themselves. They are white, maybe even male, they have no suppressors but them selves. However, do you think that poor black people have a legitimate excuse. It brings us back to that question of free will or determinism. Can any black person really blame anyone? If it is determinism they really can’t do anything about it, it isn’t their fault or anyone else's fault, they were just born that way. If it is free will they both choose the life they are living it doesn’t matter if they are black, white, orange, or yellow. That is why i slightly disagree with Sam Richards when he says that white people are the silent majority of poor americans and that we don’t hear from them because they are embarrassed because they know that it is no body but their own fault. I think if poor white people lived in cities we would hear the complain more, they would be in songs, they would have a “style” they would be more well known. Same with black people they would be unknown if they lived in a rural area. It is all because they live near each other and can relate to each other and are forced to talk about and complain about their life. I think it isn’t a matter of color it is a matter of location. Poor people are poor people and they are all complaining about it, black people just have someone to talk about it with and people around to hear them complain. So that is what I think. Poor people complain no matter what race, the black people are just the smartest in choosing their location. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:09:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/why-are-black-and-brown-people-more-expressive-of-their-problems-than-white-people-119-blog/#IDComment130473298 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128236115 PArt 3 It is a system that seems over idealistic, but if you think about it, it is not that demanding or complicated. Even if an individual were to just do one, two, all or more, then those things, no matter what they are doing they would make a difference. Just like the starfish story the smallest effort makes a difference. It is not something that can happen overnight, which is why people think it is not possible. Our society needs everything to be done fast, Google, Facebook, and twitter, have programed our generation to need results right away. We are a quick fix society, but the truth is racism is not a quick fix, but it is not an impossible one either. One starfish at a time we can fix this problem. Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:57:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128236115 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128236050 Part 2 I really like this story because it is really inspiring. It encourages me to believe that even though I am just one person I can make a difference even if it is a small one. They reality is that racism isn’t going to be fixed over night, but it is something that can be fixed. It starts off by simply eliminating racism from your personal views. Go talk to someone of a different race. If you a white person, go put yourself in a situation where you are the minority, see what it is like to be in their shoes. From there start talking to your friends about the issue of racism and encourage them to also eliminate racism from their personal views and tell them to share it with their friends. Then when you are grown up, have a family and children, teach your children the same things you learned about racism. Don’t even allow them to have racism as a though process. Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:57:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128236050 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128235707 PARt 1 That is a hard question, but I think we do. It reminds me of a story I heard once about a year ago. The story is about a man who is walking on the beach, and in the distance he sees a child continuously throwing something into the ocean. At this time of day on the beach it the tide is switching from low to high tide, and subsequently millions of star fish are left on the dry shore to die. As the man walks closer to the child he sees that the child is throwing starfish back into the ocean. Confused by what the child is doing, the man asks the child, “why are you doing that, there are millions of star fish on this shore, you can never possibly make a difference.” The child just stares at the man and throws another star fish back into the ocean and says, “it made a difference for that one.” Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:54:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/10/do-we-have-a-responsibility-to-fix-inequality-119-blog/#IDComment128235707 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126547110 PART THREE People do this by having that, quintessential black, Asian, or white friend or by hiring someone to increase diversity. I think the only way to remotely solve the issue is by realizing that discrimination or judgment might not be justified or right. When people are able to recognize that their initial impression of an individual might be wrong and people get over that obstacle only then may a judgment free zone be possible. The issue of race is so beyond being a mere issue of color that I think this question can’t be properly evaluated if entirety of discrimination isn’t looked at. Mon, 7 Feb 2011 21:27:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126547110 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126547079 PART TWO If you dig deeper into the idea that discrimination is the issue and that race is just a result, you will find that the individual ego is the cause of discrimination. People have to always measure themselves up to people, they have to nitpick at the differences and similarities and decide what they like better. I do it, you do it, we all do it, it is automatic, unchangeable, and sub conscientious. Some people are just better at looking past their judgments of others and some people are just better at pretending they don’t have any. Regardless it has been proven time and time again that people avoid certain race groups because of the group they discriminated them in. For example when we watched that video where people only helped out the drunken white teenagers but if they were black people tended to avoid them. People do make exceptions or attempts to prove discriminations wrong. Mon, 7 Feb 2011 21:27:04 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126547079 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126546911 PART ONE Sure may be race can stop being an issue, but who cares? Race isn’t the issue, discrimination is the issue and that is the real question. Can discrimination ever stop being an issue? I think our idea of discrimination is very limited. We think, “If we get rid of race, there would be no discrimination.” I disagree, there will always be discrimination, it humans natural instinct. For example discrimination occurs even between two white girls; between blonds and brunettes, between preps and jocks, between straight teeth and crooked teeth. I think it is ridiculous, but it’s the truth. The reality, that race is not the source of our problems will eventually become evident. Like Sam says our species will eventually evolve into all being the same brown color, a blend of everything. However, do you think that this will solve all our discrimination problems? Do you think people will stop hatting on each other if we are all the same color? Absolutely not! People will find other things to hate on. There will still be labels, still me minorities, and still be problems. Our color isn’t the world’s problems, it’s our gosh darn egos. Mon, 7 Feb 2011 21:26:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/03/do-you-think-race-can-stop-being-an-issue-in-the-future-119-blog/#IDComment126546911 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/why-do-we-need-to-be-politically-correct-119-blog/#IDComment125820860 I think the world does need political correctness, even if it is (excuse my french) a pain in the ass. The proof of the need is obvious and has been seen even in class the past couple days. The African American, Jeff, wasn’t happy when Sam Richards called him black, the Native Americans we watched in that video, weren’t happy when they were called hispanic, or latino. I think in general people take offense when an individual generalizes an entire culture, group, or race, by one single title. However, trying to be politically correct can end up being just as offensive. Tip toeing around a certain race in order to not offend them can make things awkward for everyone. I think most everyone can agree that everyone would be politically correct, if we knew what the hell that meant. I think that is the main reason people don’t like being politically correct. Each individual takes offense to a certain title, so calling one person black might be ok for one person but offend someone else. A funny but affective solution would be to include a short answer section in the national census, asking everyone what they want to be called. Therefore we can figure out what the actual politically correct “terms” would be. It would help everyone, it would help politicians, religious figures, celebrities, public speakers, me, and everyone who is in a slightly diverse community. They could announce the results on the news, letting everyone know what the majority of caucasians want to be called, or the majority of african americans want to be called. If a certain race is not ok with what they are being called they have to wait until the next time census’s come around and they can change it. We would probably even be able to reveal new ethnic/race titles. It would be a political phenomenon because it would really make a race think about what they are ok with being called and maybe after a while people would realize how ridiculous being politically correct is and thats when the need for it would disappear. Sure this is a ridiculous idea and I thought of it mostly to take up 450 word space but think about it. What do you think would happen if they asked america what they want to be called. Jeff would be happy, those American indians would be happy, and I would be happy because I could describe people to without offending anyone. The only reason we need political correctness is to prevent offending people, but besides that it is a pain. However it is mostly only a pain until we are offended, thats why it is still a need. So, there you have it, thats my opinion on political correctness in 450 words or more..actually 30 more. Making up for the 50 words I missed last time. Fri, 4 Feb 2011 03:26:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/why-do-we-need-to-be-politically-correct-119-blog/#IDComment125820860