en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2397412 Comments by ThatsTotallyTFM http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment145280958 Media is usually ninety-nine percent of the reason people believe things that are not true. Americans are terrified because the only facts they get are from what the media tells us. No one really knows what Jihad is, besides a “holy war”. So to the majority of Americans, they think that Jihad is a holy war against people of other religions, but in actuality, it is a holy war with oneself. I only know this because of the World in Conversation talk that I participated in earlier this semester. I was like every other American. We are afraid of things we don’t understand. At this point in my life, I realized that it’s pointless to worry about things I can’t change. There is always going to be war. Someone is always going to disagree with someone else. Instead of focusing on all the ways to either avoid conflict or resolve it by taking out the entire human species, we need to focus on how to live with it. Do I believe that the United States and the Middle East will ever be at peace? Absolutely not. I do however believe that we can find a happy medium where everyone wins, or as Charlie Sheen would say, everyone is “winning.” Empathy allows us to understand why other people hate us. We should use it to our advantage. To be empathetic is to understand the world around us. Americans are terrified because they don’t know any better. Who can blame us? As an educated society, we are less than stellar with our knowledge. We all need to take a step back and look at things from a third party perspective. The video makes us Americans scared out of our minds because of our lack of knowledge on the subject. But why would we know about Jihad? I don’t really think the blame can be placed on any group of people in particular. I think the blame should be placed on ignorance, and as a society, we should strive to end it. If ignorance is bliss, I don’t want to be blissfully happy. Sat, 23 Apr 2011 03:13:23 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment145280958 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment142712807 This article brings up many social issues that a lot of people deal with daily. We have been talking about empathy in class lately, and I think this is a perfect example of where we need it. No one that reads this article will really feel like Mr. Devoureau did in this situation. This is a very sticky situation though. I understand that some jobs need to be done by a certain gender. When entering concert arenas, females pat other females down, while other men pat men down. These aren’t meant to cause problems. In fact, these rules and regulations are put into affect to keep the discomfort for the general public to a minimum. The situation gets sticky when we have to take into account the feelings of Mr. Devoureau who is technically a female, but had surgery and identifies as a male. Not only must we look at his feelings, but we also must take into account the general public. As a company, you are always looking out for your customer’s best interest. This puts the employer in a horrible situation. What would you do in this situation? As the employer, you would have to take many things into consideration including the employee’s perspective/emotions as well as the general publics view on this issue as well as their individual feelings. If employing this man were going to cause you to lose business, then your natural response would be to not employ him. This however, would be considered discrimination. As the employer, you must find a solution. You can only do this if you embrace empathy and look at each side of the situation. I can only imagine how horrible the discrimination would be towards me if I were a transgender. There isn’t going to be a simple solution until people finally accept the fact that transgender people exist. We have read articles about five genders, but until the world opens up to the idea, and it becomes a “social norm” there is going to be discrimination towards people like Mr. Devoureau. It will be a long and grueling road, but people need to stand up for themselves. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:27:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment142712807 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/03/women-and-war/#IDComment140853020 When I hear a war survivor telling their story, I take a moment to thank God that I was born into a life that didn’t have to go through that. I don’t really think any of us could understand what war is like, unless we lived through it. That aside, I can’t help but compare this woman’s ideas to that of a perfect marriage. If you think about it, marriage is a smaller scaled war. (If you look at marriage on the negative side, but nonetheless.) Perhaps I mean divorce more than marriage, but regardless, they can be compared to war negotiation. In this case, I am comparing a marriage to one side of the peace negotiation table, meaning, a single country or alliance. This talk brings up the idea that during war, most countries are at war with themselves, and don’t even know it. To make a marriage work, both people have to negotiate. It has to be even, or a settlement will never be made. Think about it. If you and your partner come up with a plan to fix things in your relationship, but only your partner comes up with the ideas, you are going to end up still being unsatisfied and find yourself back at the drawing table. That’s how peace negotiations are. Without the presence of women, the other side of war, the negotiations are empty and will harvest useless results. We can’t expect things to get better, if the people sustaining life throughout the war aren’t involved in the progress to peace. If you think about it, it makes sense. The problem is, who is actually going to take this idea and run with it? This ties into what we’ve been talking about in class with the budget cuts. Everyone has ideas that would make the situation better, but no one wants to stand up and take it to the next level. I can’t imagine any person that is involved in the peace negotiations welcoming the idea of adding women and the other side of the war for the talking table. Perhaps we could get one woman a seat, but that wouldn’t do much of anything. The negotiators could just drown out the single woman. We would need 50/50. Much like a marriage, if both parties don’t meet in the middle, there is no resolution. Thu, 7 Apr 2011 23:23:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/03/women-and-war/#IDComment140853020 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139202754 Apathy is something that I have started to embrace. We all face it, and sometimes it’s just better to let it take control. The country has taken apathy under its wing and given it full control. It may not necessarily be a bad thing though. It may be a healthier root for America. I am fully aware of the bribery that happens on a daily basis but I am also aware that I really can’t do anything to change it. I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to not worry about the things that don’t matter, and not much matters. I’m not saying I don’t care about what happens in this country, I’m just saying that nothing I do or say is going to change the people in charges’ opinion. Putting time and energy into something that I know will not change anything is really depressing. I can’t bring myself to put my heart into something that I know won’t matter. I think that’s how most people in this country are. If everyone’s mindset is anywhere near mine, its no wonder that no one is doing anything. It’s pretty upsetting to think about. Not everyone knows what’s going on, but it doesn’t even really matter. To be honest, I’d rather not know. That way, I don’t have to worry at all about things I can’t change. It’s like worrying about the weather. No one can change if it’s going to rain or snow so why worry about it? All worrying does is make your blood pressure go up and cause anxiety. The more you relax; your life seems to go so much smoother. Again, I’d like to stress that I’m not saying I don’t care about what happens; I’m just saying that I understand that I am helpless and accept my position in society. Sam’s lectures were very insightful, I just can’t seem to bring myself to care. I’m sure there were many students who didn’t know this type of thing was happening in our country, so his lecture was probably very eye opening. But as I said, Apathy has taken over. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 21:33:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment139202754 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/23/managing-crowds/#IDComment137386157 Controlling crowds is a sticky terrain. It is “well known” that in a state of emergency, people panic and cause chaos. People in power always try to keep the general public away from a panic when emergencies creep up on us. People are really just semi-smarter sheep and look for someone to heard them. In a crisis, people follow what they are told for the most part. Chaos happens when a free thinker stands up and points out the flaws in the plan and wins over the crowd. The trick is to convince the sheep that your idea is the better idea. That is usually the hardest part. An example is in the movie “ The Day After Tomorrow”. The people that got caught in the tsunami and then blizzard were all following the police’s ideas. The main characters son tries to tell the crowd that if they go outside they will freeze to death. His idea is not convincing though as most of the people believe the police officer that says they need to move. They later find the crowd frozen to death outside. Managing crowds is a life or death situation all the time. It’s much like running a government. Every decision that is made isn’t going to help every single person but is in the best interest of the majority, or it is supposed to at least. It is nearly impossible to plan for an emergency. I feel that if individuals made their own decisions during a state of emergency, things would flow so much smoother. The problem is most people are freeloaders, so it wouldn’t really be possible. To get people to follow your idea, you must prove that you know what you’re talking about and that you are looking out for their best interest. Once you plant an idea in people’s heads, it grows like a disease and they believe it 100%. That’s when chaos could take over. Managing a crowd is really impossible. Even at events like warped tour when everyone is there for the same reason, things get out of hand and people get hurt. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:41:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/23/managing-crowds/#IDComment137386157 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment135620787 This guy’s biggest problem is that he is trying way too hard. Every time someone tries to seem like they are something they not, they just end up pointing out how much they aren’t that. This guy is clearly a super awkward white guy and his attitude in the video proves just that. It’s like when someone that can’t dance tries to get low on the dance floor. More often than not, they end up looking like a total ass because they are trying so hard to bust a move. I remember in High School my one friend was gay, and everyone knew he was gay, but he refused to admit he was. The harder he tried to act like he was straight, the easier it was to tell he was gay. I’m not saying that you can act “white”, but I’m saying if you embrace who you are, it makes life so much less awkward for you, and everyone else. If this guy had talked about the features without trying to be chill and funny, he most likely wouldn’t have looked like a total white guy that everyone laughs at. My first reaction was questioning what the hell he needed to carry a gun for. He looks like someone that doesn’t even know how to hold a gun, let alone need it to be concealed and in a convenient location. To be quite honest, I’m still not convinced he does carry a gun. They way he handles himself and the gun makes me believe that he is just trying to act like he knows exactly what he is doing. The only thing the video does is undoubtedly show how unbelievably white this dude is. He gets nothing accomplished besides making an extremely awkward video that proves his whiteness. The biggest problem is that he tries to be funny, but says really awkward things like “who looks at your zipper?” The awkward level would have been much lower if he had used the word “crotch” or something along those lines. I don’t know many people that go around saying “zipper” referring to someone’s crotch. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:39:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment135620787 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment134265581 The seasons are most definitely part of the invisible strings that we discuss. People’s moods, eating habits, and sleeping patterns change with the seasons. Regardless of if they want them to. I know personally, when winter rolls around I instantly become negative. No matter how hard I try, everything just seems to weigh so much more on my shoulders and all I want to do is sleep. Simple tasks like getting out of bed seem to be a burden. A lot of people seem to suffer from seasonal depression. There are so many songs written about people “lasting” through the winter and the talk of feeling so down. This leads me to believe that the affect of sunlight on people is not just a personal matter, but also more of an invisible strings idea. Much like how swearing is seen across cultures, seasonal depression is also seen across cultures. I am honestly amazed that that many people live in places where the winter is that harsh when it comes to sunlight. I know how much I am affected and I see way more sunlight than they do. I can only imagine how hard the winter hits the people of Helsinki. I wonder how these people would react if they moved to somewhere, like Florida, if their entire lifestyle would change. I know that if I moved out of western Pennsylvania to somewhere that had a shorter winter and more sun, I would be able to function so much easier. It’s interesting that one thing can change our entire lifestyles and sleeping patterns. Bayside has a lyric along the lines of “If the sun don’t shine tomorrow, we’ll survive” Although we may not physically die, the lack of sunlight really kills a person’s spirit. A man in the video said that you don’t notice the affects of the lamps until you don’t use them. It exemplifies the idea that the strings that cause us to act certain ways are invisible and sometimes hard to identify. The sun is one string that they have become aware of, and are taking steps to make life easier. Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:27:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment134265581 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/rethinking-education/#IDComment130178825 As a student who has been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 20, I completely agree with this video. It is so ridiculously easy to get prescribed Concerta or Adderall. As someone who has taken Concerta for a year, I can say that it completely strips you of the person you are. I haven’t taken it in over a year (I’m now 22) because of the horrible side effects. The video says that the medicine we are given for ADHD makes us lose our creativity and I completely agree. When I was taking my medicine I was the most mundane person in the world. It makes you loose interest in absolutely everything. Our educational system seems to be out to do the exact opposite of what it’s meant to do. I know for me personally, I was much better at retaining information when I was younger and had more of an imagination. Now I feel like I can only see things black and white, right or wrong, and nothing in between. We are bread to be narrow-minded and think in the box. When we try to think outside the box we are told that’s the wrong way to think and are forced into medication. The people that are changing the world and thinking outside of the box are usually the college dropouts. They realize that they need to stop wasting their time with classes and ideas that are just holding them back. We should all look to them for inspiration. I once saw an ad for Apple and it was talking about how they embrace the “misfits” and applaud their ideas. This could be a reason as to why Apple’s technology is soaring. Regardless, our education system is completely corrupt. How can anyone expect us to be innovative if they shove conformity down our throats for 12+ years? By the time we graduate college or even high school our creativity is basically gone. All we can do is what we’re told. It’s almost like we are being brainwashed by our professors and teachers. I just can’t see innovation moving forward with our education system regressing. Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:55:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/rethinking-education/#IDComment130178825 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/13/whats-the-sociological-message-here/#IDComment128748520 This song is hilarious. Besides it’s hilarity, it is so true. People demonstrate the song’s ideas almost daily. People break up, people move on. Almost all of us have been in a relationship and said things like “I can’t live without you” to our significant other. Funny thing is, most of us have broken up with said person, and we’re still alive. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in love but I don’t believe that that one person is “meant” for me and that I won’t be able to go on without them. Relationships are meant to end. People aren’t made to be our soul mates; they are here to help us along our journey. I do however believe that social pressures and expectations tend to shorten the length of most of our relationships. Our expectations of how things should be are so high; we make it nearly impossible to stay happy with one person. I’m not saying that people don’t care for each other in relationships, because that’s not true. After relationships end, most people tend to go back and forth between missing and hating the person. A huge part of the “love” we feel is us growing closer to the person due to seeing them all the time; not because we will cease to exist without them. Hooking up for at least six months seems to ensue. It’s not because we “can’t live without” them. It’s more because it’s a familiar setting. People get married, people get divorced, and people get remarried. This song exemplifies these ideas that maybe we aren’t made for one specific person. Rather, every relationship we have shapes us to be the person we are. If we hadn’t come to Penn State, we wouldn’t have met the people in our class. We would however have gone to a different university, and met different people in our classes there who would potentially be our “soul mates”. In the song he talks about how if something had been different earlier in his life then he would be living a life tangent to his current one. Meaning that he would be in love with a different person, but still be happy. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:10:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/13/whats-the-sociological-message-here/#IDComment128748520 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/06/empathy-might-be-our-natural-drive/#IDComment127171090 I’ve always considered myself more of an apathetic than empathic person. I think that society has made me this way. I’ve found that it’s much easier to just accept things the way they are and move on than to question and push for improvement. Relient K says it best with their song “Forget and not Slow Down”. It wasn’t until I watched this video that I realized how ridiculous the idea of apathy is. If no one cares about anything, how will be progress? I think that everyone needs to watch this video. It really puts our lives into perspective. I usually try not to think of mortality or why we fight wars. I’ve just accepted the fact that there are different people and they are always going to be fighting. After watching this video, I start asking myself “why?” about just about everything that’s going on in the world. We empathize with people of our own kind, but aren’t we all the same in the end? Gender, race, sexuality, weight, height, and religion aside, we are all human. We share the same traits and all got to be on this Earth the same way. Technology has brought us closer than ever, but has also pushed us away from an empathic society. We no longer have to sit down and talk to someone to know who they are. Thanks to the Internet and sites like Facebook, we can gather as much information we need about someone without actually meeting them. This allows people to jump to conclusions about other people, which causes a lot of unneeded strife. As long as judgment can be made so quickly, it is nearly impossible to step towards a complete empathetic society. In the end, we are our worst enemies. I think this video is the first step in making people realize that we are all the same and there is no reason to hate each other. However, the issue is getting people to open up and to watch the video and truly accept the things this sociologist is pointing out. Until then, empathy will not progress. Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:16:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/06/empathy-might-be-our-natural-drive/#IDComment127171090 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment125812631 You could argue that the people are confused about which way the elevator doors open due to some elevators opening on the opposite side you enter. This reasoning doesn’t cover the fact that the last man turned in many directions and followed the peoples every move much like Simon Says. The first man casually turns around because he doesn’t want to bring attention to the fact that he is currently different. This video is demonstrating these invisible strings that we talk about in class. Something in us makes us want to be accepted and fit in. The people in the video are a good example of this need to fit in mentality. It is known that most people are drawn to like people that are like themselves. No one wants to be the person everyone assumes they won’t like because of how they dress, act, etc. This video shows how people will conform to society so they don’t stick out as an individual. It’s sad really. Most people spend their entire lifetime trying to blend in, when in reality you’re not really living up to your full potential if you’re constantly trying to hide who you are. Growing up everyone encourages us to be individuals but in the end it is nearly impossible to be. Most people want to be undetected and being an individual does the exact opposite. The saying “power in numbers” comes to mind when watching this video. The unsuspecting “victims” in the video most likely think its ridiculous to face the back of the elevator and would never do it on any given day. The only reason they turn to face the back is because there are at least three other people doing so and they don’t want to be the odd one out. Things like this happen everyday. I myself struggle with conformity, as I’m sure most people do. What makes us want to fit in so badly? Why do we do we feel so out of place and in the wrong if we are doing something the general public isn’t? These “victims” are socialization at it’s best. Fri, 4 Feb 2011 02:31:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment125812631 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/23/how-free-are-these-90-students/#IDComment124216536 How free are any of us? We just discussed in class that none of us are completely free. By the age of 10, we have so many possibilities weighing over us that we don’t even realize. Ultimately, everything we do is our “choice” but not 100% consciously. These girls that are pregnant have made the decision to become pregnant whether they knew it or not. Most of them were unaware of the invisible influences, but that doesn’t take the blame away from them. In a sense, we should have been better designed to be able to see these influences being accepted subconsciously. The levels of freedom differ from person to person. Sometimes you can be trapped by your own invisible strings and keep yourself in your own private hell. It isn’t until you snap out of it and realize what you’re doing that you become free. And even then, you’re still held back from complete freedom. The way we as people rationalize events in our lives is directly proportional to our amount of freedom. In a sense, these invisible strings act as a strong influence on our actions. You could view the string’s magnitude of something proportional to the amount of influence our parents have on us. Only problem with these strings is that most of us don’t know they exist. This inhibits us to be free. Clearly there is something no one has noticed in this high school’s environment that has influenced so many of these girls to become pregnant. Until someone opens their eyes and figures out the underlying issue, it is most likely that girls will continue to become pregnant. The longer it continues, the worse it will get because it will be much easier for girls to rationalize why they are getting pregnant. Some girls will go through that school without getting pregnant and it’s because they are freer. Freedom can’t be handed out or taught. It’s not something that’s black or white, right or wrong. It just is. Becoming free is a personal war each of us fight every day. It’s almost spiritual. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:22:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/23/how-free-are-these-90-students/#IDComment124216536 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/suicide-in-japan/#IDComment122380005 I feel inclined to tell you that you are not alone. There are thousands of people feeling completely hopeless just like you. Just because you feel like it’s the best solution for you and everyone involved, doesn’t mean it is. Please just try to take a step out of your own situation and look at it from an outsider’s perspective. If we’re being honest, that’s the only thing that saved me. Yes, I’ve been in your position before. It’s not an easy place to be. I understand that it’s not some switch that you can just turn on or off and be done with it. You didn’t get into this mindset in one day and you’re not going to get out of that fast. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that things will magically be better the minute you realize you don’t have to die to solve your problems, but I promise with time you will come to understand your life and feelings so much better. In your life right now, there is at least one person that would be completely torn apart if you were to follow through on your thoughts. Start with them. Talk to them. Build a relationship with them. There are so many things that have lead you to this feeling of desperation and there are so many ways to change it. Small steps into the right direction can do so much to help you understand that life is worth living. Desperation hits hard, and I completely understand. Just think about the big picture before you make your decision. Think about how you would feel if that one person you cared about more than anything were to just up and leave you. If you’re anything like me, you hate hurting people. Even though you may not be around to pay for your actions, you still can’t bear to think about hurting someone you care that much about. In the end, it is your decision. I can’t tell you how to live, or in this case not live your life. But I implore you to think about it from every angle before acting. This is one mistake that you will never be able to fix. You can get a second chance with fixing your life, but you can’t get a second chance once you commit this deed. Talking about it, is the only way it’s going to get better. Just remember you are not alone. Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:58:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/18/suicide-in-japan/#IDComment122380005 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cm%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120794302 Soc001 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:13:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cm%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment120794302