en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/764955 Comments by MikeFrancis https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69959039 This is an interesting way to spin the whole Idea and I can honestly say I never quite thought about it like that but I have come up with a stance on your view point and or question. I feel that yes you may be better off than people in third world countries developing from near nothing but that isnt to say that you are a better person. I don't want you to take that the wrong way, I don't know you and you could be an awesome guy but what a person has isnt what makes the person. I feel like it is what is on the inside, their values, their beliefs that make the person into who they are. Things can be given to anyone, once a person has these material possessions they are not automatically a better person. They may be viewed differently by others but that goes back to judging a book by its cover. If you have a guy pulling up in a beat 1988 Civic next to a guy in a 2010 Range your idea of self worth may be altered about those two individuals. When in reality the two men would be different even if they were driving the same car. It is all perception and what we have surrounding us often alters others perception of us. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:44:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69959039 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment69955330 Being raised as a child fortunate enough to have two parents there to provide for and care for him I feel that I was lucky. Open my wallet and you will find a small cross which says "I carry this cross in my pocket to remind me to be thankful for all my blessings day by day." Not really the most religious of people but my grandfather had given it to me and that just makes me remember what type of a man he is. He is thankful for everything he has no matter how large or small it is. He is as thankful for his Cadillac XLR as he is a nice cool breeze on a hot summer day. Coming to America at the age of seven he was in the lower social class in Brooklyn, attending school up into high school and later getting his GED he had to leave school in order to go to work and help the family. He began working at a shoe shop where he would shine shoes for a nickel. He also had a job at a bowling alley as a pin boy setting up the pins for people as they bowled. Granted you do not see these jobs nowadays but I'm sure there are jobs you could find which wouldn't require too much training. All anybody ever needed was the will to want to do something and the drive that will help them succeed. I believe that people have the ability to make it on their own it all depends on their drive and level of responsibility they possess. Money must be saved regardless, I am unaware of the amount of funds required to become a legal citizen of the United States but I'm sure it is not cheap. I know my friend Alejandra is here on a temporary visa from Venezuela and her family is constantly in and out of a lawyers office needing help to get the paperwork done to have them finally be legal citizens. That seems like it could quite possibly be a costly investment but it can be done. You hear the endless from rags to riches stories from everyone you know, hell if you turn on MTV you hear about musical artists who grew up with nothing and now they have so much money they dont know what to do with themselves. They had what it took; they had the drive to go out there and become a somebody. The world is a great place in my eyes, sure there is a bunch of red tape you must go around and some hoops you have to jump through but I believe you can become who you want if you want to be that person bad enough. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:15:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work__trashed/#IDComment69955330 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68402536 What is it to be a woman? That's a rather hard question for me to answer especially being a man. Were going to give it the good old one two try though. Sure media plays a huge part in on what women perceive they should be like but that is all on the surface. It all depends on where you come from, how you were raised, I can tell you just like the old saying goes that its what is on the inside that counts and the all time favorite, true beauty is on the inside. Its up to us as human beings to believe and understand those statements. Whether you are going to be a "shallow" individual and accept a person for who they are and not what they look like is up to you. I used to always hear a rumor about French women not shaving their arm pits, by American standards that is pretty gross but in France that would be considered beautiful. I don't know why some individuals put themselves though the torture of putting on makeup every day before they leave the house. You should be accepted for your true beauty and if you truely are a beautiful person on the inside that will show through. Just like if youre a shitty person no amount of makeup will be able to hide that. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:43:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/women__trashed/#IDComment68402536 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68401182 The lecture about Christian Invaders was a shock to me. Of course I have seen politicians on TV look and sound like fools but never back to back to back like that. It was funny to see what TV is like from the Middle East. As much as we flip the script and spin the news how we’d like to see it, they do it just as much. Its because of human nature wanting to hear what they are doing should be justified by other “facts”. Put very well by axg5068, “Flipping the script, we then looked at the media that we, here in the United States, are exposed to which in many cases views the enemy as a whole and frames them in the light of being Muslim Arabs. Of course, we would not know what their life is like and what they go through on a day-to-day basis because we don’t live in their shoes, this is the backbone of ethnocentrism. It was ultimately a really unique experience to see how Americans view Muslim Arabs and how the Muslim Arabs view the “Christian Invaders.” It really comes down to the fact that we view each other in such a negative light, not because of our history with one another or our intricate understanding of each other’s cultures (because that is definitely not the case), but rather because through our own ethnocentric lenses, we misperceive the other people’s culture, ideals, and beliefs. Just like Sam understands what it is like to be in the other person’s shoes, I too now understand. To me, it makes perfect sense that an Arab Muslim living in the Middle East who is only exposed to negative media about “Americans” where George Bush calls the war a crusade, John McCain identifies the war as a means of securing oil, and a high-ranking U.S. Army General saying that “their God is a false God” can come to perceive Americans and the U.S. army as Christian Invaders. Conversely, the reason Americans hold Arab Muslims in such a negative light, is that, in many ways, we don’t see that they are ordinary normal people just like us who want nothing more than happiness and success for themselves and their families and to simply be left alone. Through the media’s influence on our society, Americans have often come to view all of the Muslim Arabs as the bad guys where we view them as insurgents and all of them fighting our American troops abroad. But as Sam so subtly noted, most of them are just like us and have the same goals and aspirations that we do, and look for nothing more than to be left alone.”I agree I had never thought of the whole situation from the shoes of the “enemy”. It is an interesting flip on the ideas that I had originally had about the whole war in the Middle East. People consider this to be frightening but how do you think you would feel about the whole war if you were actually there. Sam stated that it is reasonable for a soldier to kill 29 civilians in order to kill one insurgent. 29 to one? Really? That is a load of horse shit if you ask me. Why even have a rule at that point? So I just want to know still in the mindset I left class with; when are these damn Americans going to be leaving and out of my country? Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:32:31 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68401182 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66853454 I'm sorry to say that watching this CNN report wasn't shocking to me. The world is filled with sick and twisted games and videos, not that it makes it right but it is. This video games objective is to follow unsuspecting females around and torment them in a sexual manor, who would find this entertaining? The same question would go out to people who play video games like Grand Theft Auto but that game has so much more substance to it. That is a virtual world where you can do anything and everything. This is a virtual world where you can torment women. Granted you can do that in Grand Theft Auto but that is not the main objective. I honestly don't know where I stand with this game. I feel as though there are endless games and videos out there in the world which have the same meaning and intent as Rape Lay but there is nothing that is being done with them. If you wanted to get really strict with it we'd be down to playing Mario Party and Donkey Kong. Racing games and Sports games often portray women on the sidelines in near nothing shaking what their mamma gave them. Granted that is voluntary but its still them putting their goodies out on display. I was shocked when CNN did the interview with that one couple over Skype. The female said she didn't see anything wrong with the game and its almost disturbing. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place with this game because it is not reality it is merely a virtual reality and who are we to govern what people can and can't do when its not even reality. That is like telling people what they are and aren't allowed to think. It almost reminds me of the book 1984 by George Orwell which had the thought police in it. They would come lock you up for having negative thoughts about the government. That is exactly what I was talking about, playing the video game and thinking one thing is totally different than acting on your thoughts. Until a person acts on their thoughts it is not a crime therefore I do not see why we are almost punishing them by taking away their vent for their thoughts. Two ways to look at this would be that the video game is a release for some people so they do not act on their "desire" to do that to someone. On the other hand you could say that individuals become more violent and learn that behavior through the video games and that taking the game away will reduce the number of rape cases reported. It all depends on who you talk to I suppose. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 18:51:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66853454 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65674190 I don't feel as though it is a question of whether you are part of the black and brown team or the white team it is a question of which team you decide you would like to be part of. Being an individual of a multiracial background you have the option to switch teams based on where and when you must relate to your true inner self. Depending on the situation you are put into I feel as though you will take and relate to the situation differently. If I was put into a situation being a white male I would have a far different experience than a hispanic or asian background. Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:59:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65674190 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64234676 This is a great question. I have noticed that Sam often asks us to relate to white people then to black and brown people but never anything else. I couldn't tell you if he just considers black and brown people to be everyone that isn't white or not you would have to ask him but I'd like to get back to your question at the end. Two of my friends actually have international students as roommates one being from Taiwan and the other being from Japan. Speaking to both of them I get a sense that they're not big fans of each other. Note that its not each others specifically but each other as a whole population. Rayne, who is from Taiwan, tried to educate me on picking up key differences in both facial structure, eye shape, and even style decisions. Whether that last one really does work is still yet to be determined but it seems to be right on so far. We will be hanging out and he tests me asking me to tell him where all of his friends are from and I'm usually right on point. I definitely agree with you though, what ever happened to everyone else that isn't black or brown? Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:04:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-are-all-of-you-thinking-about-asians__trashed/#IDComment64234676 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64233243 I'm disappointed I wasn't able to be in class when Sam shed the light on "bleeding". This is a funny thing to speak about in a soc class that is centered around race relations. I kind of want to know how it even came about that you seemed to get on this topic as a class. So could somebody share the light with me how how we came to discuss such a thing. Coming to class on Thursday and having the first fifteen to twenty minutes of class be about menstruating was a bit mind boggling to me but after seeing all of these posts it must have been a pretty heated topic. But I agree, why do people make a big deal out of this completely natural occurrence? I do know some females that have no problem announcing it to a room, if they feel shitty they basically say back off.. I'm on my period; then all the guys in the room cringe in disgust and it can get a little on the quiet side. Its nothing more then blood coming from an opening in a body, guys wouldn't get all grossed out if a girl fell down and skinned her knee on the sidewalk, well most guys that is. It goes back to our conditioning as children I suppose, you are taught that it isn't appropriate to be talking about. Why isn't it appropriate though? Just like Sam said on Thursday, people don't talk about their hair growing or their toenails growing, not that I could see a conversation even arising from such a comment. I say wow my beard is getting long you say maybe you should shave and I'll say you know you're right. The End. There really is no rhyme or reason to why we do or don't talk about this phenomenon that is menstruation. I feel like it shouldn't be that big of a deal though, I don't know how it could change though. Guys are not going to go out of their way to ask questions about what they feel is a touchy subject and women are not going to go out of their way to educate men on a topic they feel men want nothing to do with. I agree it is a miracle that without something that is considered so gross by many people in the world today is one of the factors that comes into play when creating life. Think back to your high school health class and you learned all about the body and how it works. You know there is no way you could have a baby with out a period or "bleeding" so I almost feel like it should be celebrated not despised. Perhaps its only despised because it makes you feel so shitty. I wouldn't know as a man how horrible it can make you feel, but I think its funny, Sam is probably right in saying men would be making a contest out of it seeing who can have the bigger period. That's just the nature of guys, everything is a competition, and we're always trying to one of the guy before us. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:53:07 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64233243 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63087414 That exact question passed through my head during class. When the one question came up that was geared to just white people and then to just black and brown people the responses that came through seemed quite different than the first time we used the poll everywhere. It seemed as though when white people said neg. types of replies there was a lot of anger through out the room and finger pointing. When rude things were said about white people by black and brown people the crowd seemed more hush hush and less concerned about what was said about them. This is most likely because white people have never really been at the bottom of the totem pole; so in effect they do not worry per say what others say. The feeling and knowing that they are on top majority of the time in society makes them feel empowered so what is said actually bounces off. If you walked up to me being a white male and called me a cracker I'll be honest... I would crack a smile be like are you serious and possibly laugh in your face. Going up to a black or brown individual and calling them a derogatory term Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:23:45 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment63087414 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59934229 I feel as though it is all just stereotypes playing into the network to make what some consider "good TV". The networks most definitely plan out these shows with intentions of grasping a target audience and their way of reeling that audience in is by putting people on the show that look like their target audience. People are scrutinized in their auditions to see if they will be what their looking for on the show. Putting together a cast that will interact in a specific way is how they make ratings. Side thought is that they are putting together these casts in an effort to avoid certain racial slurs from having to be bleeped out, I'm sure some pretty intense words could start flying as the girls are fighting over Flava Flave or Joe Millionaire. The label reality TV is often put onto these shows in an effort to convey the idea that this is how people really are but what they don't realize is that people act differently when they are in front of a camera than when they are behind closed doors in the privacy of their own home. You might even be able to go as far as saying that the lack of diversity on the show goes back to the person looking for the love. Producers may have had a meeting with the host/millionaire and said what do you look for in the opposite sex. Being a show for them or a show for the viewing public. If the show truly is about that persons quest for love the contestants on the show should be catered towards that individuals personal preferences when it comes to looking for "love". If this is the case then it may not be the producers who are the stereotypical racists. It would be the close minded millionaires that are having a hard time when it comes to the love department. It would be interesting to do a review of the products that are being advertised during the same time slots as the show. Shows usually are tailored to bring in a certain demographic and if a network can prove to the companies that they are going to be bringing customers to them then the advertising space is much more valuable. There are certain products that just wouldn't go over well when watching Flavor of Love. For instance do you think there would be a strong response from commercials for denture glue? My guess is not so much. So they tailor the cast of the show to be that of the people they are going to be trying to sell products to. In the end I feel as though it is just all about business and what will make the most money for the network. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 20:25:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/are-whites-the-only-people-willing-to-humiliate-themselves__trashed/#IDComment59934229 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59929988 I don't know where this question came from. I have been attending school here at Penn State for three years now and never have I been to a party which was racist. The closest you could consider a party I have been to was the Beer Olympics where teams of two people dressed to represent their country. Most parties that I have attended have been of the black light, ceo's and office hoes, pirates, and the big time holidays like Halloween and State Patty's Day. I have even attended a rubix cube party where you are required to wear each color of the rubix cube and throughout the night trade clothing with various people. By the time the keg is kicked you must be one solid color. Sounds pretty far from racist unless you look too deep into it and say that there is an underlying message which is against multiracial people in saying you must be "all one color" but that would just be a little O.D. and I'd consider that to be nonsense. I am curious as to what types of parties you have been going to that you feel parties to be racist. I wish you could have filled us in on some of your experiences have been, then I could share with you the time and place of a "good clean fun" party and hopefully alter your way of thinking about the party scene here at PSU aka the number one party school in the United States. Fri, 5 Mar 2010 19:46:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59929988 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58867231 This is a sticky situation, to "accept the wrongs" you may feel as though it is not your place. You weren't here when the genocide of Native Americans took place; and the people who did take part in the genocide may not even be related to you at all in Vincent's case. However I feel as though by living where you do today you are in a way taking part in supporting the genocide which took place long before any of us were even alive. The land on which our University, your home, your favorite recreational activity are built are all built on red land. Land which was taken from others by force and were not compensated for. So in a way by frequenting these places you are saying "Hey I don't support what happened but I sure am glad it did so I can go to the mall!" So what can you do? These native people are distant from us and have been forced into these places called reservations to live out the rest of their lives to think about what has happened to their people in the past. They are not likely to come out of their comfort zone of their people and try and mix into the world today. If they hold their customs at a high standard and are not looking to lose sight of who they were as a people then they will stay together. They must be approached first and asked to teach their way of life because of what has happened in the past I feel they will not be coming to seek out the people that look like the ones who put them where they are now in the first place. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:28:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/native-americans-question-two__trashed/#IDComment58867231 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58864925 Ohh and I forgot... you give one hell of a handshake Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:07:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58864925 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58864782 Growing up in the suburbs of Central New Jersey and attending the high school I did I honestly did not come across that many black individuals. The black people I did know were just like the rest of my friends. It really wasn't a question of the color of your skin that would make me have judgments about you it would really be about where you were from and the setting where I first meet you. The town just south of me has some areas you don't really want to walk around in at nights so if I saw you coming up to me on the street in the middle of the night I would have thought something else. Last year I had a roommate that was from Newark, New Jersey, which is seen as a rough place to grown up just as Trenton and Camden are. Had I met him in Newark I would have been out of my comfort zone and may be a little more on the edge of my seat than when I met him on move in day. Moving in I had no idea where he was from until I took time to talk to him and get to know more about him. By the time it came up in conversation I could already tell that he was a real chill guy and we were going to be pretty good friends. So I suppose to wrap it up and give you some closure on your question I will say that I did not see you as a thug or a rapper, I thought you were an everyday college student working hard to get that piece of paper that says this man is willing to put in the long hours and do work. Could you have been an athlete? Yea sure I suppose you could have been an athlete, but walking into Rec Hall, White Building and East Area Gym I see a lot of people who are by no means athletes they just spend a great deal of time working on their fitness. I feel like it is part of the social pressure put upon each and every person in the world we live in today. If you look good you will do better in life, its sad to say that but people put so much emphasis on first impressions and appearance that it really does help. Had I seen you standing on the street corner in Philly I may have thought something else, but that's just how it goes I suppose. People are sometimes more afraid of the town or area than who or what is actually in it because of its wrap for being a rough place. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:06:14 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/inequality-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment58864782 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment57659030 With the question of why do majority of people feel there can be no in the middle when it comes to sexuality I feel as though it all depends on their stance towards sexuality. I feel there are three groups of sexuality personally you have homo/hetero/bi sexual. People who are either homosexual or heterosexual have a concrete vision of what they want, They know what they find attractive and there is no if ands or buts about it. When bisexual comes into the picture it gets a little more blurry and grey as to what a person is looking for in a relationship. I am personally sexually attracted to females; however I can understand a person being attracted to the same sex because you feel a different type of connection towards them. You may feel like you are more on the same level and understand each other better than you may understand the opposite sex. You can think hmmm how do I feel about a particular topic and assume the other person feels the same way. For guys I guess the closest you can get to understanding that is like a "bromance" I have a couple really close guy friends and I swear there are moments when we are thinking the exact same thing and its funny how that happens. So I am probably getting a little off topic but that is ok right? This blog is supposed to spark conversation. But let me wrap it up is saying that I feel your sexuality come based off of your level of comfort with yourself and knowing what you do and don't want in a partner. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:45:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-three__trashed/#IDComment57659030 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57656768 Why are lesbian women more accepted than gay men? That is a question that has gone through my head several times. Going through discussion groups in the past, this is what I have come to believe the reason for this is. It goes way back to your time as a child, out on the playground and interacting with other children, it is the conditioning we go through as children that mold our minds and thought patterns to believe what we do. Growing up boys are supposed to play with G.I. Joes and god forbid they want to play with Barbies but when a little girl wants to play with G.I. Joe that's alright. Yea that might be considered a little more "tom boyish" but they're just kids playing right? It even goes back to the parents conditioning, if a father was to watch his son stray from the stereotypical boy way of play he tends to have a problem with that, intervening quickly to set his son on the "right" path. If his daughter wants to do the boyish things I think they'd be more receptive to that. It is all an inner fear men have that I feel is passed down to them from previous generations. I can't say what is right and what is wrong, I know how I would raise my children is going to be totally different than the way my roommates raise their children and that is what makes our world amazing; no one person is the same as another. So I would say it goes back to your time on the playgrounds. The conditioning doesn't stop there however, you grow up watching TV which is geared to make individuals thing a certain way, believe certain things. It is up to an individual to stop relying on others to tell them what they think and take a moment and think for themselves. Think it through why don't you, sure you may have a hard time with it at first because of years of conditioning present in your life but ask yourself this, "Why is it "ok" for this group and not for this group of people?" I think you'll have a hard time coming up with a concrete reason for it to be ok for females to be homosexual and not men. The only reason I could see someone bringing out against homosexuality is their religion but if that is your reason you shouldn't be making exceptions for one side or the other. Is there anything that can be done to balance out the playing field for our homosexual friends? It'll be rough but it has to start somewhere, I feel as though there shouldn't be one homosexual couple accepted in society if the couple right next to them won't be accepted. I feel like it should be all or nothing and I suppose my vote would be for the all. There is no reason why it shouldn't be that way, what one couple does behind their closed door should not have anything to do with you, so let them be as they are. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:24:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/lgbt-class-question-six__trashed/#IDComment57656768 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment56532307 I can't believe something like this was allowed to slip out in his speech, and yea yea I know "Freedom of Speech". He is a political figure and lets be honest we've had some pretty "simple" political figures in the past, but things like this are just uncalled for. I have seen people before that you may think something along those lines but there are people on welfare busting their asses to try and make ends meet working two or three jobs and still collecting. They do what they gotta do to provide for their families and I respect that. Then you have people that work the system aka not cool, its put in place to help those that need help, not so you can sit around all day and watch the game on the 56 inch flat screen you just bought with your last check. I'd like to wrap this up by saying Andre Bauer is skating on thin ice. His blaming the comment on his little old grandmother, how dare he. This is a new time from the one she was raised in, and he should have adapted by now. He should really watch what comes out of his mouth if he is looking for the support of others in this upcoming election. It is election for the people by the people and if the people don't like you.. guess what?? You're not getting into office bud. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:15:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/animals-vs-humans-vs-welfare-cheats__trashed/#IDComment56532307 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56529724 I am always a fan of playing devils advocate when it comes to discussions not even because that is how I feel all of the time just because that is the best way for other sides to be heard and considered. In this situation however I feel as though I should share my true feelings.. I agree that it does always seem to come back to black and brown people verses white people but I feel as though that is because it is what we as white people know. During a race relations project breakout session I tried to shed some light on this very topic; I expressed that our Asian, Middle Eastern, Native American, and many other "friends" are put on the back burner per say. And I had several group members open up from that very statement, one of the group members, a Hispanic female, said she often feels forgotten always seeing the drama between white people and black and brown people. Not to say she was looking for drama but she felt as though people spent too much time looking at others on the surface in a 2D sort of light. We continued on to discuss how people are multidimensional and despite looking just like each other in some cases we are a world of different in many other ways. Think about it real quick, close your eyes and picture all the people you know that look like you. Now try and pick someone out who is just like you, I bet it would be a bit easier to go and pick someone who is quite the opposite. REMEMBER We Are... Penn State, We Are... Individuals, and We Are... The Future!!! Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:53:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56529724 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54371276 Are you serious? That is what it has come to over seas? I am not a big sports fan myself, I find that I am much too busy living my own life to sit and watch other people live theirs, but I suppose this is just a taste of what I would see if I did take the time to look at the world rather than my own little world. I've seen rowdy fans before but never ones that resort to this, and once again that could be because I'm not an avid sports fan but I've always seen it as fans hating other fans not so much the team. It is almost like a cult haha you can walk through the parking lot on a game day and just see groups of people segregated by the color of their shirt. It is shocking to me that fans would scream profanity at their own team, even their own team's star player just because they were different. Here they are doing something amazing and helping the team you love move up through the rankings and all they can do is be angry. That coach who was yelling at his players to go out and "Show that black piece of shit that you are better than he is" was only fined $5,000! That is absurd, if anything like that ever happened in the United States it would be all over ESPN, there would be a court case of some sort, and I'm pretty sure they'd be suspended from coaching and fined closer to $100,000... Does that make us more professional? No probably not but wow.. wow is the only thing that can cross my mind right now about that. Players want to and have walked off of the field mid game and I don't blame them, sports are more mental that physical in my book. Without a clear mind you cannot make your body perform how you'd like because that requires all of you attention. Even a couple of the players have come to this racist level, that right there is beyond unacceptable. They in some individuals mind are god like, people look up to them and they go about starting shit egging on their fans to chant the way they do. I understand this movie is four years old but you need to go back to where I began, I do not watch sports center like it is my job. Has any of this even changed? I saw at the end of the video that they would penalize the coaches refs and players for behaving in such a manner but what about the players? I don't know how they can get around the fact that they may be willing to throw their own team under the bus and chant at them in order to have them bumped up in the standings. People need to realize that these men are extraordinary athletes and they should be glorified for what they are able to do, not shunned for the color of their skin. Hell if you must hate them, hate them because they're so damn good at their sport! Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:59:05 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/racism-looks-pretty-good-on-this-side-of-the-atlantic__trashed/#IDComment54371276 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment54367216 I can't really understand why the plane would be grounded, perhaps it is because I admit I do not know how tefillin plays a part in the religious practice of some Jews, but still, what was he doing? How do most religions pray? I myself am far from religious, although I was raised Methodist and always recall prayer being a quiet to yourself time. Nothing seems intimidating about that to me... Its not like he was getting in everyone's face and telling them how its gonna go down. So back to the original question, why was the plane grounded? Who made that call? Was it one of the close minded stewards that had never seen anything like that before that said, "Hey you might wanna check this guy out, something seems fishy" This helps me prove a point that a lot of people should look into raising their level of social comfort. We live in a country with people from all around the world, there is no one mass way of life. Sure you have the predominant social characteristics but in the end sometimes people just need to step out of their bubble and realize what is around them. If people were less worried about what is different and more intrigued about what is different I feel as though the world would benefit so much. People would be dieing to learn about others religion rather than dieing for their religion. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:18:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment54367216