en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/764532 Comments by Nohpay https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69829905 In this world people do not know what they have until they lose it. People cannot care about others if those 'others' are not directly in their lives, we can sympathize but that's pretty much it. Unfortunately that is how some people work in this world. Maybe those have lost loved ones in 9/11 or in some other accident know and understand those pains. Maybe those who have worried about having enough food on the table could understand their pain. But if people put themselves in the shoes of those Haitians who have lost loved ones and have no money to feed their children or themselves, they would not continue eating their dinners after hearing about this tragedy they would probably try looking for the next flight to Haiti. However not everyone in the world is like this, for example I would love to go down to Haiti and lend a helping hand however helping costs money and I do not have the money to buy a ticket to Haiti and have enough money to maintain myself for however long I would like to stay. In Tuesday's lecture we were asked that if we wanted to help, we could put our name and email address down for more information. So I guess I just have to wait and see what they tell me. Until then I just hear about all the stuff that is going on down there, feel compassion and then go about my daily life. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:40:56 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69829905 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69824453 In this world people do not know what they have until they lose it. People cannot care about others if those 'others' are not directly in their lives we can sympathize but that's pretty much it. Unfortunately that is how some people work in this world. Maybe those have lost loved ones in 9/11 or in some other accident know and understand those pains. Maybe those who have worried about having enough food on the table, could understand their pain.But if people put themselves in the shoes of those Haitians who have lost loved ones and have no money to feed their children or themselves, they would not continue eating their dinners after hearing about this tragedy they would probably try looking for the next flight to Haiti. However not everyone in the world is like this, for example I would love to go down to Haiti and lend a helping hand however helping costs money and I do not have the money to buy a ticket to Haiti and have enough money to maintain myself for however long I would like to stay. In Tuesday's lecture we were asked that if we wanted to help, we could put our name and email address down for more information. So I guess I just have to wait and see what they tell me. Until then I just hear about all the stuff that is going on down there, feel compassion and then go about my daily life. Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:04:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/300000-whats-it-mean-to-us__trashed/#IDComment69824453 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69829401 I never doubted that prisoners or "lifers" were somehow inhuman with no emotions; in fact sometimes I have found that murders have too much emotion hence their illegal act to kill someone. But that is beside the point, I have visited a prison before and have meet with individuals like him and it is amazing to see the people they have become since prison. Some of these inmates are so eager to work, learn, play, feel, talk, anything and everything that you or I have the privilege of doing. Granted there are other inmates who are those exact stereotypes that you think of like mean and nasty or "beasts" but those are usually the ones who have either not been there for too long or have been there a while and are getting out soon. These "lifers" are there for the rest of their lives without a single chance of getting out, therefore they accept this sentence and begin to make the best out of the situation. They have all the time in the world without having to worry about having the bare necessities of life, so what are they going to do with their time there. They learn and grow just as we do just in a different environment. If we had the opportunity to only work on ourselves, we too would grow into these very determined, compassionate, non judgmental, and understanding people. I mean what else can you do? Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:38:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/letter-from-an-inmate__trashed/#IDComment69829401 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69106229 This video was pretty interesting. It is amazing to see that the Haitians, after such a devastating event, look so calm and collected. I am sure that they are very much upset about the destruction of their country, but they are still trying their hardest to make the best out of the situation. People were developing these strategic techniques for making money. One of the strategies that really caught my attention was the women who cleared up a small space in her tent to give manicures and pedicures. It was interesting to hear that women would go and get these services done because of their lack of shoes there feet would be in really bad condition. Although at first this might seem like a luxury these people have so much time with absolutely nothing to do. They need some form of entertainment whether it be actually working or watching comedy videos or getting their nails done its something to keep their minds off the tragic reality around them. I think that it is a great idea that these small entrepreneurs are doing a great thing, not only for their economy but also for the children. As the man in the video said, these children need something to do there is no need for these children to think more about what is going on and what better way to do that then to make these children laugh. Today's lecture had a lot to do with this video, in fact it allowed me to visualize Ian's opinion on the importance of entrepreneurship. His speech made me realize that although it is very important that we, we as a very rich country, should try and give as much food, money, and clothing as we can however we should also help them develop a new strong economy. After all how can people learn or understand the importance of working for the things you want or need if it is always given to them. Sometimes in life when you continue giving some one a hand they are going to want your arm.Of course this situation is a little different they cant start off anything if they do not have some kind of ground to stand on. I am glad to see that , although Haiti is at an all time low, they still have their heads up. I think that if such a tragedy with the massive amount of deaths that occurred, were to happen in the US it would be complete chaos here. However in Haiti, merely days later people were trying to make money by going through garbage and finding anything they could sell in order to feed their families. This is very sad to hear and watch but at the same time it makes me realize how easy I have it and how much I need to start appreciating the things I have and the opportunities available to me. Of the many inspiring lectures this one was probably one of the most inspiring and motivating lectures all year. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:57:46 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/tent-cities-in-haiti__trashed/#IDComment69106229 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68420263 This is an extreme case, and I am not sure what I would do in this case. However I believe that it all depends on the person's mental state and how badly they were hurt by the event. Because if I had to put myself in that situation and my young child was killed by an attack from these foreign Christian Crusaders, killing myself to kill many of them would be a menial task. Therefore if most of these suicide bombers are killing themselves to avenge for a loved then I completely understand. If they are doing these for other reason for example "religious" purposes then I simply cannot wrap my head around that idea. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:04:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/creating-terrorists__trashed/#IDComment68420263 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68418072 Although I am not a male myself, I strongly believe that males to go through the same pressure of looking physically perfect as females do. However I do think that the issue of appearance is more publicly displayed and known for females than it is for males. I think that most men are better able to hide this concern about their physical appearance than females are, that is also why I believe that it seems so much more of a bigger deal for females. I know many males that are very concerned about the physique; some who are very thin and try taking protein shakes that contain several hundred calories in order to gain weight and then work out at the gym to be muscular, there are also men who are over weight that stress out about trying to loose weight and be musclar like the men they see on television. All in all I feel that concerns about appearence are just as relavent in men as it is in women. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:46:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68418072 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68415632 Along with hearing about social aspects that concern our lives we also learn about social issues in other countries. Although these issues do not affect us directly these issues do affect us indirectly. Sam opens our eye to these global issues that most people have never heard of before, in places we have never heard of before. Although these issues that he brings up might be disturbing and very upsetting, sometimes it is the only way that our generation can learn to be more appreciative of the things that we have. So Sam does not intend to change the way we think or make it seem that what we believe is wrong but to learn to ask questions and to be open minded of the answers. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:25:49 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68415632 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68415590 When people walk into this class room, they need to leave their thoughts, beliefs, and even religion outside and come in the room with their mind blank as if it were a child’s and be ready and willing to hear all sorts of things. These things might be against their religious beliefs, they might completely opposite their opinions, and lastly they might be sufficient evidence to prove what they have always heard to be true to be false. And although at times we may get offended by what Sam says, his intentions are not to make us feel bad or that our opinions mean nothing, he just says things that allow us to really think about the things we believe in. He says them so we can ask ourselves why we believe in the things we believe in or think the way we do. Sam talks about how the media affects all of us in a variety of different ways and how most of us fall privy to it. And as a result of that he reassures us that we are who we are and we should be grateful of that. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:25:31 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68415590 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68415549 When I first came into this class and I was listening in on the first couple of classes, I was like oh man why is this guy trying to change our opinions or make us believe what he does? However as time went on I began to realize that those were not his intentions at all. As I attended more classes I began to learn about things I had never even thought about before. I also learned about things that I encounter everyday. When Sam lecture is not just about race it’s about race and how it relates to us and the rest of the world. I have learned to see things from other people's shoes and be ale to understand the trials and tribulations they go through. Therefore I believe that the point of this class is become aware of the good and the bad that is going on in the world around us. Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:25:16 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-we-doing-here-really__trashed/#IDComment68415549 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66888427 I first would like to point how nonchalantly the people from England spoke about this situation. First off the girl said that as a woman she was not offended at all. As for the guy, he brings up a good point. He says that just because people are worried that their children might see these games does not mean that they have to stop creating them, they have the freedom to do whatever they want. And although I do not agree with the message these games are sending I still think the individuals who create these games should have the freedom to create whatever they want. The women rights movement have every right to be extremely enraged at the fact that these games are unbelievably degrading to women. These "games", the ones concerning raping women and the shoot-em-up ones, have not one single positive note about them. They do not say nor do they do anything that sends a positive message to society. I know that it is not fair to say that people should have to censor the way they create their games or anything that they enjoy doing however they should take into consideration the fact that women are people as well. After the distribution of these games to society, it reaches young men all over the world showing them that everything that is going on in these games is alright or acceptable. Once they begin to understand these implied messages they will begin to take it upon themselves to maybe do those things that they see. And honestly I am not sure, what makes the creators of these games assume that their immature audience will not start to do the things they see in these video games. Paying video games is a pretty important aspect of a young boys children, therefore the games they play has a lot to do with what they believe and how they act. These games just say that violence is ok and eventually these games positively reinforce these young men. The more they play these games the more they will be praised for making those actions reality. I do not even see how this game could be in the least bit fun or entertaining. All you do is stalk women and grope them in places a real women would not want to be touched in by a random man. I would love to meet the people that create these games. I am really interested in the way these people think and their way of life. When they play these games do they think about the young men out there that look up to video games? Do they have wives or daughters, mother, aunts, girl friends?? How can someone win a game by touching a women in her most personal places again her will?? Fri, 9 Apr 2010 22:39:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66888427 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66696251 I think that he has got the whole thing wrong on affirmative action. Affirmative action helps those who do not have the same opportunities that we have, to have the chance to move up in this world. Instead of just staying where they are and letting that cycle continue for generations to come. Affirmative actions allows those who do have the qualifications but do not have the sources or the networking to get their foot in the door, to pursue their dreams and understand that they do not have to settle for anything less than what they work. So no I do not think that affirmative action will decrease the quality of health care or down grade any field out there...because its not like these employers are hiring unqualified or incompetent people, they are just hiring people who would have a harder time getting to that position than most other people. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 01:29:22 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/is-quality-the-question__trashed/#IDComment66696251 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66692445 This is a question I have been thinking to myself for quite some time now and so I am glad someone has finally asked it. I can only speak for myself and say that my opinions have not completely changed in fact there are some that he has given me more evidence to support my opinions. This class has open my mind to several different I had never even thought about before. I think that is what this class is all about. Sam set this class up to widen people's perspective on life and the wide variety of issues that are out there. So if people's opinion did change hopefully it is for the better. After all he always continues to remind us that he is just an average Joe and everything he is saying could be complete bs but he felt it up to us to decided for ourselves. Fri, 9 Apr 2010 01:09:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/i-really-want-to-know-also__trashed/#IDComment66692445 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65103441 This could be a very confusing, I can see where is coming from. If I were him I would probably do the same in that I would associate more with the Puerto Rican side just because that was what he was raised to know and all he knows. I mean if the Puertican Rican heritage is what he was raised around and never really got in touch with his white side then when it comes to answering Sam when he says that he is speaking to white team or the brown and black team then it is only logical that he answers to the brown team. It seems at though he would be more in touch and would more likely understand how to answer the questions posed to the brown people instead of the white people. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 01:14:08 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/what-about-multiracial-people__trashed/#IDComment65103441 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65100679 I, as a Latina, did and did not find this offensive. I did, clearly because I have to choose the option of other and then put the country where I am from. This sort of feels like I am not the normal or what is usually seen so I am an "other". On the other hand I am not too offended because I feel as though the census is just trying to categorize the billions of people that live in this country. Although that sounds bad but its the truth, I mean how else are they going to figure who lives here and where they come from. However I still firmly believe that Hispanics/Latinos should have a box that we could check off. Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:51:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/nothing-about-the-census-is-easy__trashed/#IDComment65100679 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64922210 Before seeing this video I never really thought about race and how it could affect children of such a young age. I mean I could see how they could realize what color their skin was and the different color skins their friends but never to the extent that they would think that black is "bad" and white is "good". I never thought that children would go so far as to pick a white doll because it was prettier. I never even thought that kids thought about race let along be able to have an opinion on certain races. This video definitely had a huge impact on and opened my eyes to see how influential race can be. The stress that is shown within these children sadden me And the doll that they liked better was not the same skin color as their own. These kids are no older than about six years old, and they are thinking about social aspects that I NOW at the age 21 can understand(with the help of this class). This should be shown to everyone!! I know that after I saw this video I made sure that all my friends saw it. Afterwards it lead to a deep discussion on how everyone felt about it, what it meant to us, how society has impacted us, and how unbelievably early in our lives we are directly affected. One of my friends said that she wanted to cry at the sight of the young and innocent children making these choices. Another friend of mine did not say anything at all for a while until the end of the conversation and when she did say something all she said was "this is really disappointing but all we could do is learn from this and make sure it doesn't happen to our children." After that statement things were pretty quite because in reality there is nothing we can do but make sure the next generation is better informed on race relations. All the while the main point of our conversation was that this was the responsibility of the parents. Parents need to become a lot more involved in talking to their children about race and the difficulties they might encounter because of their skin color. I also think that it should be discussed no matter what color you are. Every race will encounter some sort of issue therefore parent must warn them of those issues. Along with that it is also important that they make sure these children understand that there are differences however these differences do not mean that one is better than the other or that one is ugly and the other is pretty etc. These children need to understand that although the color of our skin makes us look different there is no need to place judgements or assumptions on a skin color different than our own. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:20:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64922210 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64234344 I think that Laurie makes really good points in this video. The one thing that stuck out to me the most is how she implies that women almost try to hide the fact that we are women. The menstrual cycle is the most obvious detail that separates women from men, so why are women so afraid to talk about this?? Especially because a lot of women will go all out trying to find pretty dresses, nice shoes, the best make-up etc to show the feminine side of herself, but when it comes to her period that has "WOMAN" written all over it they do not show it! Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:14:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64234344 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64235803 I think that Laurie makes really good points in this video. The one thing that stuck out to me the most is how she implies that women almost try to hide the fact that we are women. The menstrual cycle is the most obvious detail that separates women from men, so why are women so afraid to talk about this?? Especially because a lot of women will go all out trying to find pretty dresses, nice shoes, the best make-up etc to show the feminine side of herself, but when it comes to her period that has "WOMAN" written all over it they do not show it! Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:14:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64235803 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64234250 I think that Laurie makes really good points in this video. The one thing that stuck out to me the most is how she implies that women almost try to hide the fact that we are women. The menstrual cycle is the most obvious detail that separates women from men, so why are women so afraid to talk about this?? Especially because a lot of women will go all out trying to find pretty dresses, nice shoes, the best make-up etc to show the feminine side of herself, but when it comes to her period which has "WOMAN" written all over it they do not show it! Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:00:58 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/in-her-own-words__trashed/#IDComment64234250 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64228685 I am not sure why in the world tampons would be free if men had their menstrual. So Im going to have to say that no I do not think tampons would be free at all. I think that for the most part men know about women's menstrual cycle however it something they just rather not discuss it. This could be in part that they do not know enough information or do not know at all what it feels like to go through it. So they may feel like why should they talk about something they do not have the slightest clue on how hard it is to have. It's almost like a womens territory where they just do not want to be like when it come to talking about emotions. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:13:19 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment64228685 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64120321 I think that the reason why this is such a big deal is because people meaning us women, do not talk about it. I think what Sam said in class today about "women being silenced" is partly true. Society has socially constructed us to think that this is something that is bad or disgusting and should be kept a secret. Some women won't even admit that they are going through it, as shown when Sam asked the women in class to raise their hands if they going through and not many women did. Even when Sam had the men put their hand down or turn away women still did not put their hands up, although there was definitely more than the first time he asked. This is how afraid we are to admit that we are going through our cycle, that even amongst other women(who endure the same process) we will hide it. It has become something that we women become offended about if someone notices that we are menstruating. When a guy says to me "oh you must be on your period or something!" I do get offended because it says me to that I am acting "bitchy" or something. And that is what offends me, them making fun and saying that I am not acting normal not the actual process that I am going through. It is widely assumed that when a women has her period that everyone should steer clear of her because she is going to be moody. Although this may be true sometimes it does not happen all the time and men should not be afraid to hang out with a girl if she has her period, its just immature. If men went through, they might still think its gross but it would be normal and not something that they would like people to make fun of them for. So I guess if men would try to put themselves in our position, and understand that this is something very personal and a vulnerable area for us to talk about, maybe women would feel more comfortable talking about it. But until then I think things will remain the same. However things could change with the few women out there who are not afraid to talk about it which in turn might give their friends and other women the courage to talk about it as well. I know that for me personally, I do not make it a huge deal but its something that I do not talk about in front of men just because of the negative reaction I always get from them. So why would I talk about something to them when they are just going to make fun of me and make rude comments about it especially when the menstrual cycle is something that I cant help, its part of my life its part of who I am. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:32:06 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/whats-the-big-deal-with-periods__trashed/#IDComment64120321