en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/759767 Comments by SamanthaShapiro https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68860872 First off I have to say I really liked Sam’s lecture about Christian Invaders. It was defiantly the best class so far and probably the only one I actually was wide eyed for. He kept me on the edge of my step during the whole lecture. It was an eye opening experience for me; I am not a political science or sociology major so I never really think about world issues as much as I probably should. I knew that oil had some part in the war we are in now, but I never knew it played that big of a part. I loved that he switched us around and made us be on the other side for once. Seeing it though the Middle East’s eyes I could finally understand more. When we asked the question at the end of the lecture if I would fight for my country (against Americans) I said yes. I thought I’d be one of the few to agree but most of the class had the same reaction as me. I read a few of the other blogs and I think many students are missing the point when he is talking about Christian Invaders. He’s not saying they are the cause and that it is only them, what Sam is trying to say is that due to media and other propaganda that is what the people in the Middle East think. They are getting much different information, just like Americans are getting different information about the war. I loved how Sam found video clips, where people in our government are saying just awful things about the other country. Things like “we’ll send them back to their caves” and that “this war is a mission from God”. You really don’t think much form what these people say, but taking a closer look into their words, they just sound ridicules. It’s amazing what propaganda can do to people’s minds. I really think seeing things thought the other side’s eyes really affected me. Also, seeing the video clip of the US troops destroying the people’s car for nothing really had me pissed off. They were not doing anything wrong other then just hanging around. I really do not even know what to say about that video clip, it just made me mad. But going back into the Sam’s lecture we are all humans and we fight for our rights. If our families, friends, land anything is getting invaded and they are stealing what is ours, I would fight till no end. I’m actually really glad I can to class the day of the lecture because hearing and seeing a different side to this ongoing war really helped me understand what is going on in my world. I really should start paying more attention to what is happening in our world, but then again this whole world is just going down hill, I just do not know what is going to happen to it. Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:42:33 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/christian-invaders-the-turnaround__trashed/#IDComment68860872 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68029128 I do think that men also try to conform to what society tells them to. It is our human nature to fit and be apart of the crowd. However I do not think that men have it as bad was women do in this society today. But going back onto topic of men, my last boyfriend went to the guy about everyday to try and achieve that six pack abs that all the men have. He thought that by having that type of body that he would be more attractive. I had told him a million times that it did not matter to me if he had a six pack or not, but I did not seem to matter, the only way he felt confident is when he achieved the six pack abs. I work at a hair salon so on the not so busy days I would just hang around and read the magazines in the salon. They had men’s magazines as well like GQ and Men’s Health. It was amazing to see all these men with amazing bodies. It was so unrealistic. Now I know that many models in women’s magazines are air brushed or photo shopped but do they do that in men’s magazines as well. Because the men I saw in those magazines I had never seen in real life. Back onto what I said in the beginning women still have it a bit harder then men when it comes to pressure in society. There are millions of make-up ads, weight loss ads, bras to make you larger and hair products to give you movie star hair. Its ridicules! I also feel that this whole being skinny with no body look is really disgusting and is giving men the wrong idea about women. What ever happened to icons like Marilyn Monroe who was one of the most beautiful women in the world? She was a size 12! I bet you we can not name one celebrity or model that is a size 12. Where did skinny come from and why do women all have to be the same? It is amazing how young now girls are starting to criticize themselves. My little cousin who is nine years old wants to wear make-up and not just simple make-up like lip gloss, she wants the blush, mascara, eye shadow the whole bit. She wants to wear this because of what she is seeing on TV and reading in magazines. Younger and younger these girls are learning that you can always be better, and that we need to look like the beautiful people on the TV and in the movies. It is just too unrealistic. Males and females need to be happy with them selves and learn to be more confident. Our society needs to change before it is too late. Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:16:44 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-the-men__trashed/#IDComment68029128 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66425515 Okay, so first off I am very disturbed by this video clip and the content of it. I could not believe that there is actually a video where the sole purpose is to stalk and rape women. Who would ever think up of this sort of game! It’s crazy to think that is this on the market for just about anyone who wants to play it. My question though is if there are age limits on video games just like here in the US. In the clip they never said anything about an age limit, so I’m taking it as if anyone can buy this game. Therefore it is out to the younger public on Japan. I’m just afraid that a young boy is going to get his hands on these games and possibly learn that rape in not that bad. If younger boys are seeing and doing this on the game how can they tell what is wrong? I understand that yes we do have shooting games that are very realistic and there is no one really speaking up about them in America, but I do feel that sometimes many children who play these games get lost in what’s good and bad. Last year I did a speech about the effects of violent video games on children and the numbers were disturbing. One kid a couple years ago actually did kill a younger boy with a knife because he used and saw hoe to do it on a video game. It was scary how unaffected the young boy was to what he had done. I personally think that shooting games are just as bad as rape games and they both should be stopped. I mean really what ever happened to super Mario games or donkey kong, where all you did was collect coins and save a princess from an evil turtle! It’s just sick that this is out there everywhere for the world to see, posted all over the internet. Also that comment about they are good cause they help actual rapists get their frustration out and they wont actually rape for real, that’s a bunch of crap. The video if anything will give the rapist more ideas on how to stalk and rape. A video game is not going to satisfy a sick person like that. I am just truly appalled and pissed off about video games where to win you rape girls. Also the women playing it in Britain and not thinking its that bad of a game is just sick. First off why is she playing a game about rape? I’m sure the actions that are going on in the game is not something she would like to experience in her own life. No one ever wants to experience that sort of thing, so she being a woman and seeing nothing wrong and actually playing the game is just really weird and disturbing. I really feel that Japan needs to do something about this issue, they need more codes and laws about what topics should be made into a video game. Wed, 7 Apr 2010 17:23:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/this-is-totally-off-the-hook__trashed/#IDComment66425515 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64694165 This video is extremely upsetting to watch. I am so amazed at this study. I have never heard of it before and now the girl filming recon ducting the study shows basically the same results as it did years before. To be honest I have never thought about dolls or toys that were white because I am white. Growing up I never even noticed the colored dolls, I always wanted the white ones because that was my skin color, and I never had to decide between the two. Now seeing this video and seeing the colored children really think about which one to play with was a shock to me. I just expected them to pick the colored doll because that is their skin color. But to see mostly all the colored children pick the white doll was very disturbing. They were so young to even be thinking about color! Not only did they pick to play with the while doll over the black doll, when the interviewer asked which one was the good doll, most of them said the white doll because it was white! This shocked me, if that was me and I was asked that question at a young age I think the last thing to come out of my mouth would be the word white. Then when the interviewer asked which one was the bad doll, they said black even though that is their skin color and the kids know they are not bad. My question is, where did they learn this whole idea about color at such an early age? Me being white I feel like I never had a color talk, but from what I heard in class I guess being colored you get a talk. For me the hardest part about this whole entire video is the last girl on the tape. She was asked which one was good, she picked the white one. Then was asked which one was bad, she picked the black one. Then asked which one looks like you, you see her eyes shift from the black to the white then back to the black. Then she sides the black doll up to show she looks like that one. She has such a sad and upset look on her face that she had to pick the black one over the white when it came to which looked like her. I can not even imagine me at that young of age to be so cautious of my skin color. Also from what I heard in class is that the colored dolls on the market are not luring colored kids into buying them. The girls in class saying that their faces looked weird and that they just rather pick the white doll. I feel the toy market should fix this problem and make better colored dolls, America is so much more mixed and colored now, that they really need to improve and change things in the toy world. Times are changing and they need to help these kids feel good about themselves. Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:27:12 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/those-damn-dolls__trashed/#IDComment64694165 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63880083 First of all I do not know how I feel about this comment but I do give her credit for asking this sort of question. Men really do not know anything about a women’s menstrual cycle just because they are never taught it in school. Yeah in co ed health classes in school’s the boys get the jest of it, but what they get is basically girls bleed for about a week once a month. That is it, they do not teach the boys about all the hormones that go crazy and different chemical reactions that happen like PMS or PMDD which are very serious. Personally I hate it when I’m having a bad day and maybe a little bit pissy and the guy’s first reaction is joking around like ”oh man what do you have PMS” ha ha sometimes I’m like yeah I do so shut up! They should not be making jokes about it because they have no clue what is going on with me. I do feel that boy’s in school should learn a little bit more about girls menstrual cycles, but on the other hand I also feel that girls should learn about guys as well. They go though so changes that we girls have no clue about. Now a days society is not as private and prude as it once was and I think that the world changing I feel this type of class and learning needs to be updated and learned as well. On the other hand me personally I really do not want to talk about it. I do understand that it is natural and that it is a gift of life and to reproduce, but unless it’s me and my own I really do not want to hear about someone else’s time of the month. Yeah little comments here and there like ugh I have bad cramps today, is really all we girls ever say or talk about. So Sam talking about in depth the last class was just a little odd for me, he talked about way more then I have ever, and I’m a girl! Anyway changing the subject matter a little bit with the girl’s last comment, if guys had periods would tampons be free? I asked my room mate what she thought and she said they would not be, she stated “they do not give out free condoms so why would they give out free tampons?” That is when I started to think, yes they do give out free condoms all the time! It’s just one thing men have to buy and they do not even have to, they can get it for free. But think about all the things women NEED but have to pay a lot of money for bras, tampons, makeup etc…men might think that tampons are cheap but they are mistaken once small box or good ones are like twelve bucks. Anyway I do believe that tampons would be free if man had it to. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:40:59 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/if-men-could-menstruate__trashed/#IDComment63880083 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62793629 I feel that he brings up an interesting topic about class the other day. I too felt the same way as he did. I was sitting there reading all the comments on the screen and yes many of the white people answered the questions correctly or at least tried to explain in their own words what it was like to be “white”. Many of the white students said that they did not know that they were just born with that skin color, others answered they feel that they might have an advantage in life. They answered the question like any other person would. Yes one white person out of seven hundred and twenty students in the class answered it badly and said something about black girls that were not right at all, mainly it was just very rude, and it’s unfortunate that it was said. And yes Sam stopped and pointed that out and said not to do that and say things you would not say out loud which is true. However when the same questions was asked towards colored people about what do you think it means to be white, many of the colored people I feel did not take it seriously. Many of them defiantly made very rude comments about white people how we are rich spoiled snobs. I was thinking to myself I know a colored person probably would never come up to me and say that to my face, so why didn’t Sam comment on that remark? Yes I do agree rudeness is on both sides and I feel that the way it was handled in class the other day made it seem otherwise. I also feel that the colored people were really not trying to answer the question. Maybe if they had tried to answer more clearly then white and colored people could start to understand each other a bit more then we do now. Isn’t this why everyone is taking this race and relations class for? I must say I enjoy this class a lot and I like learning new things about race that I have never thought out before. But it upsets me when people do not take it seriously and write those horrible comments on the text screen, things like doing stuff to Sam’s wife and making fun of people. It’s rude and distracting, Sam is trying to the make the class fun and interesting and those people writing the rude comments need to stop spoiling it for the rest of us. Because I have a feeling that if this rude nonsense keeps continuing Sam is going to have to take it away and their goes a fun thing to so in class and to learn. So please if anyone reads this lets actually answer the questions instead of making a joke out of them!? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:15:48 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/does-this-rudeness-thing-cut-both-ways__trashed/#IDComment62793629 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment61739906 First off I find this article extremely hilarious just because it is set in the state of Mississippi. My whole family lives down there in Mississippi and its so true, those people are so set in their ways that when something like this even happens they just don’t know what to do. What her teacher said was true when she said, “look where you’re from.” It’s such a shame through to deny her the right to bring her girlfriend to prom. America is more open with gay’s now and I feel it should be allowed. We don’t choose who we fall in love with, it just happens. Also another thing that really got me pissed off was that the school saying that she couldn’t wear a tuxedo to her prom. It’s a free country the girl can wear what ever she wants! What are they going to say next that the girls can’s wear red dresses?! I do feel really bad for her though, because of her prom is cancelled. Why is the school putting so much blame on her? It’s just not fair at all. She says all the kids hate her because of prom being canceled, instead of them hating her why don’t her fellow friends and students help her out. Sign petitions; rally the people, anything to get their prom back on. One thing that I am happy about is how her parents are taking everything. The girl’s parents are right behind her, they love their daughter and they are standing up for her, which I love. It’s their daughter no matter what or whom she is dating. The school district needs to open their eyes, I am sure she is not the only person who is gay. But it looks like she is the only person who is brave enough to come out and try to make things right. I still cannot believe this article, it really upsets me to see someone so young and so brave who is just trying to be herself and getting in trouble for it. I could not imagine how bad she feels that their prom is canceled all because of her. If anything do not punish the other students because of her. If anything they should still have prom and she just wouldn’t go, why is the school trying to put all the blame on this one girl. Maybe there is more to it then her trying to bring her girlfriend; maybe it has to do with not enough money or funds. Seeing that this has happened in other schools and they just made them not attend, there is defiantly something fishy going on here with this Mississippi school district. I’m sure this whole thing is not just about her and her girlfriend attending prom. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:07:23 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/03/prom-or-no-prom-just-dont-let-the-queer-students-dance-together__trashed/#IDComment61739906 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59268479 First off I am a white person and have never been to a theme party where it was geared towards making fun of black people. I am very surprised and actually kind of upset that someone would ever think that, this girl obviously has never been to a themed party. I have been to themed parties where the theme was ugly sweaters, golf pros and tennis hoes or even just as simple as tie-dye. The point of a theme party is just to get dressed up in something you would never actually wear to a normal party. Its fun to go out shopping with your friends and buy just ridicules clothing and be creative with your friends and your outfits. Also most of the theme parties are geared towards holidays. For example saint patty’s day, when everyone drinks and lets their Irish side out and wears green and has four leaf covers on them. I really doubt that we are offending anyone whom is Irish, if anything the Irish are the ones that are dressing up and having a good time with their friends. I have seen that most of the other comments people made about this question, they brought up the Jersey Shore theme. Yes, I can see that it might offend some people but all in all it’s just for fun. I am from New Jersey and I am not offended in the slightest. I think it is fun, I do not feel offended that when people try imitate the characters they are imitating New Jersey, I know I am not that way so what does it matter to me? Plus these characters on the Jersey Shore know how they are and they know how they look. Having people want to imitate them and dress like them in actually more flattery then making fun of. When people find out that I am from New Jersey they get all excited and ask me questions about it, I think its fun and I actually like explaining that not all of Jersey is like that! Ha ha I guess you can say people learn new things at parties as well. Anyway going back to my point before, I feel that theme parties are never EVER trying to discriminate against race. I think this girl should actually go to a theme party before she starts making assumptions about them. Also not only white people have theme parties, I have some black and Asian friends whom throw and attend themed parties. Also I have been to many themed parties where there are many other races all dressed up in the theme and having a great time. It just hurts to know that some people just can’t have some fun in college and life and have to make a big deal over something so small and simple. Themed parties! Mon, 1 Mar 2010 23:30:09 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/whats-with-the-theme-parties__trashed/#IDComment59268479 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/the-xxx-bible-who-wouldve-thought__trashed/#IDComment58244223 This article really had my mind going while reading it. I guess because I was in Catholic School for most of my life, I never thought things about religion for myself. All thought my childhood going to church and CCD I never questioned anything against the Bible. And know being an adult in college who is not really into religion, this topic has never really crossed my mind; until now. First off I never even thought about the whole Adam and Eve thing. They are right its complete incest, you have Adam and Eve for have children, but them where do we go from there? They must be reproducing with each other to create more life. I guess when my CCD teacher said that “we are all brothers and sisters” she wasn’t really lying ha ha. Anyway getting back to the article, I knew that over the years the Bible has been censored but I never though this much! It ridicules how prude some religions can be. Sex plays a big part in life and I don’t see why it must all be censored out. Last semester I took an other cultures mythology class (which by the way was great) we read stories from all parts of the world, Africa, India, Middle East. Once again all of the stories were mainly about sex. It didn’t seem to bother anyone in the class and the professor even warned us that sex and human private parts played a big role in all the cultures. Yet you do not see them taking or censoring out those parts. One story even went into great detail about how sex is the only thing that keeps a marriage/ relationship together. You would never ever read that in the Bible, even though it is not a bad thing at all! But yes not all the stories in the Bible are clean cut like the CCD teachers want you to think. I do agree that most of the events in the Bible are very risky. There is a lot of rape, killing, sex etc. in the Bible, but those were events that have happened, why would or more importantly who gives anyone the right to change or leave out these events! I think it should be read how it was written; no one should change someone’s work. The opening to this article really sparked my curiosity, I have never heard of God taking the bone from Adam’s penis and making him a woman. Then it is later changed or translated as his rib. This doesn’t even make sense, if it was from his rib, wouldn’t men have one less rib bone then women? Yet I can see that things from the book could possible get mistranslated but when it most always involves something along the lines or sex and body parts, one has to start wondering if that mistranslation was truly meant to happen. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:21:39 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/the-xxx-bible-who-wouldve-thought__trashed/#IDComment58244223 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57007646 First off I want to just say that I think is the one of the funniest articles I have ever read before. A man actually built this robot women and other men are actually trying to but one! What is wrong with our world today? Where is the commitment and intimacy? Has our world really gotten that bad? I do understand that the world of dating has become harder over the years, new technology, women becoming stronger in the work field and a bad economy, but really a giant talking women sex toy!? However as insane as this robot is, I have to give the man credit for creating something like that. A robot that can actually comprehend and hold a conversation, that that’s a lot of skill to pull that off in a robot. But think about how smart the man had to be to build, if only he put his brain to a better use then a giant sex toy, who knows what he could have built to better the world. I do agree men and women obviously have different intimacy needs. They said that mostly men are ordering this robot, and they are going to create a male version of it, which is all fine and fair, but women need companionship and love, we can’t get that from a fake robot. Somehow though man can, this is very sad in my book. Also in the article talk show hosts make joked about how it’s really cool that this robot can hold a conversation, yet there’s and off switch when your done. I don’t find this joke very funny because it’s masking an awful truth. Men really don’t listen to women and they do not want to connect with them on that level. Now I’m not saying this about every guy out there, but I’m pointing out the obvious that men and women are very truly different. That saying that men are more about the physical and women are more about the mental is not a myth at all. I feel we need to suppress this kind of industry because it gives the guys a wrong image about women. When they watch their videos and have sex dolls they can sometimes get confused on what is real and what is purely fantasy. No woman wants to be compared or even try to live up to the standards of women in the adult entertainment. Therefore when men meet women who are clearly different then what they watch, it is hard for them to switch their mind set. The media has so much to play in this, everything is sex related, from TV shows, and movies even magazine ads have underlying sexual content. It is just horrible, and look what this world has come to because of all of this, a life size, full conversation, real skin like adult sex toy robot. This is truly funny and very sick at the same time. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:01:32 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/men-and-women-were-really-this-different__trashed/#IDComment57007646 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56521350 I have never really thought about this issue until this blog was posted. It guess it is very true that when it comes to talking about people and race it does always come down to black and white. But the true question is why? To me I feel that it was the way we Americans were brought up. Think about it, when we are in class we learn about whites and black only, I do not think in my school career I have learned or went into depth about other nations or cultures (until I came to college). I blame the school systems for not doing there job in informing kids about other races other then black and white. However, being a film major I do feel that the biggest thing to blame about there only being black and white is the media, movies and television. Think about it, have you ever seen a black person on Full House? Have you ever really seen a white person on Family Matters? Not likely, the media shows that line between black and white. Not until recently has the media started to integrate blacks and whites together. Also just recently have they given TV shows to other nationalities like Hispanic or Asian. But going back to just black or white shows, I feel that is where children see the difference. They learn from those shows, me watching Full House as a kid, I could relate to it. I never watched shows like Family Matters because I could not connect with the characters. Because I could not connect with them, right there is started the separation from a young age. Also movies play a huge part in black and white. Most classic Hollywood movies only star white people. Think about all the other black and white movies, they were only beautiful white movie stars, if there were a black person on it he or she was mostly a maid in the background. However, just recently blacks have been coming out with movies or there own, like the Tyler Perry comedies. I am so glad through that Hollywood is realizing that mixing the two races in films is a great idea, more people will go, knowing that they can at least relate with one character in the film. However, I do not agree with some of the roles that they give to black or other races. Like the classic token black character or the lazy Spanish person. Its just feeding into the crazy stereotypes that are not true at all. But, I guess I cant get too mad at the directors, because they actors know what they are getting into and they know that in that particular film they will in fact be the token black guy. I would just like to see more mixed races in films, not just black and white, I feel that bringing new and worldlier characters into films will open the eyes of the audience and teach them not everything is just black and white. Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:47:35 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/why-is-the-conversation-always-about-black-and-white-people__trashed/#IDComment56521350 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55225250 I am going to write this blog about the Avatar movie and yes just like Sam I have not watched the movie, and here is why. I am a film major here at Penn State and I am very much interested in movies. Normally I give every movie a shot, but for some reason James Cameron’s Avatar I will just not take the time to see. It makes me so fustarted that just because he has a big well known Hollywood name he can be so un-creative in his plot. Yes the special effects and new way of CGI is awesome and I give him credit for that, the story is the same old same old. It’s the story of Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas and Fern gully. Where a whit invader whether good or bad comes into another world and messes things up. They lie; they cheat and trick the natives. I do agree with Brooks that yes this is just another white messiah fable. It gets boring after while the only thing that makes this movie is that they are really cool aliens that have a neat CGI world. The story has been done way too many times before. Being a film major this makes me mad because I know that there are a lot of creative young screen writers out there that have great new and never been done before ideas. But just because they do not have a big name right now, their stuff and ideas get shot down. Also I am so sick of story plots that has us Americans look like assholes. Going into another world or taking over another land that is not ours and ruining everything. Brooks is dead on right when she says its nothing but a white messiah fable that doesn’t not need to be explained to people, because we have all seen it a hundred times before, whether the concept is in out movies, books and real life history. I also hate how the main character is a United States Marine. It just shows that some decisions the government makes are just ridicules. I also do not understand why the main character needs to fall in love with a native girl. It just adds more nonsense to the film and once again makes it a film that everyone has seen. He falls in love with her, his cover gets blown she gets mad, and we have all seen this before. Where is the creativity? Is there any left? Is there any hope for originality in films now-a-days? I really hope that the public starts to see through all the special effects that lure them in and start to want and need better plots and stories. The only way we will ever get that creativity back is if we stop seeing the same movies over and over again and start branching out and watching the films that are of unknown names. Believe me once you watch some independent film like in the Sundance festivals you’ll never go back to the boring high budget Hollywood movies again. Wed, 3 Feb 2010 19:49:27 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/02/avatar-and-the-white-mans-burden__trashed/#IDComment55225250 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment54004553 I find this article to be a) very funny and b) very confusing at the same time. It’s amazing where people’s minds go when they are unfamiliar with a certain culture or religion. I have to admit I am not Jewish and have no clue what a tefillin is, I had to do a Google image search to find out. I can see where people would get concerned by the man’s attire. If I saw someone wearing that on the street, I totally would look twice, but the thing I would not do is ask questions as to what it is. As I type that I wonder to myself why would I not stop and ask, I can not do any harm to find out more about another culture or religion. This is why so many people over react when things like this incident occur. They actually landed the plane early because a man was wearing something strange and praying. Maybe he was scared of flying and praying was his comfort. There is no rule that you can not pray or wear what you want, he was not hurting anyone. I also ask myself, how did he get though security then? Airport security is so high strung now-a-days why didn’t they stop him if they found him shady. We as Americans need to open our eyes to new things. If we actually tried to learn all the many cultures and religions that exist today in America, all these pointless incidents would disappear because for once we would all be able to understand each other! The part that I do not understand though, is why the other Jewish people being interviewed were very understanding about the whole situation. I feel like they should have been upset at the matter, he wasn’t doing anything wrong, his religious attire and prayer set off this situation. If that were my religion and I got interviewed I would have said something like “If people actually tried to learn my religion then everyone would know that the person was not a threat”. But I am not going to lie here, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite, because I myself have no clue what he was wearing. I myself must open my eyes and try to branch out in my thoughts as well. That is why I love Soc 119, I feel like just in these short few weeks I have learned more about others. How many differences are in America and how much I did not know, or even really care. But this class has opened my eyes and I know that by the end of this semester I will have the knowledge I never thought I would. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:18:38 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/i-guess-it-pays-to-learn-a-bit-about-other-people__trashed/#IDComment54004553 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-s__trashed/#IDComment53866542 Hello!! Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:32:40 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/last-name-begins-with-s__trashed/#IDComment53866542 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment53442238 I agree with the article. Seeing the disaster on TV is just too much to bear. They are suffering and I feel we are not doing much about it. Yes mother nature takes its course and this is just a freak thing but in my mind I feel we have to do more about it. I am not a very religious person (yes I think there is a higher being up there) but I do not follow it as some people do. When I see disasters and there after affect I do start to look at my life differently. I see how good I have it, I have food, fresh clean water to drink and family that are still with me and love me. We as America a very strong and rich nation should support this disaster more. We have the recourses so why are we not doing more. That is why I really liked when Sam Richards collected money from the class to help the suffering people. I personally did not know of a way to help, but going to class that day made me feel so much better about myself that I donated money for a healthy cause. However I do not agree with her statement about how we may be in the presence of another crucifixion. To me that is just plain silly. Like I said before I am not a religious person but I think that is stretching the issue way too far. And I do believe that Jesus did die for us. But then her statement about how seeing this suffering may pull her from her sins is a very well though out comment which I like. Seeing how good I have it and seeing the horror in the world around us makes me want to succeed in life and not to mess up the opportunity that I am fortunate to have. I do not sin as much (never really did too much that was bad) but now reading this article I see my life in a new light. I see that I have it made easy and good and now I really want to do more to give back to the people less fortunate then me. Maybe I will start to volunteer more and help out more in my community. Knowing how I felt just giving that little bit out money to the disaster cause in Soc 119 the other day makes me want to do so much more. I hate when people say that they are just one person, and that they can not do anything. To me all I hear is blah blah blah. I know that one person has a huge affect on the world and I hope this message helps inspire people to go out and help someone in need, you’ll be surprised at how good you’ll feel about yourself in the end. Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:54:02 +0000 https://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/01/haitis-calamity__trashed/#IDComment53442238