It is wonderful news that a black woman has been given the position of head coach for a high school football team. To be picked, among who knows how many other candidates aiming for the job is a distinguished high honor indeed. Some would point out that the significance and difficulty of obtaining the position is due to the fact that she is a woman. However, I believe that is hardly the point we should be focusing upon, because if she was chosen to be the coach, that would merely mean that she was judged to be more suited and qualified to take up the role. Indeed, especially when we are looking at traditionally male-dominated jobs/roles, we should keep in mind that in order to be fair, we need to judge by the fulfillment of the qualifications rather than what gender the person is of. From this perspective, there really wouldn't seem to be anything special about this woman's appointment as coach. Rather, we would consequently recognize, acknowledge and respect her superior ability and qualification as a football coach.

I clearly agree with Professor Richards about the shift in her demeanor at around 2:31 when she starts to describe her passion for football. Prior to this, she seemed rather docile and really did not emanate any of the fire that marked her as a football player. You could tell when her 'game-face' emerged when she began to talk about the sport itself. When asked about whether she felt she was treated any differently for being a woman, she merely shrugged off the question, instead talking about how she judged herself by her own high standards before anyone else's.

Honestly, why can't we just all get along?...The reason why people being so-called “racially insensitive” (especially towards people of color) in today's society receives such strong reactions is because racism and the sense of inequality it brings with it still exists. I'm going to say upfront that being an international student, I'm not familiar with what connotations that the noose and the foods provided at the festival brought. Couldn't the world be a more simple but peaceful place if this very ignorance was the reality that defined the peace between White and Black People? Supposing that was the reality of the situation, these events would not have to be psychoanalyzed down to the minute details in regard to their racial correctness – it just really exasperates me at times and forces me to ask just what the world has come to when even the choice of food provided at a supposed simple, innocent event is scrutinized and consequentially labeled racially insensitive.

As we have been discussing in class and reading through the books, the road to making peace between our colors is going to be a long and bumpy ride for both side(s). Having understood that, we should gradually become less critical of each others' faults and shortcomings when it comes to issues of race relations. Rather than spitefully shooting down and condemning any and every racially insensitive act we come across, we should instead seek to understand and educate. Hate and conflict over race should be a sad memory of the past, and a painful reminder of the painstaking changes to our cultural psyche. Race relations is a subject best broached where both sides come into the discussion with the attitude that neither is an expert and both are simply coming to terms with their feelings, views and trying to make up for their “racial debt”.

Speaking of which, I have just remembered what racial connotations the hanging noose brings; Lynching – where groups of white people would gang up on individual or small groups of black people and beat them up, even to the point of hanging them by a noose, back in the day courtesy of my high school class in American history. I could bet that in maybe another 1 or 2 generations where black and white people grow up together in situations of nearly no segregation, the noose will be just like the jim crow laws back in the 60s or 70s, long lost.

Although being a homosexual in the United States has become much less of a taboo concept in the minds of its citizens, shockingly, there are still laws that inhibit homosexuals from living out normal lives. Wasn't the United States of America formed on the basis of freedom and that all men and women were made equal? Do homosexuals not have the right to make personal choices without the scrutiny and disdain of the very government that they help support and maintain with their taxpayer bills?

Though I would be the first person to admit that I am not comfortable with the idea of homosexuality,
hearing about families whose parents are of same sex are being literally handcuffed, arrested and deported by immigration officers is outrageous and obviously a law filled with the blatant bigotry that should have been a sad, dated memory from a shameful past not so long ago. However, dramatic change takes a long time to take place along with the sweat and blood of many individuals. The best way to help such change along is to to first change yourself as every little bit helps.

No thought was given to the roughly 36,000 families being ripped apart and what might and possibly already have occurred to the children who had to suffer through the forced separation. It is not only a question of wasting resources and time to deport homosexual individuals but a question of human moratily.

I entirely agree with Laurie Mulvey's analysis of why the issue of Black People can almost never be separated from White People. There are a number of reasons why the issue of Black People comes so naturally into discussions of racial discrimination.

First of all, as a race, African-Americans have been persecuted and discriminated against relentlessly by White People in the United States for over 2 centuries. There was slavery prior to the Civil War and conditions only became worse than during enslavement after the civil war. It is a history with a tainted stigma that can never really be truly forgotten especially by the memories of those who were victims or those who were related.

Second of all, there was the civil rights movement where many people both White and Black participated in. Key figures and groups which formed an integral part in American history and culture popped up including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Klu Klux Klan, the Neo-Nazi movement and so many more. Through both the media and the eyes and ears of the American people during this era, the relationship between Black People and White People have been solidly cemented. History certainly casts a sympathetic light upon Black People and in more ways than one places and blame and shame upon White People.

However, the year is now 2010, and though feelings of discontent and perhaps buried anger still exist, the issue with Black People and White People has come a long way. The ripples of the Civil Rights Movement have reverberated to the foundations of America and have made many subtle changes after the initial success in changing the segregation laws of the country. Even a Black person has become President and is merely a marker for the greater changes to come.

Change in cultural attitudes is merely a matter of time. It is tough to change established thoughts and ideas. As I mentioned before, the issue of black and white people have come a long way. Of course, other races and groups have suffered the same discrimination and haven't been given the same publicity. Asians, Latinos and more prominently Mexicans face similar if disproportionate amounts of discrimination on a daily basis. Mexicans certainly find it hard to immigrate to the United States purely due to their race and a substantial number of Mexicans sneak over the border into the US every year. Asians may also find it difficult to obtain resident's status within the US.

As you can see, racial discrimination is not only limited to the Black Vs. White issue but spans over a large territory and as always, the solution is time, no more, no less.

The history of black people which stretches back even beyond the settlement of America, is one of persecution. To my knowledge they've been given a plethora of names most of which have condescending or degrading connotations. I would suppose the worst of which would be 'nigger' or perhaps even negro. According to Wikipedia, the term Negro was “used as a world-wide classification for individuals of black ancestry”. Though some African Americans despise the use of the word Negro and prefer the use of Black, it was meant as the scientific classification for black skinned individuals. Indeed, as according to the article, on the census, older generations of Black people actually chose Negro as their racial classification. The decision made by the Census Bureau to keep that option on the census survey is correct. It is in line with the freedom of choice that I mentioned in my previous blog entry. Even if the majority of Blacks were to scorn the use of the term Negro does not mean that the minority should be ignored. It was a politically correct decision to keep Negro on the census survey.

It seems quite ridiculous for the Census survey which is in layman terms simply general questions about the population as a whole and should have no place for discrimination, let alone to serve as something as petty as a point of racial contention. In other words, as long as you get to be called what you would prefer to be called, it doesn't really matter what other terms may be provided as a choice to what you may get to be called. As a pure-born Hong Kong Chinese I have discovered that in the not so distant past, China was known as the sick dog of the East. This was a point of shame for Chinese, but China has come a long way in the past century and we have become more respected rather than scoffed at.

Racial discrimination is certainly an issue to deal with, but there are far more pressing issues, not merely confined to the United States but the entire world that are needed to be dealt with. Extreme poverty, war, natural disasters, diseases and the growing problem of global warming; how many more problems do we need without adding racial conflict to list? As a race, by which I mean the human race, we need to set aside our differences which considering our genetic makeup, everyone is basically 99.99% the same, and solve the bigger problems that plague us today and prepare for tomorrow.

Whenever we hear the word democracy, immediately, freedom of choice comes to mind. Living in democratic societies where everyone and anyone have the freedom to make their own decisions on how they choose to live their life as long as it does not negatively affect the well-being of others definitely sounds like an ideal model for a nation/society. As such, I have heard the USA described as a “melting pot” of cultures during my high school history class. That being said, we can intermittently come across people whose cultural practices and backgrounds they’ve brought to the table may seem odd or maybe even unacceptable to us. However, the question is, tying back to my first statement, living in the world of today, in a democracy, can we simply persecute and reject the practices of those who just look or act differently from us?
This sort of distrust and resulting persecution of anything that isn’t “normal” to one’s culture is the sort of attitude which existed in the past and has formed the deeply embedded hatred and suffering we see in the world of today. Black people were enslaved in Africa and worked as slaves in the United States simply because they were seen as “lesser” and less cultured than white people. This lead to the American Civil War resulting in one of the bloodiest conflicts since the forging of the nation itself which was horrific not only due to the number of men killed but the fact that the men on both sides were brothers, shedding each other’s blood over the issue of slavery. Though the issue of anti-semitism against black people has been solved on the legal side of the issue (slavery abolished, black rights), the stigma of sins from the past still haunt society today.
Now taking the article into account, we see the French Government attempting to ban the burqas from being worn by Muslim women. Being a democratic government, have they ever wondered why Muslim women where shawls to cover their entire body? This is in accordance with their religion which has been deeply rooted into their culture for who knows how many years. It is considered shameful and uncouth for Muslim women to expose themselves in public. Putting aside the fact that the French Government is democratic, from a moral point of view forcing one’s ideals and beliefs upon another is blatantly wrong and towards the extreme. If this law/act were to go through, in what sort of light would this place the French government or even all the Western countries in? We would be violating their religion and defiling their beliefs.
As much as any person claims that they aren’t racist, it just simply isn’t true. Racism is simply a measurement across a spectrum and we all lie somewhere in that spectrum. That is why we must all work together to right the wrongs of the past and prevent any further hatred to develop between nations, countries, races and religions. Putting aside our biases and hatred is a small price to pay for the peace that we can forge in understanding and mutual respect for each other , as we are all human beings. We’re all in this together!

Ronald Wai Tung Lau

Although I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly religious person, I think I would understand how one person’s suffering could prevent another or others from sharing the same fate.
I remember reading picture stories about the New Testament as a child and was deeply captivated with the stories of bravery, leadership and most of all, faith. Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice to spare humanity the punishment for their sins. His sacrifice exhibited an unwavering faith in the good even within those who were his executioners.
Though I didn’t really understand when I was younger, though I do now, my parents worked extremely long hours in order to support both me and my sister through primary school, middle school, high school and currently college. I would often call my mom at work and ask her how she was doing when I was in primary school, and she was always so happy to merely hear my voice. However, gradually as I grew older, the frequency of those phone calls died down and post-1997 financial crisis, my parents were at work for even longer hours. There were times where my parents would be on business trips for a few weeks or even an entire month. Only recently did I find out that my parents were using their retirement savings to help pay for my college tuition and my sister through secondary school. This sacrifice, while perhaps not as great an act of faith as Jesus’ sacrifice, is an act of faith in me and my sister that deeply touches my heart and spurs me on to do something good for the world in exchange.
The natural disaster at Haiti definitely caused a lot of suffering and it is certainly not the type of suffering that most of us can relate to in any shape or form. To have lost one’s home and loved ones must be a pain that is unbearable. While we may not be able to help these people personally, we can remember and respect their sacrifice by appreciating our own lives more and living them to their fullest.