en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1642484 Comments by MikeBreidenbach http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/27/family/#IDComment141130224 I am kind of glad to hear that some of the guys in the prison are not as loved as others because the way this guy makes it seem is that they are getting what they deserve. I am sure there are people out there just like the guys in the prison that do not receive any love. It is awesome they this prisoner has people from his past like his old teachers keep in contact with him. And I completely agree it shows a lot about a person when they show this characteristic. I have always believed this idea. I try to be like this guy’s teachers and friends that still keep in touch with him. I think everyone deserves to be loved if they honestly are good people. I really believe just from this guy’s article that he and I have a lot of the same views on friends and family. This guy really speaks from the heart and I admire that. I am not sure how he ended up in prison with a life sentence, but I wish him the best while he does his time. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 01:01:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/27/family/#IDComment141130224 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/27/family/#IDComment141130208 I feel like I can relate to this guy. I feel as though people really do not understand me nor do they get me at all. My family has always been there for me and I am thankful for that. But I cannot say they always understand me either. They give the effort to try and I appreciate that a lot. It is like I am in a different world then other people. Since this guy is in prison it is totally different than my situation. Prison is a much different place then the outside world. That is obvious, but think about not having contact with any of your friends anymore, the people you worked with, and even family. Everyone you knew in the outside world and spoke with all the time just disappear. Like this guy says as people get older they have more responsibilities they must deal with. That distracts them from worrying about you or even just lose track of you completely. That part of life I hate. I try to keep in contact with all my old friends because I care about them. However just like this guy mentions people just lose contact with each other. I feel for this guy when people just do not care about you enough anymore to keep in touch. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 01:01:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/27/family/#IDComment141130208 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139186803 Based on Sam’s lectures on this topic I have a better understanding as to why people are at the top of our economic structure. Along some lines the individuals have made decisions that have put them in this position, good or bad morally. Either way they are on top now and we cannot change that. The one thing that gets under my skin about these people on top is somewhat the morally bad decision they made to get themselves in their position, but that they had not worked as hard as some of the other people in their position on top of our economic structure. The American dream everyone believes is to make it big based upon your hard work and drive to succeed. For some of the people on top this is a true story. The others have schemed their way by black balling people to gain benefit for themselves. I hate that over anything with how this country is, but that is just the way it goes some times. Like Sam told us inequality will always exist in our imperfect world. This does not mean that each of us cannot change our economic status based off our hard work and determination to succeed. Of course we all probably believe these people should be the ones who have earned their position on top, but like I said that is not always how it works. We cannot change this. But the way I think of it is imagine you were in the position of these individuals who have made it to the top of our classes either the right way or by cheating. Either way I am pretty sure you would not give up your status just because you did not gain acceptance from everyone who does not agree you should be where you are. Also I have mixed feelings as to people in higher economic positions that pass on their status to their lineage. Of course this has been going on since the start of time, yet it does not make if fair to people coming from the outside to gain their desired status. Yet again I have to look at this with an unbiased view because if I were in their position I would want my lineage to continue the legacy I have worked so hard to gain. In conclusion this is just how the world works now. Back in the older times there may have been others who defy the higher ups and proved themselves worthy of gaining the top dog status. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 20:03:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139186803 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/b-s-response/#IDComment137621491 I have to completely agree with this inmate that it is messed up that people would just accuse him of murdering someone when really they have no idea what happened. I am not defending him for what he may have done, but regardless you should not make accusations about you do not even know. A family friend of mine works at Graterford prison in Collegeville, Pennsylvania near my home town. He is the chaplain at the prison and has told me many stories about the prisoners there, good and bad. He has told me of alleged victims that were just like this prisoner, which is really upsetting because they are paying a heavy price for their crime if not another person’s crime. He never told us the inmate’s name for confidential reasons, but I thought the stories really helped me to think about the consequences of my actions. Like this inmate says be aware of who you think you know and consider your friends because you never know another one’s intentions. The same thing was told to me by my family friend that works at Graterford. I feel sorry for this inmate because of his troubled past yet I do understand why he has made the decisions he did. When you are around that type of life and troubled experiences people deal with things in ways they can. Being a Philadelphia native I know South Philly is not a good area, meaning it is not a good place for any kid to grow up in. That shapes people into people they probably do not want to be. I think it is awesome that this Inmate has looked on the positive side of his incarceration and found talents he never would have thought he had. It is sad though that he had to come to his realization after the course of events that put him in jail. I am glad to hear that despite what terrible things have happened to this individual, things have turned around for him with his family and life within jail. I also am glad to hear he has chosen not to go through with committing suicide. No person no matter how gloomy life might seem there is always hope for a better life. He seems to have found his inner peace, which is awesome cause from the stories from my family friend told me some inmates have not. Sat, 26 Mar 2011 02:50:46 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/b-s-response/#IDComment137621491 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment134923548 The first thing that came to mind for evidence as to why this guy is the quintessential white guy is that he is talking about a gun holster. Now for some people that might not make a difference, but to me that just strikes me as a red flag toward a white quality. Think about it. How many people of different races are so excited about firearms that they promote them? Not only does this guy promoting the gun holster not help his cause, but he is actually into it. I know many white males that love guns, most are hickish. But honestly not one black or other minority male I know talks about guns with as much enthusiasm as white guys. Of course the shirt being tucked in and the guy not wearing baggy clothing does again make a perfect point as a white guy quality. My father is the perfect example of this because he would almost always tuck his shirt into his pants because he thought it looked better. Not to mention my dad was racist and absolutely hated black people. One other trait of this guy that does not help him with being classified as the quintessential white guy is his accent and his proper form of speaking. Not once does he say anything in slang, curse nor enunciate anything incorrectly to give him a typical non-white quality. I say this because everyone thinks whites are to speak properly with no flaws. The only other thing that would make this guy the quintessential white guy would be just the way he looks. Now if I were asked to close my eyes and picture the quintessential white guy he would pretty much look just like the guy in this video. He is of slim build, clean cut look, not ugly or good looking and dressed properly. I don’t know about the rest of you, but this guy fits the bill. Other than all those observations I made I cannot think of any other aspects that would make him the quintessential white guy. Yet I am sure my thought of the quintessential white guy might be a little different than others. Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:40:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment134923548 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/fear/#IDComment130631387 Fear is a part of everyday life, we all know this, but when an inmate talks about fear I cannot help but be intrigued. I do not know why, but I had the biggest notion that inmates had a grasp on their aspect of fear. What I mean by that is, they have a higher tolerance of fear. My reasoning behind thinking this is that you think a prisoner has done some terrible things. Things that many of us would be afraid of doing, making him almost sub-human when really from this inmate’s aspects of fear are as normal to everyone else. I completely agree with having almost all the same fears this inmate has. I am sure I am not alone in thinking this. The list of the inmates fears surprised me because he not only fears the same things as me, but I had the feeling he would list some different fears. One would be the fear of being killed by another inmate. The fear of not knowing what he is going to do with his life after he is released. On the other hand I know from talking with a family friend that is the Chaplin at Greater ford state prison that the inmates have some much time to think about their life, and reflect on the future. But this inmate does not talk about fears of the future, just fears of the present. What else surprises me is that the inmate seems optimistic when talking about fear, when in other cases fear is talk about pessimistically. What I mean is people think of fear as a bad thing. The inmate sees fear from both perspectives. One thing I have always thought about the concept of fear is that either you can accept it and let your fear control you, or you can fight it and overcome your fear so it will never slow you down. My one favorite quote about fear that I try to live by is, “Fear not only defines you, but it is only what you perceive it to be.” Thank you inmate for talking about fear, and showing us that it is not so scary after all. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:48:00 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/fear/#IDComment130631387 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment128922076 First off I have to say this type of issue is very controversial because it involves one thing that hits people personally, their weight. Sure there are non-obese people that eat fast food. The problem is having the government take away our freedom to eat whatever we feel like. Personally I do not think it would be a bad idea because if there is progression within the next few years of less obese people in America, after each year, then it might be for the best. Fast food is very loose in regulation in America compared to Europe and Asia. The portions are much smaller because they fit the daily requirement of saturated fat for each meal so obviously then that means less fries, smaller burger and smaller drink. To Americans that would be a crime. I think the government stepping in to action concerning what we eat would not be such a bad idea. Judging that we could save money with health care if we restrict nutrition concerning fast food, then how could that be a terrible thing. People would not be so upset about the health care of our country, however how could the government really make sure people are eating the right way? People could just choose to not follow the nutrition plan set by our government. Then what would happen? There are really many questions to consider when changing a person’s nutrition options. One other probability would be that the fast food restaurants would fight because the government is restricting how much a person can eat their food. In that sense lower their profits from mass free consumption of every American. Considering what the article referenced what our first lady thought to help with obesity, breast feeding helps to lower chances of obesity in children. I don’t know the statistics behind all this, however I agree with our first lady because I am living proof. If the statistics pan out and society condones to the new agreement again I would agree to it. The way America is setup people will fight with and pull out every right for this not to happen. When really it is a matter of sacrifice for the better of the whole. When it comes to our health we should take every measure to ensure our citizens are healthiest as possible. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:58:03 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment128922076 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/23/how-free-are-these-90-students/#IDComment124428632 Out of 800 total students it is unbelievable to think that 11 percent of the student body is pregnant. That is just crazy. I am not surprised by that statistic; however I do know a high school by my home town, Daniel Boone High School, has many students pregnant there as well. I do not know the percentage, but my senior year in high school my friend from D. B. told me about 8 girls in his class were pregnant. That was just his class mind you and D. B. has about one thousand students in their student body. Coming from a catholic high school and elementary school, I was taught about sex education once. I did receive a sex talk instruction class three times during my catholic school career; once in eighth grade and the other two in high school. Each sex talk we were advised to practice chastity. It is the only given thing coming from a catholic school that they promote chastity, duh. But what is the deal with this school? I believe it is not the school’s blame for all the pregnancies, but the parents of the students. The statistic in the news package that nearly one hundred percent of the students at Frayser high school receive money for lunch due to low income families shocks me. To me, this means nearly all the students that attend the school are poverty stricken, or at least under middle class. This too is a possible reason why so many students are pregnant. The parents do not teach their kids about safe sex early enough, because the parents are working and not around. As a white individual I have to say, but it sounds very white trashy. It really is on the individual persons to either not have sex or practice safe sex. I realized more and younger kids are having sex, which I think is too soon, it is not normal. But what are middle teen age kids are supposed to think is normal with shows like teen mom and 16 and pregnant on MTV. I personally think those shows give teenagers a little bit of an excuse to think having sex in their teens is a normal thing, but really what they don’t realize is though they are capable of having sex, they are not mature enough yet to understand the magnitude of how sex is not to be abused. My final thought about all this is really it is one the parent and the school to instill sex education and the a sex talk to teach kids how to have safe sex if they were to participate in sexual activity. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:04:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/23/how-free-are-these-90-students/#IDComment124428632 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cb%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120904194 Soc 001 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:38:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cb%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120904194