en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1145945 Comments by Rockski https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85441352 Did you go to school in a city or suburb, the HS I went too didn't even have a pool let alone a gym or basketball court until my senior year. It was a magnet music school without a stage to even perform. They would have to rent out other schools and buildings for recitals and schools plays. I would love to see everyone have an equal chance at education, but even if all the school is paid for up to college people would soon start to be over qualified and smaller jobs such as a custodian and such would be overlooked and people might think they are "too good" to do them. It's such a fine line to walk. Thu, 8 Jul 2010 04:03:28 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85441352 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85439545 Affirmative Action for women, particularly whites did not surprise me in anyway. Woman have been getting the short straw through no fault of their own I would argue. The thing is I believe affirmative action is necessary I just don’t know the correct way to do it. Some white people look at affirmative action and think it’s unfair how minorities get help in doing whatever they want, and I can’t argue with that. And some black people hate the idea iof affirmative action because they don’t want the help. I don’t belong to religion but I would have guessed a much higher margin. I know for damn sure I would never stand up to nepotism. One of the biggest things everybody always tells me is how Penn State has the biggest network of people, and that alone will open doors and I should get to know as many people as I can. Hell, that’s one of the biggest things that PSU advertises in its brochures. Largest network of people in the US. When Dr. Richards said that you can’t be against affirmative action without rectifying social inequalities. I don’t even know how to touch that issue. It’s such a vast question and I don’t even have an idea on where to start. I think Education would be the best place to start. Then I think that getting people in jobs might be better, and every time I think of a possible answer a loophole goes around or I’m not sure if the possible social implications would be worth the risk, and even still I don’t have the power to change it, and that’ the biggest problem. I would like to talk about all the possible solutions but no matter what I can’t change anything, well without enough time and working towards it maybe it could be some small change, and I hope I don’t sound like a defeatist but I don’t ever see my self having that large of a pull in any society, nor would I want that power either. The more I write about that I kind of fell like this should have been more of an internal response >_>, but with that said I would really like to know if having the power to change it where would you guys start. That defeatist idea of in equality and racism never changing is one that I hate to hear, but one that I’m slowly starting to believe myself. Thu, 8 Jul 2010 03:56:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-8-lesson-14-affirmative-action__trashed/#IDComment85439545 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83644256 The bit about people being welcomed to America with open arms seems rather far fetched, even if it was honest. Hypocrisy is really found in American culture more so than any other I would argue. I just could never imagine people being welcomed with open arms in this country. I mean but it does happen in other countries with people who want to learn another language. Think of a person trying to speak Spanish and looked at as some kinda weirdo, who knows nothing about the culture and will never be truly accepted in the ideas of a real person over there. I always wanted to learn Japanese before any other language. The bit around music videos and language surprised me, but it seemed the majority of the music was based on the take from the country. The Swiss rap and the camera techniques that they use really just took me aback. I had a History teacher that spent the majority of her young adult life in Ecuador and she said the majority of the music they listened to was techno that also surprised me. I’m not sure what the official language of Ecuador is but I would love to see a video of techno music. I’ve tried learning languages multiple times, mostly the Japnese language, but I took Spanish in high school but I really didn’t have much of a place to practice and immerse myself in that language. The question about entering a small store with a storekeeper that didn’t speak my native language intrigues me; I would just buy my items probably, and not ask them to teach me how to say basic words because I believe that ostracizes the person to a point. I would never in my life believe that people involved in church would be assimilated, most of the people in church are attracted to people that believe their same ideas, and it also goes with color too. As for getting high or drunk with someone of a different race that is way to high to count, most of the people in my dormitory were of different races and in fact me and my roommate where 2 of the 4 black people out of a 40 person floor. I’ve even get flack from different people for hanging around so many people of different races while, high and drunk. Going to them “white parties” most people would say, even earning me the nickname White Black Rob, but its not much I can even do about it. Curiously enough I feel like it’s them missing out instead of me, because I have always said I have my whole life to be around black people andeverything associated with them. Unless I decide to teach at a university of course Thu, 1 Jul 2010 03:35:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83644256 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83642425 6/30 I have an older brother who is a homosexual man, and he would draw dressses and want ot be involved in fashion, and modeling while growing up. A lot of people around told him it wasn't what he was "supposed" to be doing, and he is kinda sad because he had his imagination and interests discredited at such a young age. You can tell that he still likes to do those things, but still feels guilty. I believe knocking someone's beliefs no matter the age is incredibly sad. The part about flaunting is a double standard, as most people scream and yell slurs at anyone who is a "flamer" or very comfortable with their gay sexuality. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 03:28:36 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-7-lesson-12-multiculturalism-lgbt__trashed/#IDComment83642425 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81853874 I don't ever recall a time when New York teams were ever looked on upon with love. What you said about PA and NJ people is very true. Some philadelphians jokingly refer to as shore blockers, and Jersey drivers are incredibly looked down upon as they drive aggressively and cut everyone off from being used to driving on the highways. However the Jersey culture and South Philly culture blend in well as most people who live down there visit different Jersey Shores and know their way round that culture pretty well. I'm curious as to how you think NY culture is close to NJ though, I never would have drawn that comparison. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:46:57 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81853874 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81840914 Blog Response 6/23/10 The Fact that there are 2 different steps for people of color and for white people along is just mind boggling, even from the jump people of color are forced to adapt to white society’s mainstream, its not necessarily bad but when some things are just different it never will stop amazing me. I’m also pleased to learn about the about adopted childs when its out of their race, and when its talked about, my best friend in high school who is from Trinidad was adopted by a white family, and a wealthy white family, and of course it was obvious that there dad was not their biological parents but he still calls his dad his father and his mom his mother because to him that’s as deep as he needs it to be. Interestingly enough his adoptive father already had children most of which are grown men and women, and whenever I heard him refer to his brother and sisters as his family, it just shows that no matter what those subtitles of brother and sister go much more deeper, than a simple name. Also Asian white people? That’s an interesting concept, but I guess it all depends on where and how you were raised if it doesn’t matter to them I can’t have any type of qualms with them. The Asian comedian reminded me of a joke where a guy kept saying An Asian man in front of him McDonalds ask for 10 chicken nugget, and I can tell countless examples of my Asian friends not being exactly well versed in English, but I enjoyed his stand up. The video about the black girls with “Good Hair” and what is actually good and all of that it is really interesting, I know a couple of people who have nothing but natural hair, and most complain about the upkeep, ironically one of the girls in the video was named Whanita so it chuckled to myself that a girl with a “black” name would also be talking about the quality of good hair. Also when the instance about the white and black dolls, I remember a thing on Jerry Springer when a white supremacist was raising her children to pick and throw up black dolls on the floor, and show how much more inferior it was too other people, or some idea of the sort. That little experiment was just a little disheartening, its like Dr. Richards said it’s not the us but we are the them, assuming that everything better is white. White culture is forced among everyone, and its just amazing that people can still identify with a race that they are not, but I can actually understand why that would be. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:10:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-6-lesson-9-stages-of-racial-identity-people-of-color-stages-1-4__trashed/#IDComment81840914 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81153701 6/20 I've always thought that if there were blue, or green people they would get discriminated against from the jump. Or if there was another species that wanted to make contacts with humans would they be discriminated against. Just a random thought but I think it is that way because its easier to avoid saying certain things than to no be disrespectful. I mean for instance one time I said to a friend "at least you're not knocking on the door like a crazed Jehovah's witness" not trying to offend anyone, but I didn't realize her father was a witness. Sometimes it can be better to just keep your mouth shut, but the majority of the time it does suck. Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:26:55 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81153701 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81146919 6/20 When you said the first thing people learn is to not talk about race issues reminded me of a time when I was in 5th grade and my best friend at the time would always start out by saying involving my race as Bl-African American, he would pause and try to say something to not offend me in any way. That always brought a chuckle out of me because I never even would pay attention to him being white, the only time I would notice is when I walked around his neighborhood, in the white part of south Philly, and practically everyone would look at me and my white friend quizzically. It’s just something that he has always been around. Those two girls singing about White Supremacy made me think of brain washing right away, and also clever editing and reporting by ABC, cutting after a certain sentence gets the point across but I can’t help but wonder what was lost, but I believe the essence of what those two girls were communicating got across. The parents are the cause of this almost the same way as they were in the movie Jesus Camp, but not much can really be said. Parents influence and control what their children think the majority of the time. I actually do know black people that want white people to “pay” for everything that they have done, but I think believing that an entire race should collectively apologize. I sometimes believe they think it’s a yearly white meeting between races where they discuss certain problems and every year agree to not apologize to every race they have offended or something. The being a bigger person idea of just walking away is what my dad tells me to do a lot, but it’s hard as hell to not actively say your views especially if they’re misconstrued because that bothers me when someone believes the wrong idea or believes what they haven’t heard. I’ve luckily never heard anyone say they need to see White people suffer for everything that they have done, because I think that is one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard. I don’t want anyone to suffer anymore than they have too, and if through luck or their own lucky intuition then more power to them for eliminating suffering throughout their and their ancestors lives, I’m sure most white people have a general idea of other people’s sufferings throughout the years, and if anything it would just make people a lot more bitter. And obviously I wouldn’t expect all Asians to know Kung-Fu but I’m not going to assume otherwise. Also Dave Chappelle said in another one of his skits don’t use the wash clothes, and that they have pubic hair all over the bar of soap, and now every time I take a shower at a white friend’s house I notice those finer details. Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:56:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-8-stages-of-racial-identity-white-people-stages-3-4__trashed/#IDComment81146919 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80614804 Blog Response White People Stages 1 + 2 I never knew there was six steps to racial identity. I just want to know why it takes so much for anyone to know who they identify with. I commend you for helping the disabled people, as that touches me incredibly deeply. When people aren’t able to exactly do what they want to do, and most go through a process of losing mental toughness because they can’t fathom losing their independence. It’s a very sad thing to witness. I reflect how I’m 6’5 (no mustache) often. Little kids often come up to me and say I’m a giant and almost every person asks me if I play basketball if having an extended conversation. I’m constantly reminded when I go into stores and an short old lady will ask me to get a box off the top shelf. Then I have friends who tell me I make basketball boring because I’m too tall to spop then, but I’m not 7’0 and if that happened that would be way worse. As is I feel like I get that “Damn, he’s tall” look all the time the same with my father, who is about the same height as I am. For the left handed side, my brother opriginally wanted to play baseball but it was much harder for anyone to teach him how oswing because he’s a natural lefty, so in turn now he’s ambidextrous because people couldn’t cater to his needs growing up. He picked up basketball because it’s much easier to learn. Both comedians were really funny in pointing out things I never really noticed, except for Chappelle and the weed thing, but I never even thought about the “white privilege” that no matter where they go they don’t have to worry about anything. If not on a stand up stage if anyone said any of this, they would be castrated, humor is just a funny thing. Political correctness for doing the right thing is just a sad concept, people who get angry about not being able to speak the language correctly is just incredibly stupid. Take for instance Geno’s steaks in Philly which had an incredibly racist sign basically saying this is America you need to speak English to order. The fact that they can discriminate against anyone and not want to serve them food because they don’t speak a specific language makes me angry in that aspect. The Carlos Mencia clip proves a point too, the point of political correctness is simply annoying too, take the politician who was just saying how he felt, and then had to apologize immediately after, and those apologies are not reported with as much rigor as the initial controversy. Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:16:04 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80614804 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80602694 I understand what you're saying on that, the funny part about it is I can't even really think about stereotypes for white people, I mean the terms used to offend them don't even really carry much weight. The only thing I can think of is white people run incredibly funny, but does that even really hurt? Well stereotype place limits on white people, but do you think they really have that many limits? Only if you think it about can you find a problem with white society, but I do get what you're saying about generics, everyone is different, but not many people realize it. Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:30:17 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-5-lesson-7-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment80602694 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79396106 Stupid asians? I never heard that insult before, well only with the ones that wear socks with sandals. You bring up an interesting point about the military but I'm curious to if people cared about sexual orientation, one of my brothers is gay and was in the army and told me the only thing they didn't really give him was the respect because of his orientation, did you ever see any discrimination like that of any kind? Or how about sexism? My dad wants me to join the ROTC and always tells me not to worry about about discrimination because its "like that everywhere" its just funny to me that the only time their isn't discrimination is when people need to be relied on. Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:23:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79396106 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79395993 Stupid asians? I never heard that insult before, well only with the ones that wear socks with sandals. You bring up an interesting point about the military but I'm curious to if people cared about sexual orientation, one of my brothers is gay and was in the army and told me the only thing they didn't really give him was the respect because of his orientation, did you ever see any discrimination like that of any kind? Or how about sexism? My dad wants me to join the ROTC and always tells me not to worry about about discrimination because its "like that everywhere" its just funny to me that the only time their isn't discrimination is when people need to be relied on. Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:23:34 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79395993 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79389876 Blog Response 6/09 The balance of having our strings influencing what we can do and don’t do is remarkable, so many factors beyond my control influenced where I am, but its hard to believe so many things I did have control when it’s so many things I don’t control affect me if that makes any sense. The idea of taking inheritance would be interesting, well instead of ruining it, maybe they could give a portion of the money to the government to help other people have just as equal of an opportunity. Funny how mentioned we have a black president, I remember the day after Obama was elected a white friend of mine came up to me and said, “you’re half way there” meaning the because Obama was half-black we were halfway there to succeeding, it was a funny joke. It’s hard to believe the racism of the government affected entire race relations to the way we know it today, but it also goes back to your last lecture of obstacles. I wonder if they black and brown people who were shafted even really wanted to work as hard to achieve because they knew that no matter what I higher force stopped them from doing it at all. Every time I think of bringing up a point you effectively say my counter point in your lecture, never fails. Anyway I never knew that white people had affirmative action, and it’s surprising how much some white people hate affirmative action for blacks probably because they don’t want they same help that their ancestors they don’t even know had. The explanation about conservatives is interesting, but as you said with your big on people taking personal responsibility, and the way you explained it I would identify with a conservative as well, but I also believe humanity is at its best when it helps other people, so in a word I guess it would be a libertarian outlook. That stats about the prison system reminded me of a fresh prince episode when Will and his cousin Carlton were locked up because they were driving a nice car in Malibu, and while in the holding cell Will said “whenever you seen a white man in jail you know he did something bad!” The amazement on his face that white people don’t get locked up for the same things as black was a joke, but still the point that black people always get locked up for no reason. I have been profiled several times, but I do believe that the law works on both sides as long as the lawyer available knows their craft. The issue about the blacks going to the jail for the same crime is just a damn shame. Justice is allegedly supposed to be blind in court rooms, but sadly it’s not, I always enjoy your end of the lecture sayings, it reminds me the Captain Planet’s the power is yours! Type of thing, I’m just glad I always learn something, another thing that bothers me is that very few people are comfortable enough with their beliefs to say it aloud in that class. This class really has me wondering what if all the veterans were treated equality would people even be afraid to say how they truly felt. Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:54:41 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/06/week-4-lesson-6-race-and-ethnic-inequality__trashed/#IDComment79389876 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78845635 6/06 My brother had a similar situation to yours he graduated HS and went to a college called Kutztown that he hated, he left that school and after a semester break or two he enrolled into a community college in Philly, to get an Associates in Chemistry, but then left that because he was pursuing music. Then he went to an audio engineering school in New York, and to get there from our home he had to get on the Chinatown bus at 6:00 AM every day and commute back and forth for about a year, he worked incredibly hard and was seemingly tired all the time and the last year before he was going to get his degree, they found out he was lying on his Financial Aid form, and now he's not in school anymore, It's sad because that's the first time I seen him really happy with the material he was learning, but I hope soon he will go back to school and get his degree, no matter how long it takes him. Mon, 7 Jun 2010 00:05:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78845635 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78841111 6/6/2010 The discussion about sports also has to take into affect the cultural standpoints, of the sports. I’m glad you stated how much money is involved to play certain sports. People will naturally do what they can afford, and what will be the most fun. I stink at Hockey and am good at basketball which most people would expect, but when people find out I’m even better at Tennis I get a sideways look. Any person can be good at a sport if they dedicate the right amount of time and energy into their craft. Look at Larry Bird for instance, it made me angry when I heard Isaiah Thomas say “Bird would just be another good player if he was black.” Statements like that which completely discredit a person’s skill and talent annoy the hell out of me. Larry revolutionized his position as he was 6’8 and had a vertical leap of seemingly 12 inches but still was effective and an all around good teammate. The same goes with Pistol Pete Maravich who owns the “white guy” record with most points scored in a NBA game with 63, and that’s before they even had the 3 point line. It’s well documented how much time and practice they put into their craft and to not to get respect for them to be playing a “black man’s game” is just stupid. The point of a game is too have fun, and when people try to dictate who and what sports someone should just be playing eliminates the whole point of sportsmanship and fun all together. I’ve always thought Baseball was dominated by Latin Americans due to the sheer amount of people needed to actually get a good game going, and how most Latin American areas have empty fields where playing baseball is more suited, same for soccer, it’s much harder to dribble a basketball on dirt than it is a football. Funny how you mentioned Rugby, as I never understood the sport until I was watching it on NBC yesterday afternoon, it was a college tournament and Penn State was actually one of the teams competing, the makeup of our team seemed to be incredibly varied to my surprise, and the same went for other colleges as well there was a Native American who played for Arizona, and a Samoan who played for another team I can’t recall, I guess because Rugby isn’t a sport many people know about it, it’s hard to form a stereotype on what type of people “should” be playing the game. The other lecture about obstacles spoke volumes about just life in general. Hard work is incredibly rewarding in itself. You can also never measure how much a person desires anything, if they really want something, they will make it happen by any means necessary. The lecture really did motivate me. The intellectual middle is so hard to see though, blaming yourself is so much harder than blaming the world, and if it is every done that medium not knowing when its not your fault is one of the hardest things to judge. But the key to most things in life are just finding that perfect balance and also having a little bit of luck and timing. The Oprah clip was rather enlightening, but its Oprah I’m sure there was some creative editing or half-truths being told, but the major message was received. Inequality in our society is so transparent that it’s laughable. I remember playing Tennis for school and the schools we would travel to ranged from the greenest grass, and bluest skies that could ever seen, to courts with gigantic cracks in the middle when we went to play at a poorer school, sports can’t even be played the way they should, and it’s even worse that it translates to academics. Sun, 6 Jun 2010 23:01:15 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-5-social-inequality__trashed/#IDComment78841111 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78310071 Ethnocentrism + Christian Invaders Blog Response 6/2 Are there ever any comparisons drawn between bull fighting and the Roman Gladiators? The cultural context in which people fight or why they fight can often be lost on other people. For instance take the saying “A terrorist to one person is a freedom fighter to another.” Ethnocentrism is just another amazing byproduct of Perception. The way “primitive tribes” will stone people and kill seem heartless to and as you say barbaric makes me wonder about when certain actions are called for, in the Shadowboxing with Race you touched on American ideals and Islam, and beforehand I actually understood how when a religion, or beliefs are being threatened the lengths people will go to make sure their beliefs are intact. You can’t live in a reality you aren’t used to living in. Amazingly enough if there was a country on the other hemisphere that dictated the exact opposite of what Americans believed there would be a concentrated effort to annihilate that movement, and we have had such examples as with the USSR and Communism, how people would be ostracized and judged for having a different political belief system. Don’t dare threaten the democracy that the United States has in play, and the capitalistic nature that has our country has been built upon, and look how many people argue the “Socialist movement” that Obama is bringing to the country. Let people buy their own health care because I don’t want to pay for the lazy bum that’s not working. I just thought that humans were at their best when showing compassion and empathy with one another and not finding new ways to shaft, and hinder other humans. Just its only right to not give someone the same rights you have if they are different, and do not put in as much effort and strain and hard work. Many immigrants who believed hard work is the reward died broke, and tired. It’s a sad catch-22 that really doesn’t have a comprisable answer. Perception of health care again, with other democracies having health care. Japan has no natural resources, but everyone in the country is insured, hospital visits costs around $15 a night with a room with 3 other people in and $90 if you want a room to yourself. Germany, lets the rich people opt out of health care an pay for own private practice, while places like Taiwan have every single person in their country on health care, because they do it for survival, not for profit, and not to make a health care tangent here. The point I’m trying to make is even though they have those positive outlooks they still have negative ones as well. Japan spends to little on health care so the hospitals go broke, England has long wait lists to see an orthopedic surgeon, and Taiwan also makes sure the hospitals go broke instead of the people. With every good thing you CAN find a problem if you look hard enough and the same goes for context of Ethnocentrism. Some people would like nothing more than to wipe all child molestor scum off the earth, but what makes their life more meaningful than yours? What makes you the gate keeper of such things? Logic is an incredibly tricky thing. The other lecture about Iraq, is another tricky issue, the regime completely disregarded human beings and would commit crimes against their own people. Iraq did have its own economy and things were good in terms of that, but the fact it was completely decimated and in disarray. Culture still has the same relevance no matter where you are because interestingly people still ARE humans and still want to have fun and appreciate other people. Albeit the word about Christian soldiers there is a documentary out called Jesus Camp, that I suggest some of you watch to see how fanatical both sides of the religious spectrum can be. That’s the name of the documentary the BBC was talking about. Thu, 3 Jun 2010 03:19:24 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78310071 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78301226 6/2 Interesting viewpoint as I agree with you with the grass grown cows, as the cows eating corn are literally eating themselves to death. Same things with chickens, but I wanted to get to your point about public stoning, the reason I believe it is so morally bankrupt is it all about humiliation, or punishment as a whole is used to reinforce ideals and in some ways strike fear into everyone else, and as I’m sure most of us know. Fear is the absolute best motivator in the world. Back in olden times a thief had his hand chopped off for theft, but what if he was stealing for his family so they could afford to eat and not out of greed, and even if it was for Greed is cutting his hand off and disabling him for the rest of his life really a fitting punishment for a lost that could be recuperated in a matter of hours or days of work? In the old gangster films in the 1930s the Gangster always paid with his life at the end of the movie, just look at the original Scarface. Who can dictate what lives are worth and which aren’t and this is where the areas of gray jump out with people like Hitler. Hung for crimes against humanity just like Hussein, completely disregarded humans and people know why then I believe it is punishable to execute as the entire context of the situation is there. Just rarely is the context of these situations ever put into play and that’s what saddens me, for people to not want to be judged on the surface, how can they judge a situation without knowing the Whys? Thu, 3 Jun 2010 02:03:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-3-lesson-4-ethnocentrism__trashed/#IDComment78301226 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment77149722 The white man that categorized blacks as lazy and crafty and generally other offensive words made me not only pause and think, but while thinking I thought about how black people categorize each other. It reminded me of Chris Rock’ stand up in which he told the difference between a nigga and a nigger (interestingly enough Microsoft Word does consider nigga typo), and I remember thinking there wasn’t a big overlapping point he was trying to make as he usually does with his humor. I thought I couldn’t really be offended because I was laughing right along with it, but humor has an ability to spread points without supposing to be offensive, taking offense makes you seem like a stuck up person with no sense of humor, but to quote Homer Simpson “it’s funny because it’s true.” Or another saying I often use “there’s truth in all jest.” And that instance wasn’t any different. To make another aside your point about Asian’s looking alike actually made chuckle because I have a Cambodian friend who I joke around with and ask her if she’s Chinese, Japanese, Laos, or Taiwanese and each time she actually thinks I don’t know. I actually have another Chinese friend whose name is actually Ching, really…her name is Chind so when many times walking around campus I would think it was her I would exclaim Ching! Thinking it was my friend. I can’t tell you how many times I was wrong, and looked flat out racist. Then I would mutter to myself, “Damn, most Asians do look alike” wrongly misguiding my racism as I should have said all Orientals look alike. Stating that slaves could leave any time they wanted too seemed a little weird, I’m thinking I have to re-define what slavery actually is, and change it to something along the lines of indentured servitude. The census bit surprised me at how the government chooses to identify people, and I actually chose to boycott the census for this ten year period because of how it treats the prison system. To make a quick aside the census counts prisoners from where they are currently imprisoned instead of where they are from, and most prisons are in rural areas not very populated with crime while the places they come from, inner urban cities are the places that could use that money to make more programs available to children so they don’t resort to drugs and other violent, non productive activities. When the guy from Pittsburgh set up the racial groups, I had absolutely no idea about any of the people by looking and I actually knew 2 of the 15 people that were up on the stage. The bit about having Native American ancestors was interesting but because I’m black and some of my family believes they have Native American roots, however they do not specifically say they are from the Cherokee tribe. I do have one question though how could I get my bloodline tested to see where I actually am from? Wed, 26 May 2010 05:17:52 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment77149722 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment77148925 The majority of my friends that hang around me, are seen to be wiggers, when in actuality they are the farthest thing from. Personally I choose to hang around educated people, no matter white orblack. I hate having to quickly usher them in and out of my house to avoid hearing other people’s stereotypes on who they are and why they might be in my house. Because we share the same interests , listen to the same music, and play basketball. Automatically identified them and I was always laugh when someone would say “Why you always have those white people in your house?” The only time I’ve been left more speechless is when someone asked me “Why I read so much?” and I still don’t know if that person was serious. The bit about Eminem being able to fit in, mostly is due to his rapping ability, most black rappers can’t manage the level of lyricism he puts out on his worse days, and he’s respected in a black community for his skill and I believe his skin color is looked past in my cases in which people actually enjoy the art. If you haven’t listened to Eminem’s song “White America” I suggest you do as it explains his struggle with his own race in an industry where black faces are seen, but the white men in suits are the ones running it, also listen to Mos Def’s “rape over” which explains even more in depth about the music industries faces. Sorry to go off on such a tangent but Eminem is one of my favorite rappers, and I enjoy that he embraced the rap culture because he had too. The part of Detroit in which he grew up was dominantly black and he did what he had too to fit in. There was a black kid in my high school who chose to play baseball and do all the other “white” activities because he grew up in that part of Philly where instead of playing basketball and saying ya’ll he played wallball and said yous. He also never dated any black girls much to their chagrin. We would even joke and say the only black kid on the team, wasn’t even really black, and top it off he was the best athlete in the school. However if you were to ask him he would identify with his white side because that’s faces he grew up seeing and they looked past his color Wed, 26 May 2010 05:07:54 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-two-lesson-2-intro-to-race__trashed/#IDComment77148925 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know__trashed/#IDComment76723791 Well the media outlets that usually say such things about Obama are the conservative ones such as FOX, did you vote for Obama? Also one thing that bothers me about the Native American stereotype is the gambling, how do they always manage to the short straw. Out of curiosity I looked up Native American athletes and not many came up and the only one that I could think off the top of my head was Kyle Loshe a pitcher. However as for supporting slavery I feel guilty every time I use my phone but I am not surprised every time I lace up my Jordans that it was probably made with the sweat of someone who does not even see anything close to the $125 profit made off a sneaker that cost a mere $10 to make. Sun, 23 May 2010 00:41:29 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/05/week-1-lesson-1-whadya-know__trashed/#IDComment76723791