en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3574082 Comments by aak5218 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment227307100 I got caught smoking weed last year, and am still on probation and pay a $140 fine every month. For smoking a plant. Meanwhile, Sandusky has free reign to play with little boys. The head of the Penn State police department was told about the incidents, yet did nothing. So clearly smoking weed is a much more vicious crime than playing with little boys' buttholes. I also watched a show that said that Joe Paterno went over the heads of his superiors to keep football players out of trouble. It's pretty great that our football coach, who has always preached "success with honor", is able to avoid the entire chain of command and keep his players out of trouble for things that the rest of us pay heavy fines for. I guess that what I've learned from this whole scandal is to never trust authority, because there is always the possibility that said authority is covering for a grown man who likes to fuck little boys. We are Penn State, but I am not. Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:43:35 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment227307100 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment227307044 At times, State College feels like it's in a police state. Everywhere you turn, a cop car is driving past you. I read that 40 to 50 percent of the taxes in State College are used on the police force, and it's pretty apparent. My question is how did Sandusky get away with his heinous crimes for so long with such an amazing police force that seems to always catch kids drinking alcohol or smoking weed. Cops literally wait behind dumpsters looking for kids to stumble while they are walking home on the weekend. This gives these defenders of justice and order a reason to stop and search a person, even when the person hasn't done anything wrong. If they've been drinking, then it's a $500 fine that goes straight back into the police force salaries. It's a pretty clever scheme, and one that has worked at Penn State for a while. Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:43:25 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment227307044 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment227306957 I didn't learn anything new from this scandal; the news simply corroborated what I already knew about Penn State. It seems that a lot of higher ups in this situation simply looked away and turned the other cheek to the whole situation, which contrasts heavily with the atmosphere about other illegal activities on campus. Sandusky was raping little kids in a football locker room shower, and at least four grown men essentially did nothing to stop it. I also have a feeling that there is a lot that we don't know about the situation, and that a lot more people will come under fire in the coming months. This is incredible to me, considering the way Penn State and Centre County handle other legal matters. Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:43:10 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/15/voices-from-the-classroom-78/#IDComment227306957 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/03/voices-from-the-classroom-67/#IDComment217028346 For a protest movement to work in today’s age there must be a strong interest that sweeps the country. This is the key to a protest movement, having a cause that people feel strongly about and are willing to fight for. For example, the Occupy Wall Street protesters feel that those who are in the top one percent in wealth in the country own too much of the money in our country. This is a cause, something that people can get behind and support. Another necessary component of a protest movement is getting the message out about your cause. This is definitely easier in today’s society, considering the means of communication that exist in today’s society. The internet makes getting information out extremely simple; all you need to do is post a video on Youtube stating your beliefs with a good argument and millions of people have access to it. That’s not to say that your video will go viral, but there is always the chance. The internet also gives others the opportunity to respond to your videos with opinions of their own. You can communicate with other possible protesters in a way that people have never been able to. Another part of protesting that’s equally important is unity and solidarity amongst the protestors. This is the most integral piece of the puzzle; it is the glue that holds the protest together. If the Civil Rights Protestors in the 1960s had shown any cracks in their solidarity, there is no way that they would have been able to change history like they did. It took a concentrated effort on the parts of the protestors to make sure that the people that they were opposing knew they were united. The government and police might not be as willing to crack down on protestors if they know that the people who are standing behind them are willing to fight for them as well. Fellow protestors become more than strangers standing next to you; they become your allies in a fight for your beliefs. This is a powerful notion, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The government needs to know that people are not willing to just be stepped on and kicked around, and that they will fight back. If the people who are in charge know that people will stand together and fight for one another, it will keep them from using their powers in a way that is against the interest of the citizens. This is what our founding fathers intended when they enumerated our rights in the Bill of Rights. People need to stand together and make sure that the government is not intruding on our rights, and one of these ways is protesting. Fri, 4 Nov 2011 23:07:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/11/03/voices-from-the-classroom-67/#IDComment217028346 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/27/voices-from-the-classroom-58/#IDComment213146811 I don’t really have a feeling about the fact that whites will be the minority in the future. I think that Sam really wanted some white kid in the class to stand up and freak out about how scared they are, because Sam loves to try and show white people that they are stereotypically close minded as opposed to other races. Sam proposed the question in a way that made it a lot more loaded than it need to be, asking one student “how do you feel about the fact the whites will be the minority soon, scared?” I am definitely not afraid of the day that white people will be the minority in this country. For one thing, at this point, all of the races in the country will technically be minorities. To be a minority simply means that you aren’t the majority, or over 50% of the population. Sam made it sound as though whites will be the minority while a singular group is the majority. This obviously isn’t true; Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, African-Americans, and other groups will all be minority groups along with whites. If a white person is scared of this situation, then why is that person taking Sociology 119? The whole point of the class is to try and view race relations in an entirely new light and learn tolerance and acceptance. Maybe by this point in our nation’s history we will have overcome the socioeconomic inequality that exists between races, and the country will be more unified. If this is the case, then why would white people need to be scared? I think that white people are neurotic about maintaining their grip on the country; they think that if they give an inch of control to those who don’t possess any that they will take a mile. Actually, this has less to do with the fact that the elite groups in this country are white, and more to do with the fact that the group that controls society always has the eerie feeling that it will be snatched out of their hands one day. Also, people talk about white people in a way that makes it seem like there is one, singular group of white people. There are white people who descended from all over the world living in America. Most of these groups were persecuted at one point or another in history; German, Russian, Irish, and many other groups were all discriminated against at one point in our history. At the time, people didn’t think that these groups could rise up and become productive either. This is the same concept as the illegal immigrants who are coming to our country in today’s age. There is always a fear of a new immigrant coming to the country, and that fear is dispelled once those immigrants settle in the country and make a name. Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:30:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/27/voices-from-the-classroom-58/#IDComment213146811 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/02/voices-from-the-classrom/#IDComment210650146 I think that homosexual inequalities will definitely disappear before racial inequalities for a number of reasons. First and foremost, there has been racial inequality in this country for hundreds of years, dating back to when the country was first formed. Slaves had no rights, and were treated like property and animals. Even after Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, blacks were still treated in an extremely unjust manner. Voting rights weren’t granted to blacks until 1870, and during that time many were lynched or severely beaten with consent from the law. This obviously isn’t the same as homosexuals, who haven’t been discriminated in the same way at all. Racial segregation was legal until 1965, which is pretty unbelievable when you consider that the country was built on the foundation of equality and freedom. The only reason that segregation was even ended is because of the most famous civil rights movement in history. It’s interesting as well as unnerving to think how long segregation would have lasted without the efforts of civil rights leaders. Things haven’t even gotten that much better since that time, however. Even today, the gulf between white wealth and the wealth of other races is vast. My point is that racial issues are woven into the fabric of this country, and there doesn’t seem to be an endpoint in sight. The rights of homosexuals are more a recent development, and gay rights leaders have made a huge amount of progress in a relatively short time when compared to the efforts of racial rights leaders. While society seems to be getting more progressive about race, the statistics don’t lie; racial inequality remains. This differs from homosexual inequality. I think that the prominent difference between racial inequality and homosexual inequality is that homosexuals can hide their sexual preferences. Unless they are open and talkative about it, people would never know unless they were told. I think that many homosexuals are afraid that they will be ridiculed for their preference until they are sure that someone will not judge them. Once they are sure of this, many are very outgoing and ready to discuss. This is different from race relations, which are generally seen as awkward to talk about even between two friends of different races. Obviously, people cannot hide their skin color, though many have tried. There is also the fact that being afraid or apprehensive of people who look different than we do is genetically hardwired into our systems. When we first emerged as a species, there was a large likelihood that a person who didn’t look like you was your enemy. With this thought process buried deep within our subconscious, it’s hard to just dig it out entirely. Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:04:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/02/voices-from-the-classrom/#IDComment210650146 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/13/voices-from-the-classroom-44/#IDComment207607090 There are a lot of times that I feel what is referred to as “white guilt”, when whites look at their disproportionate advantages over other races as an issue. From elementary school through high school, my classes were filled with black people who were at a much lower socioeconomic level than my family. These kids came from the less fortunate neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, and some of the kids had serious problems with money. When I was younger, I didn’t give it much thought, and most of my friends were black. However, in middle school my thought processes became more mature, and it was harder to simply ignore the major disparity. This is also the first time that I remember really noticing and feeling white. In high school, the issue was known to the point of redundancy. The black community was obviously poorer, and there were a lot more issues like fights involving black students as well. High school freshmen come in to my school knowing that a fight could break out at any second; once there was even a full on riot involving the police because kids from rival neighborhoods snuck into the school and brawled. I had always thought about the reasons behind this type of behavior, and I now know a lot more about the reasons that black people struggle more than whites in America. While I always knew that whites were at an advantage, I wasn’t aware how much so. Now, whenever I am home and drive through some of the impoverished neighborhoods, I too feel a sense of guilt and responsibility. My friend lives in Point Breeze, a relatively wealthy neighborhood, which is directly adjacent to Homewood, one of the most poverty stricken areas in Pittsburgh. In a two minute drive, you go from a neighborhood that features parks and historical houses to a neighborhood that features overgrown weeds and crime. There are barely any businesses in Homewood; they all went dry along with the funds of the residents. The houses are run-down and the cars are rusted, everything and everyone is lacking. The other neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that are majority black are the same way, and it makes me wonder how a group of people can just be so obviously tossed to the wayside. This is when I feel white guilt. I know that there is nothing that I have done personally to cause this, but I still feel bad. I know that I was born into a very fortunate situation, and that it could have easily been me who was born into poverty. There is one way to alleviate white guilt, however. I plan on coming back to Pittsburgh when I’m older and have more of an ability to make changes happen. This is what I’m working towards, and that will help with the guilt for now. Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:03:06 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/10/13/voices-from-the-classroom-44/#IDComment207607090 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-23/#IDComment201110598 I absolutely believe that race can affect the amount of illicit drugs that a person uses, as well as the types of different drugs that a person is willing to experiment with. Take weed for example; most of the people that you hear about smoking marijuana are white, black, or Latino/Hispanic. The first people to bring marijuana into the country and be known for smoking it were Mexicans who brought it across the California border in the early 20th century. The habit then spread to African-American jazz musicians, who used it because it helped with the creative aspect of their improvisational musical style. This is the early source of marijuana use by Latinos and blacks, and it soon spread to whites. I know for a fact that my grandfather, who was born in 1930 and lived in California during the 1950s and 1960s, used to buy and smoke ounces of weed at a time. Hippies in the 1960s and 1970s, who were mostly white, used weed to spread their message of “love and peace.” This “drug” habit naturally spread to the kids of former hippies who learned about their parents past, validating their own weed use. Nowadays, I would say that most of the black and white people I know smoke weed, while a lot of the Asians and Indians do not. This can mostly be attributed to the history of how weed infiltrated this country. Other, more harmful drugs are also more prevalent in certain races, such as crack cocaine in the African-American community. While powdered cocaine is prevalent in a lot of different races, crack cocaine is more common in the African-American community. This can be attributed to the “crack epidemic” in the inner-cities of New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Detroit in the 1980s. Because most inner-city residents are black, there is a much higher likelihood of a crack smoker being black than white. Whites are also heavy users of cocaine, however. Many affluent communities have coke problems because of the availability of the drug and the financial freedom of the users. Coke is also frequently present in fraternities, which tend to consist of mostly white members. Whites also tend to use hallucinogens such as mushrooms and LSD more than blacks, and have higher rates of Ecstasy and pill use as well. It’s a simple fact that all types of people in the world have drug problems, and while race may influence the actual drugs used, I don’t believe that certain races are biologically wired to crave drugs more than others. I believe that certain environments encourage or discourage drug use, and certain races are more likely than others to be in certain situations. This is how I would explain the racial component of drug use. Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:14:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/27/voices-from-the-classroom-23/#IDComment201110598 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197660795 This is why I’m definitely excited and eager to get started on the Haiti project. The people in all the videos, not just the one that I’m writing about, need a lot of help. The devastating earthquake in Haiti put people in financial holes that they are struggling to climb out of, and we have a real opportunity to help pull them out. This is a chance to truly change someone’s life for the better, which is something that I personally take seriously. So often in life I look at what I don’t have, instead of what I do have. There are people literally dying every day because they don’t have food, and I have a fully stocked kitchen downstairs. Some people can’t sleep at night because they are so cold and afraid that they are going to be robbed, while I sleep for nine hours and don’t have to wake up before noon. These are things that are incredibly important to think about, and I’m glad that I have a real chance to help influence someone else’s life in a positive way. Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:44:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197660795 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197660664 This is truly sad, because in America a person with such drive and determination can make something of their lives, even if they start in conditions that aren’t ideal. There are steps that Americans can take to help get their businesses off the ground, such as loans and other financial options, that aren’t possible in Haiti. This is the type of inequality that we always discuss in class, and it’s truly sad. This is why I said that I went through a few different emotions while watching the video. As upbeat as Suze is, the reality of her situation is somewhat bleak. Unless she gets help, as I hope she does, there is a good chance that her business will fail. Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:44:12 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197660664 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197660555 I watched the video featuring Suze Fleuriza and her family-owned small business, and I felt a multitude of emotions while doing so. It’s truly inspiring to watch someone work so hard at building their business and brand, especially when they are doing so with such a small margin for error. This woman literally does everything for her candied peanut business; she picks the peanuts, cleans, roasts, and caramelizes them, and then sells them herself. She also hand packages the peanuts, adding another level of personal care to the equation. However, her hard work isn’t paying off as well as it should be for a number of reasons. Her handpicking methods are inefficient, as are her cleaning and roasting techniques. She has to spend an entire day at the market every three days just to gather her supplies, which obviously cuts into the time that she could be spending making her product. There simply aren’t enough human or financial resources available to Suze to run a successful business. Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:43:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/20/everyone-respond-to-this/#IDComment197660555 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-9/#IDComment194146230 Public school funding is intertwined with the neighborhood that the school happens to be in. Schools in the inner-city that aren’t in nice areas receive less funding because the property values of the area are low. Conversely, a rich suburban area has a lucrative tax base to get its school funding from. With more money, schools are able to help the students a lot more. This essentially creates a cycle where students from schools with rich tax bases perform well, and students from poverty stricken areas continue to struggle. Because the rich students are performing well, they get more help and more funding because it seems like they are working harder, when in reality the kids from the city simply don’t have the resources. This is why SAT scores from kids with money are so much higher than kids who don’t have bankroll. It is a large web of connecting factors that need to change. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:21:33 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-9/#IDComment194146230 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-9/#IDComment194146146 Middle School is when you go from extremely simple assignments to more advanced work. Papers get longer, math problems become more difficult, and there is more of accountability for grades than in elementary school. This is also a time when crucial academic skills are gained, and looking back I can see that I missed a lot. For example, my seventh grade math teacher became so frustrated with the noise and lack of effort from the students that every class he had a defeated look on his face before we even took our seats. We were supposed to be learning formulas and other important mathematic knowledge that is on the SAT in some shape or form. I honestly don’t remember learning anything important in that class, and that’s how a lot of my classes were. The attitudes of the students are a direct consequence of their parents not caring about school, but there are other problems plaguing low-income school districts. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:21:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-9/#IDComment194146146 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-9/#IDComment194146077 The fact that SAT scores rise with family income is not a surprising case of causation at all. Families with more money have a much easier decision to make when thinking of sending their children to SAT classes. For some low-income families, the decision would be between the class and the gas bill for the month. However, simply assuming that SAT scores only rise and fall because of the ability or inability to take a class ignores a wide range of issues that need to be addressed in this country. Kids with money do better in school generally, most likely because their parents earned college degrees and know the importance of education in modern society. Children from low-income areas often-times don’t have a responsible role model in their lives stressing to them that they need to pay attention in school and do well to succeed in life. For example, my middle school in Pittsburgh brought together a wide range of students, many of whom were minorities from low-income families. In many of my classes, it was clear that they didn’t care about what the teacher was saying at all. A lot of my classes got really rowdy, and while it was funny at the time, I realize now that these were critical stages of our development as students. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:20:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/13/voices-from-the-classroom-9/#IDComment194146077 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/08/voices-from-the-classroom-4/#IDComment191622628 I love spending time with my family during Jewish holidays; eating Jewish foods, being around my older cousins, and being around my grandparents. This is what I can truly appreciate about Judaism, the culture aspect. I am proud of being Jewish and the fact that I had a bar-mitzvah. I have an entire side of my family that are from Israel, so I am proud of this as well. Religion can give you things to be proud about at times, it’s only when people take religious conflicts to the next level that people have problems in the world. I can definitely see the benefits of Judaism, but there are also things that need to be addressed. Fri, 9 Sep 2011 20:39:14 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/08/voices-from-the-classroom-4/#IDComment191622628 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/08/voices-from-the-classroom-4/#IDComment191622532 Being a part of the religious experience and Jewish culture is much more important to being Jewish than having geographically Jewish roots. Going to synagogue, eating Jewish foods, and celebrating Jewish holidays are the ways that I stay connected to the Judaism in my family. However, I’m not a religious person at all, and I’m not even sure that I believe in God. This makes it hard to fully embrace Jewish culture, because the religious aspect is the heart of the culture. I certainly enjoy spending time with my family and seeing them appreciate the prayers and traditions of Judaism, but I have never felt very interested in these things. Even when I was a small child, I was always bored at synagogue. I never sang along with everyone else, and felt that it was a waste of time. I have never attended a religious service at Penn State, missing the High Holidays last year. I don’t necessarily feel bad about this either; I believe that it is everybody’s personal belief about whether or not they want to believe in God, and how they believe that they should show it. Even though I don’t necessarily believe in God or in going along with all the prayers, there are some aspects of Judaism that I can appreciate. Fri, 9 Sep 2011 20:38:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/08/voices-from-the-classroom-4/#IDComment191622532 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/08/voices-from-the-classroom-4/#IDComment191622425 Being Jewish is a combination of three factors; race, religion, and culture. However, two of these factors are much more important than one. It seems that when people talk about Judaism, it is assumed that being Jewish is racial. On surveys, I’ve been asked whether I consider myself “white” or “Jewish”. I consider myself both, and I hate it when people assume think that being Jewish is a racial thing, and that you can pass down Jewish genes. This being said, a Jewish person can usually trace their family history back to a certain geographic area. In this sense, there is a racial aspect to being Jewish but it has nothing to do with a Jewish race. Fri, 9 Sep 2011 20:38:43 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/09/08/voices-from-the-classroom-4/#IDComment191622425 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment189156075 What I want to know by the end of this class is how certain races are abandoned by the government and allowed to live in slum like conditions in modern society. I have been to the bad neighborhoods in my home city of PIttsburgh and the conditions are shameful. There are no grocery stores, no restaurants, no businesses of any kind. Trash and crimei fill the streets, and iti feels as if both will never be cleaned up. What I would like to learn is how these types of places are able to exist, and why the government hasn't done anything about them. Sam has talked about white preference a lot in class, and I would like to learn about this as well. It seems that there is a huge disparity between the amount of city residents who are white and poor and city residents who are black and poor. I would like to learn the reasons behind this, and whether or not it has to do with race. I also want to learn why some people choose to be so racist, and why people respond to racism against certain races the way they do. Some people can be so racist, and then turn around and say some of the most racist things that you'll ever hear. I'd like to learn more about things like that. Fri, 2 Sep 2011 22:12:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment189156075 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment189155786 What I want to know by the end of this class is how certain races are abandoned by the government and allowed to live in slum like conditions in modern society. I have been to the bad neighborhoods in my home city of PIttsburgh and the conditions are shameful. There are no grocery stores, no restaurants, no businesses of any kind. Trash and crimei fill the streets, and iti feels as if both will never be cleaned up. What I would like to learn is how these types of places are able to exist, and why the government hasn't done anything about them. Sam has talked about white preference a lot in class, and I would like to learn about this as well. It seems that there is a huge disparity between the amount of city residents who are white and poor and city residents who are black and poor. I would like to learn the reasons behind this, and whether or not it has to do with race. I also want to learn why some people choose to be so racist, and why people respond to racism against certain races the way they do. Some people can be so racist, and then turn around and say some of the most racist things that you'll ever hear. I'd like to learn more about things like that. Fri, 2 Sep 2011 22:11:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/08/26/what-do-you-want-to-know-before-its-all-over/#IDComment189155786