en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/757502 Comments by NLFT5048 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71020204 Wow, I just watched the first video; that's really, really impressive. I'm happy to know that there are still people in society today that can take moments out of their lives and sacrifice so much of themselves- bother figuaratively and, in this case, literally!--- for someone else. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:36:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71020204 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71018731 Tan Hong Ming's reaction was SOOOOOO CUTE!! XD That look of utter shooooock on his face when the girl he confessed to liking responded that Tan Hong Ming was her boyfriend, was aaaabsolutely priceless! If it weren't for the title of the video, though, I never would've known that there was some sort of racial conflict between the two childrens' ethnicities, though. I didn't get any sort of racial inference in the video whatsoever, but, then again, I suppose that was the point. Oh, and, even cuter, I loved how they ran off together in the end. <3<3<3<3 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:30:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/stories-for-uplift__trashed/#IDComment71018731 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/were-being-educated-for-stupidity-and-conformity-really__trashed/#IDComment69485528 I can see where he's coming from. We, as students, are conditioned from early, early childhood to be quiet, obedient, and to listen. ...... I started writing this post as I was listening to the video, and, now that it's over, I've kind of lost my train of thought. Mostly, because at around four minutes, Noam Chomsky mentioned that there are some teachers out there that try to instill innovation and creative thought into their students, and that some of these teachers get away with it. And then, Sam popped into my head. I just wrote a comment on the Christian Invaders blog, thinking about how deeply shaken I was by it and how it really got me to think about what the world is thinking about our war in the middle east. He's instilling, or at least, trying to initiate this innovative thought process in his students---- and, you know what that got him? He was labeled as one of the "100 MOST DANGEROUS ACADEMICS." He landed himself a section in a book listing "dangerous," (DANGEROUS!!!) academics. Obviously stimulating "deviant" ideas in students isn't regarded very highly in our country's educational system. Maybe we really are conditioned for stupidity and conformity. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:40:47 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/were-being-educated-for-stupidity-and-conformity-really__trashed/#IDComment69485528 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-full-lecture__trashed/#IDComment69482534 This lecture blew my mind. I didn't know how to feel about it at some parts, though. A lot of it was reasonable, but, as someone with very close ties to people in the United States military, there were definitely bits and pieces that were rough to hear. My best friend's father has been deployed with the US Army to Afghanistan and Iraq eleven times to this date. She supports her father in every way without questions, so there have been times where debates about the war have really upset her. I know that if she was in class for this lecture, she probably would've walked out in the first fifteen or twenty minutes. I don't even know what to say here at this point--- this lecture has just really, really shaken things up for me, I guess. On one hand, I want to support all of my friends and family who have gotten involved in this war, but, on the other hand, how am I supposed to do so with the apparent injustices behind it? I have a boyfriend who is a submariner in the US Navy who wants to go on individual assignment to the middle east to participate in this war, and, as much as I'd like to support everything he wants to do, I don't know how possible that is after this lecture. My mind is just blooooown. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:30:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-full-lecture__trashed/#IDComment69482534 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69479584 America is a powerful country that carries a lot of weight in the global economy. Our standard of living is amongst the highest in the world, and, like Sam said, the POOREST of the poor people in America have it better than TWO-THIRDS of the world's peoples. Obviously we're a fortunate country. And, logically, that also means that the people living in this country have more stake in the way the entire world is run than, say, a penniless slave in some third world country. I don't think that this makes you, as a person, racist in any way to acknowledge that you live in a country with more power, and, therefore, can have a larger affect than someone else. You're not "greater" as a person, you just have a greater ability than others to do something and make a difference. Anyway, Hi, Tom! I love you, Tom! :D Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:20:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment69479584 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69477998 I am thoroughly impressed with the Haitians living in tent cities. For some reason, it never occurred to me that, even if you live in a tent city, you adapt to establish and incorporate some form of economy. I guess that because of what Ian said about the Hand-out mentality perpetuated by non-profit organizations in Haiti right now, I just didn't think that people were thinking about, none the less implementing, businesses. And, yet, here are Haitians, setting up small businesses, not only for essential things like food, water, and clothing, but for things like electronics and beauty salons! I'm very happy to see the resilient spirits of the Haitian people rising from the devastation- especially after seeing the pictures of Haiti that Ian took on his trip there. I'm glad to see them taking steps to rebound after such a tragedy. I think, though, that I'm most impressed by the initiative that the Haitian people living in the tent communities have shown. For example, in America, after Hurricane Katrina hit, it seemed that most people expected the government to take the initiative toward healing the community, and, most of all, the area's economy. They were expected to set up or designate areas for people to live and somehow rejuvenate the local economy in the process. Maybe it's because the Haitian government is seemingly non-existent right now, but the people in Haiti don't seem to be waiting around for the government to come to their aid at all. They're setting up their own businesses to make money, and even implementing business practices to make themselves more competitive in the market. Like many of the other posters, I was veeeerrrry surprised with the amount of business that the non-essential businesses are getting. I guess that even a natural disaster can't stop people from desiring luxuries. For example, the woman who does the hair and nail treatments? Wow! Personally, I wouldn't have thought to open a salon simply because I'd assume that after such a devastating disaster like the Haitian earthquake, people wouldn't be willing to set aside money in order to pay for such services. Instead, people are desiring things such as pedicures more than ever. I was especially surprised that the 18 year old girls were getting pedicures every two weeks. I just can't see myself paying for non-essential things like that while I was living in a tent. Second, I was impressed with the innovative ideas that people in Haiti are coming up with as concepts for small businesses. The man with the phone charging business is a genius! I guess it never occurred to me that people would still be fretting about their cell phones after a natural disaster, but they do! I thought it was very creative, and a very practical way to make money. Bottom line? Very impressed. Very, very impressed. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:15:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69477998 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69468491 I think it all boils down to emotional investment. Most people care about what their family is up to on a day-to-day or, at the very least, a periodic basis. Your family, also, of course, is likely to have played some role in your life and been there for support when you needed them, etcettera etcettera. But when it comes to 300,000 people that you don't know, it's easy to move on because, in a very immediate sense, it doesn't affect you. I mean, I don't care about what the person next to me in SOC 119 is doing after class or how their day was going. It's no different for someone in a totally different country. More so, 300,000 is a really large number. I think it's too large for one person to really grasp--- even just sitting in 100 Thomas, I can't totally grasp that I'm in a room with several hundred people. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:46:10 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69468491 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment68968192 Hey! It's Tom! Hi, Tom! Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:56:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/how-am-i-not-a-racist__trashed/#IDComment68968192 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67575514 Haha. This is an interesting point. My mother used to work for the Japanese government under what we would refer to as a "senator" who was involved heavily in foreign relations. She used to tell me about how, at one point, there was a push for a global language, or, in other words, a language that would be taught to all people everywhere. The idea, of course, never came into fruition because there was no real authority to determine exactly what that global language should be. Today, I suppose, relatively speaking, it's English, since it's used all over the medical community as well as the business community. I kind of always assumed that it would always stay that way, but it seems Mandarin Chinese could very well change that. Interesting notion. Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:11:25 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/want-to-learn-chinese__trashed/#IDComment67575514 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment66624776 Continued: Shrouded in darkness. And white is nearly always associated with good--- I know I'm not alone when I say that I have NEVERRRRRRRR seen Jesus wearing anything that WASN'T white. And, you know, if you think about it, God's always depicted wearing white robes. So when you put a brown doll and a white doll in front of a kid, what other cultural script are they supposed to refer to? I'm sure you could put a brown dog and a white dog in front of them and they'd still pick the white dog as the "good" dog. I don't know exactly how legitimate that question is. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 18:02:43 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment66624776 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment66624727 I totally mentioned this study in one of my blog comments from the beginning of the semester! I saw it for the first time in my Psychology 100 class and I recall seeing it and just being shocked. But, you know, I have a question about that study. Is it fair to ask the "Which doll is the bad doll?" question? Afterall, in western culture, black and white have always been associated with "Bad" and "Good," respectively. You hardly ever see a villain in a children's story shrouded in anything other than black. Remember the witch in Snow White? Black robes. Voldemort in Harry Potter? Thu, 8 Apr 2010 18:02:18 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment66624727 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66623231 I think that as far as the stages go, I moved past the "Pre-awakening" and "Awakening" stages a reeeeeally long time ago. So, in that sense, some of the things that Sam says don't affect me all that much. But I can only make this claim because I was fortunate enough to grow up in an incredibly diverse state with hundreds of different cultures to experience. Had I not grown up there, I think more of what Sam said would affect me. However, I do agree that some of the things that Sam says makes me think about the world I live in. Before I took this class, It never occured to me exactly how pervasive modern racism is. It didn't occur to me exactly how dire the plight of the Native American is in America today. It didn't occur to me that race is very difficult to distinguish race simply by continental boundaries. Bottom line, I don't think Sam's full of shit at all. He's got a good understanding of the world around him, and I think he has some decent points to share. I don't necessarily take everything to heart, but, at the very least, he gets me thinking. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 17:47:42 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66623231 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment66622231 I'm from Hawaii, and, let me tell you, white people are definitely the minority there. There are sooooooo many ethnicities from around the world there that it's virtually impossible to ignore race and race issues. I realized that there are other races from a veeeerry young age, so I either don't remember ever being in the "Pre-awakening" or "Awakening" stages, or I was in it for a very short time. I think, though, that I was thrown into the Revisioning stage ages ago when my classmates and I began learning about how Hawaii came to be an American state. All of a sudden it was "Yeah, those f-ing haoles stole our f-ing land!" kind of a thing and, thus, the white guilt set in. I've moved passed it since then, though. Long story short, I grew up in a diverse community, too, and I hit Revisioning way before I set foot in Soc 119. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 17:38:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/revisioning-the-revisioning-stage__trashed/#IDComment66622231 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66526732 Okay, so this is my take on it. People who play hentai games play them because it's a fetish and a sexual interest. They're interested in sex just like other people--- and, by "other people" I mean people with "normal" sexual interests-- those that like regular, real-people porn-- it's just that with hentai, it's animated instead. It's a controversial take, because rape, by no means, is something to kid about. But, look, people have sexual fetishes--- you've got everything from Furries, to people who get turned on by feet, to Lolis, to those who like it rough and naughty, to--- you can't deny it!--- those that are into things 2Girls1Cup. If I can log on to any of the million porn sites there are on the internet and watch any of the zillion videos there are out there that depict the hundreds of thousands of different sexual interests that people have, why can't I watch it in the form of a video game? More so, if I--- as a legal adult--- am allowed to go to an adult store, purchase toys, and then act out such fantasies-- in the case of this hentai video game, a rape fantasy--- then why can't I play a video game and act it out that way? Actually, wouldn't it be better for people to act it out this way? It's not real- you're not hurting an actual human being. Even better, you can act out the excitement of committing such acts in "public" in the privacy of your own home. Way I look at it is hentai video games are a perfect middle ground in the sense that it's more interactive and engaging than watching porn or hentai, but it's not going the whole nine yards and acting on such urges with actual people. Anyway, before I go any further, I understand what everyone's problem with these games is. Actually, there are three issues. One, that playing these games will somehome cultivate and encourage sexually violent behavior, two, that if they were to somehow fall into the hands of an immature, impressionable child, that it will cultivate and encourage sexually violent behavior between children and adolescents, and, three, that it is simply dehumanizing and offensive to women. But, you know, I think that people are entitled to their own sexual fetishes, and that they should be allowed to indulge in them as long as they DO IT RESPONSIBLY AND DON'T HARM OTHERS IN THE PROCESS. And as far as kids go--- WATCH THEM! Educate them. Seriously. And, as far as women go........ yeah, it may offend some of us, but does it ever occur to people who bring up this point that some women have rape fantasies, too? And, hell, if they don't, avoid the game. I'm sure some of my /b/rothers feel me. Thu, 8 Apr 2010 06:25:38 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66526732 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65255872 I'm half-White and half-Asian. My mother is a Japanese national immigrant, and my father is a white man from Kentucky. My mother has always raised me to be aware of my Japanese heritage-- she takes me to Japan on a yearly basis to visit with my maternal family. She has taught me to speak Japanese along with English. I went to school in Japan during my Summer Vacations to learn to read and write in Japanese and associate with other Japanese people. However, I've spent almost all of my life in the United States. I have been aware of my dual citizenship in the two countries for as long as I can remember. Since I was about five years old, all of my family, and even some of my teachers in Japan have reminded me about the fact that sooner or later, I would have to officially declare citizenship in one country and denounce the other. I recall feeling lost about which country I would one day pledge my allegiance to. But then, around fourth or fifth grade, the students in Japan began learning things that I wouldn't learn in the United States until eighth grade. It became impossible for me to keep up or succeed, and I quit attending school in the summers. Around the time that I entered high school, I became increasingly aware of the fact that my ability to communicate with my Japanese counterparts was far, far, far more deficient than my ability to communicate in English. I got tired of not being able to sound even remotely as intelligible as I could in English. I came to the realization that I couldn't possibly live in Japan as a Japanese citizen and function as a normal, competent member of society. Today, I am sure that, if ever asked to choose my citizenship, it would be American. But, you know, that doesn't change the fact that I'm still half-and-half biologically, by blood. Anyway, long story short, there are two ways that we halfies can segregate ourselves. Culturally and ethnically. Ethnically speaking, we're always going to be half and half. But, a lot of the time, we've been raised in a way that one culture is more or less dominant, or prominent in our lives. It's up to you which way you decide to put the divide. Personally, I've chosen culturally-- I just identify more with culture than my blood. I have white friends, go to a dominantly white school, live in a country that's traditionally mostly white. So when Sam asks us to answer those texting questions and asks the white students to answer one and the black and brown students to answer the other, I answer the white one. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 18:41:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65255872 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64874853 I understand the negative connotation with the word "Negro." However, many older African-Americans and black people apparently continue to refer to themselves as "negro." I can see the problem that someone who is black or African-American and thinks that "Negro" is an offensive label would have when seeing the word used right next to "proper" race labels such as "Black" or "African-American." What I don't get is why they also don't realize that maybe it's written next to "Black" and "African-American" because of the fact that there are people who identify that way. The reasoning behind it is the same as putting "Latin-American" and "Latino" next to each other. Either way, the Census Bureau spends a decade developing every census. I agree with a lot of the people who have posted already--- people should just check the box and mail it in. That's all there is to it. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:35:01 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment64874853 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63965943 I grew up in Hawaii, and have lived there for the past sixteen years of my life. Trust me, Hawaiians are getting the short end of the stick. I live in a town called Kapolei, which is on the west side of the island of Oahu, (the one with Waikiki Beach on it.) We're right near towns such as Nanakuli and Waianae, which are predominantly Hawaiian, and also among the most poverty-stricken. Driving down the Waianae coast, one can see clusters of permanent tents on the beach all of the time. One time, I was watching the evening news back home, and a first grade teacher from Waianae commented on the fact that at least one in every five kids he taught was homeless. Secondly, there is a pretty distinct divide between people who are for and against having a Hawaiian government again. I won't pretend to be well versed about the issue, but I know that the primary concern with those for the government is regaining what was once, and rightfully, their's. For those against it, it's that Hawaii could never survive as it's own government in a global society. As for the culture of Hawaii, yeah, we have our own culture. We have hula dancing, we have a long history of indigenous peoples, and e use dialogue that's apart from ANYWHERE else on the face of the planet. However, we do speak English. The difference between the language here and there is about as significant as calling it a "sub" in Hawaii and a "hoagie" in Pennsylvania.Or, you know how there's a subculture of people on the east coast called "Guidos?" Yeah, we have "Mokes." Just because we're 3,000 miles away from the Pacific coast doesn't mean we're not American. We learn American History in school just like kids on the mainland do, and we live like many other Americans do. We live in homes, not huts, we have electricity. Questioning if our distance makes us any less American than the people on the continental United States is frankly, offensive; try asking any of the men and women in Hawaii that enlist or commission in the United States military if they feel they're not American because they live so far away from the mainland. PS: Not everyone in Hawaii dances the hula and surfs. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:41:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63965943 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63964263 I'm from Hawaii, so I actually emailed Sam asking him about the Native Hawaiian dilemma and whether or not they should be considered in a way similar to how we consider Native Americans. Native Hawaiians were never "kicked off" of their land like the Native Americans were, but their traditional way of life was taken from them much like the Native Americans. Missionaries came to Hawaii shortly after Captain Cook's "discovery" of "The Sandwich Isles," where they "refined" the "savages," bringing Christianity to take the place of their traditional polytheistic religion. They taught the Hawaiians to speak English and learn to read and write the language. They destroyed the Hawaiians' institution of polygamous marriage and replaced it with their own "ordained" monogamous marriages. They clothed them in Western European clothes. Shortly thereafter, Americans (and some Western Europeans) began to use the fertile land for one of the most precious crops of the time--- sugar. The lands were exploited for corporate profit, increasing the power of five major companies, also known as the Big 5. In the end, the oligarchy created by the Big 5 spelled the end to the monarchy that governed Hawaii with the overthrow of our last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani. Hawaii was annexed by the United States immediately thereafter, gaining official statehood in 1959. My point is that there are many, many, many parallels between the plight of the Native Hawaiians and that of the Native Americans. The Native Hawaiians weren't forced off of their land, because, understandably, there's no where else to go when you're an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean. However, they were just as equally forcibly subjucated to a government and nation that they did not necessarily want to be a part of. Here's a question: There was a bill in the legislature deemed The Akaka Bill (after our Senator Daniel Akaka, also known as the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009) that would give Native Hawaiians the same rights as Native Americans. Should Native Hawaiians receive the same sort of priviledges as those afforded to Native Americans? Anyway, it'd be great if people realized that, in order to make the tropical paradise that is my home and vacation spot for many people worldwide a part of the United States, there was a whole nation with it's own society and monarchy to displace first. It didn't just magically become "ours," you know. PS, Thanks, Sam, for bringing this up! :D Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:22:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/native-hawaiians-ever-think-of-them__trashed/#IDComment63964263 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment63872997 There IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OFFFF!!!! :D I totally would've raised my hand when Sam was asking which girls were on their periods, but I finished mine on Friday, so I didn't. :3 Anyway, like Sam said, it's a perfectly natural process. It happens to every fertile woman, and there's no way of avoiding it, (that is, no natural way of avoiding it--- hooray for monophasic birth control pills!) In all seriousness, though, it really, really, REALLY bothers me when people cringe at the mere mention of a period of react with disgust to a conversation about menstruation. My mother thinks it's something to keep between women, yourself, and your doctor, and that.... oh my god, absolutely infuriates me. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:43:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment63872997 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63871663 I'm sure this can probably all be attributed to the attitude of people, mostly men, about menstruation over the ages. It's always been a private matter that women are to keep to themselves or discuss in private with one another because it's a "dirty" or "unclean" process. My Japanese mother, for example, got SO ANGRY with me when I called on my sister to throw me a tampon down from upstairs once. I don't care what my mother says, I have grown up to believe that it's a perfectly natural process, that there's nothing to be ashamed of, and that it happens to every woman. I have absolutely NO problem with discussing menstruation, or any sort of reproductive process, for that matter. So asking for a tampon was no big deal. When I yelled to my sister, my mother immediate ran up to me, screaming at me to, "HAVE SOME SHAME! THAT'S NOT THE KIND OF THING THAT YOU DISCUSS OR YELL OUT TO OTHER PEOPLE! YOUR FATHER LIVES HERE, TOO, YOU KNOW! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! I DIDN'T RAISE SOME UNREFINED URCHIN." What the hell, you know? I was in the privacy of my OWN HOME, nonetheless, and (for the record,) my father wasn't even there. It's the perpetuation of narrow-minded ideas like my mother's that makes a perfectly natural human process like menstruation something that people regard as worthy of feeling shameful about, or disgusted to discuss. Ugh. That pisses me off soooooo much. Anyway, before I cut this off--- free tampons? I'm going with what melevans25 said, and agree that just because both sexes need something, it doesn't mean that they'd be free. They make a very good point with the food, clothes, and shelter thing. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:33:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63871663